Spacing five hits, Don Sutton notched his 53rd career shutout as the Astros topped the Cardinals, 3-0. The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a two-out, two-run homer by Art Howe that scored Gary Woods, aboard via a one-out single. Howe's clout extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Houston's final marker came in the fifth on a leadoff walk to Terry Puhl that was followed by a run-scoring double by Kiko Garcia. [The Sporting News]



Houston Astros 3, St. Louis Cardinals 0
Game Played on Wednesday, May       13, 1981 (Night game) at Astrodome
Cardinals    0  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   0  5  1
Astros       0  0  2    0  1  0    0  0  x  -   3  6  0


Cardinals            AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Templeton ss          4   0   0   0     0   1   .269      Puhl cf               2   1   0   0     2   0   .243
Scott cf              4   0   1   0     0   1   .267      Garcia ss             4   0   1   1     0   0   .268
Lezcano lf            3   0   0   0     1   0   .275      Woods rf              2   1   1   0     2   0   .063
Hernandez 1b          4   0   0   0     0   0   .302      Cruz lf               4   0   0   0     0   2   .250
Hendrick rf           4   0   1   0     0   1   .231      Howe 3b               3   1   1   2     1   0   .336
Oberkfell 3b          3   0   0   0     0   0   .280      Roberts 1b            4   0   1   0     0   0   .200
Tenace c              3   0   1   0     0   0   .258      Pujols c              4   0   2   0     0   0   .160
Herr 2b               3   0   1   0     0   0   .262      Landestoy 2b          2   0   0   0     2   0   .125
Shirley p             2   0   1   0     0   1   .077      Sutton p              2   0   0   0     1   1   .000
  Porter ph           1   0   0   0     0   0   .180
  Otten p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               31   0   5   0     1   4             Totals               27   3   6   3     8   3

Time of Game: 2:24   Attendance: 21,705
Left on Base: Cardinals 5, Astros 9
DP: Cardinals 2, Astros 0
Errors: Lezcano
Doubles: Garcia (2), Roberts (2)
Home Runs: Howe (3)
Stolen Bases: Puhl (5)
Caught Stealing: Scott (5)
Sacrifice Hits: Sutton (1)
GIDP: Landestoy (2), Cruz (2)


Cardinals              IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Shirley L(4-1)          7     5   3   3   7   2   1  31   3.63
Otten                   1     1   0   0   1   1   0   5   2.70
Totals                  8     6   3   3   8   3   1  36

Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Sutton W(3-4)           9     5   0   0   1   4   0  32   2.85
Totals                  9     5   0   0   1   4   0  32

Wild Pitches: Shirley (1)

Umpires: HP - Jerry Dale, 1B - Paul Runge, 2B - Jim Quick, 3B - Bob Engel


CARDINALS 1ST: Templeton grounded out (second to first); Scott
singled to center; Scott was caught stealing second (catcher to
shortstop); Lezcano flied to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Cardinals 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 1ST: Puhl walked; Garcia flied to left; Puhl stole
second; Woods walked; Shirley threw a wild pitch [Puhl to third,
Woods to second]; Cruz struck out; Howe grounded out (third to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 0.

CARDINALS 2ND: Hernandez flied to right; Hendrick singled to
left; Oberkfell flied to center; Tenace popped to shortstop; 0
R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 2ND: Roberts flied to center; Pujols grounded out
(shortstop to first); Landestoy walked; Sutton walked [Landestoy
to second]; Puhl lined to first; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.
Cardinals 0, Astros 0.

CARDINALS 3RD: Herr flied to left; Shirley singled to center;
Templeton flied to left; Scott popped to shortstop; 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 3RD: Garcia grounded out (pitcher to first); Woods
singled to left [Woods to second (error by Lezcano)]; Cruz
grounded out (first unassisted) [Woods to third]; Howe homered
[Woods scored]; Roberts popped to catcher in foul territory; 2
R, 2 H, 1 E, 0 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 2.

CARDINALS 4TH: Lezcano walked; Hernandez flied to left; Hendrick
popped to second in foul territory; Oberkfell grounded out
(second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 2.

ASTROS 4TH: Pujols singled to left; Landestoy grounded into a
double play (shortstop to shortstop to first) [Pujols out at
second]; Sutton grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 2.

CARDINALS 5TH: Tenace grounded out (pitcher to first); Herr
grounded out (pitcher to second to first); Shirley struck out; 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 2.

ASTROS 5TH: Puhl walked; Garcia doubled to left [Puhl scored];
Woods grounded out (third to first); Cruz struck out; Howe was
walked intentionally; Roberts popped to shortstop; 1 R, 1 H, 0
E, 2 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 3.

CARDINALS 6TH: Templeton grounded out (second to first); Scott
struck out; Lezcano grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 0 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 3.

ASTROS 6TH: Pujols singled to center; Landestoy flied to center;
Sutton out on a sacrifice bunt (first to second) [Pujols to
second]; Puhl flied to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Cardinals
0, Astros 3.

CARDINALS 7TH: Hernandez grounded out (first to pitcher);
Hendrick struck out; Oberkfell lined to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 3.

ASTROS 7TH: Garcia grounded out (third to first); Woods walked;
Cruz grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first)
[Woods out at second]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cardinals 0,
Astros 3.

CARDINALS 8TH: Tenace singled to left; On a bunt Herr singled to
third [Tenace to second]; PORTER BATTED FOR SHIRLEY; Porter
popped to first; Templeton was called out on strikes; Scott
flied to right; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 3.

ASTROS 8TH: OTTEN REPLACED PORTER (PITCHING); Howe popped to
catcher in foul territory; Roberts doubled to left; Pujols lined
to first; Landestoy was walked intentionally; Sutton was called
out on strikes; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 3.

CARDINALS 9TH: Lezcano grounded out (shortstop to first);
Hernandez grounded out (second to first); Hendrick popped to
second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Cardinals 0, Astros 3.