1988 – Bob Forsch, Ken’s younger brother who was acquired six days earlier for Denny Walling, strokes a three-run double and scatters five hits in his Houston debut, a 3-0 shutout over Cincinnati. Dave Smith takes over in the ninth for the save.
1988 – In the Astros’ first night game at Wrigley Field, Craig Biggio blasts a tenth-inning homer off Rich “Goose” Gossage for a 9-7 triumph over the Cubs. This comes after Rafael Ramirez plates two in the ninth to tie it. Juan Agosto notches his tenth straight win.
1988 – Mike Scott blanks the Dodgers, 10-0, to pull within 1-1/2 games of the division lead. Scott excels despite a black eye caused when a weighted doughnut flew off Denny Walling’s bat in warmups and hit Scott in the face. His teammates score four times in the first and six in the eighth to ease his pain.
1988 – Two run-scoring balks help Houston edge Los Angeles, 4-2. Tim Leary is nailed with the first, letting Billy Hatcher score. Two innings later, Brian Holton makes the same mistake, allowing Bob Knepper to walk home. Knepper wins his 12th of the year with a save from Juan Agosto.
1988 – A wild pitch by Bruce Ruffin plates Craig Reynolds with the winning run in the ninth as Houston upends the Phillies, 7-6. Two runs down in the eighth, the Astros rally on a pinch homer by Louie Meadows, a pinch triple by Terry Puhl and a sacrifice fly by Gerald Young. Dave Smith wins in relief.
1988 – Glenn Davis belts a blooper pitch from Pascual Perez into the left field seats at Olympic Stadium in a 4-3 victory over the Expos . The 40-mph floater doesn’t phase Davis who played slow-pitch softball as a youth. It is his 70th RBI of the season to lead the National League.
1988 – Nolan Ryan wins his 100th game as an Astro, dropping the New York Mets, 6-3. Only Cy Young before him had won 100 games for two teams in two separate leagues. A four-run fifth inning is the difference as RBI singles by Glenn Davis, Buddy Bell and Billy Hatcher surround four walks.
1988 – Houston tallies nine runs in the seventh inning to topple the Braves, 14-7. Bill Doran has three hits and a homer with four RBIs to pace the Astros attack. His two-run single opens the scoring in the seventh. Glenn Davis adds a two-run blast off Paul Assenmacher in the frame.
1988 – Mike Scott’s bid for his second career no-hitter ends one out short when Ken Oberkfell delivers a clean single to right with two outs in the top of the ninth . It’s the only sour note in a 5-0 whitewash over Atlanta. Scott walks none and fans eight. Terry Puhl, Kevin Bass and Craig Reynolds contribute three hits each.
1988 – Mother Nature gets the save in a 3-0 victory at Pittsburgh. The game is called in the top of the ninth as swirling gale-force winds stop the action. Rafael Ramirez clings to third base for all he’s worth. Dirt and debris litter the field. Mike Scott’s eight scoreless innings are good enough.
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