Expos Halt Phillies

Jeff Torborg`s decision to move up Vladimir Guerrero in the batting order worked wonders for the Montreal Expos.

Guerrero homered, doubled three times and drove in six runs as the Expos got their first win under Torborg, a 12-5 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.

Guerrero, moved to the third spot in the lineup for the first time since July 22, 1998, matched his career-high for RBI.

"You shake things up a little bit and you never know what`s going to happen," the new Expos manager said. "I can honestly say I enjoyed that."

Montreal was 0-2 since Torborg replaced the fired Felipe Alou on Thursday.

"When you lose, you don`t think you`re ever going to win," Torborg said. "When you win you say, `We know how to do this now.` That was enjoyable. I like that third-place hitter."

Guerrero hit a two-run double off Randy Wolf (4-5) in the first, an RBI double in the fourth, a solo homer in the seventh and a two-run double in the eighth.

"He`s a guy that is so strong that he doesn`t have to hit bad pitches," Wolf said. "He`s not very selective up there. He`s hacking and he could hit pitches in the dirt hard. He`s got the best ability, probably, in the game. He`s not an easy guy to throw to."

Guerrero, who rarely speaks to the media, declined to comment.

Bobby Abreu and Scott Rolen homered off Tony Armas Jr. (6-5) as Philadelphia`s five-game winning streak came to an end. The Phillies lost for just the third time in their last 16 games.

Armas won his fifth straight start despite allowing five runs on six hits in six innings.

"I had a little control problem," Armas said. "I made two bad pitches and I paid for them."

Jimmy Rollins singled with one out in the Phillies` first and Abreu hit his ninth homer of the season to make it 2-0.

Mike Mordecai doubled to lead off the bottom half and Geoff Blum walked before Guerrero hit a tying double. Guerrero advanced on a wild pitch and, one out later, scored on Orlando Cabrera`s sacrifice fly to put Montreal up 3-2.

"We fall behind 2-0 in the first inning again, and to answer with those three runs was huge for us," Blum said.

The Expos scored three in the fourth to take a 6-2 lead, keyed by Armas` RBI single and Guerrero`s second double of the game.

Wolf allowed seven hits and six runs – five earned – in four innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Rolen homered for the second straight game, a three-run shot in the fifth, to draw Philadelphia to within 6-5.

Guerrero, who also homered Friday night, hit his 11th homer of the season in the seventh. His two-run double in the eighth keyed a five-run outburst.

Game notes:
The Phillies fell one game short of their season-high six-game win streak. ... Philadelphia`s Pat Burrell singled in the eighth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 14 games. ... Rollins has a streak of 11 consecutive stolen bases. ... Guerrero had batted cleanup in his previous 307 starts since batting fifth on June 12, 1999, against Tampa Bay. ... Montreal 3B Fernando Tatis didn`t start after he was booed the night before while making two errors in the seventh inning of the Expos` 13-2 loss. He pinch hit for Armas in the sixth and remained in the game at third. ... Milton Bradley was originally scheduled to play center field and bat seventh, but he was scratched a few hours prior to the game due to a sore left hand. Mark Smith replaced him in the batting order and started in left and Terry Jones moved from left field to center. ... Torborg was given the game ball by closer Ugueth Urbina, who pitched the ninth.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News