| 1980 Houston Astros | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National League West champions | ||||
| League | National League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Astrodome | |||
| City | Houston,Texas | |||
| Record | 93–70 (.571) | |||
| Divisional place | 1st | |||
| Owners | John McMullen | |||
| General managers | Tal Smith,Al Rosen | |||
| Managers | Bill Virdon | |||
| Television | KRIV–TV 26 (Gene Elston,Dewayne Staats,Larry Dierker) | |||
| Radio | KPRC–AM 950 (Gene Elston,Dewayne Staats,Larry Dierker) | |||
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The1980Houston Astros season was the19th season for theMajor League Baseball (MLB) franchise located inHouston,Texas, their 16th as the Astros, 19th in theNational League (NL), 12th in theNL West division, and 16th at TheAstrodome. The Astros entered the season having completed an 89–73record for second place and1+1⁄2games behind the division-championCincinnati Reds. At the time, this represented the closest the Astros had ever qualified for theplayoffs.
On Opening Day, April 10,J. R. Richard made his fifth consecutiveOpening Day start for Houston, who hosted theLos Angeles Dodgers and won, 3–2. On July 4, pitcherNolan Ryan recorded his 3,000th careerstrikeout.
Richard and left fielderJosé Cruz were selected to theMLB All-Star Game; Richard was the starting pitcher for the National League, and this was the first career selection for both players.
After a late collapse in 1979, the Astros completed their scheduled regular season with a record of 92–70, tying them for first place with Los Angeles after having lost three in a row in Los Angeles in the final series of the season. To determine the division champion, the teams played atie-breaker on October 6, which the Astros won for the first division title and first time in franchise history to qualify for theplayoffs. At the time, this also set the club record for wins in one season, surpassing the 89 from the season prior. Houston faced thePhiladelphia Phillies in theNational League Championship Series (NLCS), losing three games to two.
Following the season,The Sporting News recognized general managerTal Smith asExecutive of the Year, andBill Virdon asManager of the Year,[a] the first Houston Astros personnel to win these awards.
| 21 | Terry Puhl | RF |
| 12 | Craig Reynolds | SS |
| 28 | César Cedeño | CF |
| 8 | Joe Morgan | 2B |
| 25 | José Cruz | LF |
| 23 | Enos Cabell | 3B |
| 18 | Art Howe | 1B |
| 14 | Alan Ashby | C |
| 50 | J. R. Richard | P |
| Venue: | Astrodome • HOU 3, | LAD 2 |
On April 10, the Astros hosted theLos Angeles Dodgers forOpening Day, withJ. R. Richard serving as thestarting pitcher for the Astros.Leadoff hitter and the very first batter of the season for HoustonTerry Puhl cranked ahome run in the bottom of the firstinning. In the bottom of the second,José Cruz replicated Puhl's feat with a home run leading off, and later that frame,Alan Ashby singled homeArt Howe to stake Houston to a 3–0 lead. Meanwhile, Richard (1–0) worked eight innings and surrendered just two hits and two runs—oneunearned—while inducing 13 whiffs and departed with a 3–2 lead.Joe Sambito relieved and tossed a perfect ninth to preserve the Astros' victory and earn thesave.[9] This Opening Day start extended Richard's then-club record for starting pitchers to five, which stood untilRoy Oswalt took the mound for the2008 opener.[Note 1][10]
Homerless the year prior, on April 11,Craig Reynolds belted his first of the year on an offering fromDon Stanhouse leading off the eighth to ignite a five-run rally. This is enough to topple Los Angeles. Making his major league debut,Dave Smith earned the win in relief.[11] During the eighth inning rally,Luis Pujols singled in two runs with the bases loaded, whileEnos Cabell scored on the same play via anerror, andArt Howe followed by doubling in Pujols.[12]
In his debut as a Houston Astro on April 12,Nolan Ryan slugged a three-run home offDon Sutton of the Dodgers for the first of his major league career. The shot also accounted for half of theruns batted in (RBI) Ryan would accumulate that year. Though the blast gave Houston the lead, it did not hold as the game went all the way to 17 innings before Los Angeles claimed a 6–5 triumph.[11] On the mount, Ryan went 6 innings, yielded 4 runs, 5 walks, and struck out three. Dave Smith (1–1) took the loss when he surrendered the go-ahead single toMickey Hatcher that scoredDusty Baker during his fourth inning of work.[13]
