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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) – A change of managers did not change Montreal's
bad luck.
|  | | Jeff Torborg stands for his first national anthem as Expos manager as a fan holds a sign thanking Felipe Alou for his 10 years on the bench. |
First baseman Lee Stevens' two-out error in the ninth inning
allowed three runs to score and the Philadelphia Phillies beat
Montreal 5-2 Thursday night, spoiling Jeff Torborg's first game as
the Expos' manager.
Torborg became the Expos' 10th manager earlier in the day after
Felipe Alou, the winningest and longest-serving manager in team
history, was fired.
The Expos, with the third-worst record in the NL, quickly fell
behind when Doug Glanville hit his 10th homer on Hideki Irabu's
second pitch of the game.
"I was really impressed with the way our guys kept working at
it, putting pressure on their pitchers," Torborg said. "They kept
coming back in tough situations. I liked what I've seen."
With the score tied at 2, Bobby Abreu, already 3-for-3 with a
sacrifice fly, walked leading off the ninth and stole second, just
beating catcher Michael Barrett's throw on a pitchout.
Scott Rolen singled off Scott Strickland (0-2), advancing Abreu
to third, and Travis Lee walked to load the bases.
Strickland, who came on with one out in the eighth and pitched
out of a bases-loaded jam, struck out Pat Burrell and Gary Bennett
before getting Marlon Anderson to ground sharply to first.
"The ball hit the seam between the dirt and the turf,"
Strickland said. "Nobody's ever said this is the greatest turf in
the world here. It may have cost us the game tonight because it
sure put a squirrely bounce on that ball and it slipped through
Lee's legs. It's one of those things where they give him an error
but it's not, it's just complete bad luck."
All three runners scored as the ball got past Stevens and rolled
to the right-field corner.
"I missed it," Stevens said. "It cost us three runs and cost
us the game. Nobody feels worse about it than I do, that's for
sure. It's kind of like hitting. When you do it at the right time,
it's not a big deal. If you do it at the wrong time, it costs you
the game. I made an error and it cost us the game tonight. I take
full responsibility for that."
Said Phillies manager Larry Bowa: "That ball was crushed, it
was smoked. That turf is so fast I thought it could have been a
hit. I'm sure he'll tell you he should have had it. It wasn't an
easy play, put it that way."
None of that was any consolation for Stevens.
"I feel I should catch everything so I'm not going to say that
it should have been a hit, or whatever," Stevens said. "It was an
error and I missed it. I'll come back tomorrow and get my work in,
and try to make all the plays out there."
Rheal Cormier (3-0) pitched a perfect eighth and Jose Mesa
pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 18 opportunities as the
Phillies won their fourth straight.
Montreal made it 1-all in the third on Vladimir Guerrero's RBI
double off Amaury Telemaco and went ahead on Barrett's solo homer
in the fourth.
Burrell, who singled in the fourth to extend his career-best
hitting streak to 12 games, and Glanville each had two hits as
Philadelphia outhit the Expos 12-5.
Irabu, who was activated from the 60-day disabled list prior to
the game, allowed eight hits and two runs in five innings in his
first start since last July 27.
Telemaco allowed two runs, holding Montreal to four hits in
seven innings. He struck out six and walked one.
"We took advantage of our opportunities," Telemaco said. "It
was a great game. We battled the whole time and I gave the team a
chance to come back and it was awesome."
Game notes
Glanville has homered leading off a game seven times, six
with the Phillies. ... Barrett blocked an 0-2 pitch in the dirt by
Strickland with Bennett batting in the ninth.
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Alou 'almost relieved' at axing; Expos tab Torborg
Gammons: Alou got trapped in Montreal
Neyer: It was time for Alou to go
Ratto: From booth to bench
RECAPS
Kansas City 8
Texas 2
Oakland 10
Tampa Bay 1
Boston 11
Toronto 5
Detroit 0
Chi. White Sox 0
Anaheim 5
Minnesota 4
Seattle 2
Baltimore 1
Houston 8
San Diego 4
Florida 5
NY Mets 3
Philadelphia 5
Montreal 2
Milwaukee 6
St. Louis 2
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