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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) -- The Montreal Expos will take their wins any way
they can.
Dustin Hermanson took a shutout into the ninth inning for the
second straight start, and Jose Vidro hit his 21st homer as the
Expos barely snapped a nine-game home losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.
|  | | Dustin Hermanson struck out seven, including the Astros' Jeff Bagwell three times. |
"I'm just glad we got a win," Hermanson said. "The wins have
been hard to come by lately and it's good to get another one."
Hermanson (10-11), who came within one strike of pitching a
shutout in his last start, allowed eight hits and one walk before
leaving after Moises Alou's one-out RBI single in the ninth.
"Actually, when it was 1-0, I thought I was home," Hermanson
said. "I wanted to go out there and have that game, but the way
things turned out, there were two hits right there. They did the
job they had to to keep their team in it and keep that ninth inning
rolling, and they got me out of there."
Steve Kline came in and gave up an infield single to
pinch-hitter Chris Truby and Tony Eusebio followed with a three-run
double. Eusebio had two hits to extend his career-best hitting
streak to 22 games, one short of the team record.
Kline then retired Tim Bogar and pinch-hitter Mitch Meluskey for
his 14th save. The Expos stopped a four-game losing streak.
Vidro homered off Jose Lima (5-15) in the fourth to break Mike
Lansing's 1997 team record for home runs by a second baseman.
Vidro's homer was the 39th allowed by Lima, who gave up just five
hits in seven innings.
"I tried to stay away, because you don't want a guy to beat you
with your best stuff," Lima said. "He's a great hitter. It was a
fastball over the plate. I tried to throw a two-seam fastball and
it came up on me, and he hit it out."
Montreal added four runs in the eighth off reliever Marc Valdes
on Milton Bradley's RBI double, Vidro's run-scoring single,
Vladimir Guerrero's RBI triple and an RBI single by Geoff Blum.
"I thought it was going to be good enough for Hermanson, the
way he was pitching," Vidro said. "Maybe he got tired or they got
to him, you've got to give credit to them, too. Hermanson was
dominant the whole game and then in the ninth they were able to get
some hits. I thought when we scored four in the eighth it was going
to be good enough."
The Expos, who went 0-7 on their last homestand, won for just
the second time in their last 15 games at Olympic Stadium. Montreal
has won just seven of its last 31 games overall.
Hermanson gave up three runs and struck out seven, including
Jeff Bagwell three times.
He allowed only one runner to reach second in the first eight
innings. Julio Lugo and Bagwell opened the ninth with singles
before Alou singled with one out.
Lima, who won 21 games last season, had not allowed fewer than
two earned runs in each of his 26 previous starts this season.
"It was the first or second time this year I felt I could
dominate the ball really well," Lima said. "It was great. I was
hitting my spots really well."
Game notes
Eusebio has raised his average from .203 to .276 over the
course of the streak, going 31-for-80 (.388). Art Howe set the
Astros' record when he hit in 23 consecutive games in 1981, and
Luis Gonzalez tied it in 1997. ... Bagwell has 30 RBI in August
and needs one more to tie the team record for RBIs in one month.
Bagwell and Derek Bell set the record with 31 RBI in July 1995 and
Bagwell tied it in May 1996. ... Guerrero started in right field
for the Expos for the first time since last Monday in Los Angeles.
Guerrero missed four starts with a strained left shoulder. ... The
Expos' team record for consecutive home losses is 12, set by the
first edition of the Expos who lost 12 straight at Jarry Park in
1969.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Montreal Clubhouse
RECAPS
Tampa Bay 4
Baltimore 1
Baltimore 2
Tampa Bay 0
(2nd game)
NY Yankees 10
Oakland 6
Detroit 8
Minnesota 2
Toronto 9
Texas 3
Boston 5
Kansas City 3
Seattle 11
Chi. White Sox 5
Cleveland 9
Anaheim 5
Chicago Cubs 6
Los Angeles 4
Colorado 11
Pittsburgh 4
Philadelphia 5
San Francisco 2
Cincinnati 3
Florida 2
Montreal 5
Houston 4
St. Louis 6
Atlanta 3
Arizona 5
NY Mets 1
Milwaukee 6
San Diego 5
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