Going for it all.... in Montreal!

[Big T]

June 26th, 1978


The Montreal Expos (31-34) look to get back on the winning track when the face the New York Mets (28-36) The Expos are 4-2 against the Mets this season. Montreal will send RHP Eddie Hernanez to the the hill, the 25 year old is 7-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 15 starts. The Mets will have RHP Hector Silva on the bump, the 25 year old is 5-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 14 starts.

The game got called because of rain as the two teams will attempt to play a double header tomorrow.

The Montreal Expos activated LF Yue-Jiu Zhou from his rehab assignment in AAA, the 23 year old hit 299 with 1 HR and 8 RBIs in 18 AAA games. The Expos have demoted RF Raul Rodriquez to AAA, the 24 year old hit .273 with 2 HRs and 20 RBIs in 52 games for the Expos.


Cincinnati Reds RF Ed Betancourt was 3 for 5 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs in a 8-6 win over the Astros. The 26 year old is now hitting .322 with 26 HRs and 74 RBIs in 64 games. This is Betancourts rookie season.

The San Diego Padres have been given a blow for their pennant chase, LF Jack Hepburn is going to miss up to 4 weeks with a herniated disc. The 25 year old was hitting .317 with 12 HRs and 46 RBIs in 66 games. For his career, Hepburn was hitting .303 with 23 HRs and 123 RBIs in 244 MLB games over 6 seasons.

[Big T]

June 27th, 1978


The Montreal Expos (31-34) will play a double header with the New York Mets (28-36) The Expos are 4-2 against the Mets this season. Montreal will start RHP Eddie Hernanez, the 25 year old is 7-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 15 starts. The Mets will have RHP Hector Silva on the hill, the 25 year old is 5-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 14 starts.

New York 2 Montreal 0


The Montreal Expos continue to make opposition pitchers look like Cy Young candidates as they have not scored a run in 18 innings and have had just 10 hits over the same time.

This time it was Hector Silva that was the benefactor of the Expos lack of punch. Silva is now 6-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 15 starts. For his career, Silva is 9-9 with 2 saves, a 2.92 ERA in 68 games of which 31 were starts.

Expos Eddie Hernanez definitely deserved a better fate, but his record fell to 7-5 despite the quality start. The Expos are 0-6 in Hernanez's last 6 starts scoring 1 run or less in 3 of them.

Despite the loss, 2B Gilberto Luna had 3 hits, but also had 2 errors on back to back plays.

In game two, it will be Expos LHP Jordan Hall going against Mets RHP Arturo Garcia. The 27 year old Hall is 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 14 starts while the 32 year old Garcia is 1-5 with a 4.05 ERA in 11 starts.

New York 3 Montreal 1


Not going to win many games scoring 1 run every 3 games. The Expos offense let down another pitcher today and allowed another teams pitcher have a pretty easy night.

Arturo Garcia was the player of the game and is now 2-5 with a 3.84 ERA in 12 starts. For his career, Garcia is 46-50 with a 4.14 ERA in 165 MLB games including 138 starts.

RF Donato Bem collected his 15th SB as an Expos, that gives him 19 on the season. It was not enough to overcome the Expos 4th straight loss. Despite his quality start, Jordan Hall fell to 5-3.

[Big T]

June 28th, 1978


The Pittsburgh Pirates (30-35) are in town for three with the Montreal Expos (31-36). Both teams are tied for 1st in the NL East despite losing records. The Expos have owned the Pirates this year going 5-1 in 6 games. The Pirates will go with RHP Josh McGuigan, the 33 year old is 3-0 with 1 save, a 2.50 ERA in 24 games. This will be his 1st start of the season as he has not started a game since 1976. The Expos will go with LHP Jim Lea, the 26 year old is 3-3 with a 3.70 ERA in 10 starts. The Expos have just over 29100 in the stands for this one.

Montreal 5 Pittsburgh 1


The Expos got an efficient outing from SP Jim Lea, as he needed just 95 pitches for a complete game win. The Expos were also efficient offensively scoring 5 runs of 5 hits.

