Pete Falcone, who had lost seven straight games since last September 8, including three this season, returned to the victory column when the Cardinals defeated the Astros, 4-1. Falcone pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only two hits, before yielding to Al Hrabosky.

In the ninth, Hrabosky hit Cesar Cedeno with a pitch, setting off a player brawl. Joaquin Andujar of the Astros and Roger Freed of the Cardinals, neither of them in the game, were ejected for overzealous participation in the melee. [The Sporting News]



St. Louis Cardinals 4, Houston Astros 1
Game Played on Friday, May       6, 1977 (Night game) at Busch Stadium II
Astros       0  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  1  -   1  3  2
Cardinals    0  0  0    0  1  1    0  2  x  -   4  7  0


Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Cardinals            AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Gonzalez ss           4   0   1   0     0   0   .329      Brock lf              4   0   0   0     0   0   .303
Cruz rf               4   0   0   0     0   0   .233        Anderson lf         0   0   0   0     0   0   .231
Cedeno cf             1   0   0   0     2   0   .141      Templeton ss          4   2   2   0     0   1   .307
Watson 1b             3   1   0   0     1   0   .245      Scott cf              3   1   1   0     0   1   .390
Ferguson c            4   0   0   0     0   1   .286      Cruz rf               4   0   1   1     0   0   .304
Johnson lf            3   0   1   1     0   0   .333      Simmons c             4   1   1   0     0   0   .400
Howe 3b               3   0   1   0     1   0   .258      Hernandez 1b          2   0   0   0     2   1   .293
Sperring 2b           1   0   0   0     1   1   .176      Reitz 3b              3   0   1   0     0   1   .241
  Roberts ph          1   0   0   0     0   1   .100      Tyson 2b              2   0   1   1     1   0   .167
  Forsch p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Falcone p             1   0   0   0     0   0   .111
  Cabell ph           1   0   0   0     0   0   .313        Mumphrey ph         1   0   0   0     0   0   .389
McLaughlin p          2   0   0   0     0   2   .000        Hrabosky p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Howard 2b           1   0   0   0     0   0   .333

Totals               28   1   3   1     5   5             Totals               28   4   7   2     3   4

Time of Game: 2:30   Attendance: 10,737
Left on Base: Astros 7, Cardinals 5
DP: Astros 0, Cardinals 2
Errors: Cedeno, Johnson
Doubles: Johnson (2), Reitz (9), Cruz (4)
Triples: Howe (1)
Stolen Bases: Cedeno 2 (6), Templeton (1)
Caught Stealing: Scott (3)
Sacrifice Hits: Falcone (1)
GIDP: Howe (2), Ferguson (2)
Hit by Pitch: Johnson (3,by Falcone), Cedeno (2,by Hrabosky), Scott (1,by McLaughlin)


Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
McLaughlin L(0-1)       6     3   2   1   2   4   0  22   2.92
Forsch                  2     4   2   2   1   0   0  11   3.63
Totals                  8     7   4   3   3   4   0  33

Cardinals              IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Falcone W(1-3)          7     2   0   0   3   5   0  26   5.64
Hrabosky SV(3)          2     1   1   1   2   0   0   9   2.84
Totals                  9     3   1   1   5   5   0  35

Hit by Pitch: McLaughlin (1), Falcone (1), Hrabosky (1)
Wild Pitches: McLaughlin (1)

Umpires: HP - Bob Engel, 1B - Jerry Dale, 2B - John McSherry, 3B - Bill Williams


ASTROS 1ST: Gonzalez flied out to center; Cruz grounded out
(second to first); Cedeno walked; Watson popped to second; 0 R,
0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0, Cardinals 0.

CARDINALS 1ST: Brock grounded out (shortstop to first);
Templeton grounded out (first unassisted); Scott grounded out
(pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Cardinals 0.

ASTROS 2ND: Ferguson struck out; Johnson flied out to left; Howe
tripled to left; Sperring walked; McLaughlin was called out on
strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Astros 0, Cardinals 0.

