Phil Niekro, who suffered from a sore shoulder in the spring and had appeared previously only in relief, made his first start of the season for the Braves, pitched a five-hitter and beat the Astros, 4-1. Dusty Baker provided the Braves' big blow in support of Niekro, hitting a homer with two men on base in the sixth inning. [The Sporting News]



Atlanta Braves 4, Houston Astros 1
Game Played on Tuesday, May       15, 1973 (Night game) at Astrodome
Braves       0  0  0    0  0  3    0  0  1  -   4  6  0
Astros       0  0  0    0  0  0    1  0  0  -   1  5  1


Braves               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Garr rf               4   0   0   0     0   0   .236      Agee rf               4   0   1   0     0   1   .302
Oates c               4   0   0   0     0   0   .243      Metzger ss            4   0   1   0     0   0   .173
Evans 3b              3   1   1   0     1   0   .258      Cedeno cf             4   1   1   0     0   0   .333
Aaron lf              3   1   0   0     1   0   .230      Watson lf             4   0   0   0     0   1   .367
  Jackson lf          0   0   0   0     0   0   .156      May 1b                4   0   1   0     0   1   .211
Baker cf              4   2   2   3     0   0   .306      Rader 3b              3   0   1   1     0   0   .233
Lum 1b                3   0   1   0     1   1   .301      Edwards c             3   0   0   0     0   1   .206
Johnson 2b            4   0   1   0     0   0   .281      Helms 2b              3   0   0   0     0   0   .243
Perez ss              4   0   0   0     0   2   .245        Torres 2b           0   0   0   0     0   0   .087
P. Niekro p           3   0   1   0     0   1   .250      Wilson p              2   0   0   0     0   2   .125
                                                            Stewart ph          1   0   0   0     0   0   .111
                                                            York p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               32   4   6   3     3   4             Totals               32   1   5   1     0   6

Time of Game: 2:12   Attendance: 10,656
Left on Base: Braves 4, Astros 4
DP: Braves 0, Astros 1
Errors: Rader
Doubles: Johnson (5)
Home Runs: Baker (6)
Stolen Bases: Evans (1), Agee (1)
Caught Stealing: Lum (1)
GIDP: P. Niekro (2)


Braves                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
P. Niekro W(2-1)        9     5   1   1   0   6   0  32   3.18
Totals                  9     5   1   1   0   6   0  32

Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Wilson L(3-4)           8     5   3   3   2   4   1  30   3.34
York                    1     1   1   1   1   0   0   5   1.99
Totals                  9     6   4   4   3   4   1  35

Umpires: HP - Ed Vargo, 1B - Paul Pryor, 2B - Bruce Froemming, 3B - Terry Tata


BRAVES 1ST: Garr flied out to left; Oates grounded out (second
to first); Evans grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 1ST: Agee struck out; Metzger singled; Cedeno flied out
to left; Watson made an out to second; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 2ND: Aaron grounded out (second to first); Baker grounded
out (third to first); Lum was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 2ND: May struck out; Rader grounded out (shortstop to
first); Edwards grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 3RD: Johnson flied to left in foul territory; Perez
struck out; P. Niekro singled; Garr made an out to third; 0 R, 1
H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 3RD: Helms flied out to left; Wilson struck out; Agee
singled; Agee stole second; Metzger flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H,
0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 4TH: Oates made an out to third; Evans singled; Aaron
made an out to second; Baker made an out to second; 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 4TH: Cedeno grounded out (shortstop to first); Watson
made an out to shortstop; May made an out to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 5TH: Lum grounded out (second to first); Johnson doubled;
Perez reached on an error by Rader [Johnson to third, Perez to
first]; P. Niekro grounded into a double play (third to second
to first) [Perez out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Braves
0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 5TH: Rader grounded out (shortstop to first); Edwards
lined to second; Helms grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 6TH: Garr grounded out (second to first); Oates flied out
to right; Evans walked; Evans stole second; Aaron walked; Baker
homered [Evans scored, Aaron scored]; Lum singled; Lum was
caught stealing second (catcher to second); 3 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 0.

ASTROS 6TH: Wilson struck out; Agee grounded out (second to
first); Metzger grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 0.

BRAVES 7TH: Johnson flied out to center; Perez was called out on
strikes; P. Niekro struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3,
Astros 0.

ASTROS 7TH: Cedeno singled; Watson struck out; May singled
[Cedeno to second]; Rader singled [Cedeno scored, May to
second]; Edwards struck out; Helms made an out to shortstop; 1
R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 1.

BRAVES 8TH: TORRES REPLACED HELMS (PLAYING 2B); Garr grounded
out (first unassisted); Oates grounded out (second to first);
Evans flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3,
Astros 1.

ASTROS 8TH: STEWART BATTED FOR WILSON; Stewart grounded out
(second to first); Agee popped to catcher in foul territory;
Metzger grounded out (first to pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Braves 3, Astros 1.

BRAVES 9TH: YORK REPLACED STEWART (PITCHING); Aaron grounded out
(third to first); Baker singled; Lum walked [Baker to second];
Johnson grounded out (third to second to first) [Baker scored
(no RBI), Lum to second]; Tommy Helms ejected by 2B umpire
Bruce Froemming when Froemming ruled Mike Lum safe at 2B because
Helms did not touch 2B; Perez grounded out (second to
first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 4, Astros 1.

ASTROS 9TH: JACKSON REPLACED AARON (PLAYING LF); Cedeno grounded
out (third to first); Watson grounded out (third to first); May
grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves
4, Astros 1.