NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : 10-Hour Doubleheader at Wrigley No Holiday

The Fourth of July crowd of 37,167 at Wrigley Field turned out for a holiday doubleheader. What the fans got, at least the 1,000 or so who stuck around to the end, were 10 hours 10 minutes of baseball and rain delays.

The first game, won by the Cubs, 4-3, was fairly routine.

But the second took 7 1/2 hours because of rain delays of 34, 59 and 52 minutes and six extra innings.

Dante Bichette hit a misplayed two-run double in the top of the 15th inning to give the Rockies a 4-2 victory.

Randy Myers (1-4) walked Nelson Liriano to open the 15th, and two outs later Walt Weiss singled off Myers’ glove. Bichette then lifted a fly ball to right-center and outfielders Sosa and Eddie Zambrano let the ball drop between them at the base of the wall as two runs scored.

Bruce Walton (1-0), the sixth of seven Colorado pitchers, got the victory by pitching the 13th and 14th.

Greg Harris got the last three outs for his first save. Myers had to bat for himself in the 15th because the Cubs had no position players left.

The doubleheader, played to make up an April 30 rainout, finally ended when Sammy Sosa hit a liner to center.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been through anything like that,” Bichette said as he sat slumped at his locker. “I had trouble concentrating. I was very tired and I believe both teams felt the same way.”

Cub catcher Rick Wilkins said, “It’s the longest doubleheader I’ve ever been involved in. We even ran out of food. That’s a long day right there.”

It was a particularly long day for Kevin Roberson, a backup outfielder for the Cubs. He broke his hand when he punched a clubhouse door during the second game after striking out as a pinch-hitter and was put on the 15-day disabled list.

In the opener, Derrick May’s line-drive single brought home the winning run with two out in the ninth. The Cubs rallied for two runs in the inning against Bruce Ruffin (3-4).

Houston 13, St. Louis 6--Tony Eusebio had a career-high four hits and four runs batted in and Andujar Cedeno also drove in four runs for the Astros at St. Louis.

The Astros had 15 hits, 11 walks and a hit batsman to win for the sixth time in eight games. It came a day after they also piled up 15 hits in a 12-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

They did it both times without Jeff Bagwell, their All-Star first baseman who was sidelined because of flu. Collins said Bagwell should play tonight.

New York 2, San Francisco 1--Jim Lindeman’s leadoff homer in the 10th inning against Rod Beck provided the difference at San Francisco.

All three runs were scored on solo homers. Ryan Thompson hit his 14th homer for the Mets in the second and Barry Bonds connected for his 22nd in the eighth--a towering shot that landed several rows back in the upper deck.

Bonds’ homer broke up a shutout bid by Met starter Mike Remlinger, a former No. 1 draft choice of the Giants. He gave up four hits in eight innings, with six strikeouts and three walks, and retired 12 in a row before Bonds’ homer.

Cincinnati 5, Florida 1--All-Star Jose Rijo pitched six scoreless innings and Reggie Sanders broke the game open with a two-run, eighth-inning homer at Miami.

Deion Sanders went three for four for the Reds, who got all the runs they needed in the first against the Marlins’ Pat Rapp (4-5). He led off with a triple and scored when Hal Morris singled to center for his 57th RBI.

Philadelphia 10, San Diego 4--Light-hitting Todd Pratt hit a three-run double and a two-run homer at San Diego.

Danny Jackson (11-2) allowed a season-high 12 hits in six innings but still got the victory and extended his streak of not walking a batter to 21 innings.