Sosa’s Homer Goes Long Way for Cubs

Mark McGwire can’t touch Sammy Sosa in one home run category: balls hit into the upper deck at Cinergy Field.

Sosa became the first Cub to reach the stadium’s red seats Saturday, hitting the most impressive of Chicago’s four homers in a 7-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Benito Santiago homered twice and drove in four runs, but Sosa’s 453-foot shot drew the biggest ovation from a crowd of 38,993, the Reds’ largest since opening day.

While fans scrambled for the ball, Sosa put his head down and rounded the bases, unaware he’d hit only the 26th upper-deck homer in the stadium’s 29-year history.

“I never look. When I hit the ball, I have respect for the other team,” said Sosa, who gave up bowing to the crowd after homers in spring training because pitchers grumbled. “I don’t show anybody up.”

Not exactly. In Cinergy Field, he showed up McGwire, who has never homered in the circular stadium. McGwire has consistently reached the red seats in batting practice, but hasn’t even come close when it counted.

Sosa said that doesn’t matter.

“Everybody knows McGwire’s the man,” Sosa said. “I have never seen anybody hit the ball hard like Mark.”

The Cubs broke open a close game with three solo homers in the seventh against reliever Gabe White, ending a streak of 18 2/3 scoreless innings by the Reds’ bullpen. Jose Hernandez homered with one out and Sosa hit his shot one out later.

After Sosa rounded the bases, Santiago hit the next pitch for his second homer of the game and the 11th by the Cubs in the last four games.

Like McGwire, Sosa has gotten off to a slow start one season after they went neck-and-neck after Roger Maris’ home run record. McGwire finished with a record 70 while Sosa ended up with 66.

McGwire broke a homerless streak of 41 at-bats last week and has six this season. Sosa pushed his total to seven by hitting three in the last four games. After making an adjustment in the way he holds his hands, Sosa is starting to hit the ball hard again.

“Last year, we did what we did over six or seven months,” Sosa said of the homer chase. “We didn’t do it in a month or two weeks. There’s still a lot of ball to play, a long way to go.”

Rod Beck, who blew a save in the series opener Friday, got the last three outs along with a couple of scary moments. Hal Morris flew out to Goodwin on the warning track in left field for the second out, and Goodwin went to the wall to get Greg Vaughn’s fly and end the game.