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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BOSTON (AP) -- Carl Everett directed his energy toward the
baseball Sunday instead of the umpires.
|  | | Carl Everett points skyward after hitting homer No. 25 in the sixth inning. |
A day after butting heads with plate umpire Ronald Kulpa,
Everett went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer to lead the Boston Red
Sox over the Montreal Expos 5-2.
Everett, ejected Saturday after arguing with Kulpa over whether
his foot was out of the batter's box, was greeted with mixed boos
when he came to the plate for his first at-bat Sunday.
He was cheered in the third when he made a sliding, backhanded
catch on Geoff Blum's drive, then doubled in the fourth and hit his
25th homer in the sixth.
Everett wouldn't talk with reporters but issued his thoughts via
team spokesman Kevin Shea.
"Obviously, I had no problem with my concentration," Shea
quoted Everett as saying. "As far as the fans here -- the ovation
they gave me -- they appreciate me playing hard. That's all I do."
Everett, ejected in the second inning of Saturday's game against
the New York Mets, bumped Kulpa, threw down his helmet and then the
two butted heads.
He is likely to be handed out a stiff penalty for his actions.
Atlanta manager Bobby Cox is serving a five-game suspension for
bumping umpire Derryl Cousins with his elbow on July 4.
In Everett's final plate appearance, the only one in which the
switch hitter batted right-handed, he used the same stance as he
did Saturday and walked.
"You have to pitch him inside, and if you miss, you miss,"
said left-hander Scott Forster, who faced Everett his last time up.
"I wasn't paying attention to where he was standing, but I have no
objection to where he stands -- and sometimes it is easier to pitch
to guys that crowd the plate."
Everett's two-run homer, a drive over the Red Sox bullpen in
right, gave Boston a 5-2 lead in the sixth.
"He's going to play hard no matter what happens," Boston
starter Tim Wakefield said.
Vladimir Guerrero hit his 25th homer for the Expos, who have
lost five of their last six.
Wakefield (6-5), who joined the starting rotation June 29, won
his fourth straight start, allowing two runs -- one earned -- and
four hits in seven innings. John Wasdin finished with hitless
relief for his first save in three chances.
Mike Johnson (4-4) gave up three runs and five hits in five
innings.
After a tense series with the New York Mets, the atmosphere at
Fenway Park was much calmer.
Morgan Burkhart's RBI single in the fifth gave Boston a 3-2
lead, and Everett homered in the sixth following a single by Nomar
Garciaparra, who went 1-for-4, dropping his average to .393.
Montreal went ahead 1-0 in the second on Lenny Webster's
run-scoring single before Boston tied on Jason Varitek's RBI double
in the bottom half.
Guerrero's homer over the left-field screen put the Expos ahead
2-1, but Boston tied it on Troy O'Leary's RBI grounder in the
fourth.
Game notes
Montreal had a scare in the fifth when Guerrero came up
lame after running out a grounder. He left in the eighth, but is
expected to be in the lineup Monday. ... The Expos were already
without LF Rondell White and SS Orlando Cabrera, who were both
placed on the 15-day DL Friday, and catcher Chris Widger. ...
Wakefield has won four straight decisions as a starter for the
first time since July-August 1998. ... Widger had Sunday off after
leaving Saturday's game with a mild concussion. He collided with
Tampa Bay's Jose Guillen. ... Guerrero didn't hit his 25th homer
last season until mid-August. He finished with 42.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Montreal Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
Crew chief blames Red Sox's Everett for confrontation
RECAPS
Boston 5
Montreal 2
Houston 5
Cleveland 1
Detroit 6
Cincinnati 2
NY Yankees 9
Philadelphia 8
Toronto 7
NY Mets 3
Atlanta 6
Tampa Bay 4
Baltimore 9
Florida 5
Chi. White Sox 11
Milwaukee 5
Minnesota 5
St. Louis 2
San Francisco 6
Texas 4
Seattle 6
Arizona 3
San Diego 6
Anaheim 5
Oakland 0
Colorado 0
Chicago Cubs 10
Kansas City 7
Los Angeles 7
Pittsburgh 3
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Red Sox director of communications Kevin Shea reads a statement from Carl Everett.
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