1981 – Bob Knepper hurls a three-hitter as Houston blanks the Mets, 8-0, to take over first place in the second-half standings. Knepper adds a two-run double to his cause. Alan Ashby and Tony Scott deliver four hits each in the 16-hit assault. Their victim? A lad named Mike Scott.
Alan Ashby Positions: Bats: B Throws: R Height: 74 Weight: 185 Born: Sunday, July 08, 1951 in Long Beach, CA USA Died: in , Debut: 7/3/1973 Last Game: 5/9/1989 Full Name: Alan Dean Ashby
1987 – Jose Cruz homers off the Dodgers’ Orel Hershiser to lead the defending N.L. West champion Astros to a 4-3 season-opening triumph. Alan Ashby contributes a two-run single. Dave Smith pitches the last two innings to seal the win for Mike Scott.
1986 – Mike Scott tames the Mets again with a 3-1 triumph to even the N.L.C.S. at 2-2. Alan Ashby and Dickie Thon swat home runs to account for all of Houston’s runs . While not as sharp as his Game One win, Scott continues to master New York with a complete-game three-hit, five-strikeout victory
1986 – Alan Ashby homers off Atlanta’s Duane Ward in the ninth for a 3-2 triumph. Charley Kerfeld, wearing his lucky Jetsons tee-shirt under his jersey, is the winning pitcher.
1984 – Alan Ashby singles home Jose Cruz in the 16th inning to outlast the Phillies, 3-2. Houston leaves 20 runners on base and ties a league record by drawing seven intentional walks, all after the 11th frame. A two-run blast by Mark Bailey provided the other runs.
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.
1981 – Alan Ashby, as if waiting a year for revenge, slams a two-out two-run homer off Dave Stewart in the ninth to stun the Dodgers, 3-1, in Game One of their divisional playoff series . Tony Scott had driven in Terry Puhl earlier but Los Angeles ties it up on a solo shot from Steve Garvey, one of just two hits given up by Nolan Ryan.
In the 163rd game of the season, 35 year-old knuckleballer Joe Niekro earns his 20th victory, going the distance to defeat the Dodgers, 7-1, in the winner-take-all contest for the NL West. With the win, the Astros hold on to capture their first title in the 19-year history of the franchise after losing a season-ending three game series to LA, (3-2, 2-1, and 4-3) that forced the one-game playoff.
Pittsburgh’s Omar Moreno steals his 70th base of the season, becoming the first player this century with three consecutive 70-steal seasons. The fleet outfielder swiped 71 in 1978, 77 in 1979, and will finish 1980 with a career-high 96. Pittsburgh loses to Houston, 5 – 1.
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