Teixeira's RBI single in 17th lifts Braves to win

[July 07, 2008]  ATLANTA (AP) -- Mark Teixeira singled off the wall in left-center with the bases loaded in the 17th inning, giving the Atlanta Braves a 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday in the longest game in Turner Field history.

Rain delayed the start of the game by 1 hour, 50 minutes, and solid pitching extended it much longer. The Braves rallied with two runs in the eighth inning to tie it, and each team had several chances to score the go-ahead run.

Gregor Blanco finally did, after singling off Tim Byrdak (2-1) to lead off the 17th. Yunel Escobar followed with a bunt single and Chipper Jones loaded the bases with a base hit to right, before Teixeira's ball went over the head of a drawn-in outfield for the winning hit.

Royce Ring (2-1) pitched the 17th for Atlanta, getting Byrdak to ground out with Carlos Lee stranded at third to end the inning.

The Braves have won two of three following a five-game losing streak, despite stranding 21 of the game's 35 runners. Each team used seven pitchers in the Braves' longest regular-season game since beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 in 18 innings on Aug. 3, 1996.

Atlanta manager Bobby Cox wasn't around to see it, either. He was ejected for the fifth time this season for arguing Blanco's strikeout in the fifth inning.

Atlanta and Houston have a history of playing extra. The two teams went 18 innings in Game 4 of the 2005 NLDS, which the Astros won 7-6 to clinch the series.

This one never looked like it might end up going 5 hours, 35 minutes.

Houston jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third on Ty Wigginton's first career grand slam, but the Braves began chipping away. Jones and Teixeira drove in a pair of runs in their half of the third, and Teixeira drove in another run off Wesley Wright in the seventh that made it 6-4.

Escobar's two-run single in the eighth off Jose Valverde tied it up, clearing the way for the Braves to improve to 2-7 in extra innings and 5-21 in one-run games this season.

Jones, who leads the majors with a .388 average, finished 2-for-4 with a solo homer in the first inning. His run-scoring triple in the third was his first triple since last Aug. 11 at Pittsburgh.

Braves rookie right-hander Charlie Morton gave up all six runs on eight hits and a pair of walks in six innings, but the bullpen bailed him out. Six relievers combined to limit the Astros to six hits over the final 11 innings.

Wandy Rodriguez stood in line to get the win until the Houston bullpen blew it in the late innings. Rodriguez allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings, striking out eight.

Notes: Astros CF Michael Bourn is hitless in last 19 official at-bats. Bourn had a sacrifice bunt in the 16th, but he struck out three times. ... Houston RHP Roy Oswalt is expected to throw off flat ground in Pittsburgh after having his strained left hip examined on Saturday in Houston. ... Atlanta LF Omar Infante left the game with a strained hamstring after running to third in the second. Rookie Jason Perry replaced Infante in the lineup, and RF Greg Norton, who struck out four times, moved to left.

[Associated Press; By GEORGE HENRY]

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