Thursday, September 23, 1999
Pirates 3, Astros 2
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — The Houston Astros lost track of the ball-strike count and, later, one of their baserunners. No wonder they still haven't lost Cincinnati in the NL Central race.
Todd Ritchie outpitched 20-game winner Jose Lima and the Pittsburgh Pirates turned two unusual double plays in as many innings to slow Houston's run at a third straight division title, beating the Astros 3-2 Wednesday night.
The Pirates, playing without 39-homer hitter Brian Giles, who will miss the rest of the season with a broken finger, took two of three from the NL Central-leading Astros. They began their final homestand of the season by winning two of three from second-place Cincinnati.
The Astros lost their fifth in seven games. They began the night with a 31/2-game lead over Cincinnati, which played later at San Diego.
“We're the ones being hunted, so that's a good feeling, but like any team, we want to put this away as quickly as possible,” Houston's Jeff Bagwell said.
Ritchie, 3-1 against Houston in four starts, was helped by some good defense and some bad Houston baserunning that halted a pair of threats.
With the score tied at 2 in the sixth, Stan Javier and Carl Everett singled around Bagwell's strikeout and Ken Caminiti walked. Javier then broke for the plate on Daryle Ward's slow-hit grounder to first baseman Kevin Young and was called out on a close play.
Rather than holding at third, Everett came halfway down the line and was tagged out by catcher Joe Oliver to complete the double play.
“It was just miscommunication with the third base coach,” Everett said. “I didn't know the ball was going home. If I knew, I wouldn't have gone. But a loss is a loss. When we have opportunity to win with our team, we should do it.”
In the seventh, Ricky Gutierrez singled with one out and Lima attempted to bunt him up. But Oliver gambled by throwing to second rather than taking the sure out at first and Gutierrez was called out. With Lima running at less than full speed, Abraham Nunez's throw to first beat him by more than a step.
The Houston bench thought Gutierrez was safe at second. The inning before, the Astros also felt home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez signaled a strike on a 2-0 pitch to Nunez, only to allow Nunez to take first when Lima threw a ball on the next pitch.
“The first two runs were driven in by guys we thought had struck out,” Astros manager Larry Dierker said. “If they made the right calls, we got beat by a good pitcher. If they didn't make the right calls, we got beat by the umpires.
“This was a tough game, a tough game to lose.”
Lima (20-9) lost his second straight start since becoming the fifth 20-game winner in Astros' history, even while holding the Pirates to three runs and five hits and striking out 10 in eight innings. He was coming off his worst start of the season, an 11-8 loss to St. Louis in which he lasted 3 2-3 innings.
Ritchie (14-9), in the minors when the season began and never a starter before this year, won his team-high 14th decision by limiting the Astros to two runs and six hits and striking out 10 in his second complete game. He has won four of his last five decisions.
“That's the most excited I've been in a major league game,” said Ritchie, who normally is as unemotional on the mound as Lima is passionate. “It pumps me up extra to pitch against a guy like that. I have a little extra when I pitch against a good pitcher like that.”
The Pirates, who finished 45-36 at home, took a 2-0 lead on Warren Morris' RBI double in the second and Al Martin's leadoff triple in the third and Brant Brown's sacrifice fly.
The Astros tied it in the fourth on Javier's double, Bagwell's RBI single and Caminiti's sacrifice fly.
The Pirates needed only one hit to take the lead in the sixth. With Lima apparently preoccupied by the ball-strike call, Nunez stole second and scored on Young's one-out single.
“I can't comment because if I make a comment, they're going to stick it to me,” Lima said. “I'm not a crybaby. I don't make excuses. So, if you see me arguing, you know something is wrong. I'm not going to say anything, if I say something I'll get a reputation and they won't give me a strike the rest of my life.”
The Pirates, trying for their first winning season since 1992, are a game under .500 with 10 games to play.
“I think these last two series show that while we're not Houston or Cincinnati, we're not too far away,” manager Gene Lamont said. “We're getting better and we like to think we'll be a contender next year.”
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