1986 – Len Dykstra homers off Dave Smith in the bottom of the ninth to give the Mets a 6-5 decision over the Astros in New York. The Mets lead the best-of-seven N.L.C.S., 2-1. Houston had an early 4-0 advantage, keyed by a Bill Doran homer , but New York ties it with a three-run blast from Darryl Strawberry.
1985 – Astros touch Steve Howe, Tom Niedenfuer and Ken Howell for six runs in the ninth to shock the Dodgers, 7-3. Kevin Bass’ double starts the rally which makes a winner of Dave Smith. The key play occurs when Howell misfires on Bill Doran’s suicide squeeze bunt, allowing two Astros to score.
1981 – Joe Niekro and Dave Smith combine on a two-hitter to blank San Diego, 3-0. Niekro and Steve Mura trade goose eggs for seven innings until Tony Scott drives home Joe Pittman in the eighth. Gary Woods then delivers Scott. In the ninth, Scott again plates Pittman with an insurance run. The shutout caps a seven-game road trip to open the “second season”, with the Astros winning five of them.
1980 – Denny Walling delivers Rafael Landestoy with a sacrifice fly as Houston wins their first post-season home game, 1-0, over Philadelphia . The Astros lead the best-of-five N.L.C.S., 2-1. Joe Morgan slams a Tug McGraw fastball high off the right field fence in the 11th inning for a triple and comes out for Landestoy. Joe Niekro blanks the Phils for ten innings before Dave Smith enters to get the win.
1980 – In the 20th inning, the Padres play good hosts, giftwrapping a rally so Houston can celebrate a 3-1 victory. An error by Ozzie Smith puts Luis Pujols aboard, a late throw to second moves him up then Jerry Mumphrey muffs a fly ball from Terry Puhl to bring in the winning runs. Rookie Dave Smith, a San Diego product, pitches the final four innings for the win, ending the 6-1/2 hour marathon.
1955 – Reliever Dave Smith is born in Richmond, CA. He would register 199 saves for Houston and was named to the Astros All-Time Team in 1999. He dies on December 17, 2008 at his California home of an apparent heart attack.