Showing no favorites, the Mets scored off three different relief pitchers while rallying for six runs in the last three innings to defeat the Astros, 9-7. Oscar Zamora, who replaced starter Joaquin Andujar in the fifth, pitched two scoreless innings and had a 7-3 lead before giving up a run in the seventh. Bruce Boisclair homered to lead off the eighth and Steve Henderson followed with a single, resulting in Zamora's removal.

Joe Sambito came in and yielded a single by Willie Montanez and two-run pinch-double by John Stearns that tied the score. After the Astros switched to Ken Forsch as their third pitcher of the inning, Doug Flynn singled to send the Mets ahead. Stearns clinched the decision with a sacrifice fly for the final run in the ninth. [The Sporting News]



New York Mets 9, Houston Astros 7
Game Played on Saturday, May       27, 1978 (Night game) at Astrodome
Mets         0  1  0    2  0  0    1  4  1  -   9 12  2
Astros       0  0  2    3  2  0    0  0  0  -   7 10  1


Mets                 AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Mazzilli cf           5   0   1   0     0   1   .320      Puhl rf,lf            5   1   2   1     0   0   .335
Maddox 3b             5   1   1   0     0   0   .225      Cabell 3b             5   1   2   0     0   0   .281
Boisclair rf          5   2   3   1     0   0   .226      Cedeno cf             5   0   1   0     0   1   .272
S. Henderson lf       3   3   1   0     2   1   .263      Cruz 1b,rf            4   1   3   1     1   0   .305
Montanez 1b           3   1   1   0     2   0   .259      Walling lf            2   1   0   0     2   0   .241
Hodges c              2   0   1   2     0   0   .219        Forsch p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .200
  Stearns ph,c        1   1   1   3     0   0   .256      Howe 2b               3   1   1   3     0   0   .286
Foli ss               4   0   1   1     0   0   .174      Ferguson c            3   1   0   0     1   0   .219
Flynn 2b              4   1   2   1     0   0   .235      Metzger ss            4   1   1   0     0   1   .232
Bruhert p             2   0   0   0     0   1   .182      Andujar p             1   0   0   0     0   1   .063
  Kobel p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Alou ph             0   0   0   0     0   0   .333
  Kranepool ph        1   0   0   0     0   0   .188        Zamora p            1   0   0   0     0   1   .000
  Metzger p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Sambito p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Youngblood ph       1   0   0   0     0   0   .275        Bergman 1b          1   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Murray p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               36   9  12   8     4   3             Totals               34   7  10   5     4   4

Time of Game: 2:47   Attendance: 26,742
Left on Base: Mets 7, Astros 6
DP: Mets 0, Astros 1
Errors: Hodges, Bruhert, Andujar
Doubles: Stearns (6), Cruz (8), Howe (14)
Triples: Hodges (1), Boisclair (1)
Home Runs: Boisclair (2)
Stolen Bases: Cabell (5)
Sacrifice Hits: Foli (2), Andujar (3)
Sacrifice Flies: Hodges (2), Stearns (2), Howe (2)
GIDP: Boisclair (3)


Mets                   IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Bruhert                 4.1   7   7   6   2   3   0  21   4.57
Kobel                   1.2   1   0   0   1   1   0   7   0.00
Metzger W(1-1)          1     1   0   0   1   0   0   5   6.00
Murray SV(3)            2     1   0   0   0   0   0   7   4.61
Totals                  9    10   7   6   4   4   0  40

Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Andujar                 4     3   3   3   3   1   0  18   2.41
Zamora                  3     4   3   3   0   1   1  13   7.11
Sambito L(2-3)          0.1   2   2   2   0   0   0   3   3.67
Forsch                  1.2   3   1   1   1   1   0   9   3.13
Totals                  9    12   9   9   4   3   1  43

Wild Pitches: Bruhert (3)
Balks: Zamora (1)

Umpires: HP - Nick Colosi, 1B - Satch Davidson, 2B - Joe West, 3B - John Kibler


METS 1ST: Mazzilli flied out to center; Maddox reached on an
error by Andujar [Maddox to first]; Boisclair grounded into a
double play (second to shortstop to first) [Maddox out at
second]; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 1ST: Puhl grounded out (second to first); Cabell grounded
out (third to first); Cedeno grounded out (shortstop to first);
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 0, Astros 0.

METS 2ND: S. Henderson walked; Montanez made an out to third;
Hodges tripled to right [S. Henderson scored]; Foli grounded out
(third to first); Flynn grounded out (shortstop to first); 1 R,
1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 2ND: Cruz singled to center; Cruz was picked off first
(pitcher to first); Walling made an out to shortstop; Howe
grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 1,
Astros 0.

