MONTREAL (AP) _ Ryan Dempster won a true Canada Day pitching matchup and Mark Kotsay had three hits, including a home run, as the Florida Marlins beat the Montreal Expos 6-5 Saturday night.

Dempster (9-4), a native of Schelt, British Columbia, bested Edmonton's Mike Johnson (3-3) in a rare matchup of Canadian starters on the country's 133rd birthday.

Just 8,529 fans were on hand at Olympic Stadium as the Expos fell to 4-7 on their 12-game homestand.

Montreal lost its third in a row. The Expos rallied for two runs in the ninth on RBI singles by Michael Barrett and Mike Mordecai.

Kotsay singled in the first, homered leading off the fifth and singled in the sixth. He is 22-for-42 (.523) with 10 RBIs over his last nine games.

Montreal's Jose Vidro went 3-for-5, including his 28th double in the eighth, to extend his career-best hitting streak to 14 games.

Dempster allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings for his third straight win in his last four starts. He walked five and struck out eight.

Antonio Alfonseca hung on in the ninth for his 24th save in 27 opportunities.

Florida scored three times in the fourth off Johnson to take a 4-1 lead.

After Preston Wilson hit a fly off the stadium's roof that was caught by left fielder Rondell White for the first out, Mike Lowell singled and Derek Lee walked.

Dave Berg hit an RBI double and Mike Redmond followed with a run-scoring single to make it 3-1. Dempster's RBI single gave the Marlins a three-run lead.

Kotsay homered in the fifth, and Cliff Floyd doubled and Wilson singled to chase Johnson. Lowell's sacrifice fly put Florida ahead 6-1.

Barrett's RBI single in the seventh drove in Montreal's third run.

Notes: Barrett entered the game in the seventh as part of a double switch. ... Dempster also participated in the majors' last all-Canadian matchup when he faced Montreal native Eric Gagne, who was making his major league debut for Los Angeles last Sept. 7 at Pro Player Stadium. ... Florida SS Alex Gonzalez, day-to-day with an injured middle right, missed his fifth straight start. ... Vidro, who had a 12-game streak from May 1-14, is hitting .362 (21-for-58) with four doubles, four homers and eight RBIs since beginning his current streak on June 16. ... Montreal has gone 7-15 since June 5, when it beat the New York Yankees 6-4 to extend its season-best winning streak to six games.