Joe Niekro, who pitched the first 5 2/3 innings before rain forced a delay of almost 2½ hours, gained his 18th victory when the Astros defeated the Phillies, 3-1. When play resumed after the rain, Joe Sambito replaced Niekro and went the rest of the way to earn his 16th save.

The Phillies counted their lone run in the second on a pass to Bob Boone and a double by Nino Espinosa. Jose Cruz tied the score with a homer in the fourth. Doubles by Alan Ashby and Niekro sent the Astros ahead in the fifth and their final run came in the sixth on a triple by Craig Reynolds and single by Terry Puhl. [The Sporting News]

Houston Astros 3, Philadelphia Phillies 1

Game Played on Saturday, August 25, 1979 (Night game) at Veterans Stadium

Astros       0  0  0    1  1  1    0  0  0  -   3  8  0
Phillies     0  1  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   1  3  1


Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Phillies             AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Cedeno 1b             4   0   0   0     0   0   .257      McBride rf            4   0   0   0     0   2   .263
Reynolds ss           4   1   1   0     0   0   .272      Bowa ss               4   0   1   0     0   0   .246
Puhl cf               4   0   1   1     0   0   .293      Rose 1b               4   0   1   0     0   0   .305
Cruz lf               4   1   1   1     0   1   .292      Schmidt 3b            2   0   0   0     2   0   .265
Cabell 3b             4   0   1   0     0   1   .266      Luzinski lf           3   0   0   0     1   3   .258
Leonard rf            4   0   2   0     0   0   .301      Maddox cf             4   0   0   0     0   2   .275
Ashby c               4   1   1   0     0   1   .205      Boone c               3   1   0   0     1   1   .295
Landestoy 2b          4   0   0   0     0   0   .210      Trillo 2b             3   0   0   0     0   2   .245
Niekro p              2   0   1   1     0   0   .118      Espinosa p            2   0   1   1     0   0   .180
  Sambito p           0   0   0   0     1   0   .167        Saucier p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .125
                                                            Anderson ph         1   0   0   0     0   0   .226
                                                            McGraw p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .167

Totals               34   3   8   3     1   3             Totals               30   1   3   1     4  10

Time of Game: 2:07   Attendance: 43,109
Left on Base: Astros 5, Phillies 6
DP: Astros 0, Phillies 0
Errors: Saucier
Doubles: Ashby (14), Niekro (2), Espinosa (2)
Triples: Reynolds (9)
Home Runs: Cruz (8)
Stolen Bases: Rose (16)
Caught Stealing: Cabell (14)


Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Niekro W(18-7)          5.2   3   1   1   4   6   0  24   2.98
Sambito SV(16)          3.1   0   0   0   0   4   0  10   1.49
Totals                  9     3   1   1   4  10   0  34

Phillies               IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Espinosa L(13-10)       5     7   3   3   0   0   1  21   3.54
Saucier                 2     1   0   0   1   1   0   8   3.33
McGraw                  2     0   0   0   0   2   0   6   4.63
Totals                  9     8   3   3   1   3   1  35

Wild Pitches: Niekro (12)

Umpires: HP - Jerry Dale, 1B - Bruce Froemming, 2B - Joe West, 3B - Steve Fields


ASTROS 1ST: Cedeno lined to second; Reynolds flied out to
center; Puhl popped to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros
0, Phillies 0.

PHILLIES 1ST: McBride struck out; Bowa singled to left; Rose
singled to right [Bowa to third]; Rose stole second; Schmidt
flied out to right; Luzinski walked; Maddox flied out to left; 0
R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB.  Astros 0, Phillies 0.

ASTROS 2ND: Cruz grounded out (shortstop to first); Cabell
grounded out (shortstop to first); Leonard singled to left;
Ashby flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0,
Phillies 0.

PHILLIES 2ND: Boone walked; Niekro threw a wild pitch [Boone to
second]; Trillo struck out; Espinosa doubled to left [Boone
scored]; McBride grounded out (second to first) [Espinosa to
third]; Bowa flied out to left; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0,
Phillies 1.

ASTROS 3RD: Landestoy grounded out (second to first); Niekro
grounded out (catcher to first); Cedeno grounded out (second to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Phillies 1.

PHILLIES 3RD: Rose flied out to center; Schmidt walked; Luzinski
struck out; Maddox flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Astros 0, Phillies 1.

ASTROS 4TH: Reynolds grounded out (second to first); Puhl flied
out to left; Cruz homered; Cabell singled to center; Cabell was
caught stealing second (catcher to shortstop); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Astros 1, Phillies 1.

PHILLIES 4TH: Boone flied out to center; Trillo struck out;
Espinosa popped to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 1,
Phillies 1.

ASTROS 5TH: Leonard flied out to right; Ashby doubled to right;
Landestoy popped to third in foul territory; Niekro doubled to
center [Ashby scored]; Cedeno grounded out (first to pitcher); 1
R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 2, Phillies 1.

PHILLIES 5TH: McBride popped to first; Bowa grounded out (second
to first); Rose grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Astros 2, Phillies 1.

ASTROS 6TH: Reynolds tripled to center; Puhl singled to left
[Reynolds scored]; SAUCIER REPLACED ESPINOSA (PITCHING); Puhl
was picked off first but was safe on an error by Saucier [Puhl
to third]; Cruz grounded out (shortstop to first); Cabell
reached on a fielder's choice [Puhl out at home (third to
catcher)]; Leonard singled to second [Cabell to second]; Ashby
struck out; 1 R, 3 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Astros 3, Phillies 1.

PHILLIES 6TH: Schmidt walked; Luzinski struck out; Maddox struck
out; 2:24 rain delay; SAMBITO REPLACED NIEKRO (PITCHING);
Boone struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 3, Phillies 1.

ASTROS 7TH: Landestoy grounded out (shortstop to first); Sambito
walked; Cedeno forced Sambito (shortstop to second); Reynolds
forced Cedeno (shortstop to second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Astros 3, Phillies 1.

PHILLIES 7TH: Trillo popped to first in foul territory; ANDERSON
BATTED FOR SAUCIER; Anderson flied out to right; McBride struck
out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 3, Phillies 1.

ASTROS 8TH: MCGRAW REPLACED ANDERSON (PITCHING); Puhl grounded
out (third to first); Cruz struck out; Cabell struck out; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 3, Phillies 1.

PHILLIES 8TH: Bowa grounded out (shortstop to first); Rose
grounded out (shortstop to first); Schmidt popped to first in
foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 3, Phillies 1.

ASTROS 9TH: Leonard flied out to right; Ashby lined to third;
Landestoy flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 3,
Phillies 1.

PHILLIES 9TH: Luzinski was called out on strikes; Maddox struck
out; Boone popped to third in foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Astros 3, Phillies 1.

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