Adam Ulrey's Montreal Expos Diary

August 31, 2002 - Game 135

In game two of the series, the Braves bullpen came in to shut down the Expos' bats to lead the Braves to a 5-3 win. Chris Hammond came in to the game to start the sixth for starter Jason Marquis and pitched two solid innings to earn his 7th win. He also lowered his ERA to an unthinkable 1.07. Remember this kid was out of baseball for almost three full years. John Smoltz is turning into the most dominant closer in the game, earning his 48th save of the year. Andrew Jones and Mark DeRosa each hit homers to back the pitching of the bullpen.

The Expos Javier Vasquez again had another bad outing, walking five and giving up seven hits in six innings. His record now stands at 8-12 with an ERA of 4.10. The offense was lead by Andres Galarraga, the old man, as he hit his 8th homer and drove in two runs in the losing effort. The Expos had 12 hits, but again left 8 men on base. The Expos of late have been doing that in huge numbers.