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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) – The Montreal Expos got just what they needed out
of Chris Peters and Scott Strickland.
|  | | Benny Agbayani is tagged out by Expos catcher Michael Barrett while trying to score on a fielder's choice by Mike Piazza. |
Peters pitched five effective innings and Montreal roughed up Al
Leiter to complete a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a
5-2 win Sunday.
"He made some big pitches in some big situations," Expos
manager Felipe Alou said of Peters. "He gave us the five innings
we were expecting and looking for, and some big, big pitches on
some big hitters."
The Mets loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth against
Strickland, but Mike Piazza fouled out. New York stranded 14
runners.
"We left a lot of guys on base but I don't think we've kicked
it all in gear," Leiter said.
The Mets, who will raise their NL championship banner on Monday
in their home opener against Atlanta, lost outfielders Benny
Agbayani and Timo Perez to injuries.
"I'm hoping that neither of the injuries are too serious,"
manager Bobby Valentine said.
Agbayani sustained a broken left wrist when he was hit by a
pitch in the third. He will miss three to four weeks. Perez left in the fifth because of a strained
left groin.
"I would say that they're not too good for tomorrow,"
Valentine said when asked to speculate on their availability for
Monday's game. "Hopefully they're going to be OK."
The Mets already were minus outfielder Jay Payton for the
weekend series. He missed all three games with a throat infection
and headaches. He is day-to-day.
The Expos are off to a 5-1 start while New York fell to 2-4.
"We'd rather go home on a three-game win streak, but it will be
great to get home," Valentine said. "It's great to play before
our fans and get out of a suitcase, so we welcome that."
Vladimir Guerrero, who drove in the game's first run with an RBI
grounder in the first, had words with Mets reliever Turk Wendell
when he was hit by a pitch in the seventh.
"Hey, I hit him. Big deal," Wendell said. "That's part of the
game. I'm not sorry I hit him, by any means. I'm sure that he
wouldn't say he was sorry for hitting me with a line drive."
Guerrero had been chastised the day before by Expos manager
Felipe Alou for swinging at a 3-0 pitch from Wendell while Montreal
enjoyed a 10-0 lead.
"My position is one of distinction and respect for the game in
general, and I hope it's over with," Alou said. "But the players
are the ones who have the last word. ... Nobody got hurt today by
getting hit by a pitch, that is why I hope it stays where it is
now. There was a warning issued because the umpires know what
happened last night."
Peters (1-0), a non-roster invitee to Montreal's spring training
camp, held the Mets to one run on five hits in his first appearance
this season.
Ugueth Urbina pitched the ninth for his third save.
Leiter (0-1) allowed nine hits and three earned runs over five
innings in his second start.
"Today, it was just part luck and part (things) happen,"
Leiter said. "That's baseball math."
Perez tied it at 1 with an RBI single in the second before the
Expos pulled ahead again in the bottom half when third baseman Robin Ventura had to dodge the head of Fernando Tatis' broken bat
while failing in his attempt to field Tatis' grounder which went by
him for an RBI single as Peter Bergeron scored from third with the
go-ahead run.
Lee Stevens' RBI double in the fifth put Montreal up 3-1 and Orlando Cabrera increased the Expos' lead with a run-scoring single
later in the inning.
Todd Zeile drew New York to within 4-2 with an RBI grounder in
the seventh. Michael Barrett's sacrifice fly off Wendell in the
bottom half restored Montreal's three-run margin.
Game notes
Mets 2B Edgardo Alfonzo was hitless in five at-bats and
went 0-for-11 in the series. He is hitting just .083 (2-for-24)
through the first six games of the season. ... The Expos' bullpen
has allowed just two runs in 20 1/3 innings this season.
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Boston 3
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Cleveland 4
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NY Yankees 16
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