The 26 year old Lea is now 4-3 with a 3.34 ERA in 11 starts. For his career, Lea is 7-6 with 1 save, a 3.22 ERA in 63 games including his 11 starts, his only 11 starts with the Expos.

Expos C Bobby Rodriquez hit a 2-run single in the 1st to give the Expos a 4-0 lead. Expos 2B Gilberto Luna collected his 35th and 36th SBs of the season.

[Big T]

June 29th, 1978


The Pittsburgh Pirates (30-36) will face the Montreal Expos (32-36) in game two of the series. Montreal is 6-1 against the Pirates this year. Pittsburgh will start LHP Bobby Russell, the 27 year old is 7-4 with a 2.19 ERA 13 starts this year. The Expos will counter with RHP Jim Pearcey, the 25 year old is 1-4 with a 3.64 ERA in 24 games including 3 starts. The Expos have announce a crowd of just over 29000 at Bell Park tonight.

Montreal 1 Pittsburgh 0


The Expos were fortunate that the Pirates offense could not capitalize on 9 hits and 3 walks today. They left 10 men on base compared to the Expos with just 1.

Pirates SP Bobby Russell was the player of the game, the 27 year old falls to 7-5 with a 2.11 ERA in 14 starts this year. For his career, Russell is 35-32 with a 4.02 ERA in 90 MLB games including 89 starts.

In the bottom of the 6th, Expos LF David de la Torre hit a RBI single to score the only run in the game. Jim Pearcey stuck around long enough to get the win and he is now 2-4. CL Aidan Beasley faced 4 in the 9th to earn his 18th save.


Los Angeles Dodgers SP Robby Green allowed 2 hits and struck out 4 over 7 innings in a 1-0 loss to the Phillies. The 37 year old is now 6-3 with a 1.84 ERA in 15 starts. For his career, Green is 109-38 with a 2.55 ERA in 208 MLB starts over 10 seasons.

[Big T]

June 30th, 1978


The Pittsburgh Pirates (30-37) will face the Montreal Expos (33-36) in the final game of the three game series. The Expos are 7-1 against the Pirates so far this season. The Pirates will start former Expos RHP Mario Romero, the 34 year old is 4-4 with a 4.24 ERA in 13 starts. The Expos will send RHP Eric Marks to the mound, the 30 year old is 5-8 with a 3.73 ERA in 14 games, including 13 starts. There are just over 35000 fans in the stands for the game.

Pittsburgh 3 Montreal 1 (11)


Some times you win games you should lose, sometimes you lose games you should win.... today the Expos found the later of the two.

Expos SP Eric Marks deserved a much better fate but when the Expos brought in LHP Robbie Jones to face LHB Francisco de Leon with 2 outs, they were not expecting the lefty specialist to give up a 2-run double to make it 3-1.

Eric Marks was the player of the game and he is now 5-8 with a 3.49 ERA in 15 games, 14 starts. For his career, Marks is 34-37 with a 3.38 ERA in 102 MLB games including 98 starts over 6 seasons.

Expos RHP Will Gibson put the runners on that scored and took the loss to fall to 4-3.


Cincinnati Reds RF Ed Betancourt was named the NL Player of the Month and NL Rookie of the Month. The 26 year old is hitting .321 with 28 HRs and 77 RBIs in 68 games. This is Betancourts 1st season in the MLB.

Kansas City Royals CF David Sanchez was named the AL Player of the Month. The 23 year old is hitting .271 with 13 HRs and 57 RBIs in 67 games. Last season Sanchez hit .170 with 7 HRs and 31 RBIs in 79 games for the Royals.

Cincinnati Reds SP Nick Grace was named the NL Pitcher of the Month. The 29 year old is 8-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 15 starts this year. Last season, Grace was 6-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 22 starts for the Reds.

Boston Red Sox CL Edward Laverick was named the AL Pitcher of the Month. The 27 year old is 5-5 with 9 saves, a 3.36 ERA in 22 games including 7 starts. Last season, Laverick was in AAA Buffalo as a hitter and did not pitch. He last pitched in 1971 in AA.

