Alou, Expos Have Strength in Peace

First, Moises Alou made peace with the Houston Astros. Then, he helped the Montreal Expos defeat them.

Alou, facing a possible suspension for his part in an ugly brawl with the Astros on Monday, hit a pair of two-run homers Tuesday night to lead the Expos to a 7-4 victory at Montreal.

“I talked to [Astro Manager] Terry Collins today, I talked to [Astro pitcher] Shane Reynolds,” said Alou said, who threw a batting helmet that struck Collins in the face during the bench-clearing brawl and was one of six players ejected along with Collins.

“We let our feelings out and everything is cool now.”

Alou homered off Doug Drabek (6-8) in the first and hit his 16th homer in the second to give Montreal a 7-3 lead.

Pedro Martinez (10-7), who almost became embroiled in another incident in the second after being hit by a pitch, gave up four runs and five hits in seven-plus innings.

Martinez, who came up-and-in and decked Craig Biggio in the first inning, was hit by Doug Drabek in the second. Though others downplayed the incident--which saw Martinez glare at Drabek before being restrained briefly by Expo pitching coach Joe Kerrigan--Martinez was admittedly angry.

Cincinnati 10, San Diego 4--Hal Morris hit a three-run double in the first inning to lead the Reds over the Padres at Cincinnati.

Barry Larkin and Eric Davis both homered for the Reds, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Atlanta 2-5, Philadelphia 0-2--Greg Maddux pitched an eight-hitter to end his longest losing streak in six years, leading the Braves at Philadelphia in the first game of a doubleheader.

Maddux (11-10) struck out seven and walked one. He had lost his previous four decisions, his worst stretch since losing eight in a row for the Chicago Cubs in 1990.

Atlanta scored its runs in the sixth inning. Ed Giovanola led off with a single, stole second and scored on Chipper Jones’ single. Jones moved to second on a wild pitch, took third on Ryan Klesko’s groundout and scored on a passed ball by Benito Santiago.

In the nightcap, Mark Whiten hit a three-run pinch homer with two outs in the seventh and Marquis Grissom followed with a solo shot to help the Braves complete the sweep.

Florida 5, Colorado 0--Al Leiter pitched seven shutout innings and new third baseman Kurt Abbott drove in two runs to lead the Marlins past the Rockies at Miami.

Leiter (12-10), who pitched a no-hitter against the Rockies in May, held them to two hits before he departed after throwing 112 pitches. He walked six and struck out seven.

Abbott, making his first start at third after the Marlins traded Terry Pendleton to Atlanta earlier in the day, had a pair of two-out RBI singles against Kevin Ritz (13-8).

Chicago 3, New York 2--Amaury Telemaco gave up two hits over 7 2/3 innings and the Cubs held off a ninth-inning rally to defeat the Mets at New York.

Telemaco (5-6), a 22-year-old right-hander who had two losses and five no-decisions in his last seven starts, struck out five and walked two.

Jose Hernandez and Dave Magadan each hit solo home runs for the Cubs and Luis Gonzales had an RBI groundout.

San Francisco 12, Pittsburgh 10--Rick Wilkins pinch-hit a grand slam in the eighth inning as the Giants came back from a five-run deficit to beat the Pirates at Pittsburgh.

The Giants won despite giving up a grand slam by rookie Jerome Allensworth--the record-setting 10th of the year off San Francisco pitchers.

Wilkins connected off Francisco Cordova for his second career grand slam. Dan Plesac (3-5) was trying to protect an 8-5 lead when he loaded the bases with two walks and a single. Tom Lampkin doubled in two runs, and after a strikeout and intentional walk, Wilkins hit his ninth homer of the season.