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MacArtney 3,000! The Canadian Great Joins Exclusive Club in Front of Exuberant Montreal Crowd as Expos Win 2-4

New Orleans' Mike MacArtney may have been playing on the road, but as he stood before a roaring Montreal crowd just after twilight, his cap waving above his head, he couldn’t have felt more at home. The Ontario native has joined Bobby Usry - himself a former Zephyr - as the only two NABF players to ever reach the 3,000 hit milestone.

MacArtney’s hit, his only of the contest, came as part of a Zephyr rally which fell short in the eighth as Montreal claimed victory in the contest 4-2.

For the Zephyrs, now firmly entrenched in last place in the D2 East, the question of MacArtney’s hit was the closest thing to drama there was. His 2,999th and 2,998th had come of the previous two nights, but the aging CF had gone through prolonged slumps already this season so there remained a question. He flew out in the first as the Expos’ knuckleballer Joe Fuller worked around a Robert Zermeno single; Fuller then completed a 1-2-3 second before allowing another lone single to Edie Easter in the third.

The Expos got to New Orleans starter Wayne Acton early in the third, with a leadoff single from Grady Twaddle and another on its heels from Ed Marlow. A walk to Max Fuhrman loaded the bases, and Josh Hinthorne rapped a ball to second, scoring Twaddle on a fielder’s choice that nabbed Fuhrman at second. Another groundout scored Marlow to make it 2-0 Montreal.

MacArtney popped the ball to short to lead off another 1-2-3 inning for Fuller in the fifth, and Montreal went back to work, scoring two on a Twaddle triple to make it 4-0 Expos.

That’s where it would stand for several innings. Fuller’s knuckler was dancing, and he didn’t allow a hit in the 5th, 6th, or 7th, getting MacArtney on a grounder to first to end the sixth. For his part, Acton held Montreal scoreless as well, though he had to work around baserunners in all three innings. Though MacArtney would get another chance in the ballgame, it would possibly be his last.

The eighth began with a bang as Larry Troia drilled Acton’s first pitch deep over the wall in left center to finally put New Orleans on the board. As the sun set in Montreal, though, Edwin Belman popped up, and Bryan Payne flew out. When Jeremy Viele grounded the ball to short it looked like MacArtney would have to wait until the ninth, but the shortstop Marlow flubbed it, and Viele reached. He was neatly picked off by Fuller, but dove back in safely, and on the next pitch MacArtney roped a ball up the middle. It touched down in shallow center field as the scoreboard lit up and MacArtney’s fellow Canadians rose as one to shower their countryman with applause. The game paused for several minutes as the Federation commissioner presented MacArtney with a commemorative plaque.

When the game resumed, it looked like New Orleans might make a contest of it: Robert Sermeno singled to score Viele and move MacArtney to second. But the go-ahead run struck out, as Kyle Hickenbottom flailed at another Fuller knuckler to end the threat. Jimmy DeNardis relieved Fuller in the ninth, and though the Zephyrs threatened again putting runners on first and third with two down, Bryan Payne ended it with a floating liner right at RF Jarrod Vega, to give the Expos their 37th win of the season, and the Zephyrs their 52nd loss.