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Saturday, Aug. 5 8:05pm ET
Expos send Lima's ERA ever higher | |||||
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GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- Montreal outfielder Terry Jones wasn't expecting to play Saturday night. The Houston Astros wish he hadn't. Jones' single scored Lee Stevens with the go-ahead run with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Expos over the Astros 10-9. Montreal had four homers, including three off Jose Lima, increasing his major league-leading total to 35 in 23 starts. Lima gave up seven runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings, his ERA rising to 6.96. "I stunk and I paid the price," Lima said. "I blame myself and no one else. Games like this should be a loss." Stevens, who earlier tripled and homered, singled off Marc Valdes (2-4) leading off the 10th. Geoff Blum sacrificed and Chris Widger hit a comebacker, with Stevens holding at second. Mike Mordecai's infield hit advanced Stevens to third, and Jones lined Valdes' first pitch into left field. Jones, activated from the disabled list on Friday, hadn't had an at-bat since July 17. He entered Saturday's game in the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter and popped up to third. "I never did feel comfortable," Jones said. "I was just trying to get loose and meet the ball and I got lucky. I wasn't expecting to play yet, but Felipe said he needed me to go a few innings." Scott Strickland (3-1) pitched two innings for the win and Steve Kline, Montreal's sixth pitcher, got three outs for his 13th save in 16 chances. "That was a struggle," Montreal manager Felipe Alou said. "That was two teams that won't be playing in October. You always have a shot in this place, even with (Octavio) Dotel pitching because the ball carries so well here." Expos starter Dustin Hermanson gave up five runs, nine hits and four walks in five innings. Bill Spiers and Glen Barker had three hits each for Houston, which outhit the Expos 15-14. Houston, which won its previous four home games, took a 3-0 lead in the first on run-scoring doubles by Daryle Ward and Moises Alou following by Bill Spiers' RBI single. Blum's sacrifice fly in the second drove in Montreal's first run, but the Astros made it 5-1 on Glen Barker's second-inning homer, just his second this season, and Spiers' RBI double in the third. Montreal tied it in the fourth on Andy Tracy's 457-foot home run to center, Stevens' two-run homer and Wilton Guerrero's RBI triple. "We've got some good hitters on this team," Stevens said. "I was just trying to get on and get something going and I found a few holes." Fernando Seguignol hit a two-run homer in the sixth for a 7-5 lead, his first career homer as a pinch-hitter, but the Astros got an RBI single from Jeff Bagwell in the bottom half off Felipe Lira. "That was a huge home run," Felipe Alou said of Seguignol's shot. "We had a lot of big hits tonight, but that one gave us a lift." Pinch-hitter Matt Mieske's seventh-inning homer, his first since last Aug. 23, tied it at 7 against reliever Julio Santana. Mieske was 5-for-39 as a pinch hitter coming in. Julio Lugo's two-run double put Houston ahead 9-7 in the eighth, but Montreal tied it again in the ninth on Jose Vidro's two-run homer off Dotel, who blew a save for the first time in six chances. The 35 homers allowed by Lima are a franchise record. "He just hasn't had it all year," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "He's had a few decent starts lately but he really hasn't pitched that well. He's had too many pitches up high and he's not using his fastball effectively." Game notesEusebio extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games, one shy of his career high set in 1995. ... Houston rookie 3B Chris Truby was a late scratch from the lineup because of a bruised left wrist. ... Kline leads the majors with 60 appearances. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Montreal Clubhouse Houston Clubhouse RECAPS Kansas City 7 Boston 5
Montreal 10
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