1982 – Alan Ashby cracks two solo shots off John Montefusco to lift the Astros to a 4-3 victory in San Diego. Dickie Thon figures in both of the other tallies. Don Sutton wins his 11th of the season.
1982 – Nolan Ryan notches the 200th win of his career, a five-hitter for a 3-2 victory over Cincinnati. Ryan strikes out 13. Ray Knight scores the winning run when Terry Puhl lines a drive off reliever Jim Kern that forces a wild throw from Ron Oester at second base. Knight hustles past third and beats the throw to the plate.
1982 – Joe Niekro gives up homers to Omar Moreno and Johnny Ray to start the game, then settles in for a 6-4 complete-game victory in rainy Pittsburgh. Jose Cruz and Phil Garner bail Niekro out with a home run and three RBIs apiece.
1982 – Nolan Ryan fans eleven Mets in 5-2/3rds innings during an 8-3 victory. Mike LaCoss and Dave Smith strike out three each to total 17 Ks, one short of Don Wilson’s club record. Dave Kingman whiffs five times, once with the bases loaded. Terry Puhl socks a home run and Phil Garner drives in three to pace the offense.
1982 – Phil Garner celebrates his 33rd birthday with a three-run homer that beats his old Pittsburgh teammates, 4-3. Garner had been traded to Houston the previous summer.
1982 – J.R. Richard tosses one inning in an exhibition game against Toronto. It would be his last appearance as an Astro after suffering a stroke in 1980. Richard gives up no runs and no hits but walks the bases full in the 3-2 victory.
1981 – Willy Taveras is born in Tenares, DR.After two seasons in Houston (2005-2006), the fleet outfielder leaves with a .284 batting average and 68 stolen bases, finishing second in the 2005 N.L. Rookie of the Year balloting and holding the club record with a 30-game hitting streak.
1981 – Outfielder Cesar Cedeno is traded to Cincinnati for infielder Ray Knight. It ends a 12-year run in Houston for Cedeno who bats .289 as an Astro with 163 HRs, 778 RBIs, 487 steals and four All-Star appearances.
1981 – Astros trade outfielder Gary Woods to the Cubs for outfielder Jim Tracy. Woods had hit .377 as a September call-up in 1980 but reverted to .209 the next season. Tracy never makes it into a regular season game for Houston but he will one day become the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Colorado Rockies.
1981 – Jerry Reuss of the Dodgers shuts out the Astros on a five-hitter, 4-0, winning the divisional series, 3-2. Nolan Ryan is reached for three runs in the sixth while Houston’s bats, as one writer put it, died in their sleep. The Astros manage just twelve hits and two runs over three days of one-win-to-clinch baseball.
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