Barry Bonds needs nine home runs to make history. Sammy Sosa needs only two to make amends.
The ex-Cub, who’s chasing 600 home runs, was out of baseball this off-season and looked to be washed up. Finished. His final footnotes would be the lingering rumors of steroids abuse and the infamous Chicago chapter in which cork was found in his bat.
But the 38-year-old has had a different blueprint for the twilight of his career.
Sosa has emerged again as a power hitter, knocking in 10 this season as a designated hitter — a steal for the $500,000 deal (not counting incentives) he signed with Texas. As the Rangers wrap up a four-game road swing in Seattle, Sosa has a chance to put the finishing stroke on his 2007 renaissance.
His season won’t end if he becomes just the fifth player to reach the 600 mark. But his quest for redemption might.
Note: The Texas Rangers’ game at Seattle did not end before press time.
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Sosa at the Mariners
Friday
Starter: LHP Jarrod Washburn (5-4, 3.22)
Forecast: Seven of Sosa’s home runs have been on the road, but Washburn has only allowed five this season. Sosa went 1 for 4 against him in April.
Saturday
Starter: Miguel Batista, RHP (5-4, 5.72)
Forecast: Batista, who has allowed seven home runs in 2007, could be Sosa’s best shot. Sosa hit his second home run off Batista on April 14.
Sunday
Starter: LHP Ryan Feierabend (0-1, 5.40)
Forecast: Feierabend will be making just his fourth major-league start for the M’s. He has given up a home run in 6 2/3 innings this season. Sosa has three homers and a .667 slugging percentage against lefties in ’07.
