Liter22
06-04-2002, 08:50 AM
From ESPN.com
PHOENIX (AP) -- His throat hurting, his face noticeably pale following a night of aches, pains and a 104-degree fever, Curt Schilling was still way too much for the Houston Astros.
Houston Astros catcher Gregg Zaun fields the late throw to home plate as Arizona's Craig Counsell slides in safely.
Schilling gave up three hits in seven innings of masterful control to become baseball's first 11-game winner as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Astros 10-4 Monday night.
"That's what they pay me to do,'' Schilling said. "Had I felt like I felt yesterday, I couldn't have pitched. There would have been no question, but I was better today.''
Schilling (11-1) gave up one run, struck out eight and walked none. He has not issued a walk in his last five starts, a string of 37 innings and 138 batters, and has 131 strikeouts and eight walks on the season.
"When you have to string together three or four hits in a row to get a score, it can be tough,'' Houston's Lance Berkman said. "A walk is a big part of the offensive game plan for the opposition. You hope it gives you a few base runners so you have to get one base hit to score instead of two or three.''
Counting the postseason, Schilling improved to 22-1 in starts following an Arizona loss.
"When he feels 100 percent healthy and he's ready to go out there and pitch, he's amazing,'' Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said. "What he was able to do tonight, given what he's gone through the last couple of days, probably sets the bar a little higher than it ever has been.''
Arizona's offense broke loose after sputtering on a seven-game road trip.
Erubiel Durazo ended an 0-for-21 drought with a two-run homer, his sixth homer since coming of the disabled list May 15. Jose Guillen drove in two with a bases-loaded single and Junior Spivey tripled in two more.
Houston's Tim Redding (3-3) lasted just four innings, allowing four runs, only two earned, and six hits. Reliever Brandon Puffer walked five and gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Although he hasn't been tested for it, Schilling probably had strep throat.
"God bless my wife,'' he said. "My wife's 7 1/2 months pregnant and she was up every two hours last night, taking my temperature, giving me liquids. She took care of me all night. My fever broke twice during the night. The big thing for me was the aches. I woke up this morning and they were gone. Around noon I realized I probably would be fine.''
Brenly said the only difference he noticed was that Schilling took a little more time between pitches. Schilling said he was purposely more methodical.
"It seemed like a long game to me, but I was trying to slow things down a little bit,'' he said, "keep everything in focus and not get ahead of myself, try to focus on the little things that come naturally on normal days but might not come that naturally today.''
Schilling allowed a two-out double to Berkman in the first, then retired the next 11 batters before Richard Hidalgo's one-out bloop single in the fifth. Gregg Zaun struck out, then Geoff Blum doubled to right-center on a 3-2 pitch to drive in Hidalgo and cut the lead to 4-1. Pinch-hitter Jose Vizcaino popped out to end the inning, and Schilling retired the next seven, three by strikeouts, before leaving with a nine-run lead.
With Arizona leading 2-0, Spivey reached base on third baseman Blum's throwing error in the third, then Durazo hit Redding's 0-1 pitch 412 feet onto the center field porch.
Durazo homered five times in three games just after coming off the DL, but had been bothered by soreness in his surgically repaired right wrist since then.
Houston manager Jimy Williams summed up the game simply.
"Schilling, he's tough,'' Williams said. "They scored early. We couldn't score much. You just look at it as one of those games.''
Game notes
Schilling is 22-2 in his last 29 starts, counting the postseason. He was 5-0 in six starts in May with a 2.80 ERA and 62 strikeouts. ... The last hitter Schilling walked was Armando Rios in the ninth inning against Pittsburgh on May 8. ... Schilling has pitched at least seven innings in all of his starts except his lone loss, when he went six. ... Danny Bautista's shoulder surgery was postponed on Monday because Diamondbacks team doctor Michael Lee hurt his back over the weekend. It tentatively was rescheduled for Wednesday. ... Astros RHP Wade Miller was scheduled to start Monday but was pushed back one day after experiencing tightness in his lower back in his previous outing. ... Reliever Greg Swindell made his 200th appearance for Arizona.
:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :fro: :evillol: :evillol:
PHOENIX (AP) -- His throat hurting, his face noticeably pale following a night of aches, pains and a 104-degree fever, Curt Schilling was still way too much for the Houston Astros.
Houston Astros catcher Gregg Zaun fields the late throw to home plate as Arizona's Craig Counsell slides in safely.
Schilling gave up three hits in seven innings of masterful control to become baseball's first 11-game winner as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Astros 10-4 Monday night.
"That's what they pay me to do,'' Schilling said. "Had I felt like I felt yesterday, I couldn't have pitched. There would have been no question, but I was better today.''
Schilling (11-1) gave up one run, struck out eight and walked none. He has not issued a walk in his last five starts, a string of 37 innings and 138 batters, and has 131 strikeouts and eight walks on the season.
"When you have to string together three or four hits in a row to get a score, it can be tough,'' Houston's Lance Berkman said. "A walk is a big part of the offensive game plan for the opposition. You hope it gives you a few base runners so you have to get one base hit to score instead of two or three.''
Counting the postseason, Schilling improved to 22-1 in starts following an Arizona loss.
"When he feels 100 percent healthy and he's ready to go out there and pitch, he's amazing,'' Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said. "What he was able to do tonight, given what he's gone through the last couple of days, probably sets the bar a little higher than it ever has been.''
Arizona's offense broke loose after sputtering on a seven-game road trip.
Erubiel Durazo ended an 0-for-21 drought with a two-run homer, his sixth homer since coming of the disabled list May 15. Jose Guillen drove in two with a bases-loaded single and Junior Spivey tripled in two more.
Houston's Tim Redding (3-3) lasted just four innings, allowing four runs, only two earned, and six hits. Reliever Brandon Puffer walked five and gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Although he hasn't been tested for it, Schilling probably had strep throat.
"God bless my wife,'' he said. "My wife's 7 1/2 months pregnant and she was up every two hours last night, taking my temperature, giving me liquids. She took care of me all night. My fever broke twice during the night. The big thing for me was the aches. I woke up this morning and they were gone. Around noon I realized I probably would be fine.''
Brenly said the only difference he noticed was that Schilling took a little more time between pitches. Schilling said he was purposely more methodical.
"It seemed like a long game to me, but I was trying to slow things down a little bit,'' he said, "keep everything in focus and not get ahead of myself, try to focus on the little things that come naturally on normal days but might not come that naturally today.''
Schilling allowed a two-out double to Berkman in the first, then retired the next 11 batters before Richard Hidalgo's one-out bloop single in the fifth. Gregg Zaun struck out, then Geoff Blum doubled to right-center on a 3-2 pitch to drive in Hidalgo and cut the lead to 4-1. Pinch-hitter Jose Vizcaino popped out to end the inning, and Schilling retired the next seven, three by strikeouts, before leaving with a nine-run lead.
With Arizona leading 2-0, Spivey reached base on third baseman Blum's throwing error in the third, then Durazo hit Redding's 0-1 pitch 412 feet onto the center field porch.
Durazo homered five times in three games just after coming off the DL, but had been bothered by soreness in his surgically repaired right wrist since then.
Houston manager Jimy Williams summed up the game simply.
"Schilling, he's tough,'' Williams said. "They scored early. We couldn't score much. You just look at it as one of those games.''
Game notes
Schilling is 22-2 in his last 29 starts, counting the postseason. He was 5-0 in six starts in May with a 2.80 ERA and 62 strikeouts. ... The last hitter Schilling walked was Armando Rios in the ninth inning against Pittsburgh on May 8. ... Schilling has pitched at least seven innings in all of his starts except his lone loss, when he went six. ... Danny Bautista's shoulder surgery was postponed on Monday because Diamondbacks team doctor Michael Lee hurt his back over the weekend. It tentatively was rescheduled for Wednesday. ... Astros RHP Wade Miller was scheduled to start Monday but was pushed back one day after experiencing tightness in his lower back in his previous outing. ... Reliever Greg Swindell made his 200th appearance for Arizona.
:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :fro: :evillol: :evillol: