On April 19, Montreal was riding the kind of high you bottle and save for October. Pedro Martínez threw a no-hitter, the Expos pounded Oakland 11–0, and the whole thing felt like a coronation for a 14–2 club that looked like it had finally found fifth gear.
Pedro’s line is the sort of thing you frame:
- 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 17 K, 138 pitches (90 strikes) — ERA down to 0.28, record 3–0.
The A’s never sniffed it. Seven strikeouts the first three innings set the tone, and by the sixth, Oakland’s swings had that “just trying to touch it” vibe. Montreal stacked four in the third and broke the game in the sixth. It wasn’t dramatic; it was clinical.
Final: Expos 11, A’s 0 (Hits: 16–0. Errors: 0–0.)
It was as clean as no-hitters come.
Less Than 24 Hours Later: Reality Bites
Baseball doesn’t wait for your victory lap. On April 20, Roger Clemens took the ball, won again (5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), moved to 3–0 with a 1.59 ERA, and then the floor buckled: shoulder impingement, out 4–5 months. In other words, season over.
So, in the span of a day: a no-hitter, a 15–2-caliber juggernaut vibe…and now a hole the size of a Cy Young in the rotation.
Current snapshot of the top two:
- Pedro Martínez (RHP) — 4 GS, 0.28 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, status: Tired (and after 138 pitches, no kidding).
- Roger Clemens (RHP) — 4 GS, 1.59 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, status: Injured (4–5 months).
Montreal will turn to Jon Lieber to take Clemens’s spot.
What Jon Lieber Brings (and What He Doesn’t)
The book on Lieber is pretty consistent: strike thrower, low walks, contact in play—and in the bigs, that contact has included a few too many balls that leave the yard.
AAA Track (Jacksonville):
- 1995: 99.2 IP, 3.61 ERA, 75 K / 9 BB → ~6.8 K/9, 0.8 BB/9, 1.08 HR/9.
- 1996 (so far): 32.1 IP, 2.51 ERA, 28 K / 2 BB → ~7.8 K/9, 0.6 BB/9, 1.11 HR/9.
DBL Track (Montreal):
- 1994–95 total: 202.0 IP, 4.77 ERA, 171 K / 43 BB, WHIP 1.33, 42 HR → ~7.6 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 1.87 HR/9.
Translation: the command is real; the HR rate is the red light. With Montreal’s defense and the Expos’ run support, Lieber can be a functional mid-rotation starter. But he’s not replacing Clemens; he’s mitigating the damage. The task is simple and unforgiving: six competitive innings more often than not, keep the ball in the yard, and don’t bury the bullpen.
The Ripple Effects
1) Rotation math changes immediately.
Pedro’s “tired” tag after 138 pitches suggests Montreal will (or should) steal him an extra day at least once this turn. Without Clemens, every skipped Pedro start turns into a stress test: someone’s eating innings—Lieber, a swingman, or both.
2) Bullpen burden spikes.
Clemens was a metronome for length. Those 6–7 inning starts disappear, and the middle relievers now live in the fourth and fifth a lot more. Montreal needs two things from Lieber: efficiency and ground balls when it matters.
3) Run prevention tightrope.
This has been the league’s nastiest 1–2 punch; now it’s a historic No. 1 and a rotating cast. The good news? Pedro is pitching like a league-breaker. The bad news? October asks for at least two answers, sometimes three. The Expos will have to manufacture that second answer.
4) Strategy tweaks.
Expect more aggressive offense on Lieber days—steals, first-to-thirds, pressure—because protecting a two-run lead becomes the job. Defensively, alignments need to shade to pull power late; Lieber’s HR profile demands it.
So… Are the Expos Still a Wagon?
Short answer: Yes, but the margin shrank. Montreal’s offense just dropped an 11-piece on a no-hit night; the lineup can carry weeks at a time. Pedro alone keeps the Expos atop the division conversation—he’s that dominant. But Clemens’s loss is the kind you feel in August and beyond, when fatigue stacks and matchups tighten.
If Lieber holds serve—call it a league-average ERA with stingy walks—Montreal can keep its foot on the gas and shop for a rotation arm later. If the HR problem resurfaces at big-league volume, the Expos will be in the market much sooner than they’d like.
For now, chalk it up as baseball at its most honest: one night of blissful perfection, followed by the sport’s favorite reminder that nothing stays easy. Montreal’s still built to win—just not on autopilot anymore.