A five-hitter by Ken Forsch carried the Astros to a 2-0 whitewashing of the Braves. The shutout foiled Phil Niekro's bid to win his 20th game, although the veteran righthander went the route for the 20th time, tops in the league this season. The Astros scored a run in the sixth inning on a single by Jeff Leonard and a double by Jose Cruz and added another in the seventh on singles by Bruce Bochy, Julio Gonzalez and Leonard. [The Sporting News]



Houston Astros 2, Atlanta Braves 0
Game Played on Thursday, September 21, 1978 (Night game) at Astrodome
Braves       0  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   0  5  1
Astros       0  0  0    0  0  1    1  0  x  -   2 11  1


Braves               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Royster ss            4   0   0   0     0   0   .259      Landestoy ss          4   0   2   0     0   0   .271
Office cf             4   0   2   0     0   0   .254      Gonzalez 2b           4   0   2   0     0   1   .228
Matthews rf           4   0   1   0     0   3   .283      Leonard cf            4   1   2   1     0   0   .333
Burroughs lf          4   0   0   0     0   3   .308      Cruz rf               4   0   1   1     0   0   .308
Horner 3b             4   0   0   0     0   1   .263      Cabell 3b             4   0   0   0     0   1   .298
Nolan c               2   0   0   0     1   2   .238      Watson 1b             3   0   0   0     0   1   .291
Murphy 1b             3   0   0   0     0   1   .232        Bergman 1b          1   0   1   0     0   0   .237
Hubbard 2b            3   0   1   0     0   0   .289      Cannon lf             3   0   0   0     0   0   .111
Niekro p              3   0   1   0     0   0   .211        Walling lf          1   0   0   0     0   0   .253
                                                          Bochy c               4   1   2   0     0   0   .262
                                                          Forsch p              3   0   1   0     0   1   .192

Totals               31   0   5   0     1  10             Totals               35   2  11   2     0   4

Time of Game: 1:47   Attendance:  3,775
Left on Base: Braves 5, Astros 9
DP: Braves 1, Astros 1
Errors: Hubbard, Cannon
Doubles: Office 2 (13), Cruz (32)
Caught Stealing: Nolan (2)
GIDP: Niekro (3)


Braves                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Niekro L(19-16)         8    11   2   2   0   4   0  35   2.89
Totals                  8    11   2   2   0   4   0  35

Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Forsch W(10-6)          9     5   0   0   1  10   0  32   2.75
Totals                  9     5   0   0   1  10   0  32

Wild Pitches: Forsch (2)

Umpires: HP - Jerry Dale, 1B - John McSherry, 2B - Paul Runge, 3B - Bob Engel


BRAVES 1ST: Royster grounded out (shortstop to first); Office
flied out to left; Matthews struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 1ST: Landestoy singled; Gonzalez singled [Landestoy to
second]; Leonard flied out to center [Landestoy to third]; Cruz
hit into a double play (catcher to pitcher) [Landestoy out at
home]; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 2ND: Burroughs struck out; Horner grounded out (shortstop
to first); Nolan walked; Nolan was caught stealing second
(catcher to second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 2ND: Cabell struck out; Watson flied out to center;
Cannon grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 3RD: Murphy grounded out (first unassisted); Hubbard
flied out to right; Niekro singled; Royster grounded out (second
to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 3RD: Bochy made an out to shortstop; Forsch grounded out
(third to first); Landestoy singled; Gonzalez grounded out
(catcher to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 4TH: Office doubled; Matthews struck out (catcher to
first); Burroughs struck out; Horner struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E,
1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 4TH: Leonard grounded out (second to first); Cruz reached
on an error by Hubbard [Cruz to first]; Cabell forced Cruz
(shortstop unassisted); Watson grounded out (shortstop to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 5TH: Nolan struck out; Murphy flied out to center;
Hubbard made an out to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves
0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 5TH: Cannon flied out to right; Bochy singled; Forsch
singled [Bochy to second]; Landestoy grounded out (catcher to
first) [Bochy to third, Forsch to second]; Gonzalez struck out;
0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 6TH: Niekro grounded out (third to first); Royster
grounded out (third to first); Office doubled; Matthews struck
out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 6TH: Leonard singled; Cruz doubled [Leonard scored];
Cabell grounded out (second to first) [Cruz to third]; Watson
struck out; Cannon grounded out (second to first); 1 R, 2 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 1.

BRAVES 7TH: Burroughs struck out; Horner reached on an error by
Cannon [Horner to first]; Forsch threw a wild pitch [Horner to
third]; Nolan struck out; Murphy struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1
LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 1.

ASTROS 7TH: Bochy singled; Forsch struck out; Landestoy made an
out to shortstop; Gonzalez singled [Bochy to second]; Leonard
singled [Bochy scored, Gonzalez to second]; Cruz grounded out
(second to first); 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 2.

BRAVES 8TH: BERGMAN REPLACED WATSON (PLAYING 1B); WALLING
REPLACED CANNON (PLAYING LF); Hubbard singled; Niekro grounded
into a double play (third to second to first) [Hubbard out at
second]; Royster grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 2.

ASTROS 8TH: Cabell grounded out (shortstop to first); Bergman
singled; Walling made an out to shortstop; Bochy flied out to
center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 2.

BRAVES 9TH: Office grounded out (first unassisted); Matthews
singled; Burroughs flied out to left; Horner grounded out (third
to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 2.