Pirates Get Relief, Sosa Could Use a Little

Nearly a week into the season, Sammy Sosa is still putting up zeros. Surprisingly, so is the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen.

Three Pirate relievers gave up one hit over seven shutout innings Saturday, and Ed Sprague hit a grand slam in the Pirates’ six-run fifth inning for his first National League homer, in a 9-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh.

Sprague’s homer helped rally the Pirates from a 3-0 deficit created by Tyler Houston’s three-run homer in the second against Francisco Cordova.

Pirate Manager Gene Lamont went to three left-handers--Scott Sauerbeck, Jeff Wallace and Jason Christiansen--to shut out the Cubs after Cordova lasted only two innings.

In their last three games, Pirate relievers have given up only four hits and one run in 16 innings.

Five Pirate relievers have combined for 10 shutout innings in the first two games of the three-game Cub series, even as Lamont was changing roles by deciding not to use Loiselle as the closer.

“They just shut us down,” said Cub Manager Jim Riggleman, whose team has scored more than three runs only once while starting 2-3.

The Cubs’ problems don’t start at the top, but rather in the No. 3 hole. Sosa’s homer slump continued as he went 0 for 4. After hitting a major league-high 12 home runs during spring training, Sosa is batting .059 with only one extra-base hit during the regular season.

“It’s going to come,” Sosa said. “It’s not going to be like this all year. Today I felt more comfortable. . . . It’s early. As a team, sometimes when the main guy is struggling everybody is going to follow. When I get hot, I’m going to get hot for a long time.”

San Diego 11, San Francisco 1--John Vander Wal and Jim Leyritz hit consecutive home runs in a five-run third inning at San Francisco as the Padres sent the Giants to their first loss.

Wally Joyner also homered, and Dave Magadan and Damian Jackson hit two-run doubles for the Padres, who were not bothered by a steady rain that fell throughout the game. San Francisco had won its first five games, its best start since 1987.

Andy Ashby (1-1), shelled for six runs while lasting only one inning in a season-opening loss to the Colorado Rockies, gave up six hits in seven innings. He gave up a fifth-inning home run to reliever Felix Rodriguez--his first major league hit in four career at-bats.

Philadelphia 5, Florida 2--Curt Schilling gave up five hits in eight innings and Scott Rolen hit his third home run for the Phillies at Miami.

Schilling (2-0) struck out five, walked two and gave up both runs.

Jeff Brantley gave up a walk and a single opening the ninth, then struck out the side for his third save in as many chances.

Dennis Springer (0-1) kept the Marlins close, even though he was throwing 60-mph knuckleballs while Schilling was throwing 95-mph fastballs. Springer gave up three runs, two earned, and four hits in seven innings.

St. Louis 4, Cincinnati 2--Eric Davis broke out of a two-for-19 skid with a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning at St. Louis.

Davis, who signed with the Cardinals as a free agent, was moved up one spot in the order to cleanup while Ray Lankford recovers from knee surgery. But Davis had only one run batted in this season before his bases-loaded single against John Hudek went past a drawn-in infield into center field.

“To me, pressure is not knowing where your next meal is going to come from,” said Davis, who was the American League comeback player of the year for the Baltimore Orioles last season after overcoming colon cancer. “Not knowing if they got all the cancer out of your body, that’s pressure. This is fun.”

Juan Acevedo (1-0) retired Greg Vaughn on a liner to third with runners on first and third on his only pitch of the eighth, and then got the last three outs in less dramatic fashion.

Rookie Scott Williamson (0-1) walked Placido Polanco to start the eighth and J.D. Drew singled for only his second hit of the season in 14 at-bats. Hudek walked Mark McGwire on five pitches, loading the bases for Davis.

New York 4, Montreal 3--Matt Franco scored from first base on Todd Pratt’s 11th-inning single at Montreal, giving the Mets their fourth victory in five games since an opening-day loss.

Franco, who entered in the 10th, singled against Anthony Telford (0-1) with two outs in the 11th. With Franco running on a 3-2 pitch, Pratt singled to center and Franco slid home just ahead of second baseman Wilton Guerrero’s relay.

“I knew it was going to be a close play at the plate,” Franco said. “I was just running as hard as I could.”

John Franco pitched the 11th for his first save.

Milwaukee 8, Houston 2--Geoff Jenkins’ first two-homer game helped the Brewers at Houston.

Bill Pulsipher (1-0) gave up one run and five hits in five innings, ending the Brewers’ seven-game losing streak in the Astrodome.

Chris Holt (0-1), making his first appearance since Sept. 28, 1997, gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings. Holt had surgery on his right shoulder in October 1977 and sat out last season.

Jenkins, who came in with nine homers in 275 at-bats during his career, connected in the second inning to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. He homered again in the eighth.