|
|
The Pittsburgh Pirates are already getting tired of Andy Pettitte. The Astros can't get enough of him.
Pettitte struck out eight over five innings to get his first victory in Houston for his hometown Astros and Brad Lidge got his first save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Pirates on Tuesday night.
``Andy Pettitte pitched great,'' said Houston's Jeff Kent, who hit a two-run homer in the sixth. ``I wish he could have thrown some more pitches.''
Pettitte (2-1) had another dominant performance against the Pirates, one week after holding them to only one hit in a 2-0 win.
The left-hander allowed two hits in five innings, including a soaring first-inning homer by Jack Wilson that sailed out of Minute Maid Park. He was taken out before the sixth to protect his left elbow.
That was more than enough to make up for his disastrous hometown debut last month.
In his first home start, Pettitte allowed six runs on 11 hits over 5 1-3 innings
in a loss to San Francisco on April 6 and injured his left elbow on a checked
swing.
A crowd of 31,083 eagerly awaited the chance to see their $31.5 million pitcher make amends.
On Tuesday, Pettitte put on a show for the fans, looking a lot more like the pitcher who won 21 games for the New York Yankees last season and got a three-year contract from the Astros.
``He's got great stuff,'' said Pittsburgh's Jason Kendall, who went 0-for-4. ``He's one of the best left-handers to ever pitch in the big leagues.''
After Wilson connected on a 93 mph fastball, Pettitte quickly settled into a rhythm, giving up only a hit to J.J. Davis in the fifth. He ended by striking out Tike Redman.
``It was definitely nice to pitch in front of the home crowd and have a decent start,'' Pettitte said. ``I just want to get to full health and feel great. I haven't built up my arm strength quite like I want.''
``We wanted to be aggressive against him tonight,'' Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon said. ``We were patient when we faced him before and that didn't work.''
AP - May 4, 10:20 pm EDT
More Photos
Not much worked against Pettitte on Tuesday either.
Craig Biggio, meanwhile, hit his 36th career leadoff homer and Kent added a two-run shot in the sixth for the Astros, who have won 11 of their last 12 games against Pittsburgh.
Kent's homer, which nearly hit the replica locomotive atop Minute Maid Park's low roof track in the outfield, gave the Astros a 4-1 lead in the sixth.
But Bobby Hill hit an RBI single in the eighth off Dan Miceli and scored on Wilson's double, pulling Pittsburgh within a run.
Brad Lidge, who blew a save chance in Monday night's 7-5 loss to Cincinnati, retired the next two batters and finished for his first save this season.
Pittsburgh's Josh Fogg (0-4) did well against the NL's top-hitting team, allowing four runs and four hits in seven innings. It still wasn't enough to prevent the Pirates from losing for the first time in seven road games.
``With a guy like (Pettitte), you know you've got your work cut out for you,'' Fogg said. ``We got a run off of him early and then we got some guys onbase, but he got a lot of strikekouts and settled down.''
Notes
The Pirates dropped
to 6-26 at Minute Maid. ... Biggio's 36th career leadoff homer extended his
NL record and moved him past Bobby Bonds into third place overall. ... Pittsburgh's
J.J. Davis had an interesting first career start in left field. In the first,
he dropped a ball that allowed Adam Everett to advance to second base. In the
second, he chased a Mike Lamb hit to the left-field corner, realized he misjudged
the path of the ball and quickly spun around to catch it with an outstretched
left arm. ... Former President Bush and his wife, Barbara, were shown on the
Jumbotron during a lively segment thatencourages couples to kiss. They obliged,
drawing wild applause.
Back To Index Page