Detroit Tigers RF Tyler Hickenbottom was named the AL Rookie of the Month. The 23 year old is hitting .280 with 11 HRs and 37 RBIs in 61 games. Last season Hickenbottom hit .262 with 4 HRs and 19 RBIs in 34 AA games for the Tigers.

[Big T]

July 1st, 1978


There were no MLB games scheduled.

July 2nd, 1978

The Montreal Expos (33-37) go to Houston (39-31) for a 3 game set with the Astros and will have to face former Expos LHP Jamari Taft. The 30 year old is 2-0 since going to Houston and is now 5-4 with a 2.53 ERA in 15 games, including 14 starts. The Expos will go with RHP Eddie Hernanez, the 25 year old is 7-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 16 starts. Houston leads the seasonal series 3-2.

Montreal 5 Houston 2


The Expos SP Eddie Hernanez again didn't seem like he was going to get the run support and after he gave up back to back HRs in the 6th, it looked bleak again. But this time it was the Expos that got a clutch HR to secure the win.

Expos 3B Gene Watkins came into the game as a PH in the 8th and promptly hit a 3-run Jack to give the Expos a 5-2 lead. It was Watkins 2nd HR as an Expos and 5th HR of the season.

Despite the Astros losing and the Expos running up the pitch count, SP Jamari Taft was the player of the game. The 30 year old is now 5-4 with a 2.50 ERA in 16 games including 15 starts. He has a 1.74 ERA as an Astro in 5 starts. Last season Taft was 8-6 with a 2.47 ERA in 21 starts for the Expos.

Expos RHP Mark Holmgren pitched 2 solid innings for the win and is now 2-1 on the year. CL Aidan Beasley faced 4 Astros hitters in the 9th for his 19th save.


Cincinnati Reds RF Ed Betancourt was 3 for 4 with a HR and 4 RBIs in a 6-5 win over the Braves. The 26 year old is hitting .327 with 30 HRs and 81 RBIs in 69 games. Betancourt was named the NL Player of the Week today as well.

California Angels CF Wattas Sumai was named the AL Player of the Week. The 23 year old is not hitting .243 with 5 HRs and 36 RBIs in 59 games. Last year Sumai hit .169 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs in 23 games with the Angels.

The Montreal Expos are currently ranked 14th in the MLB Power Rankings. The have been given a 57.1% chance of making the playoffs. With 29 games remaining, they have 18 at home.

[Big T]

July 3rd, 1978


The Montreal Expos (34-37) will play game two with the Houston Astros (39-32). The Expos and 3-3 against the Astros this year. Montreal will start LHP Jordan Hall, the 27 year old is 5-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 15 starts. The Astros counter with LHP Jeff Church, the 31 year old is 6-7 with a 3.39 ERA in 15 starts.

Montreal 5 Houston 4


The Expos got a critical at bat by former Astros RF Donato Bem. With 1 out and 1B Darren Maher at 2nd, Bem came through with a single into LF. Bem protected Maher going home by getting thrown out at 2nd. This gave the Expos the 5-4 lead that they would eventually protect.

Expos SP Jordan Hall was selected player of the game, the 27 year old is now 5-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 16 starts. Last season Hall was a combined 0-0 with a 4.59 ERA in 32 relief appearances for the Expos and Giants.

Expos David de la Torre got his 1st triple of the season in the 3rd and later scored. For the second straight game, RHP Mark Holmgren gets the win for his 1.1 innings of work to improve to 3-1. As well CL Aidan Beasley got his 20th save as he faced the minimum in the 9th.


The San Diego Padres surprised many in the MLB when they traded SP David DeVeau to the Boston Red Sox for RF Frank Reisz and LHP Nick Lucore. The 27 year old DeVeau is 3-5 with a 3.47 ERA in 15 starts for the Padres this year. The 37 year old Reisz is hitting .330 with 2 HRs and 27 RBIs in 53 games. The 21 year old Lucore is 1-3 with a 4.54 ERA in 7 AA starts with the Red Sox.

