The Astros charged to their sixth straight victory, beating the Cubs, 6-4. J.R. Richard struck out 12 Cubs in 7 1/3 innings and Joe Sambito, who relieved, fanned four more while gaining his 12th save.

The Astros tagged three Cub pitchers for 12 hits, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Jose Cruz and run-scoring single by Enos Cabell. Errors by Tim Blackwell and Ted Sizemore accounted for two more Astros' runs. [The Sporting News]



Houston Astros 6, Chicago Cubs 4
Game Played on Wednesday, July      25, 1979 (Night game) at Astrodome
Cubs         0  0  0    1  0  0    0  3  0  -   4  5  2
Astros       2  1  1    0  0  1    1  0  x  -   6 12  1


Cubs                 AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
De Jesus ss           4   1   1   1     0   3   .277      Gonzalez 2b           4   1   2   0     0   0   .269
Thompson rf           4   1   2   1     0   1   .345      Reynolds ss           5   0   1   1     0   0   .276
Buckner 1b            4   0   1   1     0   1   .281      Puhl cf               4   1   1   0     0   0   .281
  Dilone pr,cf        0   0   0   0     0   0   .194      Cruz lf               2   2   1   1     2   0   .293
Biittner lf,1b        3   0   0   1     1   0   .307      Cabell 1b             4   1   3   1     0   0   .273
Ontiveros 3b          4   0   0   0     0   3   .297      Leonard rf            3   1   1   0     1   0   .278
Martin cf             4   0   0   0     0   3   .298      Howe 3b               3   0   1   1     0   0   .244
  Tidrow p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .250      Ashby c               4   0   1   0     0   0   .223
Blackwell c           2   1   0   0     2   1   .208      Richard p             2   0   1   0     0   1   .111
Sizemore 2b           2   0   0   0     0   1   .254        Sambito p           1   0   0   0     0   0   .200
  Vail ph             1   0   1   0     0   0   .341
  Dillard pr,2b       1   1   0   0     0   1   .265
Reuschel p            2   0   0   0     0   1   .077
  Hernandez p         0   0   0   0     0   0   .333
  Henderson ph,lf     2   0   0   0     0   1   .295

Totals               33   4   5   4     3  16             Totals               32   6  12   4     3   1

Time of Game: 2:47   Attendance: 21,910
Left on Base: Cubs 5, Astros 9
DP: Cubs 0, Astros 0
Errors: Blackwell, Sizemore, Howe
Doubles: Cruz (23), Cabell (15)
Triples: Thompson (3), Richard (1)
Stolen Bases: Leonard 2 (9), Cruz (26), Cabell (22), Gonzalez (2)
Caught Stealing: Cabell (11), Howe (1)
Sacrifice Hits: Richard (5)
Sacrifice Flies: Howe (4)
Hit by Pitch: Puhl (4,by Reuschel), Gonzalez (3,by Reuschel)


Cubs                   IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Reuschel L(9-7)         5.2  10   5   3   3   1   0  30   3.91
Hernandez               1.1   1   1   1   0   0   0   5   5.44
Tidrow                  1     1   0   0   0   0   0   4   3.82
Totals                  8    12   6   4   3   1   0  39

Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Richard W(8-11)         7.1   4   4   3   2  12   0  28   3.83
Sambito SV(12)          1.2   1   0   0   1   4   0   8   1.17
Totals                  9     5   4   3   3  16   0  36

Hit by Pitch: Reuschel 2 (6)
Wild Pitches: Hernandez (2)

Umpires: HP - Bill Williams, 1B - Jerry Dale, 2B - Steve Fields, 3B - Joe West


CUBS 1ST: De Jesus struck out; Thompson flied out to left;
Buckner made an out to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cubs 0,
Astros 0.

ASTROS 1ST: Gonzalez grounded out (shortstop to first); Reynolds
grounded out (second to first); Puhl was hit by a pitch; Cruz
doubled to left [Puhl scored]; Cabell singled to right [Cruz
scored]; Cabell was caught stealing second (catcher to second);
2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cubs 0, Astros 2.

CUBS 2ND: Biittner grounded out (second to first); Ontiveros
struck out; Martin grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Cubs 0, Astros 2.

