1985 – Joe Niekro becomes the winningest pitcher in club history with a two-hit shutout of the Giants, 5-0. Mark Bailey helps his batterymate with a three-run blast. Niekro had failed in the previous six starts to notch his 138th win as an Astro, leading to offers from Niekro to pay the hitters for helping him set the mark.
1985 – Jim Pankovits ‘ grand slam off John Candelaria breaks a 3-3 tie as Houston belts the Pirates, 8-3. The blast keys a seven-run seventh inning after Phil Garner and Mark Bailey delivered RBI singles. Nolan Ryan picks up the victory.
1985 – Rookies Ron Mathis and Mark Ross team up to blank Montreal, 10-0. Craig Reynolds is the offensive star with four hits, including a two-run double. Jerry Mumphrey and Bill Doran each contribute three hits. Mathis would have only three major league wins in his career. Ross would have two.
1985 – Astros rebound from a 5-0 deficit to take a 10-7 victory in Cincinnati. A five-run sixth does the trick as Phil Garner drills a bases-loaded triple off Mario Soto then scores on a suicide squeeze bunt by Mark Bailey.
1985 – Joe Niekro and Frank DiPino combine on a two-hitter for an 8-1 victory over Atlanta. Jose Cruz drives in four while Brave-killer Craig Reynolds has two hits, including a homer.
1985 – Astros touch Steve Howe, Tom Niedenfuer and Ken Howell for six runs in the ninth to shock the Dodgers, 7-3. Kevin Bass’ double starts the rally which makes a winner of Dave Smith. The key play occurs when Howell misfires on Bill Doran’s suicide squeeze bunt, allowing two Astros to score.
1985 – In a battle between the major-league’s top two strikeout artists of all time, Nolan Ryan defeats Steve Carlton and the Phillies, 5-3. Ryan increases his career strikeout lead over Carlton to ten (3,887 to 3,877). Jose Cruz supports with three hits.
1985 – On the Dome’s 20th Anniversary, Nolan Ryan leads a 2-1 victory over Los Angeles, surviving a first-inning kiss from Morganna who also smooches Dickie Thon before the police arrest her.
1985 – Righthander Mike Scott, coming off a 5-11 season, tests his new split-fingered fastball for the first time in live action. The two-inning stint against the Toronto Blue Jays is uneventful and Scott likes it that way. He hopes to earn the fourth spot in Houston’s pitching rotation.
1984 – Phil Garner goes 4-for-5 to pace a 12-6 win at Dodger Stadium. Houston pounds Orel Hershiser for five runs in the second but Los Angeles gets to Joe Niekro for six runs in the bottom of the frame. No problem. The Astros tally four more times the next inning and then it rains. Niekro staggers to his 16th win while Jose Cruz and Alan Ashby go deep.
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