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Wednesday, Apr. 19 7:05pm ET
Guerrero misses cycle by a homer | |||||
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) -- Vladimir Guerrero found a good way to get over his first strikeout of the season. Guerrero drove in four runs and hit a go-ahead double in the seventh inning as the Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 on Wednesday night. Guerrero went 3-for-5, falling a home run short of the cycle. He also struck out for the first time since last Sept. 25, a span of 22 games. "It was going to happen one day or another, and today was the day," Guerrero said through an interpreter. "Given the fact that I drove in four runs, a punchout isn't a big deal." Henry Rodriguez and Jeff Reed homered for the Cubs, who lost their fourth in a row. Reed was 3-for-3. It was 3-all in the seventh when Guerrero hit a two-out, two-run double off Ruben Quevedo (0-2). "The big guy delivered," Expos manager Felipe Alou said. "He struck out for the first time in I don't know how many years but he got four ribbies." Carl Pavano (2-0) allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings. He won his first career start against the Cubs, the only NL team he had yet to face. "I felt pretty good but I thought I fell behind a lot of hitters," Pavano said. "I thought I could have done a better job of getting first-pitch strikes and putting guys away. I thought my control was a little off and I left some balls over the plate that they made some outs on. I thought I got away with some pitches." Guerrero hit an RBI single in the first inning. He struck out in his next at-bat -- his 47th of the season -- while chasing a low 0-2 pitch from Andrew Lorraine. Orlando Cabrera, who went 2-for-5 and scored twice for Montreal, was in the Expos' clubhouse and saw the at-bat on TV. "I didn't know that guy had the stuff to strike out Vladimir Guerrero," Cabrera said. Lorraine was probably as surprised as anyone. "Right now, he's probably as good as anybody," Lorraine said. "He's swinging the bat so well. He's hitting pitches that aren't even strikes, which makes it hard. A lot of guys, you can pitch around them. But then you try to pitch around Guerrero, and he gets a hit. He puts good swings on balls that aren't even close." Guerrero had not struck out in 71 at-bats -- and 82 plate appearances -- since he fanned against Atlanta's Terry Mulholland last season. Guerrero hit an RBI triple in the fifth to put the Expos up 3-2. "He's hot right now," Cubs manager Don Baylor said. "Everything he swings at -- up and in, down and away -- he's putting the ball in play." Jose Vidro followed Guerrero's single in the first with an RBI grounder to give Montreal a 2-0 lead. Rodriguez hit his second homer after Sammy Sosa grounded into a double play in the fourth to draw the Cubs within one at 2-1. Reed doubled leading off the fifth and scored on Eric Young's two-out RBI single to tie it at 2. Reed's solo home run off Pavano made it 3-all in the seventh. Montreal scored twice in the eighth on pinch-hitter Trace Coquillette's RBI double and Rondell White's run-scoring single. Game notesChicago's Ricky Gutierrez went 0-for-3 to end his career-best 13-game hitting streak. ... The Cubs are 4-19 at Olympic Stadium since 1995. ... Cubs starters had gone at least six innings in 11 of their last 12 games, and at least seven innings in seven of those games. ... Guerrero had nine homers and 26 RBI between strikeouts. ... Guerrero's next RBI will be his 300th. ... Montreal's Wilton Guerrero, Vladimir's brother, made his first start of the season in center field. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Chicago Cubs Clubhouse Montreal Clubhouse RECAPS Chi. White Sox 5 Seattle 2
Montreal 7
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