Sosa’s Homer Not Enough

Sammy Sosa connected again, hitting his major league-leading 40th home run and No. 490 of his career, but it wasn’t enough as the Houston Astros defeated the Chicago Cubs, 9-6, Monday night at Chicago.

Sosa has five home runs and 16 runs batted in in three games. Coming off a big weekend at Coors Field, his two-run shot made him only the third player in National League history with five consecutive 40-homer seasons.

Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner (1947-51) and Duke Snider (1953-57) also accomplished the feat.

In a game in which Cub ace Kerry Wood and Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt were both ejected, the Astros took a 9-2 lead and held on.

Daryle Ward led the Astros with three RBIs and a career-high four hits, finishing a triple away from hitting for the cycle.

The bad news for Houston is that shortstop Julio Lugo will be out six weeks with a broken left forearm after being hit by a pitch from Wood.

St. Louis 10, Pittsburgh 6--Scott Rolen hit a three-run homer and Albert Pujols drove in four runs as the Cardinals won at Pittsburgh. Rolen, who was six for 40 (.150) in his first 11 games since his trade from Philadelphia, has homered and driven in three runs in two consecutive games.

Colorado 1, Florida 0--Jason Jennings became the winningest rookie in Rockie history and Todd Helton hit an RBI double in a victory over the Marlins at Miami. Jennings (13-5) surpassed Armando Reynoso’s franchise record of 12 wins in 1993. Florida’s A.J. Burnett pitched his sixth complete game.