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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) -- Even Tony Eusebio didn't know how well he's been
hitting.
Eusebio doubled twice and hit his seventh homer to extend his
career-best hitting streak to 23 games and Scott Elarton pitched
his second career complete game as the Houston Astros beat the
Montreal Expos 7-3 Sunday.
Moises Alou went 3-for-4 with his 25th homer off Trey Moore
(1-4), a two-run shot down the left-field line as Houston scored
four in the fourth.
Eusebio doubled following Alou's two-run homer to tie the
Astros' team record by hitting safely in his 23rd consecutive game.
"I didn't know the record streak for the Astros was 23 games,"
Eusebio said. "When you play the game, you don't pay too much mind
to it."
He added an RBI double in the fifth and hit a solo homer in the
eighth to make it 7-2.
"I just tied it, I didn't pass it, so we'll have to wait until
tomorrow, another game," Eusebio said. "Hopefully I'll pass it
and I'll be happy."
Elarton (15-4), who also pitched a complete game against
Montreal on Aug. 6, allowed six hits, including Brian Schneider's
two-run double in the sixth, and seven walks. He struck out six.
The Astros won for the 10th time in their last 13 games.
"We definitely need some momentum going into next year,"
Elarton said. "We've got a lot of young guys. We're playing hard,
it's good to see. The only thing we can really do is build momentum
for next year."
Montreal has lost 14 of its last 17 games, including five of its
last six. The Expos have lost 14 of their last 16 games at Olympic
Stadium.
Jeff Bagwell got his 31st RBI in August on a run-scoring
grounder in the first to tie the team record he already shared with
Derek Bell for most RBIs in a month.
Roger Cedeno and Julio Lugo singled to lead off the game. Cedeno
advanced to third and Lugo went to second on Moore's balk and
Cedeno scored on Bagwell's grounder to second.
Richard Hidalgo's pop to short right field was caught by second
baseman Jose Vidro, who threw home, where Schneider easily tagged
out Lugo trying to score from third for an inning-ending double
play.
"I was surprised that (Lugo) went on that play," Schneider
said. "I looked, I saw him going and thought he was just faking
it. I looked again and I saw that he was going, so it kind of
surprised me."
Alou was also thrown out at the plate by center fielder Milton
Bradley to end the second.
Bagwell walked in the fourth and, one out later, Alou homered
down the left-field line to put the Astros ahead 3-0.
Cedeno added a two-run single later in the inning as Houston
went out to a 5-0 lead.
"I thought the fastball was better today than it has been in
the last couple of outings," Moore said. "I left some changeups
up, maybe relying too much on it, and they both got hit pretty hard
and ended up hurting me."
After Elarton escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth by getting
Jose Vidro to fly to left, Schneider doubled to drive in two and
break up Elarton's shutout bid.
Bradley had an RBI single in the ninth for Montreal.
Game notes
Moore allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings. ...
Art Howe set the Astros' record with a 23-game hitting streak in
1981 and Luis Gonzalez tied it in 1997. ... Elarton has not lost on
the road since June 16 at San Francisco. ... Bagwell and Bell both
had 31 RBIs in July 1995. Bagwell also drove in 31 runs in May
1996. ... Tony Armas Jr. allowed seven hits and three runs in 3 2-3
innings in his first rehab start for Triple-A Ottawa. Armas, who
threw 41 of 58 pitches for strikes, walked one and struck out
three.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Montreal Clubhouse
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Baltimore 3
Tampa Bay 2
Kansas City 11
Boston 7
Minnesota 7
Detroit 6
NY Yankees 7
Oakland 5
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Cleveland 9
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Houston 7
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