On April 15,Joe Niekro tossed a six-hitcomplete game victory over theAtlanta Braves, leading a 6–2 Astros win.[14] His first win of the season, Niekro surrendered nobases on balls while striking out 6.[15]
Richard fired a one-hitter of the Dodgers on April 19 in a 12-strikeout performance, notching his 13th consecutive triumph against the club. The lone hit surrendered to the Dodgers was aninfield single byReggie Smith during the fourth inning,[11] while Richard'sgame score graded at 94.Bob Welch countered Richard nearly pitch-for-pitch, yielding Houston's only two hits in the fourth as well. However,Terry Puhl andCésar Cedeño both scored, resulting in the only tallies of the contest and 2–0 Astros win.[16]
Following a stellar month of April,J. R. Richard earned National League (NL)Pitcher of the Month honors. It was also his second consecutive accolade, dating to September at the conclusion of the 1979 season.[17] During five April starts, Richard went 4–0, 1.67earned run average (ERA), and induced 48 whiffs over37+2⁄3innings pitched (IP). Additionally, he suppressed hitters' success to a .104batting average against (BAA) while limiting baserunners to a 0.717walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) and no home runs surrendered.[18]
With a 4–2 win on May 3, Astros managerBill Virdon earned win number 356 as manager to take over the all-time franchise lead.[Note 2][19] The victory over theSt. Louis Cardinals allowed Virdon to surpassHarry Walker, who led the club from1968 to1972.[20]
Following a near-four hourrain delay on May 6 atOlympic Stadium inMontreal, the Astros left 8–4 winners over theExpos.José Cruz furnished fourruns batted in (RBI) to propel the Astros' victory.[21]
In a 3–0shutout of theChicago Cubs on June 11, Astros starterJ. R. Richard extended ascoreless innings streak to31+2⁄3. The win capped the first-ever homestand sweep for the Astros after having swept 3 games each in series against theSan Francisco Giants and Cubs.[22] Richard's streak broke the franchise record, which stood until September 11,2008, whenRoy Oswalt went to32+1⁄3 innings after a 6–0 shutout win over thePittsburgh Pirates.[23]
Despite battling theflu, on June 16,Nolan Ryan hurled seven one-hit innings before relieverJoe Sambito closed out a 2–0 win over theSt. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals' only hit was a double in the third inning. Offensively,José Cruz, drove in both of the Astros' runs.[24]
Richard yielded his first two home runs of the season on July 3 to theAtlanta Braves—which would also be the final two served of his career[25]—hence, commencing the season without having surrendered any over the first 110 innings.[26]Dale Murphy andChris Chambliss took Richard deep back-to-back with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, for the first sinceRay Knight on September 21, 1979.[b][25][27] The Astros won, 5–3, and Richard obtained his 10th victory of the season, which would be the concluding of his career as well.[26]
On July 4, Ryan recorded the 3,000thstrikeout of his career, withCésar Gerónimo of theCincinnati Reds falling victim. However, Cincinnati prevailed, 8–1. Over four innings, Ryan fanned six but walked seven.[11]
J. R. Richard was named the starting pitcher for the National League at the51st All-Star Game, hosted atDodger Stadium. Richard became the Astros' first-ever pitcher to start an All-Star Game. He tossed two scoreless innings and fanned three hitters. Richard also navigated nine totalbatters faced, having surrendered one hit and issued twobases on balls.[28]
Niekro went 3-for-3 while batting on July 27 to lead a 6–3 triumph over theMontreal Expos and pick up his 11th victory of the season.[14] Niekro pitched 5 solid innings, with two runs allowed, whileDave Smith picked up with the final four frames with just one unearned allowed to convert his fifthsave.Rafael Landestoytripled, got astolen base and scored a run to lead the offense.[29]
