Hank Aaron hit the 717th homer of his career, but that was not enough for the Braves, who lost to the Astros, 4-3. After Aaron's smash with Mike Lum on base had given the Braves a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning, the Astros came back with a three-run rally in the eighth. Roger Metzger doubled and Bob Watson homered to tie the score. Lee May doubled and yielded the paths to Larry Milbourne. An intentional pass to Milt May and another walk, not intentional, to Doug Rader, loaded the bases before Tommy Helms came up and stroked a single to drive in the winning run. [The Sporting News]



Houston Astros 4, Atlanta Braves 3
Game Played on Sunday, April     21, 1974 (Day game) at Astrodome
Braves       0  1  0    0  0  0    2  0  0  -   3  7  0
Astros       0  0  0    0  1  0    0  3  x  -   4 12  2


Braves               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Garr rf,lf            5   0   0   0     0   0   .362      Gross rf,lf           4   1   0   0     1   1   .385
Lum 1b                4   1   1   0     0   1   .218      Metzger ss            3   1   2   0     1   0   .288
Evans 3b              4   0   2   0     1   0   .200      Cedeno cf             4   0   1   1     0   1   .365
Aaron lf              4   1   2   2     0   1   .219      Watson lf,1b          4   1   2   2     0   0   .293
  Office cf           0   0   0   0     0   0   .125      L. May 1b             4   0   3   0     0   0   .296
  Murrell ph          1   0   0   0     0   0   .250        Milbourne pr,2b     0   1   0   0     0   0   .222
Baker cf,rf           2   1   1   0     2   0   .327      M. May c              3   0   1   0     1   0   .300
Johnson 2b            4   0   1   0     0   1   .277      Rader 3b              3   0   0   0     1   1   .250
Casanova c            3   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Helms 2b              4   0   3   1     0   0   .314
Robinson ss           2   0   0   1     1   0   .178        Brown rf            0   0   0   0     0   0   .259
Morton p              4   0   0   0     0   4   .000      Griffin p             1   0   0   0     0   1   .375
  Frisella p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Gallagher ph        1   0   0   0     0   0   .118
                                                            J. Johnson p        0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Edwards ph          1   0   0   0     0   0   .143
                                                            Scherman p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               33   3   7   3     4   7             Totals               32   4  12   4     4   4

Time of Game: 2:28   Attendance: 14,922
Left on Base: Braves 10, Astros 9
DP: Braves 1, Astros 0
Errors: Metzger, Griffin
Doubles: Metzger (4), L. May (3)
Home Runs: Aaron (4), Watson (2)
Stolen Bases: Baker (2), Metzger (3), Helms (1)
Caught Stealing: Garr (3)
Sacrifice Hits: Casanova (1), Griffin (2)
Sacrifice Flies: Robinson (1)
GIDP: Rader (2)
Hit by Pitch: Lum (2,by Scherman)


Braves                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Morton                  7     9   2   2   2   4   0  29   5.05
Frisella L(0-1)         1     3   2   2   2   0   1   8   2.45
Totals                  8    12   4   4   4   4   1  37

Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Griffin                 7     7   3   3   4   6   1  33   1.86
J. Johnson W(1-0)       1     0   0   0   0   1   0   3   3.00
Scherman                1     0   0   0   0   0   0   4   1.08
Totals                  9     7   3   3   4   7   1  40

Hit by Pitch: Scherman (2)

Umpires: HP - Terry Tata, 1B - Tom Gorman, 2B - Bill Williams, 3B - Dick Stello


BRAVES 1ST: Garr reached on an error by Metzger [Garr to first];
Garr was caught stealing second; Lum grounded out (second to
first); Evans singled; Aaron grounded out (shortstop to first);
0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 1ST: Gross struck out; Metzger walked; Metzger stole
second; Cedeno struck out; Watson grounded out (third to first);
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 2ND: Baker walked; Johnson singled [Baker to second];
Casanova out on a sacrifice bunt (catcher to first) [Baker to
third, Johnson to second]; Robinson hit a sacrifice fly to right
[Baker scored]; Morton struck out; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves
1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 2ND: L. May singled; M. May singled [L. May to second];
Rader struck out; Helms forced M. May (shortstop to second) [L.
May to third]; Helms stole second; Griffin struck out; 0 R, 2 H,
0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

BRAVES 3RD: Garr grounded out (pitcher unassisted); Lum struck
out; Evans singled; Evans was picked off first but was safe on
an error by Griffin [Evans to second]; Aaron struck out; 0 R, 1
H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 3RD: Gross flied out to left; Metzger grounded out (third
to first); Cedeno grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

BRAVES 4TH: Baker singled; Johnson reached on a fielder's choice
[Baker to second]; Casanova flied out to left; Robinson walked
[Baker to third, Johnson to second]; Morton struck out; Garr
flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 4TH: Watson singled; L. May singled [Watson to second];
M. May flied out to left; Rader grounded into a double play
(third to second to first) [L. May out at second]; 0 R, 2 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

BRAVES 5TH: Lum lined to right; Evans walked; Aaron singled to
pitcher [Evans to third]; Baker grounded out (third to first)
[Aaron to second]; Johnson grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1
H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 5TH: Helms singled; Griffin out on a sacrifice bunt
(pitcher to second) [Helms to second]; Gross walked; Metzger
singled [Helms out at home (third to shortstop), Gross to
second]; Tommy Helm rounded 3B too far on the infield
hit; Cedeno singled [Gross scored, Metzger to third];
Metzger was picked off third (catcher to third); attempted
double steal; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 1.

BRAVES 6TH: Casanova grounded out (third to first); Robinson
grounded out (third to first); Morton struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 1.

ASTROS 6TH: Watson grounded out (shortstop to first); L. May
flied out to right; M. May grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R,
0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 1.

BRAVES 7TH: Garr grounded out (second to first); Lum singled;
Evans grounded out (second to first) [Lum to second]; Aaron
homered [Lum scored]; Baker walked; Baker stole second; Johnson
struck out; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 1.

ASTROS 7TH: Rader grounded out (third to first); Helms singled;
GALLAGHER BATTED FOR GRIFFIN; Gallagher forced Helms (second to
shortstop); Gross grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 1.

BRAVES 8TH: J. JOHNSON REPLACED GALLAGHER (PITCHING); Casanova
grounded out (third to first); Robinson grounded out (third to
first); Morton struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3,
Astros 1.

ASTROS 8TH: GARR CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); OFFICE REPLACED
AARON (PLAYING CF); BAKER CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING RF);
Metzger doubled; FRISELLA REPLACED MORTON (PITCHING); Cedeno
made an out to shortstop; Watson homered [Metzger scored]; L.
May doubled; MILBOURNE RAN FOR L. MAY; M. May was walked
intentionally; Rader walked [Milbourne to third, M. May to
second]; Helms singled [Milbourne scored, M. May to third, Rader
to second]; EDWARDS BATTED FOR J. JOHNSON; Edwards popped to
first in foul territory; Gross grounded out (second to first); 3
R, 4 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 4.

BRAVES 9TH: GROSS CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); WATSON CHANGED
POSITIONS (PLAYING 1B); MILBOURNE STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 2B);
BROWN REPLACED HELMS (PLAYING RF); SCHERMAN REPLACED EDWARDS
(PITCHING); Garr lined to left; Lum was hit by a pitch; Evans
popped to third in foul territory; MURRELL BATTED FOR OFFICE;
Murrell flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 3,
Astros 4.