CINCINNATI (AP) _ Moises Alou and Eric Karros hit consecutive
solo homers in the sixth inning Monday night, and the Chicago Cubs
held on for a 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Matt Clement (5-6) gave up three runs in six innings and struck
out nine, one shy of his season high. Three relievers combined to
allow one hit the rest of the way, with Joe Borowski pitching the ninth for his 14th save in 16 chances.
Alou and Karros homered off Jimmy Anderson (1-3) in the sixth to erase a 3-2 deficit and put the Cubs in line for their sixth
victory in nine games.
The Cubs are 3-3 without Sammy Sosa, who has one game left on his suspension for using a corked bat. Sosa said he used the corked bat to hit crowd-pleasing drives in batting practice, but mistakenly used it during a game.
The crowd liked the show he put on during batting practice Monday -- long drives to all parts of Great American Ball Park,
including two that landed on the roof of the enormous batter's eye building in center.
Sosa hit his 500th homer at the Reds' new ballpark on April 4. He can return for the third game of their series on Wednesday.
Clement settled in after a tough first inning, which opened with singles by Adam Dunn and Barry Larkin. After a two-out double steal, Aaron Boone singled for a 2-0 lead.
Boone, named NL player of the week, has hit safely in his last six games.
Damian Miller singled home a run in the second, and Mark
Grudzielanek doubled and scored on Corey Patterson's groundout to tie it in the third.
Ken Griffey Jr. doubled and came home on Austin Kearns' single for a 3-2 lead in the fifth, but Anderson gave up the Cubs' second set of back-to-back homers this season.
Karros' drive landed just beyond the fence in center field. Griffey timed his jump and stretched his glove above it, missing
the ball while smacking his right arm on the protective padding.
It was the hardest blow Griffey has taken since he dislocated the shoulder on April 5 while diving for a fly ball in the outfield
against the Cubs. He missed 5{ weeks, returning before the shoulder was completely healthy.
Griffey cradled the arm briefly after hitting the wall Monday, then grabbed his wrist and stretched the arm. A trainer was waiting
to talk to him when the Reds came off the field.
Griffey stayed in the game and grounded back to Kyle Farnsworth in the eighth, leaving him 1-for-4 with the double.
Game notes
The Cubs sent RHP Francis Beltran to Triple-A Iowa and
called up INF Bobby Hill, their second-round draft pick in 2000.
The second baseman played two games and part of another at third at
Iowa, learning a new position. ... The Cubs' other back-to-back
homers came from Alex Gonzalez and Sosa on May 1 at San Francisco. ...The Reds recalled Anderson from Triple-A Louisville before the
game and sent down SS Felipe Lopez, who is expected to be the
everyday shortstop next season. Lopez was hitting .213 and had a team-high 16 errors. ... Boone won NL player of the week honors for
the second time this season. The last Reds player to win it twice was Eric Davis in 1987. ... Kearns' hit extended his streak to eight games.