Gagne’s Support Comes Up Short

MONTREAL —  Eric Gagne was the topic of conversation here in the days leading to his first start against the Montreal Expos.

The French-Canadian Dodger pitcher stirred feelings of pride in the province of Quebec, and Gagne hoped he would not disappoint his 150 relatives and friends in the Olympic Stadium stands.

The right-hander provided a good six-inning show for the hometown crowd of 12,926 after harnessing his emotions and overcoming a rough opening inning, but his supporting cast flopped again in the Expos’ 3-1 victory Thursday.

Gagne gave up a leadoff home run to Orlando Cabrera and a one-out solo homer to Lee Stevens in the first inning, and that was it for the Expos until Ryan Minor’s solo homer in the eighth against setup man Terry Adams.

“The way he handled himself tonight . . . you saw growth right before your eyes,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “And we’ve been seeing it and I’ve been saying that.”

But Expo starter Tony Armas Jr. upstaged Gagne on his big night.

Armas (3-5) worked seven shutout innings, giving up five of the Dodgers’ seven hits and striking out eight.

Shawn Green’s two-out single in the eighth against closer Ugueth Urbina--he worked the final 1 1/3 innings for his fifth save--provided the Dodgers’ only run.

How frustrated are the Dodgers about their problems on offense?

Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ejected Gary Sheffield in the eighth for arguing balls and strikes after Sheffield struck out looking with one out and Hiram Bocachica on second after a double.

Bocachica scored on Green’s single through the hole at second.

The Dodgers dropped two of three in the series but remained atop the National League West by a half-game.

Gagne (1-3) was pleased to make Montreal proud, but he would have liked a victory too.

“It was awesome,” he said of the crowd, which gave him a standing ovation before his first pitch and after he was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh.

“It was just a lot of fun. When they gave me the standing ovation [in the seventh], I didn’t want to go out there, I didn’t want to cry out there.

“I’m just disappointed we lost the game. I wanted to go out there and give us a good chance to win the game, and the first inning it just blew up in my face.”

The Expos more than doubled their attendance of the previous two games with Gagne on the mound, and the crowd sounded bigger than it was while expressing its support before the first pitch.

“Everybody was here--all my family,” Gagne said. “My mom has 15 brothers and sisters, so I had to leave a lot of tickets. . . .

“About 150. I had about 75 in my family and close friends. This was for baseball fans in Montreal, especially all the kids looking out there and wanting to be in the big leagues one day. It’s just good for them.”

Gagne was deluged with interview requests and acknowledged he felt the weight of the moment.

Then came the tough part for Gagne, who frequently attended Expo games while growing up in Montreal.

It seemed he might not get through the first, but with catcher Chad Kreuter providing a calming influence, Gagne settled down and was sharp in five scoreless innings.

The Expos had only two hits and three baserunners against him after the first.

Gagne struck out the side in the fourth and also retired the side in order in the second and sixth.

He gave up four hits and two runs while striking out seven without a walk. He threw 56 strikes in 78 pitches.

But as other Dodger starters can attest, good is not good enough these days with this bunch.

“He pitched well enough to win,” Tracy said. “He did a phenomenal job after the first inning. Phenomenal.

“There’s no getting around it. It seems like we’re talking about the same thing [lack of offense]. The way the situation worked itself out, he was going to have to be pretty much perfect in order to win a baseball game.”