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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The rain didn't cool off Jose Vidro, and neither did the wind, the chilly April weather. Pittsburgh pitcher Kris Benson had no luck either.
Vidro, never known as a power hitter, had a pair of two-run homers and Lee Stevens added a two-run shot off Benson as the Montreal Expos won their fifth in six games, beating the Pirates 7-3 Tuesday night.
|  | | Montreal's Javier Vazquez went six innings for his first win of the season. |
Vidro, who had 14 homers in 290 games before this season, hit a two-run shot in the third following Peter Bergeron's single and another in the seventh after Bergeron tripled in a run.
"He put on quite a show," Expos manager Felipe Alou said. "He's really been swinging the bat, and this was not the easiest night to play. He surprised me the way he hit those balls. We know he has the power to pull the ball, but that second homer was the first time he showed power to straightaway center."
Bergeron and Vidro, the top two hitters in the Expos' order, combined to go 6-for-10 with two homers, a triple, five RBI and four runs scored and reached base eight times.
Vidro has at least one hit in all nine Expos' games and is batting .515.
"He's hitting everything right now -- fastball, changeup, curveball, everything," Expos starter Javier Vazquez said. "Last year, he showed everybody he was a good hitter, and this year he's going to have a big season, too."
Vazquez (1-0) apparently wasn't bothered by a 2-hour, 2-minute rain delay that delayed the start until after 9 p.m., allowing three runs -- two earned -- in six innings for the victory.
Stevens restored Montreal's lead at 4-2 in the fourth after the Pirates tied it on Pat Meares' two-run triple. Stevens' shot barely cleared the left-field wall near the foul pole for his second homer in three games.
Vidro followed in the seventh with his second homer, a drive that landed in the netting that provides the hitters' background in center field.
"I was trying to hit the ball over the infield because they were playing in," Vidro said. "I hit it pretty good, but I didn't know it was gone."
Benson (0-2) struck out a career-high nine in seven innings, but was roughed up for his second consecutive start by allowing seven runs and nine hits. He has lost eight of nine decisions dating to last season and has a 6.23 ERA this year.
"I've got to get my pitches down. It's frustrating for me. They scored some runs for me, but I've got to start getting my pitches down so I give us a chance to win," Benson said.
"You could tell by the strikeouts he had good stuff, but he was wild in the strike zone and they made him pay for his mistakes," Pirates manager Gene Lamont said.
Steve Kline, aided by double plays in both the seventh and eighth innings, finished up with three scoreless innings for his first save as the Expos overcame three early errors.
"We made some errors for Vazquez, but we got him some runs, too," Vidro said.
The Pirates have lost three in a row to drop to 2-5.
Game notes
It has either rained or snowed for four of the Pirates' five home playing dates this season. Last week's opener was rained out. ... The game-time temperature of 46 was about half that of the 91 for Sunday's Pirates-Diamondbacks game in Phoenix. ... Montreal is playing its last series in Three Rivers Stadium, which closes after this season. ... The Pirates had gone 30 innings without an error until first baseman Kevin Young misplayed Bergeron's grounder to start the game. ... Pittsburgh 3B Aramis Ramirez was in a 0-for-12 slide until he singled in the seventh. ... Bergeron was batting .190 against right-handers until his three-hit night.
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