EXPOS RETURN TO MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, FIND PHILLIES RUDE HOSTS
Eternal Baseball
PHILADELPHIA – The Expos made their long-awaited return to Major League Baseball but found the Phillies more than ready to crash their “welcome back” party.
Grover Alexander pitched eight dominant innings and the top of the Philadelphia lineup (Billy Hamilton and Ed Delahanty) tormented Montreal all night in a pre-season opening 6-2 victory on Monday evening.
Cell phones sparkled as Phillies starter Grover Alexander delivered his first pitch to Expos leadoff man Tim Raines at 7:07 PM EST and a small roar issued from a sizable amount of Expos fans who traveled for the event. The Expos hadn’t played a Major League Baseball game since October 4th, 2004. The warm nostalgia did not last long, as Grover Alexander set Montreal down in order and the Phillies arrived with bats ready for the bottom of the first inning.
Phillies center fielder Billy Hamilton kickstarted the inning with a single off Expos starter Steve Rogers and scored on the very next pitch as Ed Delahanty lashed a triple off the wall in center field. Following a walk to Dick Allen and a Mike Schmidt groundout, Felipe Alou asked for an intentional walk to Chase Utley to load the bases and set up a potential inning-ending double play.
Bobby Abreu ripped a single to center that scored Delahanty but Allen was thrown out at the plate – the victim of Andre Dawson’s fearsome throwing arm from center field. The inning went off the rails when Sherry Magee’s single scored Utley and Rogers’ wild pickoff throw sent Abreu home as Philadelphia pulled out to an early 4-0 lead.
Rogers settled down after the rocky first inning, though Philadelphia added single runs in the third (when Grover Alexander tapped an RBI single through the infield to score Bobby Abreu) and fifth innings (on Chase Utley’s solo homer to center). Montreal got on the board in top of the sixth inning behind a Tim Raines leadoff double and Andres Galarraga’s RBI single, but Andre Dawson’s inning-ending groundout left the score 6-1 Phillies.
Charlie Lea and Jeff Fassero teamed to provide three scoreless relief innings for Montreal, and Gary Carter scored on pinch-hitter Rusty Staub’s groundout, but Montreal got no closer than 6-2. Alexander left after eight strong innings for Philadelphia and Curt Schilling set down the Expos with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to preserve the victory.
Steve Rogers (0-1) took the loss with a rocky performance (5 IP, 8 H, 6 R/5 ER, 5 BB, 3 K) and Grover Alexander (1-0) earned the victory behind a strong showing (8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). The Phillie offense was just too much on a night where every Philadelphia player (including the pitcher) reached base, and Billy Hamilton teamed with Ed Delahanty to notch five hits and two walks.
Tuesday night brings game two of this pre-season opening series. Right-hander George McQuillan take the hill for Philly, as right-hander “El Presidente” Dennis Martinez makes his season debut with Montreal. First pitch from Citizens Bank Park is at 7:05 PM EST.
Photo credit: Citizens Bank Ballpark by Ian D’Andrea
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