NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Expos’ Fassero Misses Liner--and a No-Hitter

Expo left-hander Jeff Fassero came within one out--actually one pitch--of throwing a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday night at Montreal.

In the Expos’ 10-2 victory, Fassero had a one-two count on Carlos Garcia when Garcia hit a waist-high drive back at the mound. Fassero stuck out his glove to the right side and almost snagged the ball, but it bounced out and rolled toward third base.

“I think it hit my thumb,” Fassero said. “I lost it for a second when I looked into my glove, because I thought I had caught it.”

Fassero recovered and made a strong throw to first baseman Randy Milligan, but Garcia slid head-first and barely beat the play.

“When he put his glove out I thought sure he had caught the ball,” Garcia said. “Usually, I don’t slide into first base much, but you don’t have a chance to break up a no-hitter every day.”

Umpire Bob Davidson called Garcia safe, and there was no dispute about the call--or the ruling that it was an infield single instead of an error.

It was the second time this season that an Expo pitcher lost a no-hitter in the ninth. Pedro Martinez held Cincinnati hitless on April 13 until Brian Dorsett led off the ninth with a clean single.

Still needing one out for his first shutout in 29 major league starts, Fassero, 31, lost that, too, when Jay Bell followed with a home run.

Fassero (5-4) was pulled after Bell’s homer, and got a standing ovation.

The Expos hit four home runs, three of them in the fifth inning to finish Denny Neagle (6-7).

San Francisco 5, Houston 4--Matt Williams and Todd Benzinger each homered at San Francisco to help the Giants end a four-game skid.

Williams, who hit his National League-leading 23rd homer, said, “What Dusty (Baker, the Giants’ manager) decided to do for the next couple of days is stay away from the batting cage and just let us work it out ourselves.”

William VanLandingham (2-0) allowed two runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings in his fourth major league start.

Colorado 7, Atlanta 2--Marvin Freeman, facing his former team, helped the Rockies end a 16-game losing streak against the Braves, allowing one run on eight hits in seven innings at Atlanta. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.

Freeman (6-1), signed as a free agent with the Rockies this winter after 3 1/2 years with the Braves, lowered his ERA to 2.89.

The Braves had been the only club the Rockies, in their second season, had never defeated.

New York 4, Philadelphia 3--Bret Saberhagen pitched five-hit ball for seven innings and helped his cause with a pair of timely bunts at New York. Saberhagen (7-3) gave up two runs, struck out six and walked one to win for the third time in his last four decisions.

St. Louis 2, Florida 1--Tom Pagnozzi singled in Ray Lankford with one out in the ninth inning at St. Louis to give the Cardinals a victory over the slumping Marlins. Mike Perez (2-1) got the victory despite allowing an inside-the-park home run--the first in Marlin history--to Bret Barberie in the ninth.