DeShields' three-run triple in eighth wins it for Cubs

CHICAGO (AP) -- Sammy Sosa got the Chicago Cubs back in the game

with his 45th homer, and Delino DeShields delivered a comeback

victory with a bases-loaded triple in the eighth.

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"We were a little sluggish in the beginning, but Sammy got us

the momentum we needed when he hit the homer," Chicago manager Don

Baylor said after the Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 in the

opener of a doubleheader Monday night.

Sosa hit his 46th homer in the nightcap, his 11th homer in 16

games, but it wasn't nearly enough as the second-place Cubs stayed

two games behind Houston in the National League Central after losing 10-2 in the second game.

The Cubs didn't get in until late Sunday night after a long game

in Arizona and fell behind the Brewers 4-1 in the first game when Richie Sexson hit

his 30th homer off Jon Lieber in the fifth.

Sosa's homer, his 10th in 15 games, made it 4-3 in the bottom of

the inning. The drive came off Allen Levrault, who was demoted to

the minors right after the game.

"It's something we talked about before the game," Milwaukee

manager Davey Lopes said.

"He made a mistake and when you do that against great players,

they hurt you. You can't give Sosa an opportunity to hurt you and

unfortunately we did."

The Cubs tied it on Joe Girardi's run-scoring single in the sixth and

had the bases loaded before DeShields hit into a double play.

In the eighth, with two outs and the bases loaded again,

DeShields got a second chance.

"I told him he'd get another shot, but I didn't know it would

be with the bases loaded again. But he came through," Baylor said.

Pinch-hitter Eric Young doubled off Ray King (0-4) to start the

eighth and Ricky Gutierrez followed with a walk.

After Michael Tucker sacrificed the runners over, Girardi was

intentionally walked, and pinch-hitter Corey Patterson lined out

against Mike DeJean. But DeShields sent a long drive over the head

of left fielder Mark Sweeney and after hitting the wall on the fly,

the ball caromed away as three runs scored.

"DeShields hit that ball and I thought it was playable. I

didn't think it would carry and it did," Lopes said. "The ball

hit the wall, that's all I can say."

The Cubs snapped a three-game losing streak and moved to 1½ games of Houston in the National League Central.

Kyle Farnsworth (3-3) got the victory with two innings of hitless

relief. Tom Gordon, who fell off the mound after stepping in a hole

when he delivered a pitch, got the final three outs for his 25th

save in 28 chances.

Lieber failed in his attempt to pitch three consecutive complete

games -- he'd beaten the Giants and Houston by going the distance in

his previous two starts. He lasted six innings and giving up eight

hits and four runs.

Sweeney doubled to open the fourth but was thrown out when he

tried to make third on Jose Hernandez's grounder to shortstop.

Hernandez later raced to third on Luis Lopez's grounder and scored

on Henry Blanco's grounder to make it 2-1.

Sexson hit a first-inning run-scoring double off Lieber but then helped

the Cubs score in the bottom half by missing Bill Mueller's

grounder to first for an error. After a single by Sosa -- who had

three hits -- Fred McGriff delivered a run-scoring single.

Game notes
Sosa has 27 career homers against the Brewers, including

four this season. ... The doubleheader was created by a rainout May 26. ... The Cubs lead the season series 7-6 and the overall

series that began in 1997 by 27-26.