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Saturday, Jun. 17 4:05pm ET
Wagner's woes mystify Houston | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Billy Wagner seems as baffled as anyone about his dramatic demise. A day after losing his job as Houston's closer, Wagner walked all four batters he faced and threw a go-ahead, run-scoring wild pitch Saturday as the San Francisco Giants beat the Astros 6-4. "I've got 50,000 people out there with theories about Billy Wagner," said Wagner, who last season set a franchise record with 39 saves. "But I'm not throwing any different than I have in the past." Wagner, who was demoted after blowing eight of 14 save chances, replaced starter Jose Lima in the sixth inning with a 4-3 lead, two on and two out. He loaded the bases with a walk to Bill Mueller, then tied the game by walking Barry Bonds on a full count. Wagner next threw the ball in the dirt on a 0-2 pitch to Jeff Kent, allowing Marvin Benard to score the go-ahead run. Then Wagner walked Kent, reloading the bases, and walked J.T. Snow, forcing in another run. Marc Valdes relieved and struck out Rich Aurilia. Astros manager Larry Dierker said Wagner's downfall this season is as confusing to him as it is to his recently demoted closer. Wagner's mechanics seem fine, he said. "I'd have liked to find an easier situation for him," Dierker said. "But this was his day." Lima (1-10), winless in 13 starts since beating Pittsburgh 11-1 on April 5, allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. "I'm fine," he said. "I go out there and pitch like I'm 9-and-1 not 1-and-9. I'm not happy, but for the last month I've gone out there and pitched well, I think." Giants manager Dusty Baker wasn't about to theorize about Houston's pitching woes. "Sometimes there's no explanation," Baker said. "I'm not going to try to figure out their problems. We just got ours figured out." The Giants have won five straight and have climbed to two games over .500 for the first time since May 13. Livan Hernandez (5-6) won for the fifth time in his last seven starts, giving up four runs and eight hits in seven innings. Robb Nen pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 14 chances. Kent's RBI single and Snow's sacrifice fly put the Giants ahead in the first. Kent leads the NL with 64 RBIs. Tony Eusebio hit a sacrifice fly in the second, and Houston took a 4-2 lead in the third on Jeff Bagwell's RBI single and Moises Alou's two-run double. Armando Rios' run-scoring single off Lima pulled the Giants to 4-3 in the sixth before Wagner's appearance. Game notesHouston general manager Gerry Hunsicker said the Astros will use a "closer by committee" approach. ... The Giants signed RHP Kyle Gross, son of former Oakland INF Wayne Gross. The younger Gross was a fifth-round pick by the Giants in this year's draft. ... Chris Truby, recalled from Triple-A New Orleans to fill Astros 3B Ken Caminiti on the roster, was not in the starting lineup Saturday. Truby had his first major league hit, a triple in the ninth inning, in Friday night's game. Bill Spiers was at third on Saturday. Caminiti was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Friday because of a ruptured tendon sheath in his right wrist. ... Kent has driven in at least one run in each of his last nine games. He has hit safely in 28 of his last 31 games. ... Alou is batting .311 on the road this season, with four doubles, six home runs and 14 RBI. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Houston Clubhouse San Francisco Clubhouse Looking for relief: Astros change role of struggling Wagner
RECAPS Detroit 8 Cleveland 6
San Francisco 6
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