Expos cry foul about Twins' home-run call
Frank Robinson cried foul - with good reason.
The Montreal manager was irate Wednesday night after Luis Rivas' 11th-inning drive down the left-field line was called fair for a home run, sending the visiting Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 victory over the Expos.
Television replays clearly showed the ball hooked foul in front of the net that serves as a foul pole at Olympic Stadium, but third base umpire Brian O'Nora signaled fair. The rest of his crew conferred, then let the ruling stand.
"Four guys out there all saying that they saw it the same way - you've got to be kidding me!" Robinson said. "Didn't any of them see it the right way? That's the key. I don't care how they saw it, all four may have seen it one way, but it wasn't right."
Expos left fielder Brad Wilkerson immediately jumped up and down when he saw O'Nora call a fair ball. Wilkerson ran in to join the dispute with third baseman Tony Batista and Robinson, who was ejected after a long argument.
"I was close enough to see it, I don't need to see a replay," Wilkerson said.
The tiny crowd of 3,763 gave a mock cheer after every foul ball the rest of the inning. Three fans were swarmed by security guards after the game when they banged on the door to the umpire's room.
The umpires were not available for comment.
"The replay just confirmed what you saw, that's all," Robinson said. "In plain language, (O'Nora) said he saw it and he saw the ball hit the foul pole. He saw it shaking."
In Montreal, Robinson repeatedly berated the entire umpiring crew after the call. He made a series of choking gestures before he was ejected, bowing toward O'Nora.
"I saw the umpire signal home run and that's all I really (care) about, to tell you the truth," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I didn't see it. I haven't looked at a replay. I'm not really worried about it - it's one point for us."
At Houston, Greg Maddux (6-5) allowed one run and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings, pitching Chicago to its fifth consecutive victory. Todd Hollandsworth's RBI triple sparked a two-run eighth.
At Cincinnati, Ken Griffey Jr. remained one shy of 500 homers, but the Reds rallied to win. Ryan Freel hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth.
At San Diego, the Devil Rays set a franchise record with their seventh straight win.
At Phoenix, Bernie Williams, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter homered, leading New York to its 18th win in 21 games.
At Miami, Carl Pavano (7-2) threw a three-hitter and Mike Lowell homered for the second straight game. Carlos Lee's hitting streak ended at 28 games, a White Sox record and the longest in the majors this season.
At St. Louis, Jason Marquis (6-4) held Oakland to two runs on five hits in seven innings and hit a two-run double.
At New York, C.C. Sabathia (4-3) pitched eight impressive innings and Casey Blake hit a two-run homer for Cleveland, which has won five of six.
At Milwaukee, Doug Davis (6-5) scattered five hits over seven innings and pinch-hitter Bill Hall hit a two-run homer to help the Brewers move four games over .500 for the first time since June 24, 2001. Dan Kolb got his 19th save.
At Atlanta, Angel Berroa hit a three-run homer during an eighth-inning rally and Kansas City had a season-high 20 hits. Joe Randa went 4-for-5 with an RBI double and Berroa had three hits and drove in a career-high four runs.
At Los Angeles, Odalis Perez (4-3) got his second win in nine starts and Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer. Eric Gagne got four outs for his 15th save and major league-record 78th in a row.
At Denver, Vinny Castilla drove in three runs and Jason Jennings (6-6) worked out of two bases-loaded jams for his fourth win in five starts.The Rockies knocked around Curt Schilling (8-4) to beat the Red Sox for the second straight night, winning for just the sixth time in 26 games.
At San Francisco, Pedro Feliz and A.J. Pierzynski each hit a two-run homer, and Kirk Rueter (3-6) didn't allow an earned run in seven innings.
