Sosa waits for word from commissioner

Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa, left, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Jeremi Gonzalez watch batting practice from the outfield at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Wednesday. Sosa was ejected from Tuesday night's game against the Devil Rays for having a corked bat. PHOTO: AP

Awaiting on his punishment from the commissioner's office for using a corked bat, Sammy Sosa went 1-for-4 and struck out three times Wednesday as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2.

Seventy-six Sosa's bats, confiscated Tuesday night, were X-rayed and no foreign substance was discovered, and the Cubs star is sticking to his story -- he mistakenly grabbed a corked batting practice bat that shattered in the first inning Tuesday.

Many the announced crowd of 33,317 gave him a standing ovation when he came to the plate in the first before striking out. Only a few scattered boos could be heard.

"They know everything I say after the accident happened was right. They understand," Sosa said.

"They know that I am an innocent person. When I went to right field, everybody was cheering for me. I feel very happy inside. It's something I'm never going to forget."

Seventy-six Sosa's bats confiscated Tuesday night were X-rayed and no foreign substance was discovered, and the Cubs star is sticking to his story -- he mistakenly grabbed a corked batting practice bat that shattered in the first inning Tuesday.

Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa shatters his bat against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Tuesday at Chicago's Wrigley Field. Sosa was ejected after umpires found cork in his shattered bat. PHOTO: AP

But right now Sosa isn't hitting much, regardless of what bat he uses. He did have a ninth-inning single Wednesday but is 3-for-20 in five games since coming off the disabled list last Friday and has struck out 11 times.

"I'm going to hit, there's no question about it," Sosa said, adding that his concentration is not affected by possibility of a suspension.

"Whatever they decide to do, I have to deal with it," he said.

Cubs Dusty Baker said Sosa deserved the ovation, "especially with the fact they didn't find anything except that one bat yesterday."

"Like I said, you've got to give a guy a hearing before you convict him," Baker added. "If you don't find something in 70-some bats ... Hopefully he'll be exonerated for that one event yesterday."

The Devil Rays got solid pitching from right-hander Victor Zambrano, (2-3) who allowed one run and three hits in seven innings and struck out eight. Shawn Estes (5-5) gave up five runs and eight hits in seven innings.

Reds 6, Yankees 2

In Cincinnati, Ken Griffey Jr. hit one of Cincinnati's four homers off Mike Mussina, connecting despite an injured arm as the Reds beat New York.

Griffey his right biceps on a swing against Mussina in the fifth inning, but stayed in the game and hit a solo homer on the next pitch for a 4-2 lead. Griffey held the arm gingerly at his side as he rounded the bases, then left the game.

Aaron Boone, Sean Casey and Jason LaRue also homered off Mussina (7-4).

Paul Wilson (3-4) allowed seven hits in seven innings, including Jason Giambi's two-run homer.

Braves 5, Rangers 2

Atlanta, Greg Maddux (5-5) allowed two runs and nine hits in eight innings, singled home a run and made a stellar diving stop and throw on a slow roller by leadoff hitter Michael Young as Atlanta beat Texas.

Gary Sheffield hit a two-run homer off John Thomson (3-7) as Atlanta sent the Rangers to their fifth straight loss. John Smoltz pitched a perfect ninth for his 22nd save. Juan Gonzalez hit a two-run single in the seventh.

Red Sox 11, Pirates 4
Red Sox 8, Pirates 3

In Pittsburgh, Trot Nixon homered in both games of the doubleheader as Boston swept Pittsburgh.

In the opener, South Korean pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim (1-0) allowed one run and five hits over seven innings in his first start with Boston. Derek Lowe (5-3) allowed two runs -- one earned -- and five hits over seven innings to beat Jeff D'Amico (4-6) in the second game.

Boston back into first place in the American League East for the first time since May 29, a half-game ahead of the New York Yankees.

Manny Ramirez went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a homer and four RBIs as Boston stopped a season-high five game losing streak in the opener. Kris Benson (5-6) gave up eight runs and 12 hits -- both season highs -- in 6 1-3 innings.

Angels 11, Expos 2

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Garret Anderson homered three times and Jeff DaVanon had his third straight multihomer game as Anaheim beat Montreal.

Troy Glaus and Brad Fullmer also homered for the World Series champion Angels, who set a club record with seven homers in the game and matched a record for AL teams with 13 homers in two games, set by the Yankees in a doubleheader on June 28, 1939.

The Angels have won four straight to move two games over .500 for the second time this season. The Expos have lost five successive games and eight of nine.

Jarrod Washburn (6-5) allowed one run and five hits in six innings. Kim Sun-woo (0-1) gave up six runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings.

