282 in the books, but win streak ended

Chuck James became the 57th left hander to plunk Biggio last night. He also became the first pitcher to plunk Biggio as the leadoff batter of the second inning since Danny Jackson, on June 27, 1995. Plunk 282 was also the first time Biggio was plunked while he was batting 6th in the batting order, which means the only batting order slot he has never been plunked while batting in is the 4th. His first HBP as the number 9 hitter came on plunk 275 this season, in a pinch-hit-by-pitch appearance.
But, despite Biggio's HBP and a later home run, the Astros win streak was ended with a 4-1 loss - the 47th game of Biggio's career in which he scored all the Astros runs. It was only the 4th time he got hit by a pitch and also scored all the Astros runs.

Despite the loss last night, the Astros are still alive in the division race. Tonight they'll be facing Atlanta starter Lance Cormier, who has never plunked Biggio. Cormier has 9 carer hit-batters in 193 innings pitcher. Biggio has never been hit by a pitch on September 30th.

Tomorrow the Astros face Braves veteran John Smoltz. Smoltz is sitting on 49 career hit-batters, so he could be waiting for Biggio to come along to throw number 50. Smoltz plunked Biggio on July 27, 1992, so if he does it again on Sunday it will be the longest gap for any pitcher between to plunkings of Biggio. Salomon Torres currently holds the record, for plunking Biggio on September 21, 1993, and not again until May 12, 2003. Biggio has never been plunked on October 1st.

282!!

Chuck James becomes the 212th pitcher to hit Craig Biggio with a pitch on the first pitch of the second inning. James is the first Chuck to chuck one that hit Biggio.

9 in a row

The Astros have given up losing. They're just not doing it anymore. They've lost plenty of games this year, and they seem to have gotten together as a team and simply decided that losing is no longer something they do. This is great and all, but if the outcomes of the games are no longer in question, how about do something to make it all a little more interesting - less predictable. Like maybe try to see who can get hit by the most pitches? You know, just something to put some kind of challenge back into baseball, since losing no longer seems to be in question.
Craig Biggio didn't play yesterday, in the Astros 9th straight win (3-0 over Pittsburgh), but he should be back in the lineup tonight against the Braves. Chuck James is on the Braves schedule to pitch tonight. He's hit 5 batters this season, but hasn't faced Craig Biggio yet in his short career. The Braves have plunked Biggio fewer times than any National League team with just 7, but they could catch up to the Diamondbacks if they hit him twice this weekend. That seems pretty unlikely - but then, so does winning 9 in a row and coming back from 8.5 games back in September.

Andy Larkin plunked Biggio on September 29, 1996, and Kerry Wood did so on September 29, 2001, and they both did it in the 5th inning. Could there be a continuation of a 5 year cycle of fifth inning plunks tonight?

The Cardinals are at Milwaukee with Jeff Weaver (7-14) scheduled to match up against Chris Capuano (11-11).