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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) -- Though he's halfway there, David Wells isn't
entertaining thoughts of become the first 30-game winner in more
than 30 years.
Wells became the majors' first 15-game winner, and Raul Mondesi
hit a three-run homer to power the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-3 win
over the Montreal Expos on Saturday night.
|  | | David Wells fires toward home in the first inning Saturday. Wells is now 15-2 with a 3.44 ERA. |
"I'll just go one at a time," Wells said. "I couldn't care
less if that even happens. You just go out there and you try to
pitch your best. You keep your team in the ballgame. Team wins are
better than personal wins to me."
Wells (15-2) won his eighth straight decision to become just the
second pitcher since 1988 -- following Pedro Martinez last season -- to reach 15 wins before the All-Star break. Denny McLain is the last pitcher to reach the 30-win plateau,
going 31-6 for Detroit in 1968.
"That is so farfetched in my book," Wells said. "He can have
that glory. That's a tough feat to do. I don't even think about it,
it's not in my thought process."
Wells, the likely All-Star game starter, allowed five hits and
three runs in seven innings to stop Montreal's three-game winning streak.
Mondesi hit his 22nd homer as Toronto scored four in the fourth
to chase Tony Armas Jr. (4-6). Jose Cruz Jr. hit his 20th homer in
the seventh as the Blue Jays became the first team in major league
history to have four hitters with 20 or more home runs before the
All-Star break.
As he cradled the home run ball in his hand after the game, Cruz
acknowledged that he and his teammates were well aware of the
milestone going into the weekend.
"The guys were giving me a hard time about it," Cruz said. "I
was trying my hardest to get a ball up and hit it good, and here we
are, and here it is."
Mondesi recorded 10 of Toronto's 12 outfield putouts in the
game.
Wells struck out three and walked three. He has walked just 18
batters in 128 1-3 innings this season. Billy Koch pitched the last two innings for his 20th save in 24
opportunities.
Armas retired the first nine batters before walking Shannon
Stewart to lead off the fourth. Homer Bush singled and Mondesi hit
his 22nd homer to make it 3-0.
Carlos Delgado doubled off the left-field wall and, one out
later, Darrin Fletcher hit an RBI single to make it 4-0 and chase
Armas.
"He had no-hit ball, but he lost his mechanics rushing and they
caught up to him in the fourth," Expos manager Felipe Alou said.
"He lost it in a hurry."
Montreal scored twice in the bottom half on RBI grounders by
Chris Widger and Mike Mordecai to cut the lead to 4-2.
"Putting four runs up and then giving two right back, we've had
problems after we've scored shutting the other club down this
year," Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi said. "David held it to two
and we added a couple of runs so it was a good ballgame for us
tonight."
Felipe Lira, who relieved Armas, hit his first career homer
leading off the fifth to draw Montreal to within one at 4-3.
Cruz hit a solo homer off reliever Anthony Telford to put
Toronto ahead 5-3 and added an RBI double in the eighth off Scott
Forster.
Armas allowed four hits and four runs in 3 1-3 innings. He
struck out two and walked one.
Montreal first baseman Lee Stevens left the game following the
fourth after he was hit on the right hand by a pitch and came
around to score the Expos' second run.
Game notes
Wells is 14-1 since splitting his first two decisions of
the season. ... Wells won a career-best nine straight in 1998 with
the New York Yankees. ... Delgado (28) and Tony Batista (24) also
have at least 20 homers for Toronto. ... The major league record
for putouts by a right fielder in one game is 11 accomplished by
Armas' father, Oakland's Tony Armas on June 12, 1982. The record
for putouts by any outfielder in one game is 12. ... Mondesi also
had 10 putouts for Los Angeles on Sept. 25, 1995. ... ... SS Alex
Gonzalez missed his second straight start with a strained right
groin. ... LF Rondell White didn't start after leaving Friday's
game with a strained right hamstring following the sixth inning.
... Lira got a curtain call from the crowd of 17,420 following his
home run. ... Stevens went to an area hospital for X-rays which
proved negative.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Montreal Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Yankees 4
NY Mets 2
Chicago Cubs 9
Chi. White Sox 2
Cincinnati 14
Cleveland 5
Anaheim 6
Colorado 2
Atlanta 5
Boston 1
Florida 6
Tampa Bay 5
Toronto 6
Montreal 3
Philadelphia 13
Baltimore 4
Pittsburgh 4
Minnesota 1
Kansas City 5
Houston 2
Detroit 4
Milwaukee 2
Texas 8
San Diego 1
Oakland 8
Arizona 7
Seattle 11
Los Angeles 0
San Francisco 7
St. Louis 6
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