Joe Niekro and Dave Smith combined on a two-hitter as the Astros blanked the Padres, 3-0. Joe Pittman began the eighth inning with a single, was sacrificed to second by Niekro and scored on Tony Scott's single to break the scoreless tie. Scott moved to second when Terry Puhl was hit by a pitch and came home on a single by Gary Woods. Scott singled in his second run of the game in the ninth. [The Sporting News]

Houston Astros 3, San Diego Padres 0

Game Played on Sunday, August 16, 1981 (Day game) at Jack Murphy Stadium

Astros 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 - 3 9 0 Padres 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 0 Astros AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Padres AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Scott cf 5 1 2 2 0 0 .234 Smith ss 4 0 0 0 0 0 .245 Reynolds ss 5 0 0 0 0 1 .243 Jones cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .249 Puhl rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .270 Richards lf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .266 Walling lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .221 Kennedy c 4 0 0 0 0 0 .308 Woods ph,lf 1 0 1 1 0 0 .176 Bass 1b 2 0 0 0 1 1 .234 Cedeno 1b 4 0 1 0 0 1 .289 Lefebvre rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 .219 Howe 3b 4 0 2 0 0 1 .318 Lucas p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 Ashby c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .252 Salazar 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .285 Pittman 2b 3 2 2 0 1 0 .310 Bonilla 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .286 Niekro p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .171 Mura p 2 0 1 0 0 0 .147 D. Smith p 1 0 1 0 0 0 .250 Edwards rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125 Moreno ph,rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .125 Totals 34 3 9 3 1 4 Totals 29 0 2 0 2 2 Time of Game: 2:16 Attendance: 5,880 Left on Base: Astros 8, Padres 4 DP: Astros 0, Padres 0 Doubles: Howe (13), Jones (19) Sacrifice Hits: Niekro 2 (6) Hit by Pitch: Puhl (3,by Lucas) Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Niekro W(7-6) 7 2 0 0 1 1 0 24 2.73 D. Smith SV(4) 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 7 4.08 Totals 9 2 0 0 2 2 0 31 Padres IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Mura L(4-9) 7.1 6 2 2 0 0 0 28 4.05 Lucas 1.2 3 1 1 1 4 0 10 2.30 Totals 9 9 3 3 1 4 0 38 Hit by Pitch: Lucas (2) Umpires: HP - Terry Tata, 1B - Jerry Crawford, 2B - Ed Vargo, 3B - Satch Davidson ASTROS 1ST: Scott grounded out (first unassisted); Reynolds flied out to right; Puhl flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. PADRES 1ST: Smith flied out to center; Jones lined to right; Richards lined to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. ASTROS 2ND: Walling grounded out (first unassisted); Cedeno made an out to shortstop; Howe doubled to left; Ashby flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. PADRES 2ND: Kennedy flied out to center; Bass walked; Lefebvre flied out to left; Salazar forced Bass (third to second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. ASTROS 3RD: Pittman singled to right; Niekro out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to second) [Pittman to second]; Scott flied out to left; Reynolds flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. PADRES 3RD: Bonilla flied out to right; Mura singled to right; Smith forced Mura (second to shortstop); Jones grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. ASTROS 4TH: Puhl flied out to left; Walling grounded out (shortstop to first); Cedeno flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. PADRES 4TH: Richards flied out to center; Kennedy grounded out (second to first); Bass grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. ASTROS 5TH: Howe made an out to second; Ashby grounded out (first to pitcher); Pittman flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. PADRES 5TH: Lefebvre grounded out (first unassisted); Salazar grounded out (pitcher to first); Bonilla lined to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. ASTROS 6TH: Niekro grounded out (shortstop to first); Scott flied out to left; Reynolds made an out to first; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. PADRES 6TH: Mura flied out to left; Smith flied out to right; Jones doubled to center; Richards flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. ASTROS 7TH: Puhl flied out to right; Walling grounded out (second to first); Cedeno singled to center; Howe singled to right [Cedeno to second]; Ashby flied out to right; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. PADRES 7TH: Kennedy flied out to left; Bass struck out; Lefebvre grounded out (pitcher unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Padres 0. ASTROS 8TH: Pittman singled to left; Niekro out on a sacrifice bunt (third to second) [Pittman to second]; Scott singled to right [Pittman scored]; LUCAS REPLACED LEFEBVRE (PITCHING); EDWARDS REPLACED MURA (PLAYING RF); Reynolds struck out; Puhl was hit by a pitch [Scott to second]; WOODS BATTED FOR WALLING; Woods singled to left [Scott scored, Puhl to second]; Cedeno struck out; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 2, Padres 0. PADRES 8TH: D. SMITH REPLACED NIEKRO (PITCHING); WOODS STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF); Salazar struck out; Bonilla grounded out (third to first); MORENO BATTED FOR EDWARDS; Moreno lined to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Padres 0. ASTROS 9TH: MORENO STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING RF); Howe was called out on strikes; Ashby struck out; Pittman walked; D. Smith singled to center [Pittman to third]; Scott singled to third [Pittman scored, D. Smith to second]; Reynolds grounded out (second to first); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 3, Padres 0. PADRES 9TH: Smith flied out to left; Jones grounded out (second to first); Richards walked; Kennedy grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 3, Padres 0.

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