Expos Beat Martinez to Complete Sweep

Mike Thurman got a standing ovation from an Olympic Stadium crowd that came out to salute another pitcher.

Thurman pitched 7 1/3 strong innings Wednesday night and the Montreal Expos halted Pedro Martinez’s nine-game winning streak, beating the Boston Red Sox, 13-1, to sweep the three-game series at Montreal.

“What a great feeling to come off the field with the fans cheering for you,” Thurman said. “It sent chills down my spine. That’s probably the best feeling I’ve had as a pro ballplayer.”

It was Boston’s season-high fifth consecutive loss.

A crowd of 19,012, the Expos’ second-largest of the season, saw Martinez’s first appearance in Montreal since he was traded to the Red Sox on Nov. 18, 1997, after winning the National League Cy Young Award with the Expos.

“What an unbelievable game,” Thurman said. “Obviously the fans here love Pedro and they’re pulling for him, but I think when it came down to it they really wanted us to win.”

Martinez (11-2), who struck out a career-high 16 in his last start, gave up four runs on six hits in six innings, tying his shortest outing of the season. He struck out 10, his ninth game this season with double-digit strikeouts.

“I just wanted to come back here and keep on rolling, but they beat me,” he said. “If I’m ever going to lose to a team, I’d rather lose to this team. Not to any other.”

Rondell White went three for five with one run batted in and reliever Guillermo Mota homered in his first major league at-bat during an eight-run eighth inning for the Expos. Manny Martinez added a two-run shot during the big inning.

Thurman (2-3) held the Red Sox to five hits and one run in 7 1/3 innings.

The Expos outscored the Red Sox in the series, 26-4, and are 6-0 at home against Boston in interleague play. Neither team has won in the other’s park as Boston swept a three-game series from the Expos last year at Boston.

Cincinnati 3, Minnesota 1--Brett Tomko improved to 7-0 in interleague games and Jeffrey Hammonds had a two-run single at Minneapolis.

Tomko (2-3) gave up one run and seven hits in seven innings to get his first victory since May 16. He struck out six and walked two.

Tomko, who was 4-0 vs. the American League in 1997 and 2-0 in 1998, gave up a walk and three singles in the first but didn’t allow a run. Minnesota’s Denny Hocking was tagged out as he tried to go from first to third on an infield single, and the Twins later left the bases loaded. Tomko also pitched out of trouble in the fifth and sixth innings.

New York Yankees 11, Philadelphia 5--With George Steinbrenner watching from the first row, the Yankees scored eight runs in the sixth inning at Philadelphia and ended their five-game losing streak at Veterans Stadium.

Tino Martinez homered and drove in four runs, Paul O’Neill had a two-run triple and Chuck Knoblauch had two hits as the Yankees became the Broad Street Bombers for a night. It was their first victory in six games at the Vet.

With the score tied, 3-3, 10 of New York’s first 11 batters reached base in the sixth. Yankee starter David Cone (4-3) even had a run-scoring double, his first hit since 1992 while with the New York Mets.

New York Mets 4, Toronto 3--Rey Ordonez shook off a 0-for-5 night by singling in the winning run in the 14th inning at New York.

Thomas Davey (1-1) walked Luis Lopez and Brian McRae to open the 14th before being replaced by Dan Plesac. Roger Cedeno put down a sacrifice bunt with two strikes, bringing up Ordonez, who hadn’t hit the ball out of the infield in his first five at-bats.

With the outfielders playing in, Ordonez hit a fly ball over Shannon Stewart’s head to score the winning run.

Pat Mahomes (2-0) pitched three shutout innings for the win.

Atlanta 4, Tampa Bay 3--Andruw Jones drove home the winning run with a bases-loaded single to center in the 12th inning at Atlanta.

The Braves, who have won five in a row, squandered two scoring chances before winning against Rick White (4-1).

Randall Simon was thrown out while trying to stretch a double into a triple in the ninth, then Bret Boone hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the 11th.

But the Braves loaded the bases in the 12th when Chipper Jones and Brian Jordan singled and Javy Lopez was walked intentionally. Otis Nixon hit into a force at home before Andruw Jones lined a hit over the drawn-in outfield to send the Devil Rays to their sixth consecutive loss, and 15th in 17 games.

Cleveland 6, Milwaukee 5--Jacob Cruz, recalled earlier in the day from triple-A Buffalo, singled home Jim Thome with two outs in the 10th inning at Cleveland.

Cruz’s first hit as an American Leaguer helped the Indians win on a night when their bullpen and the lights above Jacobs Field contributed to the Indians blowing a 5-1 lead in the eighth.

Richie Sexson ended his 0-for-June slide by homering twice for the Indians.

Thome reached on a two-out fielder’s choice in the 10th before Sexson singled to right against Rafael Roquee (1-5). Cruz, acquired last year from the San Francisco Giants, then blooped a single into left.

The Brewers scored three unearned runs to tie the score, 5-5, in the eighth, with the final two runs scoring when right fielder David Justice lost Alex Ochoa’s liner in the lights for a triple.

Baltimore 4, Florida 2--Scott Erickson pitched seven effective innings and Jeff Conine homered against his former team at Miami as the Orioles ended the Marlins’ seven-game winning streak.

The Marlins were trying to match the second-longest winning string in team history. Instead, B.J. Surhoff homered as the Orioles stopped a four-game losing skid.

Erickson (2-8) won for the first time in six starts since May 9. He had lost three in a row. He gave up two runs and five hits. Arthur Rhodes struck out the side in the ninth for his third save.