CINCINNATI – Sammy Sosa finally got No. 500. At long last, the Cincinnati Reds got No. 1.
Sosa hit his 500th career homer in the seventh inning Friday night, but the Reds hit three homers of their own for their first victory in their new ballpark, 10-9 over the Chicago Cubs.
The Reds blew a 7-0 lead, leaving the crowd again in a surly mood after Lenny Harris’ two-run homer tied it at 9 in the eighth inning. Barry Larkin’s RBI single off Dave Veres (0-1) provided the first win.
Sosa provided the Reds with a housewarming gift – the first historic homer in Great American Ball Park.
His solo shot off reliever Scott Sullivan in the seventh landed in the right-field seats and touched off one of the loudest ovations in the park’s short history.
Sosa made his trademark home run hop as soon as the ball left the bat, then put his head down and circled the bases to a standing ovation. He pointed both index fingers to the sky when he stepped on home, then came out for a curtain call as the 29,048 fans kept on cheering.
He has 293 homers in the last six years, putting him among the game’s elite sluggers.
The sudden and sustained burst made Sosa only the fifth player to reach 500 homers before his 35th birthday. Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays also were 34, and Jimmie Foxx was 32 years old.
Pirates 9, Phillies1
PHILADELPHIA – The Pittsburgh Pirates are playing the spoiler role early in the season.
Reggie Sanders hit a grand slam for his fourth homer in four games, and the Pirates ruined Jim Thome’s home debut, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 9-1 Friday before a sellout crowd of 59,269 in the final opener at Veterans Stadium.
Pittsburgh swept a season-opening three-game series against the Reds, spoiling Cincinnati’s debut of Great American Ball Park.
Thome, whose $85 million, six-year contract was the biggest signing of the offseason, hit a triple high off the wall in left-center field on the first pitch he saw from Jeff Suppan. But the Phillies already trailed 6-0 by the time he came to the plate in the second.
Rockies 2, Diamondbacks 1
DENVER – Shawn Chacon retired the first 16 batters and the Colorado Rockies got a home run from Chris Stynes to win their home opener, 2-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Chacon (1-0) allowed one run and two hits in seven innings, striking out eight. The Diamondbacks didn’t have baserunner until one out in the sixth, when Chad Moeller’s flyball to deep right-center fell beyond the reach of Larry Walker and Preston Wilson for a double.
Braves 12, Marlins 7
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves finally scored a run, finally hit a homer and, yes, finally got a win.
Andruw Jones hit a three-run homer and the Braves went on to score seven runs in the seventh inning, beating the Florida Marlins 12-7 on Friday night for Atlanta’s first victory of the season.
The Braves started the season with three losses, getting outscored 17-2 during a sweep by Montreal. After 11 straight division titles, Atlanta was mired in its worst start since 1988.
That changed in the course of one inning, with the Braves taking out all their frustration on Marlins relievers Blaine Neal and Vladimir Nunez (0-1).
Mets 4, Expos 0
NEW YORK – David Cone turned back the clock and the surprising Expos, pitching five impressive innings in his first game since 2001 and leading the New York Mets over Montreal 4-0 on a cold, miserable Friday.
At age 40, Cone’s comeback start was everything he and the Mets could’ve hoped for. Throwing every sort of breaking ball from all different angles, he held the Expos to two singles – both by pitcher Tomo Ohka – while striking out five and walking three.
Giants 7, Brewers 5
MILWAUKEE – J.T. Snow’s infield single off shortstop Royce Clayton’s glove drove in two runs in the eighth and the San Francisco Giants overcame a three-homer inning to beat Milwaukee 7-5 Friday in the Brewers’ home opener.
Snow drove in four runs and Barry Bonds hit his second homer to keep the Giants unbeaten and the Brewers winless in four games.
The Brewers – 106-game losers a year ago – can’t even win their home opener, something they almost always do. They had won eight of their last nine, including the first two at Miller Park.
Astros 6, Cardinals 5
ST. LOUIS – Brad Ausmus hit a grand slam in the first inning and a solo shot in the 12th off Russ Springer (0-1) to lead Houston over St. Louis.
With two runners on in the bottom of the 12th, Brad Lidge struck out Albert Pujols on a 3-2 pitch and Ausmus threw out Fernando Vina trying to steal third to end it.
Jim Edmonds went 4-for-4 with two home runs, two doubles and his first four RBIs of the season to bring the Cardinals back from a five-run first-inning deficit. Pujols also homered.
Ricky Stone (1-0) worked a scoreless 11th inning, and Lidge got three outs for his first career save.
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