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Houston finishes the strike-ravaged season with a 5-3 victory over the Dodgers and win the second half division

ByTom

1981 – Houston finishes the strike-ravaged season with a 5-3 victory over the Dodgers. Scott Loucks and Alan Knicely star as Dave Smith is the winning pitcher. The Astros win the second-half N.L. West title with a 30-23 record. Their full-season record is 58-52, third best in the division behind Cincinnati and first-half champion Los Angeles, who they will meet in a first-ever divisional playoff series.

The Reds, who blank Atlanta, 3-0, finish with the best record in the National League strike-shortened season (66-42), but will not participate in the postseason. The team does not qualify because the Dodgers and Astros post better records, respectively, for the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of play in the Western Division and will face one another in the first-ever ‘NLDS’, under a plan instituted midseason by Giants executive Al Rosen to salvage the season.

ByThis Day in Baseball

The Reds, who blank Atlanta, 3-0, finish with the best record in the National League strike-shortened season (66-42), but will not participate in the postseason. The team does not qualify because the Dodgers and Astros post better records, respectively, for the first half (pre-strike) and second half (post-strike) of play in the Western Division and will face one another in the first-ever ‘NLDS’, under a plan instituted midseason by Giants executive Al Rosen to salvage the season.