Chicago ? Greg Maddux was shoved out of the dugout for a curtain call after a rare home run, a strange sight for sure at Wrigley Field.

But this was not like any other regular-season game, even though it was. It was the Cubs meeting the Red Sox for the first time since the 1918 World Series, and there was an electricity all day.

Everyone could feel it. Even the 39-year-old Maddux, known for his no-big-deal shoulder shrugs, was soaking it up.

“It’s always fun. There’s not a lot of history between these two teams and I think that’s what made it a little bit special today,” Maddux said after the Cubs erupted for 20 hits – four homers – to rout the World Series champions, 14-6, Friday in the Red Sox’s first visit ever to Wrigley.

“The Red Sox were our rival in Atlanta for a couple of years, so you are lucky enough to pitch in Fenway and face them,” said Maddux, now 5-0 against Boston.

“They’re the best team in baseball until somebody beats them, and nobody’s done it yet. So just going up against last year’s champions, that’s special enough.”

Maddux (5-3) earned career win No. 310, allowing seven hits and three runs in 62â3 innings, including David Ortiz’s sixth-inning homer. Ortiz also homered in the ninth for Boston.

Boston center fielder Johnny Damon can't catch up to a drive hit by Chicago's Michael Barrett during the third inning. The Cubs beat Boston, 14-6, Friday in Chicago.

An electric crowd of 39,215, including a noisy contingent of red-clad Red Sox fans, withstood a sweltering 89-degree day of high humidity.

“It had sort of a playoff atmosphere,” Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. “Other than the Cardinals series, rarely do you see as many fans on their side as our side.”

Jeromy Burnitz hit two of the Cubs’ homers.

“It was nice and loud. I loved when Maddux got his curtain call and after he was done. A lot of noise and a lot of energy,” Burnitz said.

The 39-year-old Maddux connected off reliever John Halama in the sixth inning.

“I hit it high enough for the wind to blow it far enough,” Maddux said of his fifth career homer and first in six years.

Burnitz added a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 11-2. Burnitz hit a solo homer, and Todd Hollandsworth had a two-run shot in the second. And the Cubs added four more runs in the third off Bronson Arroyo (4-3), using five hits, including Michael Barrett’s two-run double off Johnny Damon’s glove in center. Jason Varitek’s error allowed another run to score, and Aramis Ramirez had an RBI single.

“Playing here in Wrigley, I think our outfielders got a chance to see how the ball can carry, and it did,” Damon said.

Cardinals 8, Yankees 1

St. Louis – Joe Torre’s first game in St. Louis since being fired as Cardinals manager a decade ago was far from a happy homecoming.

Jason Marquis (8-3) allowed a run and six hits in eight innings, and Albert Pujols singled, doubled and homered for St. Louis.

Derek Jeter’s 1,800th career hit, an RBI double in the fifth, was the lone highlight for the Yankees, who have lost eight of 10 on a season-high, 12-game trip and dropped two games below .500 at 29-31.

Angels 12, Mets 2

New York – Steve Finley and Darin Erstad each homered to help Bartolo Colon win his fourth straight decision.

The Angels’ ace now has four wins in six starts since losing May 7 to Detroit. Colon (8-3) went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He struck out three with no walks.

Finley, who went 3-for-4 with a sacrifice fly, has 16 RBIs in his past 13 games.

Nationals 9, Mariners 3

Washington – Brian Schneider hit a go-ahead two-run single, and the Nationals took advantage of five walks in the eighth inning.

Luis Ayala (6-3) earned the win by getting three outs in the eighth. Hector Carrasco, the fifth Washington pitcher, worked a scoreless ninth.

Shigetoshi Hasegawa (1-2) took the loss.

Orioles 4, Reds 3

Cincinnati – Melvin Mora hit a three-run homer off Aaron Harang (4-4).

The Orioles are visiting Cincinnati for the first time since the 1970 Series, which third baseman Brooks Robinson turned into his showcase. Baltimore won the series, 4-1.

The interleague matchup marked the first time that three 500-homer players appeared in the same game – Sammy Sosa (580), Rafael Palmeiro (559) and Ken Griffey Jr., who hit a solo shot in the eighth for No. 511.

The trio went 3-for-11, with Griffey providing the only hit of any note.

Sosa, who hit No. 500 at Great American Ball Park two years ago, had a particularly rough time, striking out in his three at-bats.

Marlins 12, Rangers 5

Miami – Reliever Doug Brocail (3-1) walked Luis Castillo on four pitches to force in the go-ahead run, and Mike Lowell hit a grand slam one out later to highlight Florida’s’ seven-run eighth inning.

Paul Lo Duca, Miguel Cabrera and Alex Gonzalez each had two RBIs for the Marlins, who entered having lost 12 of 15, but won for the second time in three games.

The Rangers lost their fourth straight and seventh in nine games.

Todd Jones (1-1) recorded one out for the win despite giving up a run-scoring single in the eighth.

Athletics 6, Braves 4

Atlanta – Eric Chavez hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Oakland snapped an 11-game road losing streak.

Bobby Crosby also hit a two-run homer as Oakland won on the road for the first time since May 20 at San Francisco.

Danny Haren (4-7) won his third straight decision, giving up six hits and four runs in 62â3 innings. Haren also drove in two runs.

Astros 4, Blue Jays 2

Houston – Willy Taveras, Morgan Ensberg and Jason Lane homered, and Wandy Rodriguez pitched out of several jams over six-plus shaky innings.

Rodriguez (2-2) allowed four hits, although he walked six. He had three strikeouts.

Pirates 7, Devil Rays 2

Pittsburgh – Jason Bay and Daryle Ward each drove in three runs. Bay had a two-run triple in the Pirates’ three-run fifth inning, and Ward added a two-run double in the seventh.

Pirates starter Mark Redman (4-4) extended his scoreless streak to 17 innings before allowing two runs in the seventh.

Rockies 2, Tigers 0

Houston – Jamey Wright pitched six-hit ball into the eighth inning, and Garrett Atkins hit a two-run homer.

In the sixth, Atkins lifted a flat breaking ball by Mike Maroth (4-7) over the wall in right-center for a two-run homer.

White Sox 4, Padres 2

San Diego – Jon Garland pitched seven strong innings to join Dontrelle Willis as the only 10-game winners in the major leagues.

Garland (10-2) also recorded his first career RBI with a single to right field in a two-run second.

Indians 10, Giants 2

San Francisco – C.C. Sabathia allowed five hits in eight innings and also hit a two-run double.

Sabathia (5-3) was born about 40 miles east of here in Vallejo. He held the struggling Giants to two runs and delivered a big hit off Brett Tomko (5-8) in the seventh inning.

Dodgers 6, Twins 5

Los Angeles – Hee-Seop Choi hit his second homer of the game in the ninth inning, giving Los Angeles a victory over Minnesota Twins in the teams’ first meeting since their memorable World Series nearly 40 years earlier.