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Wednesday, Apr. 26 7:05pm ET
Gutierrez gets five RBI in Cubs' win | |||||
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GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- Ricky Gutierrez had something to prove to the Houston Astros. Gutierrez, who played for Houston from 1995-99, drove in a career-high five runs and Sammy Sosa hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, leading the Chicago Cubs over the Astros 13-8 Wednesday night. The Astros allowed Gutierrez to become a free agent in the offseason. "I wanted to show them that they made a mistake," Gutierrez said. "I don't think I was treated fairly." Gutierrez, who had a double, two singles and a sacrifice fly Wednesday night, has driven in eight runs in two games against Houston this season. "I played four years here and I always came to the park and gave my best," he said. "But there was always something wrong -- it was my defense or my range or something else. I was never in the lineup on a consistent basis." Chicago manager Don Baylor is happy to have Gutierrez on his team. "He's been clutch," Baylor said. "I'm sure he has a lot to prove here. Every time you leave a place, it's like that. This is the kind of game you hope for." Even Houston manager Larry Dierker appreciates Gutierrez's talents. "He's having a great series," Dierker said. "He was very popular here and it wasn't without some mixed feelings that we let him go. He's a good guy and I wish he wasn't destroying us, but he is." Sosa's seventh home run put the Cubs ahead 4-3 in the seventh as Chicago went on to stop a four-game losing streak and send Houston to its seventh loss in 11 games. After Sosa homered off Mike Maddux (1-1), Joe Girardi had an RBI single and Gutierrez hit a three-run double off Jay Powell for an 8-3 lead in the seventh. Damon Buford hit an RBI double in the Cubs eighth and pinch-hitter Shane Andrews' three-run homer capped a four-run ninth. Roger Cedeno homered in the Houston third and Ken Caminiti hit a two-run shot in the seventh. Mitch Meluskey homered for the Astros in the ninth. There have been 39 home runs in 11 games this season at new Enron Field. Matt Karchner (1-1) got two outs for the victory. Houston starter Octavio Dotel pitched six innings and gave up three runs and seven hits. Cubs starter Andrew Lorraine allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first on a bases-loaded groundout by Henry Rodriguez. Houston tied it in its half when Craig Biggio led off with a triple and scored on a grounder by Cedeno. Chicago made it 3-all in the fourth on an RBI single by Gutierrez, who had three hits. Game notesBiggio extended his career-high hitting streak to 16 games. ... Shane Reynolds (4-0) is off to his best start ever. The other Houston starters have a combined record of 1-8. ... The Cubs have been outscored 12-7 in the ninth inning this season. ... Houston OF Moises Alou left in the fifth inning with a strained right calf. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chicago Cubs Clubhouse Houston Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 2 Minnesota 0
Chicago Cubs 13
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