While working out at the Astrodome on July 30, J. R. Richard collapsed fromstroke. Rushed toHouston Methodist Hospital, surgical intervention saved his life. His distracted teammates dropped the contest, 6–4, later that day to thePhiladelphia Phillies. Followingrecovery, Richard would never regain the coordination required to resume his playing career.[11] In the midst of his finest campaign at the time of the accident, Richard was leading the league in each of wins, earned run average, strikeouts and shutouts.[30]
With the contest on August 23 so far having gone scoreless, Niekro entered and took the mound in the 16th inning versus theChicago Cubs.[14] In the bottom of the 17th, anintentional base on balls toJosé Cruz loaded the bases. With two out, Niekro batted and singled inEnos Cabell for the walk-off, 1–0 triumph, while spotting himself his own victory to boost his record to 13–11.[31]
On September 6,Art Howe's eighth consecutive hit, a two-run single, matched the club record and paced a 9–5 triumph over St. Louis during the first game of adoubleheader.[32] Staring pitcherJoe Niekro chipped in two hits with a double.[14] In the nightcap,José Cruz blasted agrand slam, the first of his career, and ninth home run of the season.[33] Cruz' blast, offJohn Martin in third inning, ignited the crucial margin for victory in a 6-4 final[34] for the twinbill sweep which drew the Astros to within one game of the NL West-leading Dodgers.Vern Ruhle, who went the distance for the second game, continued his emergence as a clutch performer in place of J. R. Richard after his stroke to fuel the Astros in the pennant race.[11]
Cruz blasted anextra innings,walk-off home run on September 10 offRick Sutcliffe to cap a furious 6–5 final over Los Angeles, pulling the two clubs into a tie for first place in the NL West. The drive redeemed two previous Astros runners who were cut down attempting to score, while Cruz had stoked two rallies in regulation to bring the contest to a 3–3 tie.César Cedeño clustered four hits;[11] Cruz was 3-for-6 and scored thrice. Nolan Ryan worked the first eight innings for Houston and struck out nine.[35]
Joe Morgan stung his former club on September 18 with a tie-breaking two-run home run, punctuating a 10–2 beatdown of Cincinnati.[11]José Cruz also homered offCharlie Liebrandt in the ninth as the Astros ran away with it to highlight a five-run frame.Ken Forsch (12–12) earned the win whileJoe Sambito polished off three scoreless frames to sum his 16th save.[36]
On September 21,Vern Ruhle heaved7+2⁄3innings pitched of ano-hit bid to grasp a 5–1 win in San Francisco while reclaiming the division lead from the Dodgers.Jim Wohlford desisted the bid but Ruhle (10–4) could not be halted from polishing off a complete game three-hitter to outduelVida Blue, and post agame score of 81.Art Howe homered andGary Woods drove in two for Houston.[11][37]
Ruhle tossed a crucial four-hit, 2–0shutout of Cincinnati on September 26 to move Houston to two games ahead of the Dodgers for the division lead. The following day, Niekro teamed withDave Smith to author yet another 2–0 victory of Cincinnati.[14] A four-hitter, Niekro improved to 18–12 while Smith hurled the final four outs, including three strikeouts, for his ninth save.Craig Reynolds delivered a 2-RBI double in bottom of fifth for the contest's only tallies. With 7 games remaining, it was Houston's 89th victory of the season,[38] equaling the prior year's edition for most in franchise history.[39]
On October 1, Ruhle shot his third consecutive complete game to up his record to 12–4 asTerry Puhl stroked a bases-loaded double to key a 5–2 triumph over Atlanta.[11] Ruhle outdueledPhil Niekro (15–17), who surrendered four runs on seven hits in seven innings.[40] Following a 3–2 victory over the Braves on October 2, the Astros accrued one of the largest divisional leads that they had held all season, going up 3 games on Los Angeles prior to voyaging toDodger Stadium in a rematch for the final series of the regular season.[41]
However, the Astros lost each of their final three regular-season games to the Dodgers to fall back into a tie for first place in the NL West on the final day of the regular season.[41] During the regular season finale, Houston built a 3–0 lead through four innings. Los Angeles answered by scoring once each in the in the bottom of the fifth and seventh. In the bottom of the eighth,Ron Cey connected offFrank LaCorte for a home run, also scoringSteve Garvey, which gave the Dodgers a 4–3 lead that remained.[42] Hence, a tie-breaker was scheduled for October 6 as an addendum to the regular season to ultimately determine the division winner as the club who would qualify for theplayoffs.[41]
