first win on May 1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing three earned runs in 6.2 innings while striking out eight. He finished his rookie season appearing in 33 games (32 starts), compiling a 5–15 record and a 6.06 ERA. Vázquez pitched 172.1 innings, striking out 139 batters while walking 68. In , as part of a young Expos rotation of "twentysomething", "tall", "power" pitchers Vázquez started the season as the team's number three pitcher, but after recording a 6.63 ERA through June, he was sent to the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx. Upon his recall after the All-Star break, Vázquez turned things around, winning seven of his final 11 decisions and prompting ESPN to write that he had "turn[ed] the corner ... dramatically." On September 14 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Vázquez tossed his first career shutout. He finished the year with 26 starts, going 9–8 with a 5.00 ERA while pitching 154.2 innings and recording 131 strikeouts. Vázquez was the losing pitcher when David Cone, of the New York Yankees, pitched a perfect game against the Expos on July 18, 1999. In , Vázquez again began the season as the Expos' number three starter. He was thought of as a promising young pitcher, and pitched the team's third game on April 5 against the Dodgers, striking out five batters while allowing two earned runs on eight hits across seven innings in a 6–5 Expos win. The Expos would win his following three starts and eight of his first eleven leaving the Expos at 27–23 on June 1. In the wake of injuries to pitchers Matt Blank, Mike Thurman and Hideki Irabu, Vázquez's 2.79 ERA, good for fourth-best in the NL, was noted as a key part to their success. After a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles and a win against the New York Yankees, the Expos were at 31–23, good for second place behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, and third in the entire National League. During his June 6 start, under pressure, Vázquez struck out seven batters in six innings, but he also walked four and gave up a home run to Bernie Williams in an 8–1 loss to the Yankees. The Expos would go on to lose seven of their next nine leaving them at 33–31, eighth in the National League. The Expos would finish 67–95, and Vázquez finished his season with an 11–9 record and a