Yankees Get Caught Short, 8-7

Sammy Sosa’s 2,000th career hit capped a tumultuous weekend and helped the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Yankees in the finale of a memorable three-game series.

“When you play against the Yankees, whatever you got going, you’ve got to forget it,” Sosa said after Chicago’s 8-7 victory Sunday night at Wrigley Field.

Sosa, who drew an eight-game suspension Friday for using a corked bat, was allowed to play in the series because he appealed. His hearing is expected within the next couple of days.

He hit an RBI single in the seventh inning to put the Cubs ahead 8-3, drawing a thunderous ovation from the crowd of 39,341 that cheered “Sam-my, Sam-my.”

Sosa tipped his helmet while standing on first as the scoreboard showed “2,000th.”

Mark Prior (7-2), who nearly became a Yankee five years ago, struck out 10 in six innings and Moises Alou and Ramon Martinez homered as the Cubs won two of three in the teams’ first meeting since the 1938 World Series.

The Yankees scored twice in both in the eighth and ninth innings, but fell behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in AL East when pinch-runner Charles Gipson was picked off first base by Joe Borowski to end it.

“I was trying to be aggressive, to get to second and score,” Gipson said. “I got out a little too far. He got me in a situation where I was leaning a bit.”

Prior was initially drafted by Yankees out of high school in 1998 as a first-round sandwich pick (43rd overall), but elected to go to college instead of signing.

After transferring from Vanderbilt, the 6-foot-5 right-hander became one of college baseball’s most dominant pitchers at USC, prompting the Cubs to take him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2001 draft.