To attempt to secure their first-ever playoff entrance, the Astros turned toJoe Niekro to start thetie-breaker game on October 6. This additional regular season contest ceded Niekro another opportunity at a personal milestone, as he had concluded the original 162-game gamut with 19victories. Niekro delivered, leading the Astros to a 7–1 triumph via acomplete game six-hitter, while unlocking his 20th win.[14] First basemanArt Howe led the offense, connected for his 10th home run among three hits while activating fourruns batted in (RBI).Craig Reynolds also collected three hits as the Astros mashed 12 hits total.[43] However, Astros catcherAlan Ashby sustained arib fracture in a violent collision during the fourth inning with the knee of his counterpartJoe Ferguson, forcing Ashby to miss theNational League Championship Series (NLCS).[11] Hence, the Astros finally claimed both their first division title and first playoff berth.[14]
The wait was over: during their 19th season in 1980 the Astros qualified for the first-everplayoff tournament in franchise history.[41] Presaged by their greatest run to date the season prior in 1979, they mounted a then-franchise record 89 wins hallmarked by remarkable achievement by their pitching both collectively and individually, just falling short with a second-place finish. During the 1980 season, though the Astros had spent more days in first place than ever, they never led by more than3+1⁄2 games[41] as the Los Angeles Dodgers continually matched the Astros win-for-win with the two clubs swapping and maintaining first and second place at various junctures throughout the season.[44]
With their 93rd regular-season victory, the Astros established yet another then-club record for wins, having just superseded that achievement the season prior. This record held for just six seasons, until anotherplayoff charge in1986.[39]
After going 21–11 in 1979,Joe Niekro followed up with a 20–12 record to became the first Houston Astro to produce back-to-back 20 game-winning seasons.[45] Niekro augmented his performance at the plate bybatting .275 (22-for-80), with 5 doubles, 10 RBI, 4bases on balls and 18sacrifice hits, the latter of which ranked second in the league.[46]
Left fielderJosé Cruz was recognized with the Houston Astros' teamMost Valuable Player Award (MVP), the second time receiving this honor since his performance during the1977 campaign. Cruz became the second repeat winner, joiningRusty Staub in1966 and1967.[47]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Astros | 93 | 70 | .571 | — | 55–26 | 38–44 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 92 | 71 | .564 | 1 | 55–27 | 37–44 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3½ | 44–37 | 45–36 |
| Atlanta Braves | 81 | 80 | .503 | 11 | 50–30 | 31–50 |
| San Francisco Giants | 75 | 86 | .466 | 17 | 44–37 | 31–49 |
| San Diego Padres | 73 | 89 | .451 | 19½ | 45–36 | 28–53 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 8–4 | 2–16 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 12–6 | 11–6 | 6–6 | |||||
| Chicago | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 1–11 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–9 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 16–2 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 9–9 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 15–3–1 | 7–11 | 5–7 | |||||
| Houston | 11–7 | 11–1 | 10–8 | — | 9–10 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 7–5 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 7–11 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 10–9 | — | 11–1 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 7–5 | |||||
| Montreal | 7–5 | 12–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 1–11 | — | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 10–2 | 7–5 | 12–6 | |||||
| New York | 9–3 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 8–10 | — | 6–12 | 10–8 | 1–11 | 3–9 | 9–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 7-5 | 13–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 12–6 | — | 7–11 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–9 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 1–11 | 10–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 11–7 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 10–8 | |||||
