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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ATLANTA (AP) -- Vladimir Guerrero did in the Atlanta Braves with
his bat and his arm.
Brian Schneider drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly
and Tomas De La Rosa added an RBI single in the 12th inning
Saturday night as the Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves 7-5 in
the four hours and 40 minute game involving 46 players.
The Braves, despite having their four-game winning streak
snapped, remained 3½ games ahead of the New York Mets in the NL
East. The Mets lost 6-3 to Philadelphia.
Guerrero, however, made the win possible for the Expos, hitting
a two-run homer and throwing out the potential winning run at home
in the 10th.
"I don't really care to talk about him," Braves manager Bobby
Cox said.
Expos manager Felipe Alou, however, didn't mind discussing
Guerrero, who lifted his batting average to .350 with a 2-for-4
night, including a pair of walks.
"It's too bad the game wasn't on the superstation (TBS)," said
Alou of the game that was televised only a regional cable channel.
"Then people could see what kind of a player that guy is.
"He's an incredible competitor. He's amazing."
The Expos won it in the 12th off reliever Chris Seelbach (0-1),
Atlanta's eighth pitcher who was making his major league debut.
Geoff Blum opened the inning with a single and after Andy Tracy
fouled out trying to sacrifice, Mike Barrett singled Blum to third.
Schneider followed with his sacrifice fly to left and De La Rosa
then drilled a single to center for another run.
Julio Santana (1-5), the Expos seventh pitcher, got the win for
the Expos with two scoreless innings of relief.
Guerrero, hitting .548 with three homers and 12 RBI against
Atlanta this season, hit his 35th homer in the sixth inning to give
Montreal a 5-3 lead. But the Braves tied it with two runs in the
eighth on a solo homer by Reggie Sanders -- his eighth -- and a
two-out RBI single by Rafael Furcal. Both runs were charged to
reliever Steve Kline.
Guerrero threw out Keith Lockhart at home in the 10th. Lockhart
led off the inning with a single and took second on a sacrifice. He
tried to score from second on Furcal's line single to right off
Guillermo Mota. Guerrero's one-hop throw home easily nailed
Lockhart.
"He's the one guy you didn't want it hit to and the ball was
hit pretty hard, a line drive," Lockhart said.
"But he (Guerrero) can launch it just as easily as throwing a
strike, so you take your chances and he threw a strike," said the
Atlanta second baseman, who just started his slide when catcher
Scheider had the ball waiting for him at the plate.
"If the throw is off a little, we win the game," said Braves'
third base coach Ned Yost, who waved Lockhart home. "We had a
chance to win it right there, so I took it."
The Braves did manage to get Guerrero out twice.
Kerry Ligtenberg came on in relief of Mike Remlinger in the
ninth with the bases loaded and one out and struck out Guerrero on
a 1-2 slider, then retired Blum on a grounder to first.
In the 11th, with two outs and a runner on first, Guerrero
drilled a wicked liner that Sanders caught in right as it was
hooking away from him.
Andy Tracy hit a three-run homer off Burkett in the fourth after
singles by Fernando Seguignol and Guerrero. Tracy's eighth homer
gave the Expos a 3-2 lead.
Burkett gave up five runs and eight hits in five-plus innings.
Expos starter Mike Thurman pitched 6 2-3 innings. He allowed
three runs, seven hits, walked two and struck out five.
The Braves got a pair of runs in the first off Thurman on a
two-run double by Brian Jordan and tied it at 3 in the fourth on a
sacrifice fly by Keith Lockhart.
Game notes
Seguignol went 3-for-4. The three hits matched his career
high. He also had three hits on July 23 against Florida. ... Jordan
left the game in the seventh after fouling a ball off his right
foot in his sixth inning at-bat. X-rays were negative and he's day
to day. ... Burkett hasn't won since beating Houston 8-4 on July
29, six weeks ago. He's 0-2 with four no-decisions in six starts.
... The crowd of 47,775 was Atlanta's 21st sellout of the season.
... The Braves used 26 players -- a franchise record -- including
eight pitchers, which matched a franchise record. The Expos used 21
players.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Montreal Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
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