Astros 6, Pirates 6 (top of the 16th)
After a miserable start by Paul Maholm (5 IP, 5 earned runs, 8 hits, 5 walks) 7 Pittsburgh relievers have combined to pacify the Astros, though by all rights, this one should be over. In the top of the 8th with the bases loaded, Jason Bay failed to haul in a Mike Lamb fly ball to left. While Craig Biggio scored to give Houston a 6-5 lead, Chris Burke was gunned down at the plate. Trouble is, Ryan Doumit tagged Burke with his glove while holding the ball in his bare hand. Home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreath blew the call, tossed Phil Garner, and now we’re stucking watching pretty much every Astros reliever not named Brad Lidge do their best to avoid a 5th straight loss.
(gehrig38, wondering the same thing as everyone else : who gave Mr. Butch the free ticket?)
Curt Schilling collected career win no. 200 earlier today, running his record to 8-2 on the year in Boston’s 8-4 defeat of Tampa Bay. Schilling allowed 4 runs on 7 hits over 7 innings, striking out 7 and walking none. Keith Foulke and Jonathan Papelbon followed for a scoreless 8th and 9th, the latter collecting his 18th save. Kevin Youkilis and Mark “When I Talk To” Loretta combined for 5 hits and 4 runs scored, and the pair are now hitting .324 and .311 respectively.
(Arizona’s Juan Cruz, looking sharp but a little discouraged that Dave Scheid didn’t invite him out for any Skyline Chili)
With Arizona’s 7-0 victory over Cincinnati today, the Reds have now been held scoreless for 21 straight innings, stretching back to Wednesday of this week. The Snakes, for their part, are now 10 games over .500 for the first time since the summer of ’03.