[Big T]

July 4th, 1978


The Montreal Expos (35-37) will look for the series sweep with the Houston Astros (39-33) today. The Expos lead the seasonal series 4-3. Montreal will start LHP Jim Lea, the 26 year old is 4-3 with a 3.34 ERA in 11 starts. Montreal's offense will have their hands full with LHP Justin Bergman. The 34 year old is 9-3 with a 2.73 ERA in 15 starts.

Montreal 9 Houston 6 (11)


The Expos overcame a 5-0 deficit and then a 6-5 going into the 9th to fight back and beat the Astros in a game that featured 7 HRs. The game winning run came in the top of the 11th when veteran C Nate Samms hits a RBI single to give the Expos a 7-6 lead.

Montreal RF Donato Bem was the player of the game, the 25 year old was 2 for 5 with a HR, (3 run HR in the 4th) double and 3 RBIs. Bem is now hitting .271 with 9 HRs and 31 RBIs in 62 games with the Expos and Astros this year. Last season Bem hit .257 with 10 HRs and 39 RBIs in 92 games for the Astros.

Expos 3B Vince Bowman had 3 hits in todays game including his HR. Expos 2B Gilberto Luna hit his 4th triple of the season in the 11th, his hit scored the 2 add on runs for the Expos. Expos CL Aidan Beasley pitched 2.2 innings and got the win, he improved to 1-2 while LHP Charlie Rancourt came in for the final out with 2 runners on and got the save, his 1st this season.

[Big T]

July 5th, 1978


The Cincinnati Reds (48-25) are in town to play the Montreal Expos (36-37) The NL West leading Reds will start RHP Leo Ruff today, the 32 year old is 5-2 with 16 saves, a 2.83 ERA in 34 games. This will be Ruff's 1st start. The Expos will go with RHP Eric Marks, the 30 year old is 5-8 with a 3.49 ERA in 15 games of 14 were starts. Montreal is 1-5 against the Reds this year and just under 29300 are in attendance to see if Montreal can improve on that record.

Montreal 3 Cincinnati 1


It wasn't pretty, but the Expos held off the Reds in the 9th using 4 different relievers with CL Aidan Beasley needing a day off. The Reds left the bases and had a run walk in in the 9th but RHP Mark Upton got the final out via a strike out for his 1st career MLB save.

Expos SP Eric Marks was the player of the game, the 30 year old is now 6-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 16 games including 15 starts. Last year Marks was 5-4 with a 5.02 ERA in 11 starts, limited due to injury. For Marks this was his 9th quality start.

The big blow came in the bottom of the 3rd with 2 runners on when 1B Darren Maher spanked his 9th HR of the season. That gave the Expos a 3-0 lead.

Expos 3B Gene Watkins had 3 hits, all singles today. Expos LF Yue-jiu Zhou collected his 10th and 11th SB's of the year.


The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays combined for 35 hits in a 13-9 Orioles win today. The Orioles had an 8 run top of the 2nd inning for the big lead.

[Big T]

July 6th, 1978


The Cincinnati Reds (48-26) will play game two of the three game series with the Montreal Expos (37-37). The Reds lead the head to head series 5-2. Cincinnati will start LHP Gavin Galpin, the 25 year old is 1-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 6 starts. Montreal goes with RHP Jim Pearcey, the 25 year old is 2-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 25 games including 4 starts. There is just under 30200 on hand to see if the Expos can over .500 for the first time since the beginning of the season.

Montreal 1 Cincinnati 0


The Montreal Expos pitchers were fantastic as SP Jim Pearcey was the player of the game allowing just 1 hit, an 1-out single in the 7th to break up the no hitter.

Pearcey did not get involved in the decision, but the 25 year old is now 2-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 26 games including 5 starts. This is just Pearcey's 2nd season in the MLB, last year he was 4-3 with a 3.96 ERA in 9 starts.

The Expos only run came on a bases loaded walk to 1B Darren Maher in the bottom of the 8th with 2 out.

Expos LHP Robby Jones pitched the 8th and was credited with the win, he is now 2-1. LHP Charlie Rancourt picked up his 2nd save with a perfect 9th inning.

The Expos have now won 5 in a row.