Athletics 6, Marlins 5

In Miami, Scott Hatteberg hit tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth off Tim Spooneybarger (1-2) to lead Oakland over Florida.

After losing 13-2 on Tuesday, the A's took a 5-1 lead behind Tim Hudson. But his throwing error in the seventh helped Florida tie it.

Chad Bradford (4-3) escaping a jam in the seventh after relieving with runners at the corners and the score 5-all. Keith Foulke pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save.

Astros 6, Orioles 4

In Houston, Wade Miller (4-6) allowed three runs and four hits over seven innings as Houston rallied from a 3-2 deficit to beat Baltimore.

Houston three runs in the seventh inning on an RBI double by Craig Biggio, a run-scoring single by pinch-hitter Gregg Zaun and a wild pitch by B.J. Ryan, who had replaced starter Pat Hentgen (1-3) after Biggio's double.

Billy Wagner pitched 1 1-3 innings for his 16th save.

Mariners 7, Phillies 2

In Philadelphia, John Olerud doubled twice and drove in four runs to back Gil Meche (8-2), who allowed two runs, five hits and four walks in six innings as Seattle downed Philadelphia.

Four held the Phillies hitless over the last three innings.

Japanese Ichiro Suzuki went 4-for-5 and Bret Boone extended his hitting streak to 10 games for the Mariners (39-18), who have the best record in the major leagues.

Seattle on its longest winning streak since taking 10 straight from April 8-17 last year. Vicente Padilla (4-7) gave up all seven runs and 10 hits in six-plus innings.

Cardinals 8, Blue Jays 5

In St. Louis, Miguel Cairo snapped an 0-for-18 slump with three hits as St. Louis beat Toronto for its third straight win, improving to 5-4 on a 13-game homestand.

Edgar Renteria had a two-run double and slow-footed Tino Martinez and Mike Matheny had back-to-back triples in the sixth to chase Cory Lidle (8-4). who allowed eight runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings.

Jason Simontacchi (3-3) gave up five runs on 10 hits in five innings. Carlos Delgado hit his 17th homer, tying Juan Gonzalez and Alfonso Soriano for the AL lead.

Diamondbacks 8, White Sox 6

In Phoenix, Shea Hillenbrand hit his first National League homer and doubled twice in his fourth game since coming to Arizona from Boston as the Diamondbacks beat Chicago.

Chicago has lost five straight games and eight of 11.

Trailing Chicago scored three times in the ninth inning off Mike Myers. Jose Valverde, who came up Sunday from minor lrague team Tuscon, entered and got three outs for his first career save.

Andrew Good (2-1), pitching because Curt Schilling has a broken hand, allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. Jon Garland (3-5) allowed seven runs and 10 hits in four innings.

Royals 2, Dodgers 1

In Los Angeles, rookie Kyle Snyder (1-3) combined on a three-hitter for his first major league victory, and Carlos Beltran and Angel Berroa homered off Hideo Nomo (6-6) as Kansas City beat Los Angeles.

The win was just the fifth in 20 games for the Royals, who evened their record at 28-28 one day after dropping below .500 for the first time this season.

Jason Grimsley pitched two perfect innings with four strikeouts, and rookie Mike MacDougal pitched a perfect ninth for his 13th save.

Tigers 5, Padres 3

In San Diego, pitcher Steve Avery had a pinch-hit single and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as Detroit beat San Diego.

The Padres, who have lost 30 of their last 37 games, became the worst team in the major leagues as Detroit (16-40) won for the second straight night and popped ahead of San Diego (17-43) by 3 percentage points.

Dmitri Young homered for the second straight night, a solo shot in the eighth off Jesse Orosco that gave the Tigers a 5-3 lead.

Wilfredo Ledezma (1-2) won and Luther Hackman (1-1) lost. Franklyn German pitched the ninth for his fifth save.

Rockies 2, Indians 1

In Denver, Darren Oliver (3-4) pitched four scoreless innings after a shaky start as Colorado beat Cleveland in the third-lowest scoring game in Coors Field history.

The only games with fewer runs were on June 16, 1995, when Atlanta beat the Rockies 2-0, and on Aug. 9 last year, when the Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs by the same score.

Preston Wilson homered for the second straight game and had an RBI single to lead Colorado's offense against Billy Traber (2-3). There were two rain delays totaling 2 hours, 8 minutes.

Giants 4, Twins 3

In San Francisco, Barry Bonds had an RBI triple, then singled home the winning run with two outs in the ninth off Juan Rincon (1-2).

Tim Worrell (2-2) worked the ninth for the win. Torii Hunter doubled twice and drove in a run for Minnesota.