Sammy grand slams 63!

Sosa's eighth-inning grand slam catapulted the Cubs to a 6-2 win over the Padres and brought the San Diego crowd to its feet.

Sosa had three hits and six RBI in the victory, which kept the Cubs a half game ahead of the New York Mets in the National League wild card race.

Slammin' Sammy electrified the crowd with his trademark hop after the home run, which landed in the third deck of Qualcomm Park and led to a massive pileup of fans in search of the ball.

Meanwhile, Mark McGwire went homerless, but narrowly missed hitting home run No. 64 off Jason Christiansen, who also surrendered No. 63 to McGwire.

AP PHOTO Sammy Sosa's eighth-inning grand slam last night tied him with Mark McGwire for the major league home run record.

McGwire, who hit homer No. 63 off Christiansen the previous day, flied out to the warning track against the Pittsburgh reliever last night as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pirates 4-0.

On Tuesday, McGwire ended his six-game, 18 at-bat homerless drought with a pinch-hit shot in the ninth inning.

McGwire was 0-for-3 with a walk, his 155th of the season. He needs 15 walks in the final nine games to tie Babe Ruth's 1923 major league record.

Eli Marrero's two-run double off Christiansen broke up a scoreless tie in the seventh, and rookie Joe McEwing brought home another run with a squeeze bunt as the Cardinals won for the 13th time in 17 games.

Matt Morris (6-5) allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings.

McGwire Mania: Home run fever is fueling ticket sales for upcoming series featuring the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.

Bob Voight, Milwaukee Brewers vice president for ticket sales, said yesterday that the team has sold more than 225,000 tickets for the five-game homestand that includes three games with the Cardinals, followed by two games with the Cubs.

Mark McGwire of the Cardinals has already set a season home run record with 63 and Sammy Sosa of the Cubs has 62.

Voight offered this summary of ticket sales (with limited standing-room-only space to be made available after other tickets are sold):

¥ Tomorrow, 47,000 tickets sold, upper and lower grandstand tickets available.

¥ Saturday, 53,500 tickets sold, some standing-room-only positions available.

¥ Sunday, 51,000 tickets sold, single seats, obstructed-view seats still available.

¥ Tuesday, 46,000 tickets sold, some lower grandstand left.

¥ Wednesday, 30,000 tickets sold, upper and lower grandstand tickets available for the Brewers' final home game of 1998

09-17-98