McGwire, Sosa stay in yard; Cubs, Mets tied

McGwire has homered five times off Houston pitching, and he came close to adding two more against left-hander Mike Hampton.

McGwire drove a ball to the warning track in center in the first, then lined out to the track in left-center in the third.

In the sixth, reliever Scott Elarton, who surrendered homer No. 40 back on July 12, needed only four pitches to get McGwire on a called third strike.

In the eighth, McGwire sent a foul liner into the seats off Doug Henry before striking out for the 152nd time.

Morris (7-5), hasn't allowed a run in 16 innings since he was touched for six in the eighth inning at Houston Sept. 11.

Ron Gant hit a two-run single in the first and a solo homer off Hampton (11-7) in the fourth.

Cubs tie Mets despite Slumpin' Sammy: The Chicago Cubs ended their skid last night, even though Sammy Sosa couldn't stop his slump.

The Cubs moved into a tie for the NL wild-card spot, snapping a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Chicago is tied with New York, which lost to Montreal 5-3. The Cubs and Mets each have four games left.

Sosa failed to close in on McGwire, holding at 63 home runs and leaving him in an 0-for-21 drought.

Before striking out for the second time, Sosa hit a towering shot off Brewers reliever Al Reyes in the seventh that just hooked foul down the left-field line.

To chants of "Sam-my! Sam-my!" Sosa went 0-for-4 with a walk. He has not gotten a hit and has struck out eight times since hitting homer No. 63 with a grand slam last Wednesday in San Diego.

Before his last three at-bats, Sosa had to wait as a new pitcher warmed up.

Sosa entered the game at sold-out County Stadium two homers behind McGwire, who also failed to go deep Tuesday night. The St. Louis slugger hit his 65th against the Brewers on Sunday.

Terry Mulholland (6-5) pitched eight solid innings. He gave up one run on six hits, three by Mark Loretta.

Jeromy Burnitz hit his 38th home run in the ninth off Cubs reliever Rod Beck.

At a time when the Cubs needed Sosa the most, Chicago's slugger hoped to regroup against his favorite pitching staff. Ten of Sosa's homers have come off the Brewers, his most against any team. Earlier this month, he connected for Nos. 59-62 against Milwaukee during a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

But he struck out twice, hit into a fielder's choice and drew a walk.

09-23-98