[Big T]

July 7th, 1978


MLB Standings


Top Hitters (OPS MIN 255 PA)


Top Pitchers (ERA MIN 75 IP)

[Big T]

July 7th, 1978


Montreal Expos Stats

[Big T]

July 7th, 1978


The MLB 3rd Quarter Review

The Boston Red Sox are making some noise in the AL East moving ahead of the Blue Jays. The Red Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 and doing this while having 3 key pitchers on the DL.

SP Arturo Trevino will miss the complete season, he got hurt in spring training and was 7-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 20 starts for the BosSox in 1977.

SP Emanuel Peralta was expected to be in the rotation for 1978 and he may not pitch at all this season. Last year in AAA he was 6-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 14 starts.

CL Pete Garcia, the 34 year old had 45 saves over the past 2 seasons (1976-77) for Boston and was hurt in the spring training he will miss the full season.

Despite these losses, the Red Sox just got back SP Jared Sims back from injury, although he may not be the Sims of 4-5 years ago he was expected to provide the Red Sox a solid #2 starter behind Trevino, in 5 starts he has a 2.67 ERA.

As well the Red Sox had to convert some relievers into starters and have still maintained the #5 AL Starters ERA despite the patch work.

It appears that the Red Sox have a 75.6% chance of winning the AL East as the Blue Jays are struggling and have a tougher schedule.

In the AL West, the Royals continue to be the surprise. With a 4.5 game lead and despite the Twins being 7-3 in their last, the Royals still picked up a game in the standings. With Kansas City's strength of schedule also easier then the Twins, the Royals have a 92.0 % chance of winning the AL West.

The Royals continue to have the #1 rotation in the AL which helps them overcome their lack of offense. The Royals have 2 pitchers in the top 10 for ERA's in Pat Quinn 1.79 and Brian Rohde 3.03, but right behind them is Victor Cartagena 3.48, Luis Rivera 3.39 and Tommy Vega 3.23.

In the NL West, the Cincinnati Reds have a 4 game lead and a 92.5% chance of winning the division. The Dodgers have lost 7 games in a row and have made it difficult on themselves.

The Reds are doing it with great offense. They lead the NL in runs scored, on base and HRs. The biggest contributors have been their #3 and #4 hitters in the line up.

RHB Ed Betancourt is hitting 3rd and has the highest OPS in the Majors so far this season. Betancourt, a 26 year old RF was a Reds scouting discovery playing in an Independent league. So far as a rookie, he has won 2 Player of the Weeks, 1 Batter of the Month, 3 Rookies of the Month and was an All Star. Not bad start to his career. He is leading the Majors with HRs and RBIs and had a 15 game hitting streak going at one time.

Switch hitting C Pat Emmel is hitting in the 4 hole. He would likely have more RBIs if Betancourt left anyone on the bases for Emmel to drive home. In his 2nd year in the MLB, he has improved greatly on his first season that seen him hit just .198. Although he did show some power last year with 15 HRs. Despite his low batting average, Emmel was voted 2nd for the NL Rookie of the Year in 1977. He is still an aggressive swinger, last year he finished 2nd in SO's with 102, this year he is already at 92.

Add leadoff hitter CF Ismael Valle to the mix who can hit for average, (.317) hit for power (8 HRs and 32 RBIs) and can run (32 SB's) the Reds have a pretty good offense.


In the NL East, the Montreal Expos despite having a record just above .500 have a 2.5 game lead and according to BNN, a 76.1% chance to make the post season. It doesn't hurt that the Expos play 16 of their last 25 games at home. The Expos also have a relatively easier schedule then both the Pirates and Mets. The Expos are winning games on pure defense and pitching. Montreal is 2nd in runs against and 3rd in ERA, this is likely due to the fact they have the best defense in the NL. Offensively they are challenged. With the trade deadline coming up in the week or so, they will look to improve offensively, likely mostly at C and CF.

In the meantime, the Expos will demote CF Danny Plantz to AAA. The Expos need some offense and he is not providing it. The Expos will recall RF Raul Rodriquez, he is hitting well in AAA and actually hit pretty well when with the Expos earlier this season.

[Big T]

July 7th, 1978


The Montreal Expos made a couple of trades to shore up their offense today.

