Sosa's 30th HR Leads Cubs

Sammy Sosa hit his major-league leading 30th home run with President Clinton in attendance. And he called his shot.

With Clinton watching from a skybox behind home plate, Sosa hit his fourth homer in as many games on Wednesday, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

"He brings good luck," Sosa said of Clinton. "A big guy like that comes to town to see the game it doesn't look too good if we lost."

"Yeah. I told him, I don't say that for everybody," Sosa said.

Sosa presented Clinton with a Cubs jacket and a Beanie Baby bear in the clubhouse after the game. The players and the president exchanged autographs.

"You've got to admit, we have good timing today," Clinton said, then defended his wife Hillary, saying she was still a Cubs fan.

"This is about sports, not politics," Clinton said.

Back to baseball. With the game tied 4-4 and one out in the seventh, Sosa hit a 1-1 pitch from David Weathers (5-3) over the left field bleachers onto Waveland Avenue.

Sosa now has reached 30 homers in a season for the sixth time. His four-game streak is his longest since last June 3-8 when he tied a club record by going deep in five straight games.

"Sammy's been just unbelievable," Cubs manager Jim Riggleman said. "He really has become a hitter, a great power hitter."

"He's a threat any time," Weathers said. "If I had walked him, so what? He just tied into one and crushed it. I tried to get a fastball outside and it crept back over the middle. You don't get 66 bombs by mistake."

Glenallen Hill hit his fourth homer in his last three games for the Cubs, who won for only the fifth time in their last 19 games and ended June with a 10-17 record.

"They're killing us, Hill and Sosa," Milwaukee manager Phil Garner said. "Our pitching has been pathetic aginst them. For big league pitching to let them do that to us, I don't know what they've been watching."

Matt Karchner (1-0) picked up the win with one inning of hitless relief.

Pitcher Jim Abbott had a two-run single, his second major league hit, for the Brewers, who lost for only the third time in their last 10 games.

Both of Abbott's hits have come off Cubs starter Jon Lieber.

Jeromy Burnitz hit his 22nd home run leading off the Milwaukee second against starter Jon Lieber.

The Cubs intentionally walked Jose Valentin in the fourth to load the bases for Abbott, born with a partially formed right hand. Abbott then singled to center for his second hit in 19 at-bats, driving in two runs and giving Milwaukee a 3-0 lead.

Hill hit his 12th home run leading off the Cubs fourth to make it 3-1. After Henry Rodriguez walked, Jose Hernandez hit his ninth home run to tie the game at 3-3.

Dave Nilsson's sacrifice fly in the fifth gave the Brewers a 4-3 lead. Weathers walked pinch-hitter Mickey Morandini with the bases loaded in the sixth to tie the game again.

Abbott gave up three runs on four hits and four walks over five innings. Lieber allowed four runs on nine hits and one walk over six innings, striking out five. Rick Aguilera got his third save.

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