Adam Ulrey's Montreal Expos Diary

August 28, 2002 - Game 132
Ohka is the answer as he leads the Expos to the 6-3 win

Tomo Ohka has been the most consistent pitcher all year long for the Expos, and that was totally unexpected. The conditions for today's game were horrendous with rain, wind and a 2-hour rain delay. But it didn't seem to matter to him, instead it seem to make him even more focused. The right-hander struck out a career-high 11 and Brad Wilkerson drove in three runs as the Montreal Expos beat the Phillies 6-3 Wednesday night to snap the six game winning streak. Ohka struck out five straight batters to start the game and four more in a row in the third and fourth innings.

"I've never seen him so dominating at the start of a game," Expos manager Frank Robinson said. "He was the right guy out there in those conditions. He threw strikes."

Ohka threw just 84 pitches, but Robinson felt that was enough for tonight. Vladimir Guerrero extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his single in the third inning. Andres Galarraga and Fernando Tatis supplied the other RBIs with both adding RBI singles. Ohka now is 12-6 and his ERA sits at a team best 3.22.

The only person who could hit for the Phillies was third baseman Placido Polanco, who was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. The Expos held the hot hitting Phillies to five hits and three runs. Guerrero also stoled his 29th base, leaving him one steal short of his second straight 30-30 season. With the win the Expos are back to .500 at 66-66.