Pitching the first complete game of his career, Rick Mahler set down Houston on three hits as the Braves defeated the Astros, 3-1. The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Bob Horner singled, stole second and tallied on Matt Sinatro's single, the latter's first major league RBI. Atlanta added a pair in the fourth on a walk to Glenn Hubbard, single by Luis Gomez and two-run double by Mahler. [The Sporting News]



Atlanta Braves 3, Houston Astros 1
Game Played on Wednesday, September 23, 1981 (Night game) at Astrodome
Braves       0  1  0    2  0  0    0  0  0  -   3  6  0
Astros       0  0  0    0  0  1    0  0  0  -   1  3  0


Braves               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Butler cf,lf          4   0   1   0     0   1   .261      Puhl rf               4   0   0   0     0   0   .256
Washington rf         4   0   0   0     0   1   .297      Garner 2b             3   0   2   1     1   0   .260
Chambliss 1b          3   0   0   0     1   2   .277      Scott cf              4   0   0   0     0   1   .275
Horner 3b             3   1   1   0     1   0   .275      Cruz lf               4   0   1   0     0   1   .262
  Royster 3b          0   0   0   0     0   0   .207      Walling 1b            4   0   0   0     0   0   .238
Linares lf            4   0   1   0     0   1   .275      Howe 3b               3   0   0   0     0   1   .307
  Murphy cf           0   0   0   0     0   0   .251      Ashby c               3   0   0   0     0   0   .283
Hubbard 2b            3   1   0   0     1   1   .232      Reynolds ss           3   0   0   0     0   1   .253
Sinatro c             4   0   1   1     0   0   .250      Niekro p              1   0   0   0     0   0   .184
Gomez ss              4   1   1   0     0   1   .226        Spilman ph          0   1   0   0     1   0   .286
Mahler p              4   0   1   2     0   0   .174        Sambito p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Heep ph             1   0   0   0     0   0   .253
                                                            D. Smith p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .167

Totals               33   3   6   3     3   7             Totals               30   1   3   1     2   4

Time of Game: 2:13   Attendance: 24,142
Left on Base: Braves 6, Astros 4
DP: Braves 0, Astros 0
Doubles: Mahler (1)
Triples: Garner (3)
Stolen Bases: Horner (2), Sinatro (1), Garner (9)


Braves                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Mahler W(6-6)           9     3   1   1   2   4   0  32   2.85
Totals                  9     3   1   1   2   4   0  32

Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Niekro L(9-8)           6     6   3   3   3   3   0  27   2.81
Sambito                 2     0   0   0   0   4   0   6   2.04
D. Smith                1     0   0   0   0   0   0   3   2.88
Totals                  9     6   3   3   3   7   0  36

Umpires: HP - Satch Davidson, 1B - Terry Tata, 2B - Jerry Crawford, 3B - Ed Vargo


BRAVES 1ST: Butler grounded out (shortstop to first); Washington
grounded out (second to first); Chambliss struck out (catcher to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 0, Astros 0.

ASTROS 1ST: Puhl grounded out (first to pitcher); Garner singled
to shortstop; Garner stole second; Scott lined to shortstop;
Cruz grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Braves 0, Astros 0.

BRAVES 2ND: Horner singled to left; Linares struck out; Horner
stole second; Hubbard grounded out (pitcher to first); Sinatro
singled to center [Horner scored]; Sinatro stole second; Gomez
struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 2ND: Walling grounded out (second to first); Howe
grounded out (shortstop to first); Ashby grounded out (first to
pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

BRAVES 3RD: Mahler grounded out (shortstop to first); Butler
singled to center; Washington made an out to second; Chambliss
walked [Butler to second]; Horner grounded out (first to
pitcher); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 1, Astros 0.

ASTROS 3RD: Reynolds made an out to second; Niekro flied out to
center; Puhl flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves
1, Astros 0.

BRAVES 4TH: Linares grounded out (third to first); Hubbard
walked; Sinatro flied out to right; Gomez singled to left
[Hubbard to second]; Mahler doubled to center [Hubbard scored,
Gomez scored]; Butler grounded out (first unassisted); 2 R, 2 H,
0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 0.

ASTROS 4TH: Garner grounded out (third to first); Scott grounded
out (second to first); Cruz struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Braves 3, Astros 0.

BRAVES 5TH: Washington grounded out (first to pitcher);
Chambliss popped to catcher in foul territory; Horner walked;
Linares singled to left [Horner to second]; Hubbard flied out to
center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 0.

ASTROS 5TH: Walling grounded out (first to pitcher); Howe
grounded out (third to first); Ashby grounded out (second to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 0.

BRAVES 6TH: Sinatro grounded out (third to first); Gomez made an
out to catcher; Mahler grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 0.

ASTROS 6TH: Reynolds flied out to left; SPILMAN BATTED FOR
NIEKRO; Spilman walked; Puhl grounded out (first unassisted)
[Spilman to second]; Garner tripled to center [Spilman scored];
Scott flied out to left; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros
1.

BRAVES 7TH: SAMBITO REPLACED SPILMAN (PITCHING); Butler struck
out; Washington struck out; Chambliss struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 1.

ASTROS 7TH: Cruz flied out to center; Walling grounded out
(second to first); Howe struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Braves 3, Astros 1.

BRAVES 8TH: Horner grounded out (pitcher to first); Linares
flied out to right; Hubbard struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Braves 3, Astros 1.

ASTROS 8TH: BUTLER CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); MURPHY
REPLACED LINARES (PLAYING CF); ROYSTER REPLACED HORNER (PLAYING
3B); Ashby flied out to left; Reynolds struck out (catcher to
first); HEEP BATTED FOR SAMBITO; Heep flied out to left; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3, Astros 1.

BRAVES 9TH: D. SMITH REPLACED HEEP (PITCHING); Sinatro grounded
out (shortstop to first); Gomez made an out to shortstop; Mahler
grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3,
Astros 1.

ASTROS 9TH: Puhl flied out to center; Garner walked; Scott
struck out; Cruz singled to right [Garner to second]; Walling
grounded out (pitcher unassisted); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves
3, Astros 1.