| San Diego | 6–12 | 8–4 | 3–15–1 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 2–10 | 11–1 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 10–8 | 7–5 | |||||
| San Francisco | 6–11 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 5–13 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–10 | — | 7–5 | |||||
| St. Louis | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | |||||
| 1980 Houston Astros | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| Legend | |
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| Astros win | |
| Astros loss | |
| Postponement | |
| Clinched division | |
| Bold | Astros team member |
| 1980 regular season game log: 93–70 (Home: 55–26; Away: 38–44)[41] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 13–5 (Home: 9–3; Away: 4–2)
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May: 12–14 (Home: 4–4; Away: 8–10)
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June: 18–9 (Home: 13–4; Away: 5–5)
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July: 13–16 (Home: 8–6; Away: 5–10)
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August: 18–12 (Home: 9–4; Away: 9–8)
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September: 16–11 (Home: 10–5; Away: 6–6)
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October: 3–3 (Home: 2–0; Away: 1–3)
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| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Astros win | |
| Astros loss | |
| Bold | Astros team member |
| 1980 Postseason game log: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Away: 1–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponents | 81 | 52 | 71 | 70 | 69 | 79 | 54 | 63 | 37 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 589 | 1367 | 73 |
| Houston | 94 | 101 | 80 | 70 | 67 | 57 | 62 | 50 | 40 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 637 | 1455 | 140 |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Alan Ashby | 116 | 352 | 90 | .256 | 3 | 48 |
| 1B | Art Howe | 110 | 321 | 91 | .283 | 10 | 46 |
| 2B | Joe Morgan | 141 | 461 | 112 | .243 | 11 | 49 |
| 3B | Enos Cabell | 152 | 604 | 167 | .276 | 2 | 55 |
| SS | Craig Reynolds | 137 | 381 | 86 | .226 | 3 | 28 |
| LF | José Cruz | 160 | 612 | 185 | .302 | 11 | 91 |
| CF | César Cedeño | 137 | 499 | 154 | .309 | 10 | 73 |
| RF | Terry Puhl | 141 | 535 | 151 | .282 | 13 | 55 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Landestoy | 149 | 393 | 97 | .247 | 1 | 27 |
| Denny Walling | 100 | 284 | 85 | .299 | 3 | 29 |
| Luis Pujols | 78 | 221 | 44 | .199 | 0 | 20 |
| Jeffrey Leonard | 88 | 216 | 46 | .213 | 3 | 20 |
| Danny Heep | 33 | 87 | 24 | .276 | 0 | 6 |
| Dave Bergman | 90 | 78 | 20 | .256 | 0 | 3 |
| Gary Woods | 19 | 53 | 20 | .377 | 2 | 15 |
| Julio González | 40 | 52 | 6 | .115 | 0 | 1 |
| Bruce Bochy | 22 | 22 | 4 | .182 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Loucks | 8 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Fischlin | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Knicely | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Niekro | 37 | 256.0 | 20 | 12 | 3.55 | 127 |
| Nolan Ryan | 35 | 233.2 | 11 | 10 | 3.35 | 200 |
| Ken Forsch | 32 | 222.1 | 12 | 13 | 3.20 | 84 |
| Vern Ruhle | 28 | 159.1 | 12 | 4 | 2.37 | 55 |
| J. R. Richard | 17 | 113.2 | 10 | 4 | 1.90 | 119 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; S0 = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joaquín Andújar | 35 | 122.0 | 3 | 8 | 3.91 | 75 |
| Gordie Pladson | 12 | 41.1 | 0 | 4 | 4.35 | 13 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Sambito | 64 | 90.1 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 2.19 | 75 |
| Dave Smith | 57 | 102.2 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 1.93 | 85 |
| Frank LaCorte | 55 | 83.0 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 2.82 | 66 |
| Randy Niemann | 22 | 33.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5.45 | 18 |
| Bert Roberge | 14 | 24.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.92 | 9 |
| Bobby Sprowl | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 |
