Mario Soto and Tom Hume combined on a five-hitter to give the Reds a 5-2 triumph over the Astros, moving Cincinnati to within a half-game of first place in the N.L. West. George Foster belted a solo homer in the fifth and the Reds tallied twice in the sixth on a triple by Ron Oester, RBI single by Dave Collins and run-scoring double by Dave Concepcion. The Reds got another pair in the seventh on an error by Houston catcher Alan Ashby and RBI single by Oester. [The Sporting News]

Cincinnati Reds 5, Houston Astros 2

Game Played on Wednesday, September 30, 1981 (Night game) at Riverfront Stadium

Astros 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 2 5 1 Reds 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 x - 5 7 1 Astros AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Reds AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Puhl rf 4 0 2 0 0 0 .251 Collins rf 3 0 1 1 0 0 .280 Garner 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .257 Mejias rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .286 Scott cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .269 Griffey cf 4 1 0 0 0 0 .308 Sambito p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Concepcion ss 4 0 1 1 0 0 .304 Cruz lf 3 0 0 0 1 0 .268 Foster lf 3 1 1 1 0 0 .295 Ashby c 3 0 0 0 1 0 .273 Bench 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .331 Cedeno 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 .275 Nolan c 2 1 1 0 1 0 .316 Howe 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .297 O'Berry c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154 Reynolds ss 3 1 1 1 0 0 .257 Knight 3b 3 1 1 0 0 1 .253 Ruhle p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .250 Oester 2b 3 1 2 1 0 0 .267 LaCorte p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Kennedy 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Spilman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .264 Soto p 3 0 0 0 0 1 .071 D. Smith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 Hume p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Loucks cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 32 2 5 2 2 3 Totals 29 5 7 4 1 2 Time of Game: 2:14 Attendance: 24,394 Left on Base: Astros 5, Reds 1 DP: Astros 0, Reds 1 Errors: Ashby, Concepcion Doubles: Puhl (19), Concepcion (28), Knight (21) Triples: Oester (7) Home Runs: Reynolds (4), Cedeno (4), Foster (21) Caught Stealing: Nolan (2) GIDP: Cedeno (6) Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Ruhle L(4-6) 5.2 5 3 3 0 2 1 21 2.97 LaCorte 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.93 D. Smith 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 2.84 Sambito 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1.93 Totals 8 7 5 4 1 2 1 30 Reds IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Soto W(11-9) 8 5 2 2 2 3 2 32 3.47 Hume SV(13) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2.80 Totals 9 5 2 2 2 3 2 34 Wild Pitches: Soto (4) Umpires: HP - Bruce Froemming, 1B - Joe West, 2B - Dick Stello, 3B - John Kibler ASTROS 1ST: Puhl doubled to right; Garner grounded out (pitcher to first); Phil Garner called for interference; Scott reached on a fielder's choice [Puhl out at third (pitcher to shortstop to third)]; Cruz flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 0, Reds 0. REDS 1ST: Collins grounded out (shortstop to first); Griffey grounded out (second to first); Concepcion flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Reds 0. ASTROS 2ND: Ashby grounded out (first unassisted); Cedeno grounded out (pitcher to first); Howe flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Reds 0. REDS 2ND: Foster grounded out (third to first); Bench flied out to right; Nolan flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 0, Reds 0. ASTROS 3RD: Reynolds homered; Ruhle struck out; Puhl singled to center; Soto threw a wild pitch [Puhl to second]; Garner reached on an error by Concepcion [Garner to first]; Scott made an out to shortstop; Cruz flied out to right; 1 R, 2 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Astros 1, Reds 0. REDS 3RD: Knight grounded out (shortstop to first); Oester flied out to right; Soto struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Reds 0. ASTROS 4TH: Ashby grounded out (second