MONTREAL (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles won't be vacationing north of the border any time soon.

The Orioles lost their 18th straight game in Canada as Lee Stevens homered twice and rookie Brian Schneider collected his first three RBI to give the Montreal Expos a 5-3 victory Friday night.

Montreal swept a three-game interleague series from the Orioles at Olympic Stadium on June 26-28, 1998, and Baltimore has lost its last 14 games at the Toronto Blue Jays.

"A loss is a loss," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. "One-run ballgames are tough to lose -- tonight wasn't one run, but two of the last three were and those are tough."

The Expos wore a black No. 9 on the right sleeve of their jerseys in memory of late Montreal Canadiens hockey great Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

The tribute, which will continue for the rest of the season, marked the first time in major league history that an individual from another sport has been so honored. A moment of silence was observed prior to the game.

Carl Pavano (6-2) pitched eight strong innings as Montreal won its third straight following a season-high six-game losing streak.

Baltimore lost its third in a row.

"It's a great win for the team," Pavano said. "I got some hitters who like to work the count a lot and I just wanted to get them out as quick as possible so I could stay in there on the least amount of pitches."

Pavano won for the third time in his last four decisions, allowing one earned run on eight hits. Steve Kline got three outs for his third save, giving up an RBI single to Mike Bordick.

The Expos improved to 17-7 at home in interleague play.

Stevens homered off Jason Johnson (0-4) in the second and again in the fourth.

"It's nice to get back home and start off the homestand with a win," Stevens said.

After Stevens put the Expos ahead 1-0, Mike Mordecai doubled and Schneider singled in a run for the first time in the majors.

"It definitely felt good to have the home crowd cheering for me, instead of just a silent crowd," Schneider said.

Stevens hit a solo shot over the center-field wall for his 13th homer to make it 3-0.

Baltimore scored an unearned run in the fifth when Pavano threw past first base for an error, allowing B.J. Surhoff to score from third on Brady Anderson's dribbler in front of home plate.

Albert Belle hit his sixth homer to draw the Orioles to within 3-2 in the sixth.

Schneider hit a two-out, two-run single off reliever B.J. Ryan in the bottom half

"That was big," Schneider said. "It gave us a cushion and we got to keep Carl in there for a couple of extra innings, instead of having a close game and having to work from the bullpen."

Game notes
The Orioles' last win in Canada was on June 12, 1998, over the Blue Jays at SkyDome. ... Expos catcher Charlie O'Brien has changed his number from 2 to 21. ... 3B Andy Tracy was optioned to Triple-A Ottawa and LH reliever Jim Poole was designated for assignment following the game. Reliever Anthony Telford is eligible to be activated from the 15-day DL Saturday and T.J. Tucker will be recalled from Double-A Harrisburg to make his first major league start Saturday night.