1974 – Larry Milbourne scores in the 11th on a fielder’s choice to give Houston an 8-7 triumph over Los Angeles. Roger Metzger has three hits and raps into the game-winner when the throw home by Davey Lopes is late. Cesar Cedeno socks two home runs and drives in four. His 79 RBIs lead the league while his 21 home runs are just one shy of ex-teammate Jim Wynn for the top spot in that category.
1974 – Bob Gallagher drives in Milt May in the bottom of the 12th for a 7-6 win over the Cubs. It rains indoors! Workers forget to replace some tiles in the Astrodome roof and an evening downpour creates puddles in right and center fields while showering a few lucky outfield ticket-holders who are handed plastic trash bags for shelter.
1974 – Lee May stays hot. His solo shot in the second inning is the only run as Houston nips the Mets, 1-0. Don Wilson scatters seven hits in the shutout and delivers two of his own.
1974 – Lee May hits the first “foamer” in team history, a promotion where Dome patrons get free beer for the rest of the night if an Astro belts one out on an even-numbered minute. May hits a second shot for good measure and Larry Dierker tosses a three-hitter in a 4-0 whitewash of the Expos.
1974 – Milt May belts a two-out pinch-hit grand slam homer off Vicente Romo in the ninth inning to topple San Diego, 5-1 . Claude Osteen and Randy Jones had dueled to a 1-1 draw for eight innings. Osteen takes the victory, allowing five hits. Osteen had once tutored Jones when the hurler was in junior high school.
1974 – Cincinnati fans hurl beer, ice, cups and insults at an injured Bob Watson after the left-fielder crashes head-first into the fence. It happens in the nightcap of a doubleheader loss at Riverfront. Watson’s glasses shatter. He gets twelve stitches to his face at a local hospital.
1974 – Doug Rader’s three-run homer in the 12th lifts the Astros over Pittsburgh, 8-6. Rookie Dave Parker, substituting for an ejected Richie Zisk, had slammed a solo homer in the top of the inning to give the Pirates a lead before Rader’s blast off Jim Sadowski settles the issue.
1974 – Tom Griffin one-hits the Pirates, 2-1, outdueling Dock Ellis for the victory. Milt May triples home Bob Watson with the winning run.
1974 – Astros get an assist from part of the Astrodome crowd as they drop the Cardinals, 4-1. Two female fans run nude through the outfield during the seventh-inning stretch. The distracted Cards give up three runs in the bottom half of the frame. A two-run single by Doug Rader is the key hit. Claude Osteen goes the distance.
1974 – Lee May slams a pair of two-run homers in a nine-run sixth inning to spark an 18-2 mauling of Chicago. His two “taters” cap a five-for-five performance by the slugger to pace a 20-hit assault. Manager Preston Gomez gives May the rest of the night off or he might have done more. Winning pitcher Dave Roberts adds a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to the cause. The 18-2 win ties a club record for the largest margin of victory in a game.
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