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Castilla Ends Series Vs. Cubs 11-For-15

Posted on: Sunday, 13 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

Vinny Castilla capped a remarkable series against the Chicago Cubs, getting three hits and driving in two runs to pace the Atlanta Braves to a 7-2 victory Sunday night.

The Braves won three of four from the Cubs to finish 61-32 at the All-Star break, the best record in the majors.

Castilla went 3-for-4 Sunday night and finished the series 11-for-15 (.733) with 10 RBIs. Atlanta scored five runs in the sixth and dropped the Cubs to .500 at the break.

Sunday night's crowd of 39,832 upped the attendance for the four-game set to 157,902 - a Wrigley Field record.

Robert Fick hit a two-run double after Carlos Zambrano (6-8) walked the first two batters in the sixth. After Javy Lopez singled, Castilla followed with an RBI single. Following a sacrifice, Rafael Furcal capped the inning with a two-run single off Dave Veres.

Shane Reynolds (7-4) ran his career record against the Cubs to 15-6 by allowing seven hits and an unearned run in six innings.

Trailing 1-0, the Braves scored two runs in the fourth inning as Gary Sheffield walked, went to third on Chipper Jones' single and scored on Andruw Jones' sacrifice fly. Lopez followed with a single, and Castilla drove him home with a single to make it 2-1.

Tom Goodwin flashed his speed to get the Cubs an unearned run in the third. He raced to second when his grounder went through Mark De Rosa's legs at second. Breaking on the pitch, he scored from second on Sammy Sosa's infield single that shortstop Furcal flagged behind the bag.

The Cubs added a run in the eighth on Alex Gonzalez's RBI double.

Sosa went 2-for-5. Since his seven-game suspension for using a corked bat ended June 18, Sosa batted .347 with 12 homers and 24 RBIs in the ensuing 25 games.

Zambrano allowed eight hits and seven runs in five innings plus.

Notes:@ Castilla improved his career average against the Cubs to .331. ... Braves second baseman Marcus Giles won't play in Tuesday's All-Star game on the advice of a team doctor who examined him Sunday. Giles got a concussion Friday when he collided with Cubs pitcher Mark Prior on the basepath near second. Prior bruised a shoulder in the collision. After throwing in the outfield Sunday, he said he would be able to pitch in the All-Star game. ... The 61 wins are the Braves' most ever at the All-Star break. Atlanta has won nine of 10. ... The Cubs are in third in the NL Central after losing 13 of 19. ... The previous four-game attendance record at Wrigley was 156,590 set against Colorado in July 1993.

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