CARDINALS 2ND: Cruz grounded out (third to first); Simmons
grounded out (first to pitcher); Hernandez struck out; 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Cardinals 0.

ASTROS 3RD: Gonzalez grounded out (pitcher to first); Cruz
grounded out (second to first); Cedeno walked; Cedeno stole
second; Watson flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Astros 0, Cardinals 0.

CARDINALS 3RD: Reitz was called out on strikes; Tyson walked;
Falcone out on a sacrifice bunt (first to second) [Tyson to
second]; Brock grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Astros 0, Cardinals 0.

ASTROS 4TH: Ferguson flied out to center; Johnson popped to
second; Howe flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros
0, Cardinals 0.

CARDINALS 4TH: Templeton struck out; Scott was hit by a pitch;
Cruz flied out to right; Scott was picked off and caught
stealing second (pitcher to first to shortstop to catcher to
second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Cardinals 0.

ASTROS 5TH: Sperring was called out on strikes; McLaughlin
struck out; Gonzalez singled to left; Cruz forced Gonzalez
(shortstop unassisted); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0,
Cardinals 0.

CARDINALS 5TH: Simmons singled to right; Hernandez walked
[Simmons to second]; Reitz flied out to center; Tyson singled to
left [Simmons scored, Hernandez out at third (left to third to
shortstop), Tyson to second (on throw to 3b)]; Falcone grounded
out (first unassisted); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0,
Cardinals 1.

ASTROS 6TH: Cedeno flied out to left; Watson popped to second;
Ferguson flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0,
Cardinals 1.

CARDINALS 6TH: Brock flied out to left; Templeton singled to
center [Templeton to third (error by Cedeno)]; McLaughlin threw
a wild pitch [Templeton scored (unearned)]; Scott was called out
on strikes; Cruz flied out to left; 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 0 LOB.
 Astros 0, Cardinals 2.

ASTROS 7TH: Johnson was hit by a pitch; Howe grounded into a
double play (shortstop to second to first) [Johnson out at
second]; ROBERTS BATTED FOR SPERRING; Roberts was called out on
strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Cardinals 2.

CARDINALS 7TH: FORSCH REPLACED ROBERTS (PITCHING); HOWARD
REPLACED MCLAUGHLIN (PLAYING 2B); Simmons grounded out (first
unassisted); Hernandez walked; Reitz doubled to center
[Hernandez to third]; Tyson popped to second; MUMPHREY BATTED
FOR FALCONE; Mumphrey grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 2 LOB.  Astros 0, Cardinals 2.

ASTROS 8TH: HRABOSKY REPLACED MUMPHREY (PITCHING); Howard lined
to center; Gonzalez grounded out (first to pitcher); Cruz
grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0,
Cardinals 2.

CARDINALS 8TH: Brock flied out to left; Templeton singled to
third; Templeton stole second; Scott singled to left [Templeton
scored (error by Johnson) (no RBI), Scott to second]; Cruz
doubled to left [Scott scored]; Simmons flied out to right;
Hernandez grounded out (first to pitcher); 2 R, 3 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.
 Astros 0, Cardinals 4.

ASTROS 9TH: ANDERSON REPLACED BROCK (PLAYING LF); Cedeno was hit
by a pitch; Cesar Cedeno, hit on the left arm, charged the
mound; both benches cleared; catcher Ted Simmons jumped on
Cedeno; a 10-minute brawl ensued; Astros coach Mel Wright had
his glasses broken; Joaquin Andujar and Roger Freed ejected by
HP umpire Bob Engel; Cedeno stole second; Watson walked;
Ferguson grounded into a double play (third to first) [Watson to
second, Cedeno out at third]; Johnson doubled to left [Watson
scored]; Howe walked; CABELL BATTED FOR FORSCH; Cabell lined to
shortstop; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Astros 1, Cardinals 4.