Sunday, September 26, 1999
Brewers 3, Astros 2
The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — Mark Loretta and Brian Banks drove in runs and Scott Karl won his third straight game Saturday night as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Houston Astros 3-2.
With the loss, Houston's lead over second-place Cincinnati in the NL Central fell to 11/2 games. The Reds beat St. Louis 6-1 Saturday.
Karl (11-11), who won for the first time in seven outings against the Astros, scattered 10 hits and allowed two runs in seven innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
Shane Reynolds (16-13), who won two of his last three starts after losing four straight, allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three.
Bob Wickman pitched a perfect ninth for his 36th save, tying Doug Jones' franchise record set in 1997.
An error by second baseman Craig Biggio allowed the Brewers to extend their lead to 3-1 in the sixth.
After Geoff Jenkins singled and Ron Belliard walked, Kevin Barker hit a fly ball to deep center. Biggio let the relay from center fielder Carl Everett get by him, allowing Jenkins to score from third, where he advanced after tagging up.
The Brewers broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth on an RBI single by Loretta, who extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Banks, who singled to open the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Karl, scored from second.
Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the second when Belliard, who hit a leadoff single, scored on a groundout by Banks.
Houston made it 3-2 in the seventh on a sacrifice fly to center by pinch-hitter Russ Johnson. He drove in Tim Bogar, who led off with a double.
The Astros tied it 1-1 in the third inning on a groundout by Biggio to score Bogar, who led off with a double and advanced to third on a groundout.
Notes: Houston's Bill Spiers, attacked by a fan during Friday night's game, pinch-hit in the ninth and flied out to left. He still has a sore neck. ... Milwaukee had inning-ending double plays in the first, fifth, sixth and seventh. ... Karl is the first Milwaukee pitcher to hit two home runs in one season. ... In its first 155 games heading into Saturday night's game, Houston went to its bullpen 324 times, lowest in the major leagues.
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