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  Monday, Apr. 3 7:05pm ET
Karros' slam puts Dodgers, Brown over top
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

MONTREAL (AP) -- With one big swing, Eric Karros silenced the Montreal Expos' largest Opening-Day crowd since 1993.

Karros hit a grand slam and the Los Angeles Dodgers overcame Vladimir Guerrero's two home runs, beating the Expos 10-4 Monday night before 51,249 fans.

Kevin Brown
Kevin Brown got the win despite giving up a two-run homer in the fifth to Vladimir Guerrero.

Dodgers ace Kevin Brown allowed Guerrero's RBI single in the first and a two-run homer in the fifth.

"I've always said I'll take 10 every time out and take my chances," Brown said. "I guess it's better to pitch so-so and win. There were times in the past, especially on Opening Day -- I can remember pitching well with Florida a couple of years, and giving up next to nothing and losing."

Guerrero added a solo homer off Terry Adams in the eighth, the only run allowed by the former Cub, who pitched three innings for the save in his debut for Los Angeles.

Todd Hundley also homered for Los Angeles and Gary Sheffield added a two-run triple off loser Dustin Hermanson.

"It was obviously a day for offense," Brown said. "They took advantage of their opportunities out there and did a great job. It's a lot easier to make mistakes and get by with bad pitches, while not pitching great, when you have an offensive effort behind you like that."

The crowd was the fourth-largest to attend a Montreal home opener. New owner Jeffrey Loria greeted fans at the gate.

Los Angeles took a 6-3 lead in the seventh when Anthony Telford walked Dodgers newcomer Shawn Green with the bases loaded and one out. Karros homered down the left-field line on a 1-1 pitch from Scott Strickland for his second career slam.

"I was just fortunate I came up there with the bases loaded, and Strickland hung a pitch, and luckily it stayed fair," Karros said.

Karros hit his first grand slam at Olympic Stadium last Aug. 11 off Telford.

There was a moment of silence before the game for Cindy Lloyd, the wife of Expos reliever Graeme Lloyd. After a 14-year bout with Crohn's disease, Cindy Lloyd, 26, died suddenly Monday morning in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

"I think that was on a lot of people's minds," Hermanson said. "Graeme is one of our centerpieces here. We feel for him. I can't imagine if something happened to my wife."

Brown allowed seven hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked one.

Green, who signed an $84 million, six-year deal with Los Angeles after he was acquired in a trade with Toronto last Nov. 8, went 0-for-3 with two walks and an RBI.

"It was a good win," Green said. "For my first game with the Dodgers, it was good to have a nice win. That's all you can ask for, really."

Hermanson allowed five runs, though just one earned, in six innings. The Expos committed four errors, including two by third baseman Michael Barrett, who mishandled Devon White's grounder on an 0-2 pitch opening the game.

"It was just one of those days for me," Barrett said. "It's just unfortunate that it happened on the first day, in front of a whole lot of people."

Montreal has have led the majors in errors in each of the last two seasons, including 160 last year.

"There's one good thing about making four errors, and that is that it only counts for one loss -- it doesn't count for four," Barrett said.

Expos manager Felipe Alou expressed sympathy for the challenges his fielders face in dealing with the stadium's aging turf.

"Michael Barrett was eaten up by a groundball and there were some tricky groundballs," Alou said. "This is not the best infield in the world, but our guys will adjust."

Los Angeles and Montreal became the fifth and sixth teams to open this season outside of the United States, a first in major league history. The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs opened the season with a two-game series last week in Japan, and Toronto was host to Kansas City earlier Monday.

Game notes
The game was Los Angeles' first opening day outside of the United States, and the first season opener between the Dodgers and Expos. ... Expos 1B Lee Stevens made a diving stop of F.P. Santangelo's sharply hit grounder for the first out of the eighth. He then committed his first NL error on Mark Grudzielanek's two-out grounder. ... Jose Vidro stole two bases for Montreal.

 


ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard

Los Angeles Clubhouse

Montreal Clubhouse


Wife of Expos reliever Lloyd dies of Crohn's disease

Expos strike last-minute deal to be on French-language radio


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