Houston Astros closing pitcher Billy Wagner holds up his glove after catching a line drive to end the game. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        CHICAGO — Sammy Sosa has had a lot of impressive streaks in his career. This one, though, has got to rank as one of his best.

        Sosa went deep for a third straight, hitting his major league-leading 40th home run and No. 490 of his career Monday night. But it wasn't enough as the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6.

        “I really love baseball,” said Sosa, who has five homers and 16 RBIs in his last three games. “This is what I know, this is my career, this is my life. When I step to the line, I want to do good.”

        He's good, all right. After a big weekend at Coors Field, Sosa's two-run shot made him only the third player in NL history with five straight 40-homer seasons.

        Hall of Famers Ralph Kiner (1947-51) and Duke Snider (1953-57) also accomplished the feat.

        “He's a joy to watch and he's a joy to manage because all he does is come to play,” Cubs interim manager Bruce Kimm said. “And he comes to win.”

        But the Cubs need more than Sosa. In a game in which Cubs ace Kerry Wood and Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt were both ejected, the Astros took a 9-2 lead and held on.

        Daryle Ward led the Astros with three RBIs and a career-high four hits, finishing a triple away from hitting for the cycle.

        Jeff Bagwell and Ward hit consecutive homers, and Brad Ausmus added a pair of RBIs for Houston.

        But the Astros win was spoiled by the news that Julio Lugo will miss six weeks with a broken left forearm. Lugo, the Astros leadoff hitter, was hit by Wood in the third inning.

        “It's hard to have a career night and then hear about” Lugo, Ward said. “It's tough. He's been good for us in the leadoff spot and he's very important to this team.”

        Wood (9-6) was tossed in the sixth inning after arguing with home plate umpire Mark Carlson.

        Oswalt (14-6) was ejected in the seventh after hitting Alex Gonzalez in the back in the seventh. Oswalt had already hit Fred McGriff in the second inning.

        Astros manager Jimy Williams also was ejected because warnings had been issued to both teams after Lugo was hit.

        “I went in today telling myself not to blow up about anything and I got my first ejection,” said Wood, who was unhappy about being pinch-hit for after six innings in his last start.

        “So that worked well for me.”

        Wood allowed five runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings, striking out 10 and walking none. Oswalt gave up three runs and four hits in six-plus innings, striking out seven.

        Billy Wagner pitched the ninth for his 26th save.

        “I know Kerry Wood wasn't hitting anybody on purpose. There's no way I'm trying to hit anybody on purpose,” Oswalt said. ”(The league) needs to do something about taking away the inside of the plate. They really do.”

        Sosa had one of the more impressive two-day stretches in baseball history Saturday and Sunday, homering four times and driving in an NL-record 14 runs at Colorado. He looked as if his seven-game hitting streak might be snapped, going 0-for-3 against Oswalt.

        But with Oswalt out of the game, Sosa worked rookie reliever Ricky Stone to a 1-1 count in the seventh. He then sent the next pitch soaring over the left-field fence.

        Cubs fans gave him a standing ovation, continuing to applaud until he popped out of the dugout for a curtain call.

        “Patience is what got me there,” Sosa said. “As a player, when you're patient, you're going to find a good pitch to hit.

        But his heroics came too late for the Cubs, who fell behind by seven runs before rallying in the seventh. Todd Hundley, booed loudly every time he went to bat, also hit a two-run homer in the seventh.

        The Astros jumped on Wood early, as Bagwell hit an arching shot well over the left-field fence for a solo homer in the fourth. Ward followed with a homer to the bleachers in center.

        The Cubs pulled within 3-2 on consecutive homers by Corey Patterson and Gonzalez. But Ausmus made it 5-2 with his two-run single that prompted Wood's ejection.

        Ward then gave the Astros a comfortable lead, hitting a two-run single up the middle that put Houston ahead 8-2.

        Notes: Sosa needs three more homers to tie Lou Gehrig for 18th place on the all-time list. ... The Astros have hit back-to-back homers six times this year. ... McGriff left the game in the fifth inning with a bruised right shin. ... Jim McMahon, quarterback of the Chicago Bears Super Bowl team, threw out the first pitch and sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

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