Division lead cut to one game after seventh straight loss

ST. LOUIS -- Vladimir Guerrero hit his 29th home run and the Montreal Expos sent the St. Louis Cardinals to their seventh straight loss, 4-1 Wednesday night.

The Cardinals' skid is their longest since they also dropped seven straight in August 1999. They had their NL Central lead over Houston cut to one game.

St. Louis has been outscored 45-14 during the slump and has scored only one run in each of its last four games.

Guerrero hit a two-run shot in the first off Jason Simontacchi (7-4) as the Expos won for the fourth time in six games. Guerrero needs one homer to become the fifth player to hit 200 before his 27th birthday, which will be Feb. 9.

Tomo Ohka (9-6) beat the Cardinals for the second time this season, giving up six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He worked out of trouble in the fourth when Eli Marrero grounded out with the bases loaded for the final out, and Jose Macias saved a run with a diving catch of Albert Pujols' sinking liner to center to end the fifth.

The Cardinals also botched a double steal of home to end the sixth, burning two pinch-hitters in the process, when Scott Rolen broke from third too early after Marrero got hung up between first and second.

Scott Stewart got the last four outs for his 15th save in 17 chances.

Macias had three hits and drove in a run. He is 7-for-10 the first two games of the three-game series, raising his average 28 points to .287.

Macias doubled and scored in the first, singled in the third and hit an RBI single in the seventh.

Brian Schneider also homered for the Expos in the fifth for a 3-0 lead. The Cardinals got a run in the bottom of the fifth when Simontacchi singled and came around to score on Jim Edmonds' groundout.

The Expos restored the three-run gap on Macias' RBI single in the seventh.

Cardinals reliever Steve Kline had to be restrained by batting coach Mitchell Page and teammates from approaching home plate umpire Bruce Froemming after giving up a run on two hits in the seventh. During that inning, Kline threw a wild pitch behind Macias after allowing a double to reliever Joey Eischen.

Manager Tony La Russa was ejected with one out in the bottom of the seventh after continuing the argument with Froemming.

Simontacchi lasted six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits, and is 0-3 in his last six starts.

Simontacchi shaved his goatee and mustache in disgust after his last start, in which he gave up nine runs in one-plus innings at Atlanta last Friday.

Rolen, who had been in an 0-for-19 slump, was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.