Pitching, earned runs

Question
Brian, When a starting pitcher is relieved during an inning, after allowing two base runners on by a walk and a hit batsman, with two outs, a runner scores due to a wild pitch by the reliever. Then the next runner scores due to a base hit. How many runs are charged to the starting pitcher?
                Thanks  

Answer
Bill,

Two runs are charged to the starting pitcher.  I know it sounds unfair, but that's the way the rulebook reads.

If the first runner scored due to a passed ball, then the runs would be unearned because a wild pitch does not count as an error.

Hope this helps!

Brian