Sosa Joins the Club With Homer No. 60

Sammy Sosa’s 60th home run didn’t receive the fanfare that Mark McGwire’s did, but it was much more important to his team.

Sosa’s three-run homer in the seventh inning Saturday ignited a rally in which the Chicago Cubs scored 10 runs in the final three innings to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 15-12.

Orlando Merced won the game with a pinch-hit three-run blast, the Cubs’ sixth of the game.

The victory allowed the Cubs to move a game ahead of the New York Mets, who lost at Montreal, in the National League wild-card race.

As for Sosa, the home run put him in one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs, the 60-home run club.

Before this month, only Babe Ruth and Roger Maris had hit 60 homers in a season. Now Sosa and Mark McGwire have done it in an eight-day span.

“I just have to say that I could never feel more happy than I do today,” Sosa said.

Apparently, the Cub faithful couldn’t, either. Nearly an hour after the game had ended, hundreds of fans stayed in their seats at Wrigley Field, hoping for a another glimpse of Sosa.

And as he emerged from the dugout after an interview session, they began chanting his name again.

Sosa trails McGwire by two homers after the Cardinal slugger failed to connect at Houston.

When McGwire hit his his 61st and 62nd homers last week in St. Louis against the Cubs, Sosa congratulated him heartily, reminding his friend to wait for him to catch up.

“You think he’s waiting for me?” Sosa joked.

Sosa went two for three with two walks and also started the five-run ninth-inning rally with a single.

But his homer was the big blow.

“We had second and third and I didn’t want to strike out,” said Sosa, who fought off several pitches. “I came through. I hit 60, I jumped up and said ‘Yes,’ and that was about it. I didn’t want to show the other team up.”

Manager Jim Riggleman said Sosa’s blast was the key to victory.

“Sammy’s homer just lifted us, it gave us hope,” he said. “This is probably the sweetest win I’ve ever been involved with, if the not the strangest.”

Thirteen games remain for the Cubs to make the playoffs and Sosa to make history.

“If we go to the playoffs, I’d feel a lot better if I win the home run race,” Sosa said.