The Associated Press

CHICAGO - Sammy Sosa struck out five times before he broke up the longest scoreless game ever at Wrigley Field.

Sosa hit a hard RBI single off Jeff Kent's glove in the 16th inning Saturday as the Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros 1-0 on a blustery and cold day.

"I just said to myself, 'You got to go up there and keep fighting.' It was a great game, especially for a guy like me who has five strikeouts and in my last at-bat to get the game-winning RBI," Sosa said.

Not since 1916 when the first NL game was played at the park that later was named Wrigley had a game gone scoreless past the 15th, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

"This was as well a pitched game as I've ever seen," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said after his team went to 6-0 in extra-inning games.

"As the game went farther along, we really had to concentrate," said Chicago's Corey Patterson. "Guys were getting tired and guys were getting hungry."

Pitchers ruled a 48-degree day, with the Cubs setting a team record by striking out 23 times.

With the wind blowing in from the northeast at 24 mph, several hard-hit balls to the outfield were knocked down.

Alex Gonzalez walked with one out in the 16th off Ricky Stone (4-1) and made it to third when Patterson singled and right fielder Brian Hunter bobbled the ball.

With center fielder Craig Biggio brought in as a fifth infielder, Sosa hit a sharp single off Kent's glove at second base.

The tough conditions set up an early duel between Carlos Zambrano and Houston's Roy Oswalt, who was activated from the disabled list before the game and was making his first start since May 15.

Zambrano allow just three hits in eight innings. Oswalt allowed just five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in seven innings.