October 7:Veterans Stadium,Philadelphia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | X | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| W:Steve Carlton (1–0) L:Ken Forsch (0–1) S:Tug McGraw (1) | ||||||||||||
| HR:HOU – None PHI –Greg Luzinski (1) | ||||||||||||
| Pitchers:HOU – Forsch PHI – Carlton, McGraw (8) | ||||||||||||
| Attendance: 65,277 | ||||||||||||
Ken Forsch started the first-ever playoff game in Astros history.[49]
October 8:Veterans Stadium,Philadelphia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 2 |
| W:Frank LaCorte (1–0) L:Ron Reed (0–1) S:Joaquín Andújar (1) | |||||||||||||
| HR:HOU – None PHI – None | |||||||||||||
| Pitchers:HOU – Ryan, Sambito (7), Smith (7), LaCorte (9), Andújar (10) PHI – Ruthven, McGraw (8), Reed (9), Saucier (10) | |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 65,476 | |||||||||||||
October 10:Astrodome,Houston, Texas
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| W:Dave Smith (1–0) L:Tug McGraw (0–1) S: None | ||||||||||||||
| HR:PHI – None HOU – None | ||||||||||||||
| Pitchers:PHI – Christenson, Noles (7), McGraw (8) HOU – Niekro, Smith (11) | ||||||||||||||
| Attendance: 44,443 | ||||||||||||||
October 11:Astrodome,Houston, Texas
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| W:Warren Brusstar (1–0) L:Joe Sambito (0–1) S:Tug McGraw (2) | |||||||||||||
| HR:PHI – None HOU – None | |||||||||||||
| Pitchers:PHI – Carlton, Noles (6), Saucier (7), Reed (7), Brusstar (8), McGraw (10) HOU – Ruhle, Smith (8), Sambito (8) | |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 44,952 | |||||||||||||
October 12:Astrodome,Houston, Texas
Game 5 capped the series in fitting fashion, with seemingly endless surprises and excitement. The Astros jumped to an early lead in the first on a run-scoring double byJosé Cruz. Philadelphia bounced back to take the lead on a two-run single byBob Boone in the second. The Astros sawLuis Pujols andEnos Cabell thrown out at the plate in the second and fifth, but finally broke through to tie the game 2–2 on an unearned run in the sixth, thanks to an error by Philadelphia's less than surehanded left fielderGreg Luzinski.
Houston took what seemed like a solid 5–2 lead in the seventh on an RBI single byDenny Walling, a wild pitch from Phillies relieverLarry Christenson, and a run-scoring triple byArt Howe. A three-run deficit in the eighth inning againstNolan Ryan seemed insurmountable. But the Phillies would not die. They loaded the bases with nobody out on three straight singles, including two infield hits, and then got two runs on a walk toPete Rose and a groundout byKeith Moreland. An RBI single byDel Unser tied the game 5–5, and thenManny Trillo put the Phillies ahead with a two-run triple.
The Astros promptly came back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, withRafael Landestoy andJosé Cruz each singling in a run. Neither team scored in the ninth, but the Phillies got doubles from Unser andGarry Maddox in the tenth to take an 8–7 lead. Philadelphia'sDick Ruthven retired the Astros in order in the bottom of the tenth, and the Phillies had won their first pennant since 1950. They went on to defeat theKansas City Royals four games to two in the World Series.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 13 | 2 |
| Houston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| W:Dick Ruthven (1–0) L:Frank LaCorte (1–1) S: None | |||||||||||||
| HR:PHI – None HOU – None | |||||||||||||
| Pitchers:PHI – Bystrom, Brusstar (6), Christenson (7), Reed (7), McGraw (8), Ruthven (9) HOU – Ryan, Sambito (8), Forsch (8), LaCorte (9) | |||||||||||||
| Attendance: 44,802 | |||||||||||||
1980 National League Championship Series(3–2):Philadelphia Phillies over Houston Astros
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 55 | 6 | |
| Houston Astros | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 40 | 3 | |
| Total Attendance: 264,950 Average Attendance: 52,990 | |||||||||||||||
| No. | Date | Astros batter | Venue | Inning | Pitcher | Opposing team | Box |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 26 | César Cedeño | Busch Memorial Stadium | 5₰ | Jim Kaat | St. Louis Cardinals | [50] |
| 2 | September 6 | José Cruz | Astrodome | 3 | John Martin | St. Louis Cardinals | [34] |
| ₰—Tied score or took lead |
