Torborg Doesn’t Stop Expos’ Slide

A change of managers did not change the Montreal Expos’ bad luck.

First baseman Lee Stevens’ two-out error in the ninth inning enabled three runs to score Thursday night and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Expos, 5-2, at Montreal, in Jeff Torborg’s first game as the Expos’ manager.

Torborg became the Expos’ 10th manager earlier in the day after Felipe Alou, the winningest and longest-serving manager in team history, was fired.

The Expos, with the third-worst record in the National League, quickly fell behind when Doug Glanville hit his 10th homer on Hideki Irabu’s second pitch of the game.

“I was really impressed with the way our guys kept working at it, putting pressure on their pitchers,” Torborg said. “They kept coming back in tough situations. I liked what I’ve seen.”

With the score tied, 2-2, Bobby Abreu, already three for three with a sacrifice fly, walked leading off the ninth and stole second, just beating catcher Michael Barrett’s throw after a pitchout.

Scott Rolen singled against Scott Strickland (0-2), advancing Abreu to third, and Travis Lee walked to load the bases.

Strickland, who came on with one out in the eighth and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam, struck out Pat Burrell and Gary Bennett before getting Marlon Anderson to ground sharply to first.

“The ball hit the seam between the dirt and the turf,” Strickland said. “Nobody’s ever said this is the greatest turf in the world here. It may have cost us the game tonight because it sure put a squirrelly bounce on that ball and it slipped through Lee’s legs. It’s one of those things where they give him an error but it’s not, it’s just complete bad luck.”

Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 2--Kyle Peterson earned his first major league victory since 1999, helping himself with a run-scoring double at St. Louis.

Geoff Jenkins, who had three hits, and Richie Sexson each drove in two runs during a six-run second inning against Dustin Hermanson (5-3).

Peterson (1-0), who sat out last season after shoulder surgery, was called up from triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday to replace the injured Jamey Wright in the rotation. He gave up two runs and five hits in five innings for his first victory since Sept. 26, 1999.

Florida 5, New York 3--Ryan McGuire’s pinch-hit grand slam at Miami was the second of the season for the Marlins.

The Marlins have won three consecutive games under Tony Perez, who agreed earlier in the day to manage the club for the remainder of the season.

The Marlins are 3-1 under Perez, a Hall of Fame first baseman who managed 44 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 1993.

Hitting for starter Ryan Dempster in the seventh, McGuire drove Turk Wendell’s 2-1 pitch into the right-field seats to cap a five-run inning.

Houston 8, San Diego 4--Shane Reynolds hit the first homer by an Astro pitcher in more than a year and Vinny Castilla went four for four as the Astros beat emergency starter Wascar Serrano at San Diego.

It was the Astros’ second consecutive victory after a season-high eight-game losing streak. Four of the losses were to the Padres.

Lance Berkman had three hits and three RBIs. He and Castilla each hit two doubles.

Serrano made the start on only a few hours’ notice after Adam Eaton accidentally stabbed himself in the stomach with a small knife Wednesday night while opening a package.