Cubs Run Streak to Nine in Row

Sammy Sosa had four runs batted in and Rondell White hit a three-run home run Tuesday night as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 10-5, at Cincinnati for their ninth consecutive victory.

Sosa doubled with the bases loaded and White later homered during a seven-run fourth inning that extended the Cubs’ longest winning streak since 1998, when they won 10 in a row.

“Every time we come to the park, we feel we’ve got a good thing going,” Sosa said. “Hopefully it doesn’t stop right now.”

They have one more game against the Reds, who have played a big role in the Cubs’ surge. Five of the nine victories have come against the Reds, who are imploding from injuries and a stunning inability to win at home.

The Reds are 6-21 in May, matching the franchise record for most losses in the month. Most of the damage has come at Cinergy Field, where the Reds are 7-20, the worst home record in the major leagues.

And the injuries keep coming. First baseman Sean Casey was sidelined because of a strained back and reliever Dennys Reyes had to leave the game in the eighth because of a stiff forearm.

“It seems like we have a couple of people who come in and help for a couple of days, and then they go down,” said Michael Tucker, who drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly. “It’s a tough situation to be in. It’s like we have a revolving door in the training room.”

The depleted Reds had little chance after the Cubs sent 10 batters to the plate for seven runs in the fourth inning, taking advantage of Osvaldo Fernandez’s worst performance.

Fernandez walked four in the inning, including Ricky Gutierrez with the bases loaded to tie the score at 3-3. Sosa then hit a soft liner down the right-field line for a double that cleared the bases.

After Matt Stairs walked, White hit the first pitch for his sixth homer and a 9-3 lead that ended Fernandez’s performance. He gave up seven hits, five walks and a career-high nine runs in 3 2/3 innings.

“A lot of things happened in that one inning,” Manager Don Baylor said. “That one inning sometimes takes you completely out of the game.”

With the bullpen depleted by a 13-inning game the previous night, Red Manager Bob Boone was hoping for a lot more out of his starter.

“He struggled all night, and this was a night we really needed him,” Boone said. “That was disappointing.”

Milwaukee 7, St. Louis 0--Ben Sheets pitched a five-hitter at St. Louis for the first shutout of his career, helping the Brewers end a four-game losing streak.

For a bonus, he struck out Mark McGwire in a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning.

“Nobody looks forward to seeing that big guy when he steps in there,” Sheets said. “You just take the moment for what it is. That’s a thrill in itself.”

Sheets (5-4), whose last shutout came in the Olympic gold-medal game against Cuba, gave up five singles and allowed only two runners to reach second base in his first complete game. He walked one and struck out three.

Sheets, a first-round pick of the Brewers in the 1999 draft, added a run-scoring single in the eighth. He had been 0 for 15 with eight strikeouts.

Atlanta 7, Montreal 4--Chipper Jones hit two home runs and matched a career high with five runs batted in at Atlanta to help the Braves climb above the .500 mark for the first time in nearly two months.

Jones, a switch-hitter, had his first two right-handed homers of the season against lefty Matt Blank, making the first start of his career.

With the score tied at 1-1 in the third, Jones hit a 407-foot drive into the center-field stands for a two-run homer.

In the fifth, he managed an even longer homer to center with two runners on, easily clearing the wall with a 424-foot shot for his 14th of the season.

Philadelphia 7, New York 3--Pat Burrell hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning at New York and the Phillies won for the 10th time in Omar Daal’s 11 starts.

Burrell, who hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning of the Phillies’ 5-3 victory over the Mets on Monday, hit reliever Turk Wendell’s 2-and-0 pitch into the left-field bullpen to cap a four-run inning.

The Phillies have won eight of nine and improved to 13-3 against the National League East. The National League champion Mets fell 11 games behind Philadelphia in the division.

Daal, unbeaten in six decisions after going 4-19 last season, gave up five hits and three runs in six innings.

San Diego 5, Houston 4--Ryan Klesko hit a home run and drove in three runs at San Diego to tie a Padre record for runs batted in in a month with 38.

The Padres ended a three-game losing streak and handed the Astros their eighth consecutive loss. That losing streak includes a sweep by the Padres at Enron Field last week.

Houston, down four runs in the ninth, made it close against Trevor Hoffman. Craig Biggio drove in three runs with a two-out, bases-loaded double but Hoffman struck Tony Eusebio for his 11th save in 13 opportunities.

Kevin Jarvis (3-4) and relievers Jay Witasick and David Lee gave up five hits before Lee left with two outs in the ninth after being hit in the cheek by a liner off the bat of Julio Lugo.

Florida 5, Pittsburgh 0--A.J. Burnett pitched eight shutout innings at Pittsburgh and the Marlins gave new Manager Tony Perez his first victory.

Burnett (3-2) rebounded from his worst start by giving up seven hits and a walk while striking out three. Last week against the Mets, he gave up seven runs in four innings--his shortest outing in 25 major league games.

Perez was named interim manager on Monday after John Boles was fired.