Baseball: Cubs thrive as Sosa hits fourth homer in 24 hours

Sammy Sosa hit a grand slam home run, his fourth homer in 24 hours, and drove in five runs as the Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies 12-9 on Sunday night.

The Cubs opened an eight-run lead before holding on for the win. Sosa, who had enjoyed the sixth three-homer game of his career on Saturday night, smashed the 435 feet to right-centre field in the seventh inning for his seventh career grand slam and an 11-3 lead.

"Sammy is one of the most prolific home run hitters," the Chicago caretaker manager Bruce Kimm said. "Baseball is very fortunate to have a person like him."

The Dominican, who drove in nine runs on Saturday, set a National League record for most runners batted in in two games with 14, surpassing Nate Colbert and Mark Whiten, each of whom had 13 in 1972 and 1993 respectively. "I felt very good," said Sosa. "I was patient at the plate and I got good pitches to hit. "