Montreal (AP)- The Hartford Whalers' losing streak is finally over. When all
was said and done, the Whale had lost 8 in a row and it took a rookie hurler to
stop the bleeding. After being swept in a four-game series with Edmonton,
Hartford defeated the opener with the Montreal Royals today.
Hartford dropped the day's first game to the Oil Kings, 6-4. The loss spoiled
the coming out party for rookie second baseman, Adam Riggs, who crushed his
first major league homerun, a 2-run shot. Rookie pitcher Kevin Millwood (5-4)
struggled, allowing 5 earned runs in just over 5 innings of work. Brian
Boehringer surrendered another run in relief as the Whale was unable to mount a
comeback.
The Whaler's losing streak ended in the second of the day's games against
Montreal. Hartford won 4-3 on the spectacular pitching debut of rookie Brian
Rose (1-0). Rose went 8 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits while striking out
4. Fellow rookie, Will Cunnane picked up his league-leading 11th save by
pitching a flawless 9th. Ken Griffey Jr. and Gary Sheffield both broke out of
their recent slumps by homering in the affair.
Hartford currently finds itself in third place, 5 1/2 games back of Edmonton in
the McCoy. They have gone 2-8 in their last 10. Most of Hartford's losses
have come in non-divisional play.
The Whalers are anxious to see the return of SS Kurt Abbott and the addition of
LHP Arthur Rhodes as soon as Brown is off the DL. Cal Eldred is also only a
week away from returning to the lineup.
