‘91 Astros take 2 of 3 from ‘98 Expos

Game 1

The KOD11 NL matchup between 1991 Houston and 1998 Montreal opened in the Astrodome with the Astros (3-5) sending Jimmy Jones out for his second start of the season. He was skipped last time around. Dustin Hermanson took the hill for the Expos (4-4). A run a scoring wild-pitch by Hermanson followed up by Craig Biggio’s 2^nd HR of the season gave Houston and 2-0 lead early in the contest. Montreal scored on a Shane Andrews 2-run HR in the 4^th to tie the game. An error by Orlando Cabrera allowed Ken Caminitti to drive in his 6^th RBI in 9 games for Houston to take the lead in the 6^th inning. OC atoned for the error with a game tying Sac Fly in the 7^th inning off Mike Capel as Jones was chased from the mound but the run counted against his line leaving the outcome in the hands of both bullpens. Andujar Cedeno lead off the 8^th versus Montreal’s Miguel Batista and singled. After moving to second on a grounder, Andujar raced home on a Javier Ortiz go-ahead run scoring single. Another run scored on a wild pitch and Mike Capel handed the game over to Dwayne Henry who secured the win for Capel (1-1) and got his first save of the season. Batista took the loss and falls to (1-1). Final 5-3 Houston.

Game 2

Game 2 in the Astrodome matched Carlos Perez (2-0) up against Jim DeShaies (1-1). Ken Caminiti’s 6^th RBI opened the scoring in the first inning on a ground out. Houston rookie first baseman Jeff Bagwell followed with his 3^rd HR of the season, and the Astros were up 2-0. FP Santangelo pulled Montreal to within 1 in the 4^th with an RBI single, but Steve Finley countered with a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the 6^th inning. Houston’s 3-2 lead was lost when the pitcher Carlos Perez smacked a game-tying HR in the 7^th off reliever Jim Corsi. Montreal’s 3-run 8^th inning sealed the Victory off Curt Schilling. Back to back doubles by Shane Andrews and Pinch Hitter Wilton Guerrero were followed by a walk and a 2-run triple by Orlando Cabrera. Gerald Young’s late RBI double closed the gap but Schilling goes to 0-1 with the loss, Perez improves to (3-0). Final 5-4 Montreal.

Game 3

The series shifted north of the border for game 3, and 9 innings weren’t enough to decide the contest that started with Pete Harnisch (0-2, 3.38) versus Javier Vazquez (0-0, 1.35). The hot-hitting Bagwell knocked a 2-run HR out of Olympic Stadium in the first inning, and Harnisch and Vazquez threw up zeroes for the rest of the way through the 7^th inning. The Expo catch Chris Widger’s 2 RBI hit in the 8^th tied the game at 2 runs apiece. The bullpen’s kept it tied until the 12^th inning when Houston ran off 4 straight hits against Mike Maddux. Hits by Craig Biggio, Steve Finley, Jeff Bagwell and Luis Gonzalez scored 3 runs , Andujar Cedeno capped it off with a Sac fly to give Houston a 5-2 lead. Dwayne Henry came on to close out the game in a non-save situation. He walked the first 4 Expo batters in the bottom of the 12^th to drive in a run for Montreal’s PH-C Bob Henley. After a mound visit, Henry settled down to get the next 3 batters in order to close out the win for Houston and its LHP Antonio Osuna (1-0, 3.86), whose 2 scoreless innings allowed Houston the chance to take the lead. Maddux drops to (0-1, 10.80). Final 6-3 Houston.

--submitted by Mike Johnson--