Berry’s Homecoming Is a Montreal Nightmare

Montreal was at home, where it hadn’t lost in almost a month.

Sean Berry felt at home, though he was playing for the Houston Astros.

In his first game at Olympic Stadium since being traded to Houston in the off-season, Berry homered and drove in four runs Thursday night, leading an 18-hit Houston attack in an 11-4 victory that snapped the Expos’ home winning streak at 10 games.

“It’s kind of weird playing here,” said Berry, who spent three seasons with the Expos. “I had a lot of fun here and I consider some of my best friends in baseball on the other team.

“It’s fun to win at all costs. But it’s kind of weird beating your close friends.”

Berry hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and had RBI singles in the first and eighth to help stop Montreal’s overall winning streak at five.

Jeff Bagwell went three for four with three RBIs and three runs scored, Derek Bell went four for six with an RBI single, and Orlando Miller was three for five with an RBI. Derrick May doubled in two runs in the eighth inning.

Darryl Kile (4-2) won his fourth consecutive decision, giving up two runs--one earned--on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out nine, leading the Astros to their seventh win in a row in Montreal.

Kirk Rueter (2-2), struggling because of a swollen knee, lasted 1 2/3 innings, his shortest outing in seven starts, and was charged with four runs on seven hits.

The Astros scored two runs in the first inning and two more in the second to chase Rueter.

Bagwell and Berry had RBI singles in the first, and Bagwell and Bell added RBI singles in the second.

“I’m worried about him,” Expo Manager Felipe Alou said of Rueter. “He’s limping badly.”

It was Montreal’s first loss at Olympic Stadium since a 9-8 decision to Philadelphia on April 18.

Henry Rodriguez hit his 13th home run for the Expos.

St. Louis 16, San Francisco 8--The Cardinals, who had a seven-run inning the day before, went even better, with Willie McGee’s grand slam highlighting an 11-run eighth inning in St. Louis.

The Cardinals won for only the fourth time in 16 games, and the 11-run eighth--which overcame an 8-5 deficit--was one short of the team record for runs in an inning, set Sept. 13, 1926, against Philadelphia.

Barry Bonds hit his league-leading 15th homer for the Giants. Luis Alicea drove in four runs for the Cardinals, who outhit San Francisco, 16-6.

Giant starter Osvaldo Fernandez left after four innings because of back spasms after giving up five runs and eight hits.

San Diego 7, Pittsburgh 1--Tony Gwynn and Wally Joyner drove in two runs apiece in support of Andy Ashby for the Padres, who won in Pittsburgh.

Ashby (4-2), who has won four of his last five starts against Pittsburgh, lost his previous two decisions when the Padres scored only one run in each.

Florida 6, Colorado 2--Rookie Kurt Miller pitched eight strong innings in his first start since 1994, and the Marlins extended their winning streak to four games with a victory in Miami.

Miller (1-0) was recalled Sunday from triple-A Charlotte to replace struggling left-hander Chris Hammond in the Florida rotation. A 23-year-old right-hander, Miller gave up five hits en route to his second major league victory and Colorado’s fourth consecutive defeat.