283 in the books, on to Cincinatti

The Astros pulled out a 6-1 win against the Marlins last night, highlighted by a 4 run 4th inning, which was led off by Craig Biggio's 283rd career HBP. It was the 2nd time Biggio has been plunked by Jorge Julio - he threw plunk 263 at Camden Yards in June of 2005. Also, Carlos Lee became 28th player to drive in a Craig Biggio run after he reached base on a plunk. It was the 27th time Biggio scored on a teammates double after being hit by a pitch.

But, baseball never leaves time to celebrate the first plunk of the season, because there's always another game. The Astros hit the road again, traveling to Cincinnati tonight to face Aaron Harang and the Reds. Harang has never hit Craig Biggio with a pitch, but he hit Aubrey Huff last year and 7 other batters last season, bringing him to 25 for his career. Five of the eight plunks he threw last year were in home games, but only 1 was on a Wednesday.

Josias Manzanillo is the only pitcher who has plunked Biggio on April 18th - that was in 2001, for the Pirates.