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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MONTREAL (AP) – The Houston Astros found the right place to get
their game back on track.
|  | | Houston's Jeff Bagwell, right, is congratulated after hitting a grand slam in the sixth. Bagwell was 4-for-5. |
Jeff Bagwell's fourth career grand slam capped a six-run sixth
inning and Richard Hidalgo added a three-run homer as the Astros
completed a three-game sweep of the Montreal Expos with a 13-7 win
Sunday.
The Astros, who had season highs in runs and hits (18), won
their fourth straight after losing five of six.
"We hadn't played well as a club coming into this series,"
Bagwell said. "We won a big game in New York and put together
three pretty good games here. Any time you put little bit of a
streak together, it's good."
Julio Lugo went 5-for-5, including two doubles, and Bagwell went
4-for-5 with five RBI, including a run-scoring single in the first
off Chris Peters (2-3). Moises Alou hit a two-run homer in the
first for Houston.
"We started off 0-2 and ended up 4-2," Houston manager Larry
Dierker said. "It was a great trip. We not only salvaged it, but
we turned it into a good trip."
Bagwell hit his ninth homer -- and second of the series -- off
Anthony Telford with two outs in the sixth.
Hidalgo, who returned to the lineup after missing five starts
with a groin strain, hit his seventh homer of the season in the
eighth as Houston scored four times to go up 13-6.
Just 6,041 were on hand to see the Expos lose their fourth
straight game, and seventh of eight. Montreal, which fell to 12-19,
has won just six of 24 since starting the season 6-1.
"You can't become overconfident because you came in and beat
the Expos," Dierker said. "They have some All-Star caliber
players, but they don't have the kind of 25-man roster that a lot
of the other clubs have.
"If you're going to have a championship year, you have to have
a good series against teams that are going to finish down in the
standings. You can't always do it, but when you do, it builds some
confidence."
Geoff Blum had a career-high four hits, including an RBI double
in the ninth off rookie Roy Oswalt for the Expos. Milton Bradley
had three of Montreal's season-high 16 hits.
Four of the six runs scored off Telford in the sixth were
unearned after Jose Vizcaino reached first safely on catcher Randy
Knorr's error. Vizcaino was hit in the back by Knorr's throw after
the catcher dropped a third strike. Bagwell then hit his homer.
"There are not a whole lot of breaks coming this way, and a lot
of breaks going the other way," Expos manager Felipe Alou said.
Scott Elarton (4-3) allowed three runs in the second as Montreal
tied the game at 3 on Knorr's RBI single and Curtis Pride's two-run
double.
Elarton allowed nine hits and six runs in five-plus innings and
was knocked out of the game by Bradley's two-run single in the
sixth.
Pinch hitter Fernando Seguignol drove in Montreal's third run of
the inning with an RBI single to draw the Expos to within three.
Game notes
Oswalt made his major league debut and allowed two hits and
one run while getting the last three outs in the ninth. ... Houston
had scored 11 runs twice this season and had 16 hits on April 4
against Milwaukee. ... Lugo also had five hits at San Diego last
Sept. 8. ... Montreal was swept for the first time this season. ...
The Expos drew 46,079 to Olympic Stadium over their six-game
homestand, including 20,541 -- the second-highest crowd of the
season -- Saturday night for a reduced-price promotion on tickets
and hot dogs. The Expos averaged 5,108 fans over the other five
games on the homestand.
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OTHER GAMES
Baseball Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Montreal Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 10
Tampa Bay 3
NY Yankees 2
Baltimore 1
Minnesota 4
Kansas City 2
Chi. White Sox 10
Texas 5
Anaheim 3
Detroit 2
Toronto 11
Seattle 3
Boston 5
Oakland 4
Atlanta 7
St. Louis 5
Florida 5
Milwaukee 1
Arizona 8
NY Mets 2
San Diego 8
Cincinnati 2
Houston 13
Montreal 7
Philadelphia 10
San Francisco 8
Pittsburgh 4
Colorado 3
Chicago Cubs 3
Los Angeles 2
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