DENVER (AP) -- However Sammy Sosa decided to leave Denver -- on
the team charter or, more likely, a private jet -- the Colorado
Rockies were glad to see him go.

Sosa hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Chicago Cubs
beat the Rockies 12-9 on Sunday.

With nine RBI on Saturday, when he hit a trio of three-run
homers in a 15-1 win, Sosa set an NL record for RBI in consecutive
games with 14.

"A lot of Sammy over the weekend,'' Rockies manager Clint
Hurdle said, shaking his head.

In the three-game series, Sosa went 8-for-12.

"You have to be happy about having a series like this one,''
Sosa said. "I haven't had a series like this in a long time.

"I got good pitches to hit. I'm glad the Rockies pitched to me.
Right now, I'm feeling comfortable at the plate and I'm not
swinging at so many bad pitches as I used to.''

Sosa, who feels the Cubs' charter plane is unsafe, chartered his
own private plane for the trip from San Francisco to Denver on
Thursday night. He wouldn't confirm if he planned to do the same
thing for the trip back to Chicago on Sunday night.

"Get away with those bad questions,'' Sosa said.

Corey Patterson hit two homers and drove in three runs for the
Cubs, and Fred McGriff had a two-run homer and three RBI.

Sosa's grand slam, the seventh of his career, increased his
major league-leading home run total to 39.

The slam, a 435-foot shot to center, gave the Cubs an 11-3 lead.

"Anything is possible with him,'' Chicago manager Bruce Kimm
said. "He's one of the most prolific home run hitters of all-time.
Any time he goes to the plate, fans don't dare go to the concession
stand or the restroom. We're fortunate to have him.''

The Cubs, who had six homers Saturday, added five more Sunday.
Four came off Colorado starter Denny Stark (7-3), the most allowed
by a Rockies pitcher this season.

Stark, unbeaten in his previous six starts at Coors Field,
allowed seven hits and seven runs in six innings.

Steve Smyth (1-0), making his second major league start, went
six innings, allowing four hits and three runs.

The Rockies scored four times off Antonio Alfonseca in the
ninth, highlighted by Todd Zeile's two-run double.

"It almost got away from us,'' Kimm said. "This place is known
for making leads shrink quick.''

Patterson put the Cubs ahead 1-0 with a two-out homer in the
second, his 10th.

The Rockies scored three runs in their half, highlighted by Gabe
Kapler's two-run triple. Todd Helton led off the inning with a
double and went to third on Zeile's single. Kapler tripled to
left-center and scored on Juan Uribe's sacrifice fly.

McGriff's two-run homer in the fourth tied it. Bill Mueller led
off with a walk, and McGriff hammered a 437-foot homer to center,
his 26th.

Joe Girardi, who played for the Rockies from 1993-95, hit his
first homer, a solo shot, in the fifth.

Patterson's second homer keyed a three-run sixth, giving Chicago
a 7-3 lead. Mueller doubled and scored on Sosa's double to
left-center. Jay Payton made a diving attempt but couldn't hold
onto the ball.

With two outs, Patterson homered just inside the right-field
foul pole.

Colorado threatened in the fifth. With a runner on, Payton hit a
long drive to left, but Moises Alou made a leaping catch at the
wall.

The Rockies got two runs in the eighth off Jeff Fassero when
Payton tripled, Brent Butler doubled and Larry Walker singled.

Game notes
The previous NL record for RBI in consecutive games was
13, shared by San Diego's Nate Colbert in 1972 and St. Louis' Mark
Whiten in 1993. The major league record is 15, set by the New York
Yankees' Tony Lazzeri in 1936. ... Stark entered with a 5-0 record
and 2.21 ERA in six starts at Coors Field this season. ... Smyth
was recalled from Triple-A Iowa last Tuesday after beginning the
year on the disabled list while rehabilitating a surgically
repaired shoulder. ... It was Patterson's first career multihomer
game.