Expos Can’t Get Past Bonds, Kent

Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent hit consecutive home runs and Kirk Rueter pitched six solid innings as the San Francisco Giants won their fifth home game in a row by defeating the Montreal Expos, 7-2, Monday night.

Rueter (4-2) gave up one earned run and eight hits in defeating his former team for the second time in four tries since being traded to San Francisco midway through the 1996 season.

Rueter walked one and struck out three, rebounding from his worst outing of the season at Florida last Wednesday, when he gave up a career-high seven runs, including three homers, in five innings.

Rueter also benefited from San Francisco’s defense, which turned five double plays.

Bill Mueller doubled twice to extend his career-high hitting streak to 15 games. The string matched the longest in the NL this season by Atlanta’s Andres Galarraga, who hit in 15 consecutive games from April 23 to May 8.

Rookie Javier Vazquez (1-4) lasted four innings, giving up five runs and six hits, including both homers. He walked three and struck out four.

Bonds connected for his ninth homer in the third inning, a two-run shot that broke a 1-1 tie. Darryl Hamilton walked ahead of the homer by Bonds.

Kent, who drove in three runs, followed with his fourth homer to put San Francisco ahead, 4-1. He also had a run-scoring single in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Mueller added a run-scoring double in the fourth and Charlie Hayes doubled in the seventh, scoring Kent, who had reached on shortstop Mark Grudzielanek’s fielding error.

Montreal scored on Rondell White’s sacrifice fly in the first and his double-play grounder in the sixth.

Outfielder Robert Perez, acquired Friday from Seattle for catcher Raul Chavez, had two hits in his debut for the Expos.