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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) -- The New York Mets didn't get away with any mistakes.
Vladimir Guerrero homered twice and doubled, leading Tony Armas Jr. and the Montreal Expos over New York to a 5-0 victory Sunday.
|  | | Vladimir Guerrero celebrates the first of his two homers hit against the Mets on Sunday. |
Guerrero hit both homers off Bobby J. Jones (9-6), who put the
blame for the loss squarely on his own shoulders.
"Those were two bad pitches," Jones said. "A hanging
curveball, and the other pitch I tried to bounce. ... You look at
his numbers, he's hitting .350-something. He's just a guy you can't
make mistakes on."
New York fell three games behind NL East-leading Atlanta but
maintained a five-game lead for the wild card over Arizona, which
lost to the Braves 7-1.
The Mets begin a three-game series in Atlanta on Monday night.
"Obviously, we're disappointed," Jones said. "Now we're going
to a place where one game will cover a full game (in the
standings), so we'll start focusing on tomorrow."
Armas (6-8) allowed three hits in seven-plus innings, extending
his scoreless streak to 14 innings.
"Armas showed up for the second consecutive time," Expos
manager Felipe Alou said. "He did it the other day in
Philadelphia, and did more or less the same today. We really wanted
a nine-inning shutout, but he was really up there in pitches and we
all know he just came back from the disabled list just a few days
ago."
Guillermo Mota pitched 1 2/3 innings and Steve Kline got the
last out, completing a combined four-hitter and closing out
Montreal's third shutout in the last nine games.
A day earlier, Kline threw his glove in the direction of
first-base umpire Ian Lamplugh -- but did not hit him -- after being
ejected in the eighth inning.
Lamplugh was the home plate umpire Sunday. Kline walked a batter -- no close calls were involved -- before getting the last out.
Guerrero hit solo home runs in the first and fourth innings,
giving him 39 this season. It was his seventh multihomer game of
the season and 11th of his career.
"Every time he hits like that, we win," Alou said. "He was
really up there, after having a tough night last night, getting hit
by a pitch and they jammed him a couple of times. He came back.
That's the sign of a great athlete."
One out after Guerrero's second homer, Jones hit Fernando
Seguignol with a pitch. Lamplugh warned both benches for the second
straight game.
Asked if he thought that Armas had deliberately hit Mets catcher
Mike Piazza with a 3-1 pitch in the fourth, Jones, who was at the
team's hotel the night before when the teams were warned, chose his
words carefully.
"I understand that there were some pitches thrown behind some
of our hitters (Saturday night)," Jones said. "It's the rule of
this game -- you've got to protect your hitters -- since the game's
been played."
Orlando Cabrera, who hit a two-run homer Friday night, then hit
his 11th homer to increase Montreal's lead to 5-0.
"I'm glad to see Cabrera swinging the bat again and driving in
runs, and making some good plays," Alou said. "We'd like to win
as many games as possible. We have the Marlins and Braves coming
in, then we go and play Florida and the Mets. It's a good
opportunity to see where these guys are before we go home."
Armas, making his 16th career start, allowed only a line-drive
single to Kurt Abbott leading off the third before Darryl Hamilton
lined a single to left to begin the seventh. He left the game after
allowing a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Lenny Harris to lead off
the eighth.
"My goal was to pitch well through September and get ready for
next year," Armas said. "That was my main goal, to put up some
good numbers and try to win a spot in the rotation next year."
Armas, who struck out a career-high seven and walked two,
allowed only one other ball out of the infield while pitching
perfect innings in the first, second, fifth and sixth.
"Armas had great stuff," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said.
"They've got great arms, there's no doubt about it. You try to hit
their mistakes and this kid didn't make that many mistakes today.
He's as advertised."
The Mets were held to three runs or fewer for the 14th time in
21 games.
After Montreal took a 1-0 lead on Peter Bergeron's leadoff
triple and an RBI grounder by Geoff Blum, Guerrero homered with two
outs.
Jones, who lost his bid to become the fifth Mets starter to
reach 10 wins, allowed five hits and five runs in five innings to
end a personal five-game winning streak.
Game notes
Mets 2B Edgardo Alfonzo, who went 3-for-5 with a homer and
four RBI Saturday night, was rested. Abbott started in his place
at second base. ... Left-hander Bobby M. Jones relieved Bobby J.
Jones to begin the seventh. ... Guerrero is just three homers short
of the team-record 42 homers he hit last season.
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