Together, that is.

Wood had a solid start and Sosa hit a game-deciding home run for a 5-1 victory over the Pirates that dropped them to their fourth straight loss.

Sosa hit a three-run homer, his first at Wrigley Field this year, that gave the Cubs a three-game sweep of the Pirates for the first time since July 3-5, 1998.

"Things aren't clicking for us right now but it's a long season and just a matter of time before we start getting everything right and get on track," said Pirates starter Todd Ritchie.

Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon held a brief meetinmg with the teams after the game.

"I just talked to the guys and told them it's important not to try to do too much," McClendon said. "This is certainly not the last time we'll be swept this season. The Cubs played well and executed well. They deserved to win."

Ritchie gave up one run on seven hits and four walks over six innings, striking out two. He also contributed an RBI single.

Wood finished with 10 strikeouts, the 13th time in 52 major league starts he has reached double digits in strikeouts and second time this year.

Wood didn't get the victory and is still without one against Pittsburgh in his Major league career. The Expos and the Pirates are the only two NL teams he hasn't beaten.

April 13, 2001

Anxious for Cubbies

For a team that's middling at just under .500 heading into the weekend, the sight of the Chicago Cubs is a welcome one indeed.

Never mind the fact that the Cubbies were in second place in the NL Central heading into the three-game set at Wrigley Field. The Bucs won 9 of 12 games against Chicago last year, including 5 of 6 games at the Friendly Confines. The Pirates hit .287 (62 for 216) as a team at Wrigley last year.

The Pirates will need some of that Wrigley magic. Pittsburgh was hitting a paltry .241 as a team heading into the weekend set (11th in the NL), and had scored only 38 total runs (13th).

Fortunately for the Pirates, the Cubs hit even worse than they do -- .224, last in the NL. However, Chicago has made up for it with some outstanding pitching, leading the NL with a 2.70 ERA heading into the weekend.

Probables for Pirates are Bronson Arroyo (Friday), Ramon Martinez (Saturday) and Todd Ritchie (Sunday), while the Cubs will trot out Jason Bere, Jon Lieber and Kerry Wood.

The trip will be a special one for Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon, who played for the Cubs in 1989 and 1990.

After playing Chicago, the Pirates have their first week-long homestand of the season, with three games against the Houston Astros and three against the Cubs.

Willie and the poor boys

Few music groups have ever received as strong of a boost from an athlete as Sister Sledge did from Willie Stargell in 1979, the year "We are Family" rocketed to the top of the music charts and the Pittsburgh Pirates shot past Baltimore in the World Series.

Thing is, as we learned this week in the days after his death, Stargell's family extended way beyond the Pirates and Pittsburgh. Among the many eloquent testimonials to Stargell this week came one from San Francisco manager Dusty Baker, who revealed that baseball and music weren't Stargell's only passions.

When Baker was with the Atlanta Braves in the 1970s, Stargell often would invite Baker and outfielder Ralph Garr over to his house for dinner.

"He always turned me on to a new wine, usually from California -- Napa Valley,'' Baker said. "As I got older and got more money, I used to buy him wine in return for all the good times he showed me. We'd go in the winter-time to help his bowling tournament. We got a chance to meet lots of (Pittsburgh) Steelers.

"He was one of the best men I ever met. It was shocking news.''

In all the years Baker knew Stargell, he said he only saw the slugger angry once. It was when Baker was with Los Angeles, and it was after a Dodgers-Pirates brawl. Otherwise, it was only smiles, laughter, good music and fine wine.

Stargell, who succumbed to kidney disease at 61, kept his final years intensely private. Baker and Giants' coaches Sonny Jackson and Gene Clines would get their updates on Stargell's health from former Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland. The reports varied as Stargell improved, deteriorated, improved and then deteriorated again.

"It's a tragic loss to all of us,'' Baker said. "It seems like a lot of good people are leaving lately. (Former New York Mets outfielder) Tommie Agee, and now Willie.''

-- Scott Miller, SportsLine.com Senior Writer

More on Pops

The Pirates this week lost one of their all-time greats, christened a spectacular new ballpark, dropped their eighth consecutive home opener, and worked to add a one-time standout to their rotation.

Busy schedule, huh?

"It's probably the toughest day I've had in the game in quite a while," first-year manager Lloyd McClendon said Monday after the Bucs lost, 8-2, to Cincinnati. "It was a tough one to get through, no question about it."

FAREWELL, POPS: The home opener against the Reds was played about 13 hours after Willie Stargell died of a stroke at a hospital in North Carolina. The 61-year-old Hall of Famer never got a chance to step foot inside PNC Park, nor see the 12-foot bronze statue of his likeness that sits outside the left-field entrance.

"It's sad," said Pirates pitcher Terry Mulholland, a native of nearby Uniontown, Pa. "When you think of Pittsburgh, you think of Stargell, (Roberto) Clemente and Danny Murtaugh.

