Weekend preview and Braves notes
The Astros used two Berkman homers last night to defeat the Braves 7-4 and win their third straight game, but Craig Biggio was hit by no pitches.
The Astros have three more against the Braves this weekend, but will not be facing John Smoltz. Smoltz is having an interesting year - he has hit 5 batters for the first time since 1993 when he set his career high of 6. It would seem like setting a new career high would be a lock this season, but if he reverts to his old ways he could miss the next 900 batters he faces. On May 7th of this year, against the Mets, Smoltz hit 2 batters in a game for just the 3rd time in his career, and the first time since May 14, 1994... against the Mets. His only other 2 plunk game was the first of his major league career, July 23, 1988, when he hit two batters while facing, once again, the Mets.
Among the big names the Astros will face in action this weekend are Andruw and Chipper Jones. They are the all time leader in home runs by teammates with the same last name having hit 630 homers during their time together in Atlanta. But, they are only 4th in HBPs by teammates with the same name with 80. Brooks and Frank Robinson combined for 81 HBPs during the time they spent as teammates in Baltimore, Joe and Luke Sewell were hit 85 times for Cleveland, and the active pair of Jack and Craig Wilson in Pittsburgh have combined for 104 and still counting.
Friday, June 9, 2006:
Jorge Sosa starts tonight for the Braves. He's only hit 8 batters in 516.1 innings of work in his career, and his never hit Craig Biggio with a pitch. Ken Ryan and Stan Spencer plunked Biggio on June 9th in 1996 and 2000.
Saturday, June 10, 2006:
Saturday, Tim Hudson will be on the mound facing the Astros. Hudson has hit 60 batters in his career, including 4 this season, but he has not yet plunked Biggio. Craig Biggio has never been hit by a pitch on June 10th.
Sunday, June 11, 2006:
Wrapping up the series with the Braves, Houston faces Horacio Ramirez on Sunday. Ramirez has never hit Biggio with a pitch, and has thrown 2 of his 10 career HBPs this season.
3 Comments:
ok, Streak question:
Has Biggio's unplunked streak ever coincided with a pitchers non-plunking streak such that Biggio was plunked by that pitcher, who then went plunk-less while Biggio went HBP-less, and then got hit again to break the unHBP streak by the same pitcher who had last plunked him?
Wow, that's a little convoluted, maybe I can rephrase:
Has a pitcher ever hit Biggio with a pitch, then gone on to not hit anyone with a pitch until hitting Biggio again to end that streak, while during the same period Biggio has gone unplunked?
Maybe that made more sense. I would think that relievers have a better chance at this because they would see Biggio more often in the same series, so that maybe the unplunked streaks are only a game or two long with Biggio getting hit by a closer in the first and last games of a series and not in between, but I might be wrong... is there a marked difference between starters and relievers in this category?
I'm sure there's a better way to ask this question.
Thanks!
Tom, I assume you're not counting pitchers who hit him twice in the same game without hitting anyone else in between?
Jimmy Anderson, starting for the Pirates, hit him on July 28 and August 18 of 2001 for plunks #192 and #193, without hitting anyone else in the 3 starts he made in between. Biggio played 17 games in between those two.
Also, Jason Jennings last year hit Biggio twice on June 22 for #265 and #266 and again on June 28 for #267 but he didn't make an appearance between those starts. Biggio played 4 games during that span.
Those are the only two pitcher Biggio has recorded consecutive plunks against without them being in the same game.
Of the 12 times Biggio has been hit by the same pitcher twice in a game, there was only 1 in which that pitcher hit someone else in between the Biggio plunkings (Chad Durbin on 7/8/01 hit Biggio and Lugo in the 1st and Biggio again in the 4th.
dr, 1970, 1972 and 1973 are tied with 16 pitchers born in each year who have hit Craig Biggio with a pitch.
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