plunk power wins in Atlanta, on to Florida tonight

The Astros harnessed the power of getting hit by pitches in the 14th inning last night to get on base to score the winning run, but it was Jason Lane taking one for the team, and not Craig Biggio. Lane got plunked in the 14th inning and driven in by unlikely hero Jason Jennings for the Astros 12-11 win. The winner of each game in the series scored 12 runs. But, Craig Biggio's only plate appearance of last night's extended game resulted in a ground out.

Tonight, the Astros move on to Miami tonight, where Dontrelle Willis will be there to great them. Last year, Willis pitched the opener of the Astros only trip to Florida and plunked Chris Burke, and in 2004, Willis started the first game when the Astros visited and threw Craig Biggio's 248th career plunk. Willis also plunked Biggio on September 12, 2005, but those three plunks (2 to Biggio and 1 to Burke) are the only ones Dontrelle Willis has thrown against the Astros. Willis has only hit 7 batters this year after leading the league with 19 in 2006. 12 of the 45 plunks Dontrelle Willis has thrown in his career were recorded in the 3rd inning.



Shawn Estes plunked Biggio on August 3, 1996 for the Giants.