Making it a night to remember for Tommy Boggs, the Braves' righthander not only won in the N. L. for the first time, but also socked his first major league homer in a 5-2 victory over the Astros. Boggs had a 1-10 record with the Rangers in the A.L. before going to the Braves in a trade.

Boggs' homer in the fifth inning put the Braves ahead, 2-1. After the Astros tied the score in the sixth on a circuit clout by Bob Watson, the Braves clinched matters in their half with two runs on a pass to Dale Murphy, double by Rod Gilbreath and single by Pat Rockett. [The Sporting News]



Atlanta Braves 5, Houston Astros 2
Game Played on Friday, May       5, 1978 (Night game) at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Astros       1  0  0    0  0  1    0  0  0  -   2  5  1
Braves       0  1  0    0  1  2    0  1  x  -   5  6  0


Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Braves               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Puhl lf               4   1   1   0     0   0   .275      Royster 2b            4   0   1   0     0   0   .333
Cabell 3b             2   0   0   0     2   1   .273      Office cf             4   0   0   0     0   1   .232
Cedeno cf             4   0   0   1     0   1   .275      Asselstine rf         4   0   0   0     0   1   .289
Watson 1b             4   1   2   1     0   0   .299      Burroughs lf          2   1   0   0     2   0   .405
Cruz rf               4   0   0   0     0   1   .298      Pocoroba c            3   0   0   0     0   0   .235
Howe 2b               4   0   1   0     0   0   .306      Murphy 1b             2   2   1   1     2   0   .181
Herrmann c            3   0   0   0     1   0   .133      Gilbreath 3b          4   1   2   1     0   0   .271
Sexton ss             3   0   0   0     1   1   .235      Rockett ss            3   0   1   1     1   0   .134
Niekro p              1   0   0   0     0   1   .250      Boggs p               3   1   1   1     0   1   .222
  Howard ph           1   0   1   0     0   0   .300        Solomon p           1   0   0   0     0   1   .200
  Bannister p         0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Walling ph          1   0   0   0     0   1   .250

Totals               31   2   5   2     4   6             Totals               30   5   6   4     5   4

Time of Game: 2:29   Attendance:  5,699
Left on Base: Astros 7, Braves 7
DP: Astros 0, Braves 1
Errors: Howe
Doubles: Gilbreath 2 (4)
Home Runs: Watson (4), Boggs (1)
Stolen Bases: Puhl (5), Royster (12), Murphy 2 (4)
Sacrifice Hits: Niekro (4), Pocoroba (1)
GIDP: Puhl (2)


Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Niekro L(1-4)           6     5   4   3   3   2   1  27   6.90
Bannister               2     1   1   1   2   2   0   9   3.86
Totals                  8     6   5   4   5   4   1  36

Braves                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Boggs W(1-3)            7     5   2   2   4   3   1  30   5.47
Solomon SV(2)           2     0   0   0   0   3   0   6   0.90
Totals                  9     5   2   2   4   6   1  36

Wild Pitches: Boggs (1)

Umpires: HP - Jim Quick, 1B - Jerry Crawford, 2B - Doug Harvey, 3B - Andy Olsen


ASTROS 1ST: Puhl singled; Puhl stole second; Cabell struck out
but Puhl advanced to third and Cabell advanced to first on a
wild pitch; Cedeno forced Cabell (third to second) [Puhl
scored]; Watson singled [Cedeno to second]; Cruz flied out to
center; Howe forced Watson (shortstop to second); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E,
2 LOB.  Astros 1, Braves 0.

BRAVES 1ST: Royster singled; Royster stole second; Office struck
out; Asselstine flied out to right [Royster to third]; Burroughs
walked; Pocoroba flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.
Astros 1, Braves 0.

ASTROS 2ND: Herrmann grounded out (second to first); Sexton
walked; Niekro out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to second)
[Sexton to second]; Puhl made an out to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Astros 1, Braves 0.

BRAVES 2ND: Murphy walked; Gilbreath doubled [Murphy to third];
Rockett made an out to second; Boggs reached on an error by Howe
[Murphy scored (unearned) (no RBI), Gilbreath to third, Boggs to
second]; Royster flied out to left; Office made an out to third;
1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Astros 1, Braves 1.

ASTROS 3RD: Cabell walked; Cedeno grounded out (second to first)
[Cabell to second]; Watson flied out to right; Cruz flied out to
left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 1, Braves 1.

BRAVES 3RD: Asselstine made an out to second; Burroughs made an
out to third; Pocoroba grounded out (first to pitcher); 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 1, Braves 1.

ASTROS 4TH: Howe flied out to center; Herrmann flied out to
right; Sexton made an out to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Astros 1, Braves 1.

BRAVES 4TH: Murphy grounded out (third to first); Gilbreath made
an out to first; Rockett made an out to pitcher; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Astros 1, Braves 1.

ASTROS 5TH: Niekro struck out; Puhl grounded out (pitcher to
first); Cabell grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Astros 1, Braves 1.

BRAVES 5TH: Boggs homered; Royster grounded out (second to
first); Office made an out to catcher; Asselstine grounded out
(second to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 1, Braves 2.

ASTROS 6TH: Cedeno flied out to right; Watson homered; Cruz
flied out to center; Howe singled; Herrmann walked [Howe to
second]; Sexton grounded out (catcher to first); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E,
2 LOB.  Astros 2, Braves 2.

BRAVES 6TH: Burroughs grounded out (third to first); Pocoroba
flied out to center; Murphy walked; Murphy stole second;
Gilbreath doubled [Murphy scored]; Rockett singled [Gilbreath
scored]; Boggs struck out; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 2,
Braves 4.

ASTROS 7TH: HOWARD BATTED FOR NIEKRO; Howard singled; Puhl
grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first)
[Howard out at second]; Cabell walked; On a bunt Cedeno struck
out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 2, Braves 4.

BRAVES 7TH: BANNISTER REPLACED HOWARD (PITCHING); Royster
grounded out (shortstop to first); Office flied out to center;
Asselstine struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 2, Braves 4.

ASTROS 8TH: SOLOMON REPLACED BOGGS (PITCHING); Watson grounded
out (pitcher to first); Cruz struck out; Howe flied out to
right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 2, Braves 4.

BRAVES 8TH: Burroughs walked; Pocoroba out on a sacrifice bunt
(third to second) [Burroughs to second]; Murphy singled
[Burroughs scored]; Murphy stole second; Gilbreath flied out to
center; Rockett walked; Solomon struck out; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2
LOB.  Astros 2, Braves 5.

ASTROS 9TH: Herrmann grounded out (third to first); Sexton
struck out; WALLING BATTED FOR BANNISTER; Walling struck out; 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 2, Braves 5.