PITTSBURGH (AP) _ To John Vander Wal, there's only one thing wrong with being one of baseball's best pinch hitters.

His managers don't think he's good enough to play every day.

Maybe he doesn't get as many at-bats as he likes. But late in a game, when one swing can mean the difference between winning or losing, few hitters are as good as Vander Wal.

Vander Wal homered for the second time in three pinch-hit at-bats this season as the Pittsburgh Pirates overcame a two-run lead to beat Montreal 6-4 on Wednesday night.

``A lot of people complained about the trade and wondered why we gave up a regular like Al Martin to get him,'' Pirates manager Gene Lamont said. ``But we got one of the best pinch-hitters in baseball. And we got him for situations just like this.''

Vander Wal's three-run homer in the sixth inning off Miguel Batista (0-1) was the 15th of his career _ sixth on the career list _ and second in nine days. He also had a two-run homer on opening day against Houston.

Some of the best pinch hitters in major league history played for the Pirates _ Manny Mota, Smoky Burgess, Jerry Lynch _ and Vander Wal is continuing that tradition. He ranks ninth with 110 career pinch hits.

Even if he wishes he could bat every other inning or so, not every other day.

``I'm confident in my ability to pinch hit and I'm confident in my ability to play,'' said Vander Wal, who played previously for Montreal, Colorado and San Diego. ``Sometimes you feel good and sometimes you don't, but there's no science to it, you go up and try to make contact.''

Actually, there is a science to it. Vander Wal never lets the weather or the conditions get to him; he watches only an inning or so on the bench, then goes to the clubhouse hitting machine and stays loose.

``There's no way you can stay loose sitting in the dugout in 35-degree weather,'' he said. ``You're not helping the team that way. I try to hit and get ready to take my hacks.''

Despite his ability to hit, Vander Wal's 246 at-bats last season with San Diego were a career high. He was dealt to Pittsburgh in late February.

``I know where I am in the pinch-hitting stats,'' Vander Wal. ``I also know it means I don't play much. I would rather get out there and play but, doing what I do, it keeps your mind in the game.''

Expos manager Felipe Alou preferred to keep Vander Wal's bat on the bench. Afterward, Alou waved a statistics sheet showing Vander Wal hit .522 on 0-1 counts last season.

``What was the count when he hit the home run?'' Alou said. ``0-and-1. And there wasn't a whole lot we could do about it.''

Actually, there was. Batista (0-1) looked like he would breeze through the sixth as he tried to preserve a 4-3 lead, quickly striking out two and getting a two-strike count on Aramis Ramirez, who was in a 1-for-15 slump.

However, Batista lost his control and walked Ramirez. No. 8 hitter Chad Hermansen singled, allowing manager Gene Lamont to bring up Vander Wal with the chance to take the lead.

``That's got to be one of the hardest things in baseball, coming off the bench and hitting when it's cold,'' Lamont said. ``But he wants to get in there.''

Pirates starter Francisco Cordova gave up four runs, three earned, in 5 1-3 innings, with the fourth run resulting from his own error on a grounder by Jose Vidro. He also allowed Orlando Cabrera's two-run double in the fifth.

Brian Giles had a run-scoring double that missed by an inch or so of leaving the park in the third and a sacrifice fly in a two-run fifth against Expos starter Carl Pavano.

``We scored in the fifth, they scored in the fifth,'' Alou said. ``We scored in the sixth, they beat us in the sixth.''

Notes: The game time temperature was 46, and it kept dropping. It has been in the 40s for four of the Pirates' five home games. ... Mike Williams pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings, striking out three, to convert Pittsburgh's first save opportunity in eight games. ... Going into the game, Pavano's career ERA against Pittsburgh was 33.75. ... The Expos had won three in a row and five of six and the Pirates had lost three in a row and five of seven. ... Giles' drive in the third struck the yellow line atop the right-field line. He also hit a long fly ball to the base of the left-field wall in the first inning.