METS 3RD: Bruhert flied out to right; Mazzilli grounded out
(first unassisted); Maddox grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 3RD: Ferguson walked; Metzger singled to right [Ferguson
to second]; Andujar out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to second)
[Ferguson to third, Metzger to second]; Puhl singled to center
[Ferguson scored, Metzger to third]; Puhl was picked off first
but was safe on an error by Bruhert [Metzger scored, Puhl to
second]; Cabell lined to left; Cedeno struck out; 2 R, 2 H, 1 E,
1 LOB.  Mets 1, Astros 2.

METS 4TH: Boisclair tripled to center; S. Henderson walked;
Montanez walked [S. Henderson to second]; Hodges hit a sacrifice
fly to right [Boisclair scored, S. Henderson to third]; Foli
singled to right [S. Henderson scored, Montanez to second];
Flynn forced Foli (pitcher to shortstop) [Montanez to third];
Bruhert struck out; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 3, Astros 2.

ASTROS 4TH: Cruz doubled to right; Bruhert threw a wild pitch
[Cruz to third]; Walling walked; Howe doubled to left [Cruz
scored, Walling scored, Howe scored (error by Hodges) (unearned)
(no RBI)]; Ferguson grounded out (third to first); Metzger
struck out; ALOU BATTED FOR ANDUJAR; Alou struck out (strikeout
was charged to Andujar); 3 R (2 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 3,
Astros 5.

METS 5TH: ZAMORA REPLACED ALOU (PITCHING); Mazzilli grounded out
(pitcher to first); Maddox flied out to right; Boisclair lined
to first; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 3, Astros 5.

ASTROS 5TH: Puhl singled to right; On a bunt Cabell singled to
first [Puhl to second]; Cedeno popped to catcher; KOBEL REPLACED
BRUHERT (PITCHING); Cruz singled to center [Puhl scored, Cabell
to second]; Walling walked [Cabell to third, Cruz to second];
Howe hit a sacrifice fly to right [Cabell scored, Cruz to
third]; Ferguson flied out to right; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets
3, Astros 7.

METS 6TH: S. Henderson struck out; Montanez grounded out (first
to pitcher); Hodges flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Mets 3, Astros 7.

ASTROS 6TH: Metzger grounded out (shortstop to first); Zamora
struck out; Puhl popped to third in foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Mets 3, Astros 7.

METS 7TH: Foli grounded out (pitcher to first); Flynn singled to
center; KRANEPOOL BATTED FOR KOBEL; Kranepool lined to second;
Mazzilli singled to right [Flynn to third]; Zamora balked [Flynn
scored, Mazzilli to second]; Maddox popped to catcher in foul
territory; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 4, Astros 7.

ASTROS 7TH: METZGER REPLACED KRANEPOOL (PITCHING); Cabell
singled to shortstop; Cabell stole second; Cedeno flied out to
left; Cruz was walked intentionally; Walling flied out to left;
Howe flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Mets 4, Astros 7.

METS 8TH: Boisclair homered; S. Henderson singled to left;
SAMBITO REPLACED ZAMORA (PITCHING); Montanez singled to center
[S. Henderson to second]; STEARNS BATTED FOR HODGES; Stearns
doubled to left [S. Henderson scored, Montanez scored]; Foli out
on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to first) [Stearns to third];
FORSCH REPLACED WALLING (PITCHING); BERGMAN REPLACED SAMBITO
(PLAYING 1B); CRUZ CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING RF); PUHL CHANGED
POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); Flynn singled to center [Stearns
scored]; YOUNGBLOOD BATTED FOR METZGER; Youngblood grounded out
(third to first) [Flynn to second]; Mazzilli struck out; 4 R, 5
H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 8, Astros 7.

ASTROS 8TH: MURRAY REPLACED YOUNGBLOOD (PITCHING); STEARNS
STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING C ); Ferguson flied out to left; Metzger
grounded out (second to first); Bergman lined to third; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Mets 8, Astros 7.

METS 9TH: Maddox singled to left; On a bunt Boisclair singled to
first [Maddox to second]; S. Henderson grounded out (first
unassisted) [Maddox to third, Boisclair to second]; Montanez was
walked intentionally; Stearns hit a sacrifice fly to right
[Maddox scored]; Foli flied out to right; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.
Mets 9, Astros 7.

ASTROS 9TH: Puhl grounded out (third to first); Cabell grounded
out (pitcher to first); Cedeno singled to pitcher; Cruz popped
to shortstop; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Mets 9, Astros 7.