1979 – J.R. Richard tops the 300-strikeout barrier for the second straight year, fanning 13 during a four-hit, 8-0 blanking of Atlanta . He would add eleven more four days later against the Dodgers to close with a team record of 313 for the season.
1979 – Bruce Bochy singles home Craig Reynolds with the game-winner as Houston clips the Reds, 3-2, in 13 innings, closing within 1-1/2 games of Cincinnati in the N.L. West race. Terry Puhl plates the other two runs with singles off Tom Seaver. J.R. Richardfans 15 in eleven innings and shocks everyone with a bunt single in the tenth. Richard presses his luck by trying to steal second where Johnny Bench’s throw arrives well ahead of him.
1979 – Cincinnati overtakes Houston for the N.L. West lead during a tense 9-8 loss at Riverfront Stadium. It is the Astros’ first true pennant-race showdown. Both aces, Tom Seaver and J.R. Richard, start. They are long gone by the time Dave Concepcion and George Foster homer off Joe Sambito for the decisive runs. Rafael Landestoy goes 5-for-5 to pace Houston.
1979 – Cesar Cedeno goes five-for-five to lead a 4-1 victory over Philadelphia. His eighth-inning triple off Kevin Saucier starts a tie-breaking rally. Craig Reynolds singles him home. Pete Ladd gets his first big-league win while Joe Sambito notches his 17th save.
1979 – A bizarre ending comes to Pete Falcone’s 5-0 shutout of Houston. Jeff Leonard gets three turns at bat. He flies out to right for the final out but an umpire had called time before the pitch. Three pitches later, Leonard singles while Met first baseman Ed Kranepool is sitting in the clubhouse. Finally, with Kranepool back on the field, Leonard flies out again. Houston wins the protest but Jose Cruz finishes it the next day, grounding out with Leonard on first.
1979 – Montreal’s noted flake, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, surrenders a two-run inside-the-park homer to Houston’s noted flake, Joaquin Andujar, that stands up for a 2-1 Astros victory. Andujar had warned Lee not to throw him a fastball and Joaquin belted one high off the centerfield fence when he did. Andujar goes the distance with a four-hitter for his 12th win.
1979 – J.R. Richard fans 12 and delivers the game-winning hit during a 4-1 victory over Los Angeles. Terry Puhl opens the scoring with a first-inning blast off Burt Hooton. Richard’s two-run single in the fifth ends the stalemate. It is J.R.’s tenth straight win over the Dodgers.
1979 – Houston sweeps the Braves, 4-3 and 6-2, to move five games ahead of second-place Cincinnati. Atlanta knuckleballer Phil Niekro ties major league marks with four wild pitches in one inning and six for the game. The Astros also set a team record for a nine-inning game by stranding 16 runners in the opener.
1979 – Ken Forsch twirls a three-hitter as the Astros top the Dodgers, 5-2, but the talk is about a brawl that clears the benches. Cesar Cedeno spikes Steve Yeager during a play at the plate. Yeager later tosses a ball out to Cedeno at first who fires it back into the L.A. bench. Ken Brett then hits Enos Cabell with a pitch and away they go. Tommy Lasorda beat the rush, getting tossed three innings earlier.
1979 – Houston rallies for a 7-6 victory in St. Louis as Jose Cruz singles home Julio Gonzalez in the ninth for the game-winner. Terry Puhl homers. Enos Cabell and Jeff Leonard chime in with three hits apiece. Joe Sambito tosses two scoreless innings of relief for the win. It’s just their second win in their past 14 games, shrinking what was a ten-game division lead two weeks ago down to four games.
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