Sammy Sosa's 600th homer resembled so many that came before — except this time the Chicago Cubs were on the other side.
Playing for the Texas Rangers after a year out of baseball, Sosa became the fifth member of the 600-homer club Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas, when he connected against his former team.
After driving a 1-2 pitch to right-center for a solo shot in the fifth inning of Texas' 7-3 victory, Slammin' Sammy bounced out of the batter's box with his trademark hop and thrust his right fist into the air before reaching first base. He was mobbed at home plate by his teammates while the scoreboard showed pictures of all five members of the elite club: Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sosa.
"It was something that cannot be explained," Sosa said. "Getting my 600th against the Chicago Cubs, and my first team (was) the Texas Rangers. It's like everything clicked. My emotions, I don't know what they are."
Sosa played for the Cubs from 1992-2004, winning the '98 NL MVP award and making seven All-Star teams while hitting 545 homers with Chicago.
No. 600 came off Jason Marquis (5-4), the 364th pitcher the 38-year-old Sosa has homered off in his 18 major league seasons.
"It was a cutter I left up in the zone," Marquis said. "I went away from my strength and he made me pay for it. Other than the fact that it cost us the game, it doesn't really matter."
It was Sosa's 12th homer in 62 games this season since signing a minor league deal and making the roster in spring training with Texas, the franchise that gave him his start. He hit his first big league homer with the Rangers in 1989.
Sosa also has 52 RBIs, which ranks seventh in the American League. He has homered against every major league team in his career.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
TWINS 6, METS 2: At New York, Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer and Scott Baker pitched five effective innings. Joe Mauer also drove in two runs for Minnesota, which won two of three in its first series at Shea Stadium since 2002.
INDIANS 10, PHILLIES 6: At Cleveland, Casey Blake put Cleveland ahead with a two-run single in an eight-run sixth inning and C.C. Sabathia (10-2) pitched six innings to help Cleveland take two of three in the interleague series and remain tied with Detroit for the AL Central lead.
RED SOX 11, BRAVES 0: At Atlanta, Julian Tavarez pitched seven scoreless innings, switching to cruise control after Boston homered three times in the first two innings on the way to routing Atlanta. The Red Sox had five homers in all, and 10 of their 15 hits were for extra bases.
ATHLETICS 5, REDS 3: At Oakland, Calif., Nick Swisher walked with the bases loaded in the seventh to tie the game, then Oakland's Eric Chavez followed with a sacrifice fly. Dan Haren (9-2) won his ninth straight decision and third consecutive start despite giving up two home runs in a game for the second time this year.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, DEVIL RAYS 4: At Phoenix, Chad Tracy and Eric Byrnes hit three-run homers for Arizona and Micah Owings won his fourth straight decision. Byrnes went 4-for-5 with a double and two singles. His homer was in the fourth off starter James Shields (6-2).
MARLINS 5, WHITE SOX 4: At Chicago, pinch-hitter Jason Wood hit a three-run homer off closer Bobby Jenks in the eighth inning, and Florida beat Chicago, the 19th loss in 24 games for the White Sox.
BLUE JAYS 12, DODGERS 1: At Toronto, Frank Thomas hit his 497th career home run and Roy Halladay won his third consecutive start for Toronto. Gregg Zaun and Matt Stairs hit back-to-back homers in the third for the Blue Jays, who scored a season-high eight runs in the second inning.
TIGERS 8, NATIONALS 4: At Washington, Detroit wrapped up the three-game series by pounding the Washington pitching staff yet again to give Jeremy Bonderman his eighth straight victory. Detroit, which averaged better than 10 runs in the series, scored five runs in the sixth against Washington's bullpen. Carlos Guillen had two hits, including a home run.
ROCKIES 6, YANKEES 1: At Denver, Jeff Francis struck out a career-best nine in seven solid innings, and Matt Holliday homered and drove in three runs to lead Colorado.
MARINERS 7, PIRATES 0: At Seattle, Jeff Weaver became the pitcher Seattle has been waiting to see, throwing a four-hitter as the Mariners beat the Pirates to end to their six-game losing streak.
ORIOLES 7, PADRES 1: At San Diego, rookie Jeremy Guthrie shut down San Diego on four hits over eight innings and the Orioles beat the NL West-leading Padres , snapping a nine-game losing streak. It was the first win for interim manager Dave Trembley.<
ANGELS 8, ASTROS 4: At Anaheim, Calif., Vladimir Guerrero's three-run homer was the only hit in Los Angeles' six-run seventh inning, and the Angels rallied past Houston. Wandy Rodriguez took a five-hitter and a 4-2 lead into the seventh for Houston and retired the first batter before Howie Kendrick reached on shortstop Eric Bruntlett's throwing error. Rodriguez then walked Mike Napoli — his only walk of the night — and was pulled from the game
CARDINALS 7, ROYALS 6 (14): At St. Louis, Ryan Ludwick homered leading off the bottom of the 14th inning for St. Louis. Kip Wells (3-11) worked the 13th and 14th for the Cardinals. Wells, who has the most losses in the major leagues, was scratched from his start on Tuesday only three hours before the game.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BREWERS 7, GIANTS 5: At Milwaukee, Bill Hall hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers swept the struggling Giants 7-5 on Wednesday to extend San Francisco's losing streak to seven.