Expos use long ball to win

Expos manager Frank Robinson didn’t know he had reached a career milestone, but his players wouldn’t let him forget.
Brian Schneider’s three-run homer in the sixth provided the go-ahead runs as the Montreal Expos knocked four home runs last night to propel them to a 6-3 win over the L.A. Dodgers.
The win was Robinson’s 900th of a managerial career that has included stints in Cleveland, San Francisco, Baltimore, and Montreal.
“Schneider handed me the ball when we were out there on the field, and I didn’t know why he was handing it to me,” Robinson said, sitting next to a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne given to him as a present from the Expos.
“I think Rocky [Biddle] said ‘That was for your 900th win.’ I said, ‘What?’ I looked around at the board and [saw] 900.”
Robinson sits 57th on the all-time list, eight wins behind Florida skipper Jack McKeon.
“That just means you’ve been around a long time, that’s all,” Robinson said. “It’s a nice feeling to say I’ve been able to last this long in this position, be around this long, and be on some good ball clubs.”
Brad Wilkerson hit his eighth career lead-off homer while Tony Batista and Juan Rivera went deep in consecutive at-bats for the Expos (54-72), who won for the fourth time in six games and improved their August record to 13-9.
“It’s nice that we figured it out at the all-star break and got things turned around,” said Expos reliever Joey Eischen, who threw two innings as part of a stellar effort from the Montreal relief corps
“But if we had got out of the gate playing like this, it would have been a lot different season.”
Adrian Beltre went 2-for-4 to improve to 7-for-14 in the series for the Dodgers (73-53), who lost for only the seventh time in their last 24 road games.
Batista and Rivera’s back-to-back homers marked the fifth time the Expos have turned the trick this season—and the third time this month.
Expos starter Tony Armas Jr. left the game after three innings with right leg spasms. He allowed three runs on five hits and three walks—one intentional.
“I was surprised,” Schneider said of Armas’ early departure. “But if that’s how he felt and it’s best for the team, that’s his decision.”
Lefty Joe Horgan (4-1) pitched the sixth and seventh innings for the win while Luis Ayala handled the eighth and ninth for his second save in five chances.
Jose Lima (11-4) had his roughest outing since allowing eight runs in four innings June 25. He allowed six runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings as L.A. fell to 14-5 in his starts.
His four home runs allowed gives him 27 on the year—third-worst in the NL.
Dodgers’ reliever Duaner Sanchez was ejected from the game in the seventh inning after hitting Batista with a pitch in the head.
“He threw the first [pitch] behind him, and I wasn’t certain it was intentional,” said home plate umpire Tim Timmons.
“The second one I was pretty darn confident it was intentional, and when he goes up around the head like that, I’m going to go ahead and get rid of him.”
Batista dropped to the ground and remained motionless for a few minutes before getting up, waving to the crowd, and sprinting to first base.
Batista and Endy Chavez then pulled off a double-steal.
Elsewhere in the NL yesterday, Atlanta dumped Colorado 8-1, Houston beat Philadelphia 7-4, Chicago doubled Milwaukee 4-2, Pittsburgh nipped Arizona 2-1, San Diego blanked N.Y. 4-0, San Francisco edged Florida 6-5 (10 innings), and St. Louis shaded Cincinnati 6-5.