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Friday, Jun. 30 8:05pm ET
Cubs' Young reaches base 7 times | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- For most other teams, it would have been a strange night. For the Cubs and the Brewers, it was business as usual. Eric Young drew his club-record fifth walk with the bases loaded, and Sammy Sosa had a two-run double as Chicago beat the Brewers 7-4 in 15 innings Friday night in the latest chapter of their truly bizarre rivalry. The Cubs' third victory in 11 games was made possible only because nearly three hours earlier, Milwaukee blew a two-run lead in the ninth when closer Bob Wickman imploded and Ron Belliard missed a simple tag, allowing the tying run to score. "I thought the fat lady had sung," Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said. "She didn't." In the 15th inning, rookie Allen Levrault (0-1) allowed one-out singles to Damon Buford and Joe Girardi. Levrault then walked Cubs pitcher Jon Lieber, who was making the first pinch-hit appearance of his career. Young walked to force Buford home, and Sosa added two insurance runs with a double to right. Rick Aguilera got his 17th save, while Daniel Garibay (2-3) got the win. Chicago and Milwaukee added one more chapter to their zany history, which was tied 14-14 entering Friday night. Since the Brewers joined the NL in 1998 and immediately picked the Cubs as their archrivals, nearly unreal occurrences have become the norm whenever they get together. How strange has this matchup become? The teams have played the longest nine-inning game in NL history, a game in which Milwaukee blew a five-run lead with five unearned runs in the ninth and a 12-11 extra-inning game with six lead changes -- and that was just during a four-game series at Wrigley Field last month. "I wasn't aware of that (rivalry) until I came here and they told me," said Chicago manager Don Baylor, in his first year with the Cubs. "It's all true. It's never enough. Just the play itself tonight was great." The latest oddity started in June and ended in July, stretching five hours and 31 minutes. It was particularly torturous for the Cubs, who didn't get to Milwaukee until 6 a.m. CT Friday because of airplane problems in Pittsburgh. The Brewers' biggest crowd since opening day was alternately thrilled and horrified by the show before them. Brewers starter Jamey Wright had another strong outing, allowing four hits over 7 1/3 innings and striking out seven. Milwaukee took a 4-2 lead into the ninth, but Wright was denied his fourth straight win when Wickman blew his second save of the year -- both of them coming against the Cubs -- on a combination of bloop singles, walks and one bad defensive decision by Belliard. Wickman allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases in the ninth, then walked Young to force in a run. Ricky Gutierrez hit a slow grounder to second base, but Belliard tried to tag Young instead of touching the base. "I saw him right there," Belliard said. "I saw a chance to touch him. He just jumped out of the line." Young dodged Belliard's half-hearted tag and dove into second, allowing pinch-runner Jeff Huson to score. Lopes was ejected while arguing Young had left the baseline while ducking the tag. "We all had opportunities to win that ballgame, and we all had a part in losing that ballgame," Lopes said. "We gave it back to them (with) a mental lapse." James Mouton went 4-for-5 with two doubles for the Brewers. Young tied the club record for walks held by Elrod Hendricks and Andre Dawson. He also got a hit and was hit by a pitch to reach base seven times, tying a Cubs franchise record set by Cliff Heathcote in 1922. The trade rumors surrounding Sosa, who went 3-for-8 with two doubles and three strikeouts, finally quieted on Thursday when the New York Yankees, Sosa's most ardent suitor, acquired outfielder David Justice from Cleveland. "I've always said I'd like to continue my career in Chicago," Sosa said. "Whether it's going to be here or somewhere else is not up to me. I don't know what's going to happen." Henry Rodriguez homered to lead off the second inning for Chicago. It was Rodriguez's first homer and RBI since May 27. Henry Blanco hit a solo homer in the sixth and proved his worth behind the plate when he stayed in the game in the eighth inning after Sosa fouled a pitch off the catcher's collarbone. Game notesMark Grace broke an 0-for-19 slump with a double off the wall in the 11th inning. ... Home plate umpire Justin Klemm ejected Lopes in the ninth inning and ejected bench coach Jerry Royster in the 15th inning. ... Milwaukee blew a scoring chance with one out in the 13th when pinch-runner Santiago Perez forgot how many outs there were and ran home when Blanco popped up to left. ... The Brewers had 30,216 fans in County Stadium to see the first of three games against their I-94 rivals. Attendance also was boosted by the opening weekend of Summerfest, a gigantic lakeside festival that attracts thousands of tourists to Milwaukee each year. The few thousand who remained in the 14th inning stood for another rendition of "Roll Out the Barrel." | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chicago Cubs Clubhouse Milwaukee Clubhouse RECAPS Minnesota 7 Cleveland 2
Chicago Cubs 7
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