ASTROS 2ND: Leonard singled to right; Leonard stole second; Howe
reached on an error by Sizemore [Leonard scored (unearned) (no
RBI), Howe to second]; Ashby grounded out (third to first);
Richard was called out on strikes; Gonzalez grounded out (first
unassisted); 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Cubs 0, Astros 3.

CUBS 3RD: Blackwell grounded out (second to first); Sizemore
popped to first in foul territory; Reuschel struck out; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cubs 0, Astros 3.

ASTROS 3RD: Reynolds flied out to left; Puhl grounded out (first
to pitcher); Cruz walked; Cabell singled to center [Cruz to
second]; Cruz stole third and Cabell stole second [Cruz scored
(error by Blackwell) (unearned), Cabell to third]; Leonard
walked; Leonard stole second; Howe grounded out (second to
first); 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Cubs 0, Astros 4.

CUBS 4TH: De Jesus struck out; Thompson tripled to left; Buckner
singled to center [Thompson scored]; Biittner grounded out
(third to first) [Buckner to second]; Ontiveros struck out; 1 R,
2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Cubs 1, Astros 4.

ASTROS 4TH: Ashby grounded out (second to first); Richard
tripled to right; Gonzalez was hit by a pitch; Reynolds reached
on a fielder's choice [Richard out at home (first to catcher),
Gonzalez to second]; Puhl flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2
LOB.  Cubs 1, Astros 4.

CUBS 5TH: Martin struck out; Blackwell walked; Sizemore struck
out; Reuschel forced Blackwell (shortstop to second); 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 1 LOB.  Cubs 1, Astros 4.

ASTROS 5TH: Cruz walked; Cabell grounded out (pitcher to first)
[Cruz to second]; Leonard flied out to center; Howe singled to
shortstop [Cruz to third]; Howe was picked off and caught
stealing second (pitcher to first to shortstop); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E,
1 LOB.  Cubs 1, Astros 4.

CUBS 6TH: De Jesus was called out on strikes; Thompson struck
out; Buckner struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cubs 1, Astros 4.

ASTROS 6TH: Ashby singled to right; Richard out on a sacrifice
bunt (first to second) [Ashby to second]; Gonzalez singled to
left [Ashby out at home (left to catcher), Gonzalez to second
(on throw to home)]; Reynolds singled to right [Gonzalez
scored]; Puhl singled to right [Reynolds to third]; HERNANDEZ
REPLACED REUSCHEL (PITCHING); Cruz flied out to center; 1 R, 4
H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Cubs 1, Astros 5.

CUBS 7TH: Biittner grounded out (second to first); Ontiveros
flied out to left; Martin struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Cubs 1, Astros 5.

ASTROS 7TH: Cabell doubled to left; Hernandez threw a wild pitch
[Cabell to third]; Leonard grounded out (shortstop to first);
Howe hit a sacrifice fly to center [Cabell scored]; Ashby
grounded out (first to pitcher); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cubs 1,
Astros 6.

CUBS 8TH: Blackwell walked; VAIL BATTED FOR SIZEMORE; Vail
singled to left [Blackwell to second]; DILLARD RAN FOR VAIL;
HENDERSON BATTED FOR HERNANDEZ; Henderson struck out; De Jesus
singled to center [Blackwell scored, Dillard to third]; SAMBITO
REPLACED RICHARD (PITCHING); Thompson singled to center [Dillard
scored, De Jesus to second]; Buckner reached on an error by Howe
[De Jesus to third, Thompson to second, Buckner to first];
DILONE RAN FOR BUCKNER; Biittner walked [De Jesus scored
(unearned), Thompson to third, Dilone to second]; Ontiveros was
called out on strikes; Martin was called out on strikes;
Jerry Martin ejected by HP umpire Bill Williams; 3 R (2 ER),
3 H, 1 E, 3 LOB.  Cubs 4, Astros 6.

ASTROS 8TH: DILONE STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING CF); TIDROW REPLACED
MARTIN (PITCHING); HENDERSON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF);
DILLARD STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 2B); BIITTNER CHANGED POSITIONS
(PLAYING 1B); Sambito grounded out (second to first); Gonzalez
singled to right; Gonzalez stole second; Reynolds flied out to
center; Puhl grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Cubs 4, Astros 6.

CUBS 9TH: Blackwell struck out; Dillard struck out; Henderson
grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cubs 4,
Astros 6.