BIGGIO HOMERS AT BOTH ENDS OF 'STROS 'W'
Robertson Strong in 2-1 Victory over Rays
HOUSTON, June 6 (AP) - Craig Biggio hit solo home runs in his first and last
plate appearances, accounting for all of the Astros' runs in a 2-1 victory over
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Jerome Robertson
(3-5) earned the win while turning in his best start of the year, allowing just
one run on four hits in eight innings of work. Nick Bierbrodt of the Rays
fired a strong game of his own, being nicked for a single run on five hits in
seven frames, but picked up a no-decision.
Biggio led off the Houston first inning with his eighth home run of the season,
a towering shot off the left-center field facade. Morgan Ensberg followed
with a base hit but was erased on a double play grounder off the bat of Jeff
Bagwell. Jeff Kent then singled and moved to second base on a wild pitch,
but Bierbrodt retired Lance Berkman on a chopper back to the mound to end the
inning.
The Astros knocked out two more hits in the second, but couldn't score.
From that point, Bierbrodt held Houston hitless, retiring 17 of the final 19
hitters he faced.
Robertson, meanwhile, held Tampa Bay without a hit through 4 1/3 but surrendered
a one-out single to Travis Lee in the fifth. Jared Sandberg followed with
a double to right-center, advancing Lee to third. Carl Crawford then
lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Lee and tying the game at one.
Bierbrodt was pulled for a pinch hitter leading off the eighth inning and was
replaced by Jesus Colome to begin the bottom half of the frame. Biggio was
the first batter he faced and he teed off on Colome's very first offering and
sent it far over the left-center field wall for his second home run of the game
and ninth of the year.
Billy Wagner came on for the Astros in the top of the ninth and retired Aubrey
Huff and Toby Hall without incident, but Lee sprayed a ball into left field that
Brian Hunter dove for and missed. By the time the baseball was returned to
the infield, Lee--the potential tying run--was standing on third with a
triple. But Wagner worked ahead of Sandberg and struck him out looking on
a 1-2 breaking ball to end the game, securing his league-leading 21st save in
the process.
6/6/2003, TB03-Hou03, Minute Maid Park 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2003 Devil Rays 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 1 6 2 2003 Astros 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 x 2 6 0 5 0 Devil Rays AB R H BI AVG Astros AB R H BI AVG Lugo ss 4 0 1 0 .289 Biggio cf 4 2 2 2 .250 Anderson,Mar 2b 2 0 0 0 .278 Ensberg 3b 3 0 1 0 .325 Baldelli cf 4 0 0 0 .269 Bagwell 1b 3 0 0 0 .278 Huff rf 3 0 0 0 .336 Kent 2b 4 0 1 0 .303 Hall,T c 4 0 1 0 .230 Berkman lf 3 0 0 0 .306 Lee,T 1b 4 1 2 0 .304 Hunter rf 3 0 1 0 .273 Sandberg 3b 4 0 1 0 .276 Zaun c 3 0 0 0 .155 Crawford lf 2 0 0 1 .231 Everett,A ss 3 0 1 0 .221 Bierbrodt p 2 0 0 0 .000 Robertson,J p 2 0 0 0 .200 Shumpert ph 1 0 0 0 .283 Wagner,B p 0 0 0 0 .000 Colome p 0 0 0 0 .000 28 2 6 2 30 1 5 1 Devil Rays INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Bierbrodt 7.0 5 1 1 0 3 88 50 8.29 Colome L 1-2 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 11 6 6.16 8.0 6 2 2 1 3 99 56 Astros INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Robertson,J W 3-5 8.0 4 1 1 2 2 102 68 6.56 Wagner,B S 21 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 12 10 1.23 9.0 5 1 1 2 3 114 78 TB : Shumpert batted for Bierbrodt in the 8th E-Sandberg. 2B-Sandberg(10). 3B-Lee,T(3). HR-Biggio 2(9). RBI-Crawford(24), Biggio 2(30). K-Lugo, Huff, Sandberg, Bagwell, Hunter, Zaun. BB-Anderson,Mar, Huff, Bagwell. SH-Anderson,Mar, Robertson,J. SF-Crawford. HBP-Ensberg. HB-Bierbrodt. WP-Bierbrodt. GWRBI: Biggio Temperature: 92, Sky: clear, Wind: out to left at 7 MPH. Attendance: 38,073 Game Time: 2:19