"It's a sad aspect of the game when you have to say goodbye to the great players," Mulholland said. "When you're growing up, those guys are bigger than life. You think they can outduel life. Then, reality steps in."

Stargell had battled a liver ailment for years, and was too ill to come to Pittsburgh last weekend for the unveiling of his statue. He was pronounced dead at 12:23 a.m. Monday at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C.

Stargell, who played first base and left field, was a seven-time All-Star and was co-MVP of the National League in 1979. He had a career batting average of .282, and is the Pirates' all-time leader in home runs (475), runs batted in (1,540) and extra-base hits (953).

"Nobody hit the ball farther," said Chuck Tanner, who managed the Pirates from 1977-85. "He did all those things with brute strength and a quick bat."

Stargell last appeared in Pittsburgh on Oct. 1, when the Pirates played their final game at Three Rivers Stadium. He threw the "last pitch" at the stadium, a soft toss to catcher Jason Kendall.

"Willie Stargell meant a lot to me," Kendall said. "We became pretty good friends the last four or five years. He taught me a lot about the game."

The Pirates drew the No. 8, Stargell's retired uniform number, on their game caps. The team also in considering what type of patch to place on the players' jerseys as a season-long tribute.

Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy wore a jersey with No. 8 on the back as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the home opener. "It is ironic that on one of the greatest days for the Pirates franchise, the opening of PNC Park, it's also one of the saddest," McClatchy said.

PNC PARK SHINES: The debut of the Pirates' new North Side ballyard was a smashing success -- except, of course, for the outcome of the game. Following the trend they began last season, the Bucs fell behind quickly, rallied, then fell apart in the late innings.

A sellout crowd of 36,954, including several hundred fans who bought standing-room-only seats, was on hand for the official debut of PNC Park. Operations at the $262 million facility went off without a hitch on a warm, sunny afternoon.

Reds first baseman Sean Casey hit the first home run at PNC Park in the first inning, whacking a 1-0 pitch from Todd Ritchie. The ball soared high over the 21-foot-high wall in right field and landed about 10 rows deep in the bleachers.

"I thought it would be really neat to get the first hit at PNC Park," said Casey, who grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Upper St. Clair. "To get the first homer is even better."

The Pirates managed just six hits -- all singles -- against the Reds. By the eighth inning, there was a steady stream of foot trafffic across the pedestrians-only Clemente Bridge heading for the downtown parking lots.

PEDRO'S OLDER BROTHER: General manager Cam Bonifay has signed free-agent right-hander Ramon Martinez to a one-year contract. Reportedly, the sides agreed in principle to a deal worth $200,000 (the major-league minimum) with several performance-based incentive clauses.

The Pirates announced the signing in a press conference on Wednesday. Martinez could make his first start for the Pirates on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

Martinez 33, went 10-8 with a 6.13 earned-run average last season with the Boston Red Sox, but the team did not pick up his $8.5 million option this season. He went to camp with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but left the team after losing the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation to Eric Gagne.

He is the older brother of Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez.

The Pirates began searching for starters after right-handers Jason Schmidt, Francisco Cordova and Kris Benson went down with injuries during spring training. Mulholland, a 38-year-old lefty, was moved out of the bullpen, but injured his knee last week in his first start.

DEJA BOO: The last time Marc Wilkins pitched in Pittsburgh in 2000, he was booed off the mound at Three Rivers Stadium. Monday, in his first appearance at PNC Park, he again heard jeers.

The right-handed reliever walked two batters, threw a wild pitch and gave up four runs in 1 1/3 innings. Wilkins allowed the Reds to turn a close game into a blowout.

"I was so anxious to go out and do well in front of all these people," Wilkins said. "Maybe I was too anxious."

The outing brought back memories of last October when Wilkins walked all three batters he faced, throwing 12 consecutive balls before being lifted. That helped the Chicago Cubs come back from an 8-5 deficit and eventually beat the Pirates, 10-9.

BELL IN A SLUMP: Another Pirate who heard the boo-birds at the home opener was Derek Bell. The outfielder went 0 for 4, including a pair of strikeouts. That extended his hitless slump to 15 at-bats and dropped his average to .111.

"Derek will be fine," McClendon said. "He has a track record. He's not the first veteran type of player to struggle out of the gate."

FAST FACT: The Pirates have not had a winning record for the month of April since going 12-10 in 1994. Since then, they have gone 1-3 (1995), 12-14 ('96), 12-13 ('97), 11-16 ('98), 9-12 ('99) and 9-15 (last season).

QUOTEWORTHY: "People always say there are angels in the outfield. Well, we've added a new angel to the outfield here today." -- Pirates fan Greg Gyauch of Johnston, Pa., on the death of Willie Stargell on the day of the home opener at PNC Park