They Won!

The Philadelphia Phillies are eager to put together another kind of streak.

Robert Person and a pair of relievers combined on a four-hitter as the Philadelphia Phillies stopped their four-game losing streak, beating the Montreal Expos 3-0 Thursday night.

"It was huge. We had to stop the losing streak," Person said. "We have to get a winning streak. I can`t remember the last time we had an actual winning streak, so we have to keep it going."

Bobby Abreu hit a two-run homer in the first as the Phillies pulled within 2½ games of idle Atlanta in the NL East.

Person (14-7) gave up three hits in 7 1-3 innings to win his fifth straight decision. He struck out five and walked three.

"It`s nice to get a little lead, and it`s nice for our pitcher to go out there knowing every pitch doesn`t have to be perfect," Philadelphia manager Larry Bowa said.

Ricky Bottalico relieved Person after a one-out walk to Brad Wilkerson in the eighth.

Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his 36th save in 39 chances.

The game drew only 3,406 fans, the second-lowest total ever at Olympic Stadium. The smallest crowd was 2,803 for a game against St. Louis on Sept. 27, 1984.

Abreu hit his team-leading 27th homer off Carl Pavano (0-4) in the first.

Jimmy Rollins bunted for a leadoff single and advanced on first baseman Lee Stevens` throwing error.

"I was just trying to get on to get something going early," Rollins said. "I figured if I got on base, we could probably push someone across."

After Doug Glanville sacrificed, Abreu homered over the right-field wall.

Pavano had his best outing in four starts since being activated from the disabled list on Aug. 15. He retired 15 straight batters after Abreu`s home run, and the Phillies finished with only four hits.

"I think Pavano pitched a good game, he just made one mistake to Abreu," Bowa said.

Pavano gave up 19 earned runs over 8 1-3 innings for a 20.52 ERA through his first three outings.

"It`s encouraging to see better results than my previous performances, but it`s still a loss," Pavano said.

Joey Eischen relieved after Pavano walked Pat Burrell to load the bases with one out in the seventh. With two outs, Johnny Estrada drew a walk that forced home a run.

Game notes:
The Phillies didn`t make an error in the game, and have made just 80 errors this season, second in the NL to Arizona`s 74. ... Rollins leads the league with 42 stolen bases and 11 triples. ... The Expos released RHP Hideki Irabu, a day after he finished a one-week suspension imposed while he was on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Ottawa. Irabu went 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA this year for Montreal. He had surgery on his right knee and right elbow last season, and was 2-7 with a 6.69 ERA overall in 14 starts with the Expos over both seasons. ... The last three games at Olympic Stadium -- including two this week against Atlanta -- have drawn a total of 10,825 fans.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: 6 ABC - Action News