The Montreal Expos traded LF David de la Torre to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for C Mark Inge. The 31 year old de la Torre was hitting .230 with 6 HRs and 20 RBIs in 48 games for Montreal. The 30 year old Inge, is a switch hitter that is hitting .229 with 2 HRs and 12 RBIs. in 52 games for the Pirates.

The Montreal Expos have traded 3B Gene Watkins to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for LF Mike Waddell. The 32 year old Watkins was hitting .265 with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs in 62 games for the Expos (16) and Blue Jays (46). The 36 year old Waddell is hitting .251 with 6 HRs and 22 RBIs in 66 games for the Orioles.

To make room on the roster, the Expos demoted C Bobby Rodriquez to AAA Seattle. The Expos also promoted SS David Sanchez, the 27 year old was hitting .292 with 7 HRs and 38 RBIs in 53 AAA games.

Today the Cincinnati Reds (48-27) will try to avoid the sweep at the hands of he Montreal Expos (38-37) The Reds have won 5 of 8 so far this season. Cincinnati will start LHP John Martin, the 27 year old is 6-2 with a 2.36 ERA in 16 starts. Montreal will go with RHP Eddie Hernanez, the 25 year old is 7-5 with a 3.28 ERA in 17 starts. There is just over 34600 fans in attendance for this game as they will see 2 Expos in the starting lineup, LF Mike Waddell batting 2nd and C Mark Inge batting 8th.

Cincinnati 2 Montreal 0


What does Eddie Hernanez need to do to get a win? Today's loss was again without run support, not taking anything away from the Reds pitching staff, but the only run Hernanez gives up is not even earned.

John Martin continues on with his good season, the 27 year old is now 7-2 with a 2.19 ERA in 17 starts. Martin is in his 5th season in the MLB, his best WAR season was in 1977 when he was 7-9 with a 3.48 ERA in 22 starts.

For the Expos new-comers, LF Mike Waddell was 1 for 3 while C Mark Inge was 0-2 with a walk. With the loss, Hernanez falls to 7-6. The Expos have only won 1 of Hernanez's last 8 starts scoring 3 or more runs just twice.


Houston Astros 3B Gregorio Cortes was 4 for 5 with a HR and 3 RBIs in a 7-5 win over the Cubs. The 25 year old is now hitting .334 with 17 HRs and 65 RBIs in 74 games. In 6 seasons in the MLB, Cortes's best WAR season was 1976 when he hit .347 with 28 HRs and 91 RBIs in 98 games for the Astros.

[Big T]

July 8th, 1978


The Montreal Expos (38-38) hit the road for a 3 game series with the Atlanta Braves (40-35) Montreal has a 4-2 record with the Braves so far this year. Montreal will start LHP Jordan Hall, the 27 year old is 5-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 16 starts. Atlanta counters with LHP Joey Wise, the 25 year old is 9-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 14 starts.

Atlanta 3 Montreal 2


The Expos offense continues to be unimpressive as they just muster 3 hits while the hitters the Expos need some offense in Darren Maher and Donato Bem combine for 6 strikeouts.

Braves Joey Wise was the player of the game, the 25 year old is now 9-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 15 starts. He left the game with the score tied. In his 3rd season in the MLB, Wise's best season is considered 1977 when he was 7-4 with a 3.24 ERA in 15 starts.

The Expos had tied the score in the top of the 7th only to give it back courtesy of a Jose Neverez clutch 2-out RBI single.

Expos LHP Charlie Rancourt took the loss, he is now 1-2. Expos CF Tyrell Triche had a pinch 2 run double to tie the score in the 7th.

[Big T]

July 9th, 1978


The Montreal Expos (38-39) will try to get back in the win column with a date with the Atlanta Braves (41-35). The Expos are 4-3 so far this season against Atlanta and will send LHP Jim Lea to the hill. The 26 year old is 4-3 with a 3.79 ERA in 12 starts. The Braves will go with RHP Nate Collins, the 27 year old is 6-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 15 starts.

