Giants Rally to Beat Schilling

Curt Schilling, instead of becoming the first pitcher in the ‘90s to pitch six consecutive complete games, blew a late lead for the second time in three starts and lost.

The San Francisco Giants rocked the Philadelphia Phillie ace for four runs in the seventh inning on Thursday and rallied for a 7-4 victory at Philadelphia.

“I didn’t do my job,” Schilling said. “Everybody on this team did what they had to do for us to win a game except me.”

Staked to a 4-1 lead after the Phillies scored three runs in the sixth, Schilling (8-3) gave up four runs, four hits and a walk in the seventh and left trailing, 5-4.

His latest collapse capped a tumultuous two weeks in which he blew a 4-0 lead in the ninth inning against the New York Mets, then pitched a brilliant four-hit shutout against the Colorado Rockies.

The Giants’ Jeff Kent went two for five with three runs batted in. His two-run single tied the score, 4-4, in the seventh. Ellis Burks drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly, and the Giants got 3 1/3 scoreless innings from their bullpen.

Schilling gave up five runs and 10 hits in seven innings, walked three and struck out seven.

He got the 1,500th strikeout of his career when he fanned Rich Aurilia with the bases loaded to end the sixth.

Chicago 7, San Diego 2--Sammy Sosa homered for the second day in a row at Chicago and took over the National League lead with 19.

Sosa, who hit a major league-record 20 home runs last June, has two this month and 15 homers and 31 RBIs in his last 27 games. He hit a solo shot in the first against rookie Matt Clement (1-2).

Henry Rodriguez hit a three-run home run, his 11th homer of the season, in a six-run second inning.

Florida 4, St. Louis 2--Marlin rookie Mike Lowell, who sat out the start of the season after surgery for testicular cancer, hit his first major league homer at Miami.

Mark McGwire of the Cardinals hit his 17th homer but left in the sixth as a precaution because of tightness in his lower back.

Milwaukee 4, Houston 1--Dave Nilsson homered twice and doubled, going three for four at Milwaukee as the Brewers avoided a three-game sweep.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Chicago 10, Toronto 3--The White Sox had 16 hits at Toronto, including a two-run homer by Magglio Ordonez that gave them a 2-0 lead in the first-inning.