Author: Tom

1986 – Houston regains first place in a 2-1 nailbiter over Fernando Valenzuela and the Dodgers. Craig Shipley and Alex Trevino team up for the only Dodger run but they give it back in the seventh when a bad throw by Shipley puts Phil Garner aboard then a dropped third strike by Trevino puts Glenn Davis on base. Kevin Bass drives in Garner then Jose Cruz dribbles a 20-foot roller that Valenzuela must eat while the winning run scores. 

1983 – Dickie Thon swats two home runs to carry Houston to a 4-2 victory over Atlanta. He hits a solo shot off Craig McMurtry then a two-run blast off Terry Forster to give the Astros the cushion they need. 

2014 – Jose Altuve smacks three hits and steals two bases in a 6-4 victory against Detroit. Matt Dominguez and Carlos Corporan also contribute three hits apiece. Altuve becomes the first big leaguer to swipe more than one base in four consecutive games since the ill-fated Ray Chapman did it in 1917. 

1974 – Doug Rader is roasted in San Diego during “Short Order Cooks Night”. Earlier in the year, Padres owner and McDonald’s magnate Ray Kroc gave the fans a Quarter-Pounder of his mind when he seized the PA system to publicly grill his players. Rader said, “He can’t treat us like a bunch of cooks”. Doug gets the last chance, trailing 5-4 with two outs in the ninth. He flies out to John Grubb as Houston’s hopes melt in defeat. 

2002 – Pinch-hitter Gregg Zaun blasts a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth off Byung-Hyun Kim to stun the Diamondbacks, 7-4. Octavio Dotel is the surprise winner. Lance Berkman and Brad Ausmus also go deep. 

1969 – Orlando “Marty” Martinez, a utility man picked up in an off-season trade with Atlanta, drives home Curt Blefary in the ninth inning for a 5-4 triumph over the Braves. It is the Astros’ tenth straight win, the second time they’ve reached that plateau that season.

1966 – Joe Morgan becomes the first Astro named to start in an All-Star Game. Unfortunately, Morgan had broken his kneecap three days earlier and is unable to play. He was hitting .319 at the time of his injury. On the field, Houston loses at Pittsburgh, 4-3, but remain a surprising fourth in the National League race.

2005 – Houston drills Colorado, 7-1, as Roy Oswalt wins his 10th of the year. Morgan Ensberg blasts his 20th homer and Jason Lane belts his 13th. But the day’s headline belongs to Craig Biggio who is hit in the elbow by Byung-Hyun Kim to claim the modern day career record for being hit by a pitch. It’s his 268th plunking, passing Don Baylor. He’s third on the all-time list. Biggio thanks the Rockies with a solo homer his next time up. 

1992 – A morning earthquake shakes the Astros before an 8-2 loss in Los Angeles. Willie Blair is rattled for five runs early. Ken Caminiti is one of the few Astros focused as he pounds out four hits. 

1996 – John Cangelosi is the sparkplug in a 9-3 triumph over the Mets. He gets two hits, walks twice, drives in three and steals three bases to pace the Houston attack. Everyone in the lineup gets at least one hit, including Darryl Kile who notches his seventh win in a complete-game performance. 

1987 – Kevin Bass becomes the first Astro to collect four extra-base hits in a game. He gets a “cycle plus one”, legging out his second double for his final hit of the game after earlier hitting a homer and a triple. Houston wins, 6-5, over the Giants as Larry Andersensaves it for Jim Deshaies. 

1992 – Benny Distefano smacks a pinch-hit three run triple off Rob Dibble in the bottom of the eighth to stun the Reds, 4-3. Al Osuna gets the gift victory. 

1979 – The Astros witness the re-hatching of the famous San Diego Chicken before a 4-1 victory. Heavy traffic delays the game for a half-hour before Ted Giannoulas breaks out of a five-foot egg to thunderous cheers. Unimpressed, Terry Puhl bashes Gaylord Perry’s first pitch for a homer and Houston gets the last cluck.

2006 – Adam Everett’s bloop triple in the 13th inning followed by Willy Taveras’ RBI single salvage a 10-9 win over the Chicago White Sox, avoiding their second series sweep at the hands of the American League champs in a span of nine months. The Astros were coasting with a 9-2 lead behind Roy Oswalt going into the bottom of the eighth when one man led the Sox back. Tadahito Igushi belts a three run shot off Russ Springer then tags Brad Lidge for a grand slam the next inning – the third slam off Houston pitching in three days – to tie it up. Fernando Nieve gets the win. Despite a dreadful month and a .500 record, the Astros are only five games back of St. Louis and three games back of Cincinnati in the division chase.