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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MILWAUKEE (AP) – With a .238 batting average, Matt Stairs knows
there's room for improvement. But he was a happy man after his
contributions Wednesday night.
|  | | Sammy Sosa reacts after hitting a solo home run in the first inning. |
Stairs hit his first home run since last September and three
relievers combined for four perfect innings as the Chicago Cubs
beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 Wednesday night.
"I'm not saying because I hit a home run I'm back, but I feel a
lot more at ease coming to the plate," said Stairs after driving
in two runs with his 405-foot homer and singling to spark another
two-run rally. "I worked my butt off the last couple of days and
it's paid off."
Sammy Sosa hit his 11th homer of the season. The solo shot in
the first inning was his 397th career home run, moving him ahead of
Joe Carter for 35th place on the all-time list.
Stairs, acquired from Oakland in a trade last November, hit his
homer in the fourth off Jamey Wright (3-4).
Kevin Tapani (5-1) allowed six hits in five innings before being
taken out for a pinch-hitter after the Brewers closed within 4-3 on
a two-run homer by Tyler Houston.
"It was one of those nights where he was OK, but I've seen him
a lot better," Chicago manager Don Baylor said of Tapani. "He was
a lot sharper his last time out."
Cubs reliever Courtney Duncan retired six straight batters, Kyle
Farnsworth worked the eighth and Tom Gordon closed in the ninth for
his second save.
"It seems like they bail us out all the time," Baylor said of
his bullpen. "They don't like too many leads to be squandered.
They've done it all year, they come in and throw strikes ... they
challenge guys, make them put it into play and we catch 'em."
Rondell White led off the second with a double and scored with
two outs on a single by Tapani for a 2-0 lead. Tapani's third hit
in eight at-bats came after Augie Ojeda, batting .136 at the time,
was intentionally walked.
"I knew we were in trouble when the pitcher got a hit,"
Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said.
The first hit Tapani allowed was a one-out solo home run by
Richie Sexson in the second inning.
Milwaukee, trailing 4-1, closed within one on Houston's two-run
homer off Tapani in the fifth. In a strange inning, Henry Blanco
opened with a triple but became the second out in a rundown after
Wright and Ronnie Belliard failed to drive him home.
Belliard, who reached on a fielder's choice, scored on Houston's
sixth homer of the season.
The Cubs regained a three-run lead in the sixth, starting with
an infield hit by White and a bloop single by Stairs that finished
Wright. Reliever Mike DeJean allowed a one-out RBI double by Ojeda,
and a second run scored on a throwing error trying to get Ojeda at
second.
"He's having difficulties, inconsistencies have been following
him," Lopes said of Wright. "He's going to have to make an
adjustment to get to the point where we know what he can do."
Wright said he didn't have his best stuff. "I didn't pitch very
smart tonight," he said. "I got beat twice on sliders."
Game notes
Sosa homered in his 35th different ballpark. ... Stairs
went 83 at-bats between home runs. ... Milwaukee SS Mark Loretta,
on the disabled list since spring training, played his first game
of a 20-day rehab assignment Wednesday at Triple-A Indianapolis. He
was 0-for-4. ... Wright also singled in his first at-bat, but
didn't advance past first base in the third inning. ... Wright
threw 98 pitches, only 54 for strikes.
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OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Chicago Cubs Clubhouse
Milwaukee Clubhouse
RECAPS
Seattle 10
Boston 5
Cleveland 5
Kansas City 1
Detroit 3
Texas 2
NY Yankees 2
Minnesota 0
Oakland 8
Toronto 5
Baltimore 8
Tampa Bay 6
Chi. White Sox 6
Anaheim 5
Houston 7
Philadelphia 6
Chicago Cubs 6
Milwaukee 3
St. Louis 6
Pittsburgh 2
Colorado 6
NY Mets 0
Arizona 5
Cincinnati 2
Atlanta 3
San Diego 0
Los Angeles 3
Florida 2
Montreal 8
San Francisco 0
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