Roy Oswalt , who was the only pitcher in major league history to go 15-0 against a team, had his winning streak broken with a 5-4 defeat Friday night in Cincinnati.
Oswalt struggled from the start. “Eventually, it’s going to come to an end, if you play long enough. I didn’t really have a breaking pitch the whole night. I had to pitch with the fastball, and I didn’t really get it where I wanted to, either. So it could have been easily a lot worse.” Roy allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings with three walks and four strikeouts, and left the game trailing 3-2.
Mike Gallo and Chad Qualls each allowed a run in the seventh to increase the defecit to 5-2, and Russ Springer pitched a scoreless eighth to close out the pitching line.
Chris Burke started at shortstop again and had a pair of hits, including a run scoring single in the fourth to open the scoring for the Astros. Preston Wilson , who also had two hits and a walk, slammed an opposite field yack in the sixth for the second Astros run. Lance Berkman made it close in the ninth with another opposite field shot that also scored Willy Taveras as the ball appeared headed for the fair pole until a fan snagged it.
With their eighth victory in nine games, the Reds moved into first place in the NL Central, a half-game ahead of the Astros.
When asked about Oswalt’s streak, “That’s pretty good,” Phil Garner said. “He can start another five-year run if he wants to. That’s pretty incredible. I don’t know how to explain that.”
Day game Saturday at 2:15 CST, Andy Pettitte vs. Aaron Harang.