New York Dodgers, er, Mets, Lose to Expos

It wasn’t a good night to be a former Dodger at Montreal on Thursday. Mike Piazza and Bobby Bonilla combined to go one for six and Orel Hershiser gave up five runs on eight hits in four innings in his New York Met debut as the Expos won their home opener, 5-1.

Another former Dodger, Wilton Guerrero, was 0 for 3 for Montreal, but his brother Vladimir and Shane Andrews each had two runs batted in.

The Expos finished 23 games behind the Mets last season but went 8-4 head-to-head and won a crucial two-game series at Shea Stadium the last week of the season. That started New York on a season-ending five-game losing streak and the Mets fell one game short of a playoff game.

“They have a lot of talent and some good arms,” Met Manager Bobby Valentine said. “You have to play better than them. You can’t just show up.”

The Expos scored twice off Hershiser (0-1) in the first and third innings in front of a near-sellout crowd of 43,918 at Olympic Stadium.

“I could have got us out of some jams and I didn’t throw the ball well,” Hershiser said. “I don’t think I was trying to do too much. I gave them three after we climbed back into the game--that was tough.”

Adding to his miserable night, Hershiser was picked off second base by catcher Chris Widger in the third inning with Edgardo Alfonzo at bat. Four pitches later, Alfonzo homered.

Philadelphia 6, Atlanta 3--On the night Hank Aaron was honored, Scott Rolen and Rico Brogna hit solo homers to power the Phillies past the Braves at Atlanta.

Before the game, Aaron was praised on the 25th anniversary of his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s record. Commissioner Bud Selig, NL president Len Coleman and Al Downing, who surrendered the historic homer at Atlanta, were among those taking part in the 45-minute ceremony.

Aaron, now 65 and a Braves’ senior vice president, finished with 755 home runs. He was part of a sellout crowd of 47,225 that watched Brogna homer in the second and Rolen connect in the sixth off Kevin Millwood (0-1).

Brave reliever Mark Wohlers, who walked four in two-thirds of an inning on Monday, took over in the ninth and walked two batters on four pitches and committed an error before being pulled without getting an out.

Chicago 2, Houston 1--Sammy Sosa continued to struggle, but Henry Rodriguez and Jose Hernandez picked him up in the Astrodome, hitting home runs in the second inning off Jose Lima.

Sosa remained homerless for the season and is one for 10 in three games.

Jon Lieber (1-0) won his first start for the Cubs. He gave up five hits in eight innings, striking out six and walking none.

Rod Beck got a save in his first appearance of the season--with some help from the artificial turf.

With two out in the ninth and Jeff Bagwell on first base, Carl Everett hit a ground-rule double that bounced over the left-field fence. Had the ball stayed in play, Bagwell would have had a chance to score.

Instead, Bagwell had to stop at third, and Beck got Richard Hidalgo on a game-ending grounder.

San Francisco 12, San Diego 4--Barry Bonds hit a two-run homer and Marvin Benard had a three-run shot as the Giants celebrated the final home opener at their wind-swept ballpark at Candlestick Point with a victory over the Padres.

Shawn Estes (1-0), who walked seven batters in five innings, added a three-run double as the Giants scored seven in the fourth. Estes gave up three runs on four hits while throwing 124 pitches.

Bonds homered off the scoreboard hanging beneath the upper deck in right field in the fourth, his second of the season. Ellis Burks and Rich Aurilia added RBIs in the inning, which was capped by Estes’ second career double.

Benard hit his homer in the second. Aurilia added a run-scoring groundout in that inning off Padre starter Stan Spencer (0-1), who gave up eight runs and eight hits in three innings.

Aurilia added a homer in the eighth, giving him three RBIs for the game.

The attendance of 57,430 was the second largest for a regular-season game in San Francisco history. The biggest was 58,077 for the 1994 opener.

St. Louis 9, Milwaukee 4--Fernando Tatis’ three-run, fifth-inning homer, his third in as many games for the Cardinals, was the big hit in a victory over the Brewers at St. Louis.

He is one homer away from tying one of Mark McGwire’s many records from last season, when the slugger joined Willie Mays as the only player to hit homers in each of the first four games.

Tatis has six RBIs and he also stole his first two bases, helping to spoil the National League debut of Jim Abbott.

Abbott (0-1) lasted five innings and gave up six runs and five hits. The pitcher, who has only one hand, was 0 for 2 in the first regular-season at-bats of his career, although it took a perfect play by Tatis at third to catch him by a half-step on a chopper to start the third.

McGwire, who homered in the opener, was 0 for 3 with an intentional walk. He scored on Tatis’ home run, which put the Cardinals ahead, 6-3.