snake bite
v.— «Chicago Cubs pitcher Dennis Eckersley has good stats but hard luck. Eckersley’s latest bout with snakebite was Tuesday when when he limited the Philadelphia Phillies to two runs on five hits. He struck out nine hitters in the eight innings he worked, but it wasn’t good enough for his ninth win.» —by Edmund Lawler in Chicago AP Sept. 12, 1984. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)