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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) – There wasn't a day last year that Kevin Tapani's
knees didn't bother him. The year before that, it was his back that
was acting up.
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| Tapani |
All the aches and pains are gone now. He's feeling good, and it shows on the mound.
Tapani gave up only two hits and struck out nine Thursday, and Rondell White drove in another run against his old team as the
Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos 2-1.
"He did it as well as anybody today," Cubs manager Don Baylor
said. "He just kind of breezed along."
It probably felt more like a hurricane to the Expos. Tapani (1-0) struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the first seven batters before Michael Barrett singled in the third.
After a sacrifice, Tapani struck out Peter Bergeron to end the inning.
Pinch-hitter Tim Raines got the Expos' only other hit off Tapani in the sixth, when he doubled to center. Raines reached third on Bergeron's sacrifice, but was stranded there when Jose Vidro grounded out and Andy Tracy struck out.
"It's a good way to start the season," said Tapani, who'd seen Jon Lieber and Kerry Wood come through strong in their first starts.
"I didn't want to be the weak link. I wanted to join those guys," Tapani said. "We'll pass it on to Jason (Bere) tomorrow."
Tapani left after the seventh inning, having thrown only 87 pitches and walked one. His nine strikeouts were one shy of his career total.
Just how good was he? Vladimir Guerrero, one of baseball's best hitters, struck out swinging twice and grounded out the third time he faced Tapani.
"Any time you see a guy get a guy like Vlad twice with strikeouts, you know he can really pitch," Expos manager Felipe Alou said.
Baylor said he noticed a change in Tapani during spring
training. After his first start, the right-hander's velocity picked
up, and it's made a huge difference. He was switching speeds so
much the Expos never knew what was coming.
But Tapani said he doesn't feel like he's doing anything different.
"I'm the same guy for whatever year this is," the 37-year-old said. "Same stuff."
Jeff Fassero allowed a two-out homer in the ninth to Andy Tracy, but picked up his first save since June 30, 1993, when he was with Montreal.
Tony Armas Jr. (0-1) gave up two runs -- only one earned -- and
four hits in five innings. He also struck out three, walked one and
hit two batters.
"Pitching at the end of the game is pretty fun again," Fassero said. "It's where I started my career. Maybe it'll be where I finish it, too."
And after wasting Lieber and Wood's outings by stranding 21
runners in the first two games, the Cubs finally figured out how to
get someone across home plate. They took care of their offense
early, with White hitting a sharp liner just over Cabrera's head for an RBI single in the first.
White, traded from the Expos to the Cubs last July, also had an RBI single in the season opener.
The Cubs got their second run thanks to Fernando Tatis' third
error in as many days. After Todd Hundley led off the second with a walk and advanced on Tapani's sacrifice, Eric Young hit a grounder to Tatis.
Tatis threw to first, but the ball skipped in the dirt, bounced
up and hit Lee Stevens in the chest. The ball skittered away, allowing Hundley to score.
"Tap threw a great game," said Hundley, who caught Tapani.
"All the credit goes to him. He did it all."
Game notes
Tatis left in the bottom of the fourth with a strained
upper back. ... Young stole second in the second inning, the 350th
steal of his career. He's now stole 32 bases without getting thrown
out, dating back to last July 2. ... Armas hit Hundley in the
helmet with a pitch, but Hundley was OK.
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RECAPS
Toronto 11
Tampa Bay 0
Minnesota 9
Detroit 5
NY Yankees 1
Kansas City 0
Baltimore 2
Boston 1
Anaheim 10
Texas 3
Cincinnati 4
Pittsburgh 1
Chicago Cubs 2
Montreal 1
Colorado 11
St. Louis 2
NY Mets 7
Atlanta 1
Houston 8
Milwaukee 2
Los Angeles 7
Arizona 5
San Francisco 8
San Diego 2
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