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  Sunday, Jul. 16 8:05pm ET
Sosa moves into 50th place all-time
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Sammy Sosa is calm, content and playing well again.

Sosa hit a pair of two-run home runs Sunday night, passing Joe DiMaggio on the career list and leading the Chicago Cubs past the Kansas City Royals 10-7.

"I'm the type of person, I like to play happy," said Sosa, who has hit six home runs and driven in 11 runs during a nine-game

hitting streak.

Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa is congratulated by Henry Rodriguez and Ricky Gutierrez after hitting his second homer Sunday.

Earlier in the season, Sosa was feuding with manager Don Baylor and talking about being traded. However, since he reconciled his differences and decided to remain in Chicago for the rest of the year, he has been hitting the ball with the fury that produced 129 home runs the previous two seasons.

"I was feeling bad for a long time. I went to the All-Star Game and did everything I'm supposed to do there. I found myself," he said after homering for the third straight day.

"I was kind of lost. Right now I feel great. When I'm good is when I'm playing happy."

Sosa, who has 27 home runs and 80 RBI, homered in the first on an 0-2 pitch by Dan Reichert (3-6) for a 2-0 lead. Then he connected in the third on a 3-2 delivery for another two-run homer, cutting Chicago's deficit to 5-4.

Sosa has 363 homers, moving into sole possession of 50th place on the career list, two ahead of DiMaggio.

"When he hit that first one, I think everybody's shoulders dropped," Reichert said. "I know my shoulders dropped. When he hit the second one, I just felt that my confidence level dropped."

The crowd of 36,815, the second-largest of the year at Kauffman Stadium, booed Reichert when he walked Sosa in the fifth.

"It's good to be loved," said Sosa, who also struck out and grounded out. "I feel great when I see them cheer even though I play for the visiting team. That's why baseball is so great.

"As a human being, it makes me very proud of myself."

Kerry Wood (4-6) won for the first time in four starts since June 21 against Atlanta, giving up seven runs, 10 hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out two.

That's gotta hurt
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A streaker jumped onto the field at Kauffman Stadium during Sunday night's Cubs-Royals game and wasn't caught until he tried to jump over the right-field fence.

The nude man appeared to come out from near the dugout seats on the third-base side of the field. He made a belly-first slide into second base, then was cornered by three security guards at the right-field wall as play was held up in the top of the seventh inning.

While trying to climb the wall, he was wrestled to the ground and held until another security guard arrived with a towel to cover him. He was led away into the Royals' bullpen.

"He was all over the place," Cubs manager Don Baylor said.

Rick Aguilera got three outs for his 18th save in 24 chances.

Reichert allowed eight runs, six hits and six walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Kansas City took a 4-2 lead in the first on RBI singles by Mike Sweeney and Mark Quinn, and Todd Dunwoody's soft two-run single to center.

Cubs shortstop Ricky Gutierrez fumbled Sweeney's second-inning grounder, allowing Johnny Damon to score.

Joe Randa, who went 4-for-5, homered for a 6-4 lead in the third, but Henry Rodriguez and Glenallen Hill chased Reichert in a five-run fifth, and Willie Greene's two-run triple off Jay Witasick put the Cubs ahead 8-6. Joe Girardi followed with an RBI single.

Dunwoody's bloop RBI single pulled the Royals to 8-7 in the bottom half, before Gutierrez hit a run-scoring single in the

eighth.

Game notes
The Cubs scored in double digits for the first time since May 14, when they lost 16-15 at Montreal. ... Sosa has homered in 33 different stadiums, and has homered in three straight games 17 times. ... He has 41 multihomer games, including two this season. ... Ralph Kiner is 49th on the home-run list at 369. ... In 54 previous at-bats in Kauffman Stadium, Sosa was batting .222 with no home runs. ... Damon's two stolen bases increased his league-leading total to 27. ... Royals 2B Luis Ordaz made a nice play in the second on Greene's popup into shallow right field, making a basket catch with his back to the infield. ... Kansas City's major league-leading total of home runs allowed climbed to 152. ... The Royals' wives collected 9,562 pounds of food for needy Kansas City residents in their annual drive.
 


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 Sammy Sosa has hit a groove since the All-Star Game.
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