It had the ring of a concession speech, and considering the play of the Montreal Expos it may have been appropriate.
"The Expos are having an awesome year, so now we're fighting to get the wild card," Fred McGriff said after hitting two home runs and driving in four runs to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 6-4 victory Monday night over the Cincinnati Reds.But the victory did nothing to enhance Atlanta's position in the NL East because the Expos won for the 18th time in 20 games. They beat Pittsburgh 3-2 to maintain a six-game lead over the Braves.
Expos 3, Pirates 2
Moises Alou's three-run homer left visiting Montreal (at 72-39 baseball's best team) 33 games over .500 for only the second time in franchise history.
Gil Heredia (6-3) made his second consecutive strong start in place of the injured Jeff Fassero, allowing Pittsburgh six hits in seven innings. John Wetteland pitched the ninth for his 23rd save, striking out Don Slaught to end the game with two men on to wrap up the Expos' fourth straight victory.
Cardinals 11, Marlins 1
Todd Zeile got a tip from manager Joe Torre - a former batting champion - then hit two homers and drove in a career-high six runs to help Rheal Cormier (3-2) to his first victory since May 14.
"He told me to stay back a little longer," Zeile said of Torre. "And it paid off. Six RBIs doesn't happen very often."
Mets 3, Phillies 2
Bobby Jones won his fifth straight decision and Jim Lindeman homered, doubled and scored twice as New York handed Philadelphia its fifth straight loss.
Jones (12-7) allowed 10 hits and two runs in 71/3 innings while striking out four. He is 8-1 on the road this season.
Giants 5, Cubs 4
Todd Benzinger had a pinch-hit homer with one out in the eighth inning at Wrigley Field, and San Francisco snapped a six-game losing streak.
Benzinger, batting for Dave Martinez, hit a 1-0 pitch off Dan Plesac (2-3) for the game-winner into an 18-mph wind.
Rockies 7, Dodgers 6
Charlie Hayes' RBI single capped a four-run ninth-inning rally that enabled Colorado to end a five-game losing streak. The win averted a sweep of the three-game series by visiting Los Angeles, which got a two-run double from Mike Piazza in five-run eighth for a 6-3 lead.
Howard Johnson had an RBI single, and pinch-hitter Danny Sheaffer hit a two-run double off Todd Worrell (6-5), whose blown save was the 21st in 40 opportunities for the Los Angeles bullpen.
American League
Brewers 12, Tigers 4
After struggling through a scoring famine at home, it was time for the Milwaukee Brewers to feast on the road.
In their seven-game homestand that ended Sunday, the Brewers totaled only 13 runs. Against the Tigers on Monday night in Detroit, Milwaukee scored 10 runs in the seventh inning in a 12-4 victory over Detroit.
Yankees 6, Orioles 5 (11 innings)
At New York, Luis Polonia came home on Randy Velarde's two-out single in the bottom of the 11th as the Yankees avoided their first three-game losing streak since July 4-6. The loss snapped Baltimore's three-game winning streak.
Mariners 14, Rangers 4
At Arlington, Texas, Tino Martinez went 3-for-5 and drove in a career-high six runs for Seattle. Jay Buhner added a two-run homer and run-scoring single.
Reliever Bob Wells (1-0), making his American League debut when he came on in the third with the bases loaded, went four innings for the victory. Rich Gossage hurled the final three innings for his first save since April 27, 1993, and the 310th of his career.
Angels 6, Royals 1
Tim Salmon homered for the third straight game and Mark Langston (7-8) pitched a four-hitter as California handed visiting Kansas City its third straight loss after 14 consecutive victories.
Langston won for only the second time in seven starts and went the distance for the second time this season. The left-hander struck out six and walked one.
Indians 6, Blue Jays 1
At Toronto, Kenny Lofton tripled, doubled and singled, increasing his AL-leading hit total to 159, and scored once in Cleveland's victory.
Charles Nagy (10-8) allowed six hits over seven innings for the victory. Al Leiter (6-7) took the loss as the Blue Jays dropped their third in a row.
Twins 5, Red Sox 2
In Minneapolis, Matt Walbeck capped a three-run Minnesota rally in the sixth with a two-run single. Kevin Tapani (11-7) got the win, allowing two runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking one in seven innings. Rick Aguilera got the final three outs for his 23rd save.
White Sox 2, Athletics 1
Jack McDowell (10-9) struck out 10, walked none and scattered seven hits to lead visiting Chicago to victory. Tim Raines drove in the winning run with a one-out single in the ninth inning.