NL FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - COLORADO 0 0 5 0 3 3 3 0 0 14 12 0 CHICAGO CUBS 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 5 11 2 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: COL - MIKE HAMPTON, GABE WHITE (7TH), JUSTIN SPEIER (8TH), MIKE MYERS (9TH) AND SAL FASANO CHN - JULIAN TAVAREZ, TODD VAN POPPEL (3RD), FELIX HEREDIA (5TH), DAVID WEATHERS (6TH), TOM GORDON (8TH), JEFF FASSERO (9TH) AND JOE GIRARDI, ROBERT MACHADO (9TH)
WP - MIKE HAMPTON (12-8) LP - JULIAN TAVAREZ (8-8) SAVE - NONE
HOME RUNS: COL - MIKE HAMPTON (7) OFF F HEREDIA IN THE 6TH, 0 ON CHN - SAMMY SOSA (38) OFF M HAMPTON IN THE 3RD, 0 ON RON COOMER (7) OFF M HAMPTON IN THE 4TH, 0 ON SAMMY SOSA (39) OFF M HAMPTON IN THE 5TH, 0 ON SAMMY SOSA (40) OFF G WHITE IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
TIME: 3:13 ATT: 38,345
PROBABLES: COL - SHAWN CHACON (6-6, 5.40) CIN - CHRIS REITSMA (5-11, 4.57)
SFO - SHAWN ESTES (8-6, 3.56) CHN - JON LIEBER (14-5, 3.43)
Extended BoxCOLORADO (14) VS CHICAGO CUBS (5) - FINAL
COLORADO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg Pierre cf 6 2 3 3 0 0 0 .335 M Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 B Butler 2b-3b 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 .261 L Walker rf 3 2 1 2 1 0 2 .340 Helton 1b 5 0 3 3 0 1 0 .328 Cirillo 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .306 J Ortiz 2b 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 .244 Ochoa lf 3 0 0 0 2 3 1 .292 J Uribe ss 5 2 1 0 0 1 2 .224 Fasano c 3 2 0 0 1 2 0 .133 M Hampton p 3 3 2 2 0 1 2 .306 G White p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Speier p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-Little ph-cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .339
Totals 36 14 12 12 5 9 9
a-struck out for Speier in the 9th.
BATTING: 2B - Pierre 2 (16, Tavarez, Weathers); Helton (37, Tavarez); B Butler (2, F Heredia); L Walker (26, F Heredia). 3B - J Ortiz (1, F Heredia). HR - M Hampton (7, 6th inning off F Heredia 0 on, 1 out). S - M Hampton, B Butler. SF - L Walker, B Butler. RBI - Pierre 3 (36), Helton 3 (105), L Walker 2 (92), J Ortiz (4), M Hampton 2 (13), B Butler (11). 2-out RBI - J Ortiz, Helton. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Ochoa 1, L Walker 1. GIDP - Cirillo. Team LOB - 5.
BASERUNNING: SB - B Butler (1, 2nd base off F Heredia/Girardi); Pierre (30, 3rd base off F Heredia/Girardi).
FIELDING: DP: 2 (Cirillo-B Butler-Helton, J Uribe).
CHICAGO CUBS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg E Young 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 5 .269 Deshields lf 3 0 0 0 2 1 4 .256 S Sosa rf 4 3 3 3 0 0 0 .303 Stairs 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Mcgriff 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .250 Gordon p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Machado c 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .235 Coomer 3b 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 .280 R Gutierrez ss 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 .287 Weathers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-M Tucker ph-rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .243 Matthews Jr cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .217 Girardi c 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 .222 Fassero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Tavarez p 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .147 Van Poppel p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 a-Cairo ph 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .285 F Heredia p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Ojeda ss 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 .202
Totals 36 5 11 5 3 3 16
a-grounded to shortstop for Van Poppel in the 4th; b-fouled to catcher for Weathers in the 7th.
BATTING: 2B - Ojeda (3, Speier). HR - S Sosa 3 (40, 3rd inning off M Hampton 0 on, 2 out, 5th inning off M Hampton 0 on, 0 out, 7th inning off G White 0 on, 0 out); Coomer (7, 4th inning off M Hampton 0 on, 0 out). RBI - S Sosa 3 (105), Coomer (43), Cairo (9). 2-out RBI - S Sosa. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Mcgriff 1, Deshields 3, E Young 1. GIDP - Tavarez. Team LOB - 8.
FIELDING: E - Coomer (5, throw); Tavarez (2, throw). DP: 1 (R Gutierrez-E Young-Mcgriff).