Montreal 7 Atlanta 6


The Expos bull-pen nearly blew this game for the Expos, allowing 5 runs and stranding 2 on base in the bottom of the 9th, long after the player of the game Jim Lea was showered.

Jim Lea is now 5-3 with a 3.56 ERA in 13 starts. The 26 year old is in his 3rd year in the MLB, his best year was likely last year when he was 3-1 with 1 save, a 2.98 ERA in 43 relief appearances.

At the time, it didn't appear to be that important of an at bat, but LF Tyrell Triche's RBI single in the 9th gave the Expos a 7-1 lead.

The Expos got a nice game at the plate from C Mark Inge, he was 2 for 5 with an RBI as both hits were doubles. Expos 3B Gilberto Luna had 3 SBs including his 40th. CL Aidan Beasley came in to get the final 3 outs to get his 21st save.


Oakland Athletics RF Omar Bravo was 3 for 4 with a HR and 4 RBIs in a 11-0 win over the Royals. The 25 year old is now hitting .315 with 22 HRs and 62 RBIs in 77 games. Bravo is now in his 5th season in the MLB, his best season prior was probably 1976 when he hit .321 with 15 HRs and 56 RBIs in 84 games for the Athletics.

Philadelphia Phillies LF Sean Price was named the NL Player of the Week. The 30 year old is hitting .263 with 11 HRs and 37 RBIs in 70 games. In his 9th season in the MLB, Price's best season prior was probably 1972 when he hit .312 with 12 HRs and 45 RBIs in 98 games for the Orioles.

Toronto Blue Jays RF Jorge Macias was named the AL Player of the Week. The 24 year old is now hitting .246 with 11 HRs and 43 RBIs in 76 games. This is Macias's 5th season in the MLB, his previous best season was likely 1976 when he hit .308 with 16 HRs and 52 RBIs in 92 games with the Blue Jays.

The Montreal Expos are now ranked 8th in the MLB Power Rankings. The Expos now are considered to have a 76.1% chance to win the NL East pennant.


The Montreal Expos have claimed LHP Matt Cruz on waivers from the Atlanta Braves. The 33 year old is now 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA in 14 games (12.1 IP) for the Braves. Since 1969, Cruz has appeared in 177 MLB games and has a 4-6 record with 2 saves, a 4.18 ERA including 35 relief appearances for the Expos between 1969-1972.

To make room for Cruz, the Expos demoted LHP Josh Barnes to AAA Seattle.

[Big T]

July 10th, 1978


The Montreal Expos (39-39) will play the rubber match of a 3 game series with the Atlanta Braves (41-36) The Expos have won 5 of 8 against the Braves this year. Montreal will start HP Eric Marks. The 30 year old is 6-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 15 starts this year. The Braves will go with RHP Kurt Polito, the 31 year old is 3-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 25 games of which 8 were starts.

Montreal 3 Atlanta 1


The Expos won despite only getting 4 hits against the player of the game, Kurt Polito.

Polito falls to 3-6 with a 3.99 ERA in 26 games including 9 starts. This is Polito's 7th season in the MLB, he had his best year likely in 1974 when he was 9-6 with a 3.64 ERA in 22 starts for the Orioles.

The key hit for the Expos was in the top of the 1st when LF Raul Rodriquez hit a 2 run double, his 7th double of the season to make it 2-0.

Expos SP Eric Marks gets the win, he is now 7-8 on the season. CL Aidan Beasley got his 22nd save in 24 opportunities this year.

[Big T]

July 11th, 1978


The St Louis Cardinals (35-44) are in for 3 games with the Montreal Expos (40-39). The two teams have split 6 games so far this season. The Cardinals will start RHP Tommy Mulvain, the 26 year old is 1-0 with a 5.26 ERA in 18 games including 4 starts. Montreal will start RHP Jim Pearcey, the 25 year old is 2-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 26 games including 5 starts. The Expos have drawn just under 33400 today for this game.

Montreal 4 St Louis 3


The Montreal Expos get a walk off win in the bottom of the 9th courtesy of CF Yue-jiu Zhou's RBI single up the middle with 2-outs.

