1988 – The Texas Rangers sign pitcher Nolan Ryan as a free agent, creating a huge fan backlash in Houston. San Francisco and California also had offered more than the Astros did. Owner John McMullen defends his bid saying he wouldn’t pay Ryan more than he was paying Mike Scott.
1988 – Mark Portugal is acquired from Minnesota for minor leaguer Todd McClure. As a reliever for the Twins, Portugal has an 11-19 record over parts of four seasons and is considered expendable. As a starter in Houston, Portugal would turn around his career.
1988 – Hal Lanier is fired after three seasons. Having won Manager of the Year honors in 1986, Hal closes his run with a 254-232 record.
1988 – Bob Knepper fires a one-hitter to stifle Atlanta, 1-0. An infield hit by Dale Murphy in the second and a walk to Bruce Benedict in the ninth are the only baserunners he allows. Gerald Young’s single in the eighth scores Ken Caminiti for the game’s only run.
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.
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