-------------------------------------------------- Colorado - 005 033 300 -- 14 Chicago Cubs - 001 210 100 -- 5
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COLORADO ip h r er bb so hr era M Hampton (W, 12-8) 6 9 4 4 2 3 3 5.13 G White 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 6.44 Speier 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.79 M Myers 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.78
CHICAGO CUBS ip h r er bb so hr era Tavarez (L, 8-8) 2 1/3 3 5 1 1 1 0 3.86 Van Poppel 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.77 F Heredia 1 2/3 6 6 6 2 1 1 5.97 Weathers 1 1/3 3 3 3 1 1 0 2.63 Gordon 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 3.41 Fassero 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.89
WP - M Hampton, F Heredia. HBP - R Gutierrez (by M Hampton); Fasano (by Tavarez). Pitches-strikes: Tavarez 42-23; Van Poppel 18-14; F Heredia 53-29; Weathers 35-16; Gordon 21-15; Fassero 12-11; M Hampton 107-66; G White 14-9; Speier 13-8; M Myers 11-6. Ground balls-fly balls: Tavarez 6-0; Van Poppel 2-1; F Heredia 2-2; Weathers 1-2; Gordon 0-1; Fassero 0-1; M Hampton 10-5; G White 0-3; Speier 1-2; M Myers 1-1. Batters faced: Tavarez 13; Van Poppel 5; F Heredia 13; Weathers 8; Gordon 4; Fassero 3; M Hampton 29; G White 4; Speier 4; M Myers 3.
UMPIRES: HP--Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B--Jim Wolf. 2B--Angel Hernandez. 3B--Randy Marsh. T--3:13. Att--38,345. Weather: 92 degrees, sunny. Wind: 12 mph, out to center.
How They ScoredCOLORADO (14) AT CHICAGO CUBS (5) - HOW THEY SCORED
COLORADO 3RD: J Uribe safe at first on 3rd baseman Coomer's throwing error. Fasano hit by pitch, J Uribe to second. M Hampton sacrificed J Uribe to third, Fasano to second, J Uribe scored, Fasano to third, M Hampton to second on pitcher Tavarez's throwing error. Pierre doubled to left center, Fasano and M Hampton scored. B Butler sacrificed Pierre to third. L Walker walked. Helton doubled to left, Pierre and L Walker scored. Todd Van Poppel relieved Julian Tavarez. Cirillo grounded out to shortstop, Helton to third. Ochoa struck out swinging. COLORADO 5, CHICAGO CUBS 0.
CHICAGO CUBS 3RD: E Young popped out to third. Deshields struck out looking. S Sosa homered to center. Mcgriff grounded out to pitcher. COLORADO 5, CHICAGO CUBS 1.
CHICAGO CUBS 4TH: Coomer homered to left. R Gutierrez singled to left. Matthews Jr singled to right, R Gutierrez to second. Girardi singled to right, R Gutierrez to third, Matthews Jr to second. Cairo hit for Van Poppel. Cairo grounded out to shortstop, R Gutierrez scored, Matthews Jr to third, Girardi to second. E Young lined out to right. Deshields grounded out to third. COLORADO 5, CHICAGO CUBS 3.
COLORADO 5TH: Felix Heredia relieved Todd Van Poppel. Pierre grounded out to second. B Butler doubled to right center. L Walker doubled to right center, B Butler scored. Helton grounded out to first, L Walker to third. J Ortiz tripled to right center, L Walker scored. J Ortiz scored on F Heredia wild pitch. Ochoa walked. J Uribe fouled out to catcher. COLORADO 8, CHICAGO CUBS 3.
CHICAGO CUBS 5TH: S Sosa homered to center. Mcgriff struck out looking. Coomer grounded out to pitcher. R Gutierrez flied out to center. COLORADO 8, CHICAGO CUBS 4.
COLORADO 6TH: Fasano struck out swinging. M Hampton homered to left center. Pierre singled to left. B Butler walked, Pierre to second. Pierre stole third, B Butler stole second. L Walker hit sacrifice fly to center, Pierre scored. Helton singled to right, B Butler scored. David Weathers relieved Felix Heredia. J Ortiz flied out to right. COLORADO 11, CHICAGO CUBS 4.
COLORADO 7TH: Ochoa struck out swinging. J Uribe singled to left. Fasano walked, J Uribe to second. M Hampton singled to left, J Uribe scored, Fasano to second. Pierre doubled to right, Fasano scored, M Hampton to third. B Butler hit sacrifice fly to center, M Hampton scored, Pierre to third. L Walker grounded out to shortstop. COLORADO 14, CHICAGO CUBS 4.
