CHICAGO - Sammy Sosa swung and Wrigley Field shook. He'd done it, saving the Chicago Cubs from certain defeat with the most dramatic - and overdue - home run of his career.

''Coming through with two outs, everybody was ready to go home,'' Sosa said.

Only one problem: Sosa's two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning only tied Game 1 of the NL championship series.

And that left just enough room for the resilient Florida Marlins.

Mike Lowell led off the 11th inning with a pinch-hit home run and the Marlins silenced the old ballpark, beating the Cubs 9-8 Tuesday night.

''It just kept going back and forth. Weird,'' Lowell said. ''It was kind of like a boxing match.''

In a game featuring seven homers, four triples and six doubles, Sosa's drive was the most stirring. His ball sailed far beyond the ivy-covered wall in left and landed on packed Waveland Avenue, turning it into Bedlam Boulevard.

At long last, his big October moment had arrived and everyone within earshot went crazy. Well, almost everyone.

''We didn't celebrate, for sure,'' Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. ''I think there was a pause right there.''

The Marlins, though, were far from finished. Having overcome an early four-run deficit with a homer and five RBIs by playoff star Ivan Rodriguez, they won it with Lowell.

''Despite the way we've been playing, they just kept coming back, coming back,'' Sosa said. ''They have a lot of heart for a young team.''

The Cubs found out firsthand.

''That's playoff baseball,'' Chicago manager Dusty Baker said. ''It was full of emotional twists. I'm sure everyone is emotionally exhausted.

''It's disheartening. We had an opportunity to win the game. Sad we came out on the short end, very sad.''

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night, with Brad Penny pitching for Florida and Mark Prior going for the Cubs.

An All-Star third baseman, Lowell missed almost all of the final four weeks of the regular season because of a broken left hand, and has played sparingly in the postseason. He was ready for his first pinch-hitting appearance this year, batting for winning pitcher Ugueth Urbina and launching a drive over the center-field wall off Mark Guthrie.

The sellout crowd of 39,567 started rocking as Moises Alou homered in a four-run first. But the Marlins, who posted three comeback wins over San Francisco in the opening round, stormed back when Rodriguez, rookie Miguel Cabrera and Juan Encarnacion homered in a five-run third.

''These guys don't quit, and it was very evident today,'' McKeon said.

Braden Looper pitched the 11th for a save, giving the Marlins a win and a nice omen. The last 10 teams to win the NLCS opener have reached the World Series.

After avoiding Barry Bonds in the first round, McKeon said he would pitch to Sosa in this series.

And it was a good decision - up until Slammin' Sammy took his final swing.

Sosa tied it with a no-doubt drive to left field, connecting off Urbina.

Sosa pointed to the sky as he touched home plate, as much in joy as in relief. The slugger with 539 career homers had been only 5-for-31 with zero homers and one RBI in postseason play, and his playoff slumps were starting to cloud his regular-season accomplishments.

''I just tried to stay calm,'' he said.

As Sosa trotted to right field for the top of the 10th, his fans in the bleachers bowed and he doffed his cap.

Rodriguez put the Marlins ahead 8-6 with yet another big postseason hit, a two-run single in the ninth right after a disputed play.

With runners on first and second and one out, Luis Castillo hit a slow grounder to second baseman Mark Grudzielanek. He fielded it cleanly, but fumbled it as he tried to tag Juan Pierre and start an inning-ending double play.

Pierre scampered to second as the bases became loaded. Baker argued umpire Fieldin Culbreth's call to no avail.

Baker said he thought Grudzielanek had control when he made the tag. Told the replays showed the ball was loose, Baker said, ''Well, the umpire was correct.''

Rodriguez took advantage with a liner past Grudzielanek that broke a 6-all tie.

''It's nice to start with a win,'' Rodriguez said. ''Now we've got to concentrate on trying to win tomorrow, too.''

Alex Gonzalez, with a history of clutch homers for the Cubs, came through again with a two-out, two-run shot in the sixth off starter Josh Beckett. The opposite-field shot into the basket hanging off the right-field wall made it 6-all.

Marlins shortstop Alex Gonzalez had a couple of key contributions, making two neat stops late in the game to keep it tied.

Down 4-0 in the third, Florida struck back with three homers in a span of only 13 pitches.

Pierre began the comeback with a one-out triple and Castillo walked. That brought up Rodriguez, the Marlins' first-round star, and brought out pitching coach Larry Rothschild to visit excitable Carlos Zambrano, a 22-year-old righty who makes a habit of hopping around the mound.

Rothschild had barely made it back to the dugout when Rodriguez hit a liner into the left-center field bleachers for a three-run shot. An out later, Cabrera and Encarnacion connected for consecutive home runs.