The Expos went into the 9th with a 3-1 lead and with a runner on 2nd they bring in closer Aidan Beasley. Beasley struggles allowing 2 hits gets his 3rd blown save for the season setting up the bottom of the 9th heroics.

Expos SP Jim Pearcey was the player of the game, he is now 2-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 27 games including 6 starts. Pearcey had 10 Ks the last time he pitched in a 1-0 win over the Reds.

LF Mike Waddell's HR was his 1st as an Expos. Despite the blown save, Beasley was still credited with the win and is 2-2 now.

[Big T]

July 12th, 1978


MLB Trade Deadline and Roster Expansion

The Expos will not make any more trade moves, but will promote some top performers and players that played in Montreal this season. The Expos made the following Roster Expansion promotions. With the Expos having a 3.5 game lead and according to BNN a 86.7% chance of winning the NL East, the Expos want to have all the extra horses they can to win the division. With 14 out of the 20 final games at home and the easiest schedule according to average winning percentage (.475) lets get into the playoffs.

RHP Carlos Vera, the 24 year old is 5-4 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 AAA starts this year. He has 23 career starts with the Expos and was 8-10 with a 4.23 ERA.

RHP Joey Caputo, the 25 year old struggled with the Expos and was quickly demoted earlier this season, but his 7-3 with a 3.08 ERA record in 15 AAA starts deserves a promotion.

RHP Rich Bryant, the 25 year old was picked up in a trade and is 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 20 AAA games this year including 6 starts. With Bryant expected to be exposed to the Rule 5 draft, lets see what he can do.

RHP Chris Doane, the 24 year old is also going to be exposed to Rule 5 so lets see what he has got. Doane is 2-1 with 1 save, a 4.24 ERA in 34 AAA IPs all in relief.

RHP Dave Frame, the 26 year old is 2-4 with 7 saves, a 3.31 ERA in 35 games. He basically took over the closers role from Mark Upton after his promotion to the Expos. Frame has 63 innings of MLB experience in which he was 4-5 with 1 save, a 4.26 ERA.

LHP Pieter Koorn, the 26 year old is 3-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 46 AAA IP's in 32 relief appearances. Koorn will give the Expos 4 lefty relievers in the pen.

C Bobby Rodriquez, the 27 year old was demoted to make room for Mark Inge, but will be recalled for the stretch run. He had time to play 2 AAA games hitting .375 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs.

2B Fumiya Watari, the 25 year old was demoted by the Expos after just 16 games, but has hit .306 with 3 HRs and 25 RBIs in AAA and deserves the promotion.

LF Alex Gomez, the 23 year old was acquired in a trade with the Phillies in June, in 63 AAA games he is hitting .266 with 7 HRs and 27 RBIs. He is going to be exposed to Rule 5, so lets see what he has got.

LF Mat Garnett, the 28 year old struggled with the Expos earlier this season but is hitting .244 with 7 HRs and 25 RBIs in 58 AAA games. In 1976, Garnett had 46 SBs for the Expos and Blue Jays in 99 games.

[Big T]

July 12th, 1978


The St Louis Cardinals (35-45) are in for game two of the series with the Montreal Expos (41-39). The Expos are 4-3 in the seasonal series thus far. The Cards will send LHP Willie Cabrera to the bump. The 25 year old is now 6-7 with a 3.38 ERA in 17 starts. The Expos will counter with RHP Eddie Hernanez, the 25 year old is 7-6 with a 3.06 ERA in 18 starts. Hernanez is looking for a little run support today. There are over 34,300 excited Expos fans in the bleachers for this one.

Montreal 3 St Louis 1


The Montreal Expos still didn't give Hernanez much offense, but it was more then enough with the player of the games pitching effort.

Eddie Hernanez improved to 8-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 19 starts today. The 1978 NL All Star had gone 8 straight starts with out a win.

RF Yue-Jiu Zhou hit a solo HR in the 7th that put the Expos up 2-1. It was Zhou's 1st career HR that just made it over the wall in RF. Expos LF Mike Waddell had HRs in back to back games. With CL Aiden Beasley not available, RHP Will Gibson pitched the 8th and 9th for his 1st save of the season.