Rick Rhoden, getting ninth-inning help from Grant Jackson and Enrique Romo, pitched the Pirates to a 4-3 decision over the Astros. The Bucs snapped a 1-1 tie in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Vance Law and made it 3-1 in the fifth on an RBI single by Bill Madlock. A sacrifice fly by Dave Parker plated the final Pittsburgh tally in the seventh. [The Sporting News]



Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Houston Astros 3
Game Played on Friday, April     17, 1981 (Night game) at Astrodome
Pirates      1  0  0    1  1  0    1  0  0  -   4  9  0
Astros       1  0  0    0  0  0    1  0  1  -   3  6  1


Pirates              AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Moreno cf             5   1   1   0     0   1   .240      Puhl rf               4   0   0   0     0   0   .261
Foli ss               3   2   3   0     0   0   .375      Reynolds ss           4   1   1   0     0   0   .310
Parker rf             3   0   1   1     0   0   .240      Cedeno cf             4   1   2   0     0   0   .321
Easler lf             3   0   1   1     0   0   .368      Cruz lf               3   1   2   1     1   1   .107
Madlock 3b            4   1   2   1     0   0   .435      Walling 1b            3   0   0   1     0   0   .250
Thompson 1b           3   0   0   0     1   0   .167      Howe 3b               4   0   1   1     0   1   .280
Nicosia c             3   0   0   0     0   0   .211      Ashby c               2   0   0   0     1   1   .211
Law 2b                3   0   0   1     0   1   .000      Landestoy 2b          2   0   0   0     0   0   .125
Rhoden p              4   0   1   0     0   2   .200        Leonard ph          1   0   0   0     0   1   .200
  Jackson p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Thon 2b             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Romo p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Sutton p              2   0   0   0     0   2   .000
                                                            Sambito p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Bergman ph          1   0   0   0     0   0   .200
                                                            D. Smith p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               31   4   9   4     1   4             Totals               30   3   6   3     2   6

Time of Game: 2:28   Attendance: 39,119
Left on Base: Pirates 6, Astros 3
DP: Pirates 1, Astros 1
Errors: Landestoy
Doubles: Cruz (1), Reynolds (1)
Stolen Bases: Moreno (4), Cedeno 2 (3)
Caught Stealing: Cruz (1)
Sacrifice Hits: Nicosia (1), Foli (1)
Sacrifice Flies: Easler (1), Law (1), Parker (1), Walling (1)
GIDP: Walling (1)


Pirates                IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Rhoden W(2-0)           8     6   3   3   2   5   0  30   3.21
Jackson                 0.2   0   0   0   0   1   0   2   0.00
Romo SV(2)              0.1   0   0   0   0   0   0   1   4.15
Totals                  9     6   3   3   2   6   0  33

Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Sutton L(0-2)           6.1   9   4   4   1   1   0  29   8.71
Sambito                 1.2   0   0   0   0   0   0   5   2.45
D. Smith                1     0   0   0   0   3   0   3   0.00
Totals                  9     9   4   4   1   4   0  37

Umpires: HP - Ed Montague, 1B - Lee Weyer, 2B - Harry Wendelstedt, 3B - Dutch Rennert


PIRATES 1ST: Moreno grounded out (second to first); Foli singled
to right; Parker singled to center [Foli to third]; Easler hit a
sacrifice fly to center [Foli scored]; Madlock grounded out
(pitcher to first); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Pirates 1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 1ST: Puhl grounded out (pitcher to first); Reynolds flied
out to left; Cedeno singled to third; Cedeno stole second; Cruz
singled to left [Cedeno scored]; Cruz was caught stealing second
(catcher to shortstop); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Pirates 1, Astros
1.

PIRATES 2ND: Thompson flied out to left; Nicosia flied out to
center; Law grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Pirates 1, Astros 1.

ASTROS 2ND: Walling flied out to center; Howe struck out; Ashby
walked; Landestoy forced Ashby (shortstop to second); 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 1 LOB.  Pirates 1, Astros 1.

PIRATES 3RD: Rhoden singled to left; Moreno flied out to left;
Foli singled to center [Rhoden to second]; Parker grounded out
(pitcher to shortstop to first) [Rhoden to third, Foli to
second]; Easler flied out to left; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.
Pirates 1, Astros 1.

ASTROS 3RD: Sutton struck out; Puhl flied out to center;
Reynolds flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Pirates 1,
Astros 1.

PIRATES 4TH: Madlock singled to center; Thompson walked [Madlock
to second]; Nicosia out on a sacrifice bunt (first to second)
[Madlock to third, Thompson to second]; Law hit a sacrifice fly
to center [Madlock scored]; Rhoden struck out; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Pirates 2, Astros 1.

ASTROS 4TH: Cedeno flied out to left; Cruz walked; Walling
grounded into a double play (pitcher to shortstop to first)
[Cruz out at second]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Pirates 2, Astros 1.

PIRATES 5TH: Moreno popped to third; Foli singled to right;
Parker flied out to center; Easler singled to right [Foli to
second]; Madlock singled to center [Foli scored, Easler to
third]; Thompson lined to second; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Pirates
3, Astros 1.

ASTROS 5TH: Howe singled to center; Ashby struck out; Landestoy
flied out to left; Sutton was called out on strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Pirates 3, Astros 1.

PIRATES 6TH: Nicosia reached on an error by Landestoy; Law flied
to right in foul territory; Rhoden lined into a double play
(third to third to first) [Nicosia out at first]; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E,
0 LOB.  Pirates 3, Astros 1.

ASTROS 6TH: Puhl flied out to center; Reynolds grounded out
(second to first); Cedeno popped to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Pirates 3, Astros 1.

PIRATES 7TH: Moreno singled to right; Moreno stole second; Foli
out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to first) [Moreno to third];
SAMBITO REPLACED SUTTON (PITCHING); Parker hit a sacrifice fly
to right [Moreno scored]; Easler grounded out (first
unassisted); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Pirates 4, Astros 1.

ASTROS 7TH: Cruz doubled to left; Walling flied out to center
[Cruz to third]; Howe grounded out (second to first) [Cruz
scored]; Ashby grounded out (second to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Pirates 4, Astros 2.

PIRATES 8TH: Madlock grounded out (second to first); Thompson
flied out to left; Nicosia flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Pirates 4, Astros 2.

ASTROS 8TH: LEONARD BATTED FOR LANDESTOY; Leonard struck out;
BERGMAN BATTED FOR SAMBITO; Bergman flied out to right; Puhl
grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Pirates 4,
Astros 2.

PIRATES 9TH: THON REPLACED LEONARD (PLAYING 2B); D. SMITH
REPLACED BERGMAN (PITCHING); Law struck out; Rhoden was called
out on strikes; Moreno struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Pirates 4, Astros 2.

ASTROS 9TH: Reynolds doubled to right; Cedeno singled to left
[Reynolds to third]; JACKSON REPLACED RHODEN (PITCHING); Cruz
struck out while Cedeno stole second; Walling hit a sacrifice
fly to right [Reynolds scored, Cedeno to third]; ROMO REPLACED
JACKSON (PITCHING); Howe flied out to left; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Pirates 4, Astros 3.