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| Monday, Apr. 2 2:20pm ET Cubs unable to mount rally in 10th | |||||||||||||
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) – Graeme Lloyd hadn't pitched in 18 months, and this is how Montreal Expos manager Felipe Alou eases him back: Game tied. Bases loaded. Bottom of the ninth inning. No problem. Lloyd got the out to send Monday's game into extra innings, and Vladimir Guerrero hit an RBI single as the Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 in 10 innings in their season opener. "Felipe said, 'You haven't pitched in two years – here,' " said Lloyd, who missed last season with a torn rotator cuff. "He tried to lighten it up for me. "It's great to go out and pitch again. It's been a long time." There were quite a few Expos who could say that. Ugueth Urbina, who made only 13 appearances last season because of bone chips in his elbow, got the save. Mike Mordecai caught for the first time since 1993, when he was still in the minors, after backup Sandy Martinez left the game with an elbow injury. Martinez replaced Michael Barrett, who became the first player ejected this season when he was tossed in the eighth inning for arguing with plate umpire Rick Reed. And Tim Raines was back in uniform after missing the last 1½ years battling lupus. "We ended last year on a nine-game losing streak," Alou said. "I had to spend the winter thinking about that. But we broke it today, thanks to some good individual and team efforts." With two outs in the 10th, Jose Vidro singled to center off loser Jeff Fyhrie and moved to third on Fernando Tatis' single. Todd Van Poppel relieved, and Guerrero lined one to Ricky Gutierrez. The shortstop dived left for the ball, but it glanced off his glove, allowing Vidro to score the go-ahead run. "I was trying to get my glove on it, but it was just a little bit out of my reach," Gutierrez said. "I was just trying to come out with an outstanding play and I came out a little short." After rallying to tie with a three-run sixth, the Cubs blew a chance to win in the ninth. With one out, Eric Young reached on a single and then stole second. The Cubs got a break when Scott Strickland, who kept checking second, threw to second – only to find no one covering the bag. The ball rolled into the outfield and Young went to third on the error, with only one out. "Once I got on base, I wasn't going to stand around," said Young, who had another steal in the first inning. "I was going to make something happen." Bill Mueller lined out to first and the Expos intentionally walked Sammy Sosa. That brought up former Expos player Rondell White, who drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. But Lloyd relieved Strickland, and he got pinch-hitter Augie Ojeda to ground to third. "That's the most frustrating thing with a one-run game," Cubs manager Don Baylor said. "We had our chances to win." The Expos jumped on the Cubs early, needing only two pitches from Jon Lieber to get two runs. Peter Bergeron led off with a single, and Vidro sent the first pitch he saw over the right-field fence for a two-run homer. "I didn't even get a chance to unwind," Lieber said. "I can't remember something like that happening in my career." In the sixth, Milton Bradley hit a liner to Young, but Young's throw to first was high and Matt Stairs couldn't make the tag. As the umpire called Bradley safe, Guerrero took off and easily beat the throw to the plate, putting Montreal ahead 4-1. But the Cubs responded with a big sixth inning of their own. Gutierrez hit an RBI double, and Gary Matthews Jr. and Joe Girardi had RBI singles to tie the game at 4. "The game means a lot to this club," Mordecai said. "Winning one-run games is something we didn't do last year. We think we can play with anyone, and the one-run games add up." Barrett said he let the close game get to him when he argued Reed's call of a ball on Girardi's checked swing. Barrett threw his mask to the ground and Alou rushed from the dugout to pull his catcher away from Reed. "It's my first ejection, my first confrontation ever," Barrett said. "Unfortunately, the one game I get tossed out we have to rely on our No. 3 guy. It's a little bit of a lesson in how to control yourself." Game notesThis was only the third time the Expos and Cubs faced each other in the season opener, and the first since 1983. Montreal is 2-1 in openers against the Cubs. ... Lieber, making his second opening day start for the Cubs, turned 31 on Monday. ... White, playing against his former team for the first time, had an RBI single in the first inning.  Send this story to a friend
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RECAPS Chi. White Sox 7 Cleveland 4
Montreal 5
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