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Not again

Expos respond to blanking with 6-4 win over Yanks

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Posted: Tuesday July 20, 1999 09:41 AM

Yankees fans show their appreciation for Cone's perfection at Monday night's game. AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Victimized by David Cone's perfect game a day earlier, the Montreal Expos vowed to put on a better show Monday night.

And they did, on all different levels.

First, the Expos ended their losing streak at six by beating the New York Yankees 6-4 behind Brad Fullmer's home run, two doubles and single.

Then, they found out their Class AAA pitchers, Shayne Bennett and Jason Durocher, had combined on a no-hitter to lead Ottawa over Syracuse in the International League.

"Tell the Yankees to take that," joked Montreal manager Felipe Alou. "I knew we had to something about that perfect game."

Fullmer went 4-for-4 and doubled to set up Shane Andrews' tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning. The Expos got 12 hits, drew two walks and were not retired in order until the ninth.

"David Cone is a great pitcher, and it was a big day for their franchise," Fullmer said. "But that's more of a thing for them to be excited about than for us to be down about. We got no hits and we lost."

Cone drew a standing ovation from the season-low crowd of 23,404 when he was introduced before the Yankees batted in the first. Having pitched the 14th perfect game in modern history, he stepped out of the dugout and waved his cap.

On a humid, 85-degree evening, Montreal made sure Hideki Irabu came nowhere close to duplicating Cone's feat. Rondell White, eyed in trade talks by the Yankees, singled with two outs in the first.

"Not many people and not having any buildup, it seemed flatter," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "But that shouldn't affect the pitcher. And the pitcher sets the tone."

Ramiro Mendoza (3-6) retired the first two Montreal batters in the eighth before Michael Barrett singled. Needing a triple for the cycle, Fullmer doubled down the right-field line to tie his career high of four hits. Andrews, the Expos' eighth-place hitter, singled for a 6-4 lead.

"I don't even know when we last won, to be honest," Andrews said.

Steve Kline (4-2) won in relief and Ugueth Urbina got his 20th save in 26 chances. Montreal won for the first time since July 9, a drought made longer by the All-Star break.

Derek Jeter's two-out, two-run double made it 4-4 in the seventh. Scott Brosius, who had three hits, singled with two outs and Chuck Knoblauch also singled.

Right-hander Guillermo Mota replaced Expos reliever Anthony Telford and threw a wild pitch that put runners at second and third. Jeter followed with a drive into the gap in right-center.

Fullmer, called back up from Ottawa on Thursday, hit a two-run homer off Irabu for a 4-2 lead in the sixth. That was the last inning for Irabu, 5-0 in nine starts since his last loss May 25.

"David Cone really showed us some great pitching yesterday and it would have been nice to win today, too," Irabu said through an interpreter.

Fullmer hit an RBI double in the second. White hit a double that was misplayed for an error by left fielder Ricky Ledee in the third, making it 2-0.

The Yankees scored in the third on Paul O'Neill's double-play grounder with the bases loaded.

A wild pitch by Jeremy Powell gave New York the tying run in the fifth. Powell has lost five straight decisions since last Aug. 11.

 

Related information
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Cone returns to Yankee Stadium a hero CNN/SI's Donovan: Perfect game illustrates inequity of game
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Yankees-Expos Box Score
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