CHICAGO CUBS 7TH: Gabe White relieved Mike Hampton. S Sosa homered to left. Mcgriff flied out to deep left. Coomer flied out to right. M Tucker hit for Weathers. M Tucker fouled out to catcher. COLORADO 14, CHICAGO CUBS 5.
Game StoryCHICAGO (Ticker) -- Sammy Sosa chased home run history in 1998. Pitcher Mike Hampton is chasing it in 2001.
On an afternoon when Sosa belted three homers, Hampton moved closer to a major league record for long balls in a season by a pitcher, lifting the Colorado Rockies to a 14-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
One of baseball's premier hitting pitchers, Hampton belted his seventh homer of the season with one out in the sixth inning, tying the National League record set by Don Newcombe in 1955 and matched by Don Drysdale in 1958 and 1965.
He is just two homers shy of Wes Ferrell's major league record for pitchers, set for Cleveland in 1931.
"I take a lot of pride in my all-around game," Hampton said. "I don't try to hit home runs, I'm just trying to hit the ball hard on a line. I think with the wind blowing out I got a lot of help."
Hampton went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and added an RBI single in the seventh inning Thursday, raising his batting average to .306 this season.
Sosa, who chased Roger Maris' single-season record for homers in a season along with Mark McGwire in 1998, enjoyed his own productive day at the plate. He belted solo homers in the third, fifth and seventh innings, giving him three in a game for the third time in his career.
The big day gave Sosa 40 homers in a season for the fifth time in his career, including four straight seasons. He also matched first-base coach and former Cub great Billy Williams for 30th place on the all-time list with 426 career homers.
"They don't mean anything when we don't win," Sosa said. "I don't worry about my numbers. I only worry about victories. My numbers are always going to be there, believe it."
Sosa did not have a chance to tie the major league record with four home runs as he was removed from the game following the seventh inning with the Cubs trailing, 14-5. His spot in the batting order did come up again in the bottom of the ninth.
"It didn't bother me. My manager (Don Baylor) said he thought I should come out and I agreed with him," Sosa said. "I could probably use the rest with the Giants coming in this weekend."
The weather was condusive for long balls. Game-time temperature was 92 degrees with the wind blowing out to center field.
Hampton (12-8), who gave up two of Sosa's homers, had enough on the mound to win his second straight start. The lefthander allowed four runs and nine hits over six innings, walking two and striking out three.
"Mike really battled the elements and did a pretty good job," Rockies manager Buddy Bell said. "With 100 degrees on the field and the wind blowing out, this was not an easy place to pitch today. But the guy gutted it out for six innings. We were happy about that."
Cubs starter Julian Tavarez (8-8) was hurt by his club's defense and took the loss after allowing five runs -- one earned -- and three hits in 2 1/3 innings
The Rockies benefited from the Cubs' poor play in the field when they were aided by a pair of errors and scored five times.
Juan Uribe reached on third baseman Ron Coomer's throwing error and that seemed to unravel Tavarez, who hit Sal Fasano with a pitch before making a costly miscue of his own in the field.
Hampton put down a bunt that Tavarez fielded and threw wildly to first, allowing Uribe to score the game's first run. Juan Pierre followed with a two-run double, making it 3-0.
After a sacrifice by rookie Brent Butler and a walk to Larry Walker, Todd Helton stroked a two-run double that chased Tavarez.
"I thought Tavarez was effective but with the errors we made behind him, it seemed he lost a little bit of composure or concentration after the guys started throwing the balls around," Baylor said.
Sosa hit the first of his three homers in the bottom of the inning, a 430-shot over the center-field wall. Coomer hit his seventh homer and Miguel Cairo plated another run in the next inning on a groundout, pulling the Cubs within 5-3.
But the Rockies quickly restored their advantage, scoring three times in the fifth off Felix Heredia. Walker had an RBI double, recently acquired Jose Ortiz doubled in a run and Heredia uncorked a wild pitch to allow another run to cross.
Sosa struck back in the bottom of the inning, hitting a 450-foot homer over the center-field wall.
Hampton used the Wrigley Field wind to his advantage in the sixth, homering off Heredia with one out. Walker lifted a sacrifice fly and Helton had an RBI single later in the inning, giving Colorado an 11-4 bulge.
The Rockies took a double-digit lead in the seventh on an RBI single by Hampton, a double by Pierre and a sacrifice fly by Butler.
Sosa completed his first three-homer game since June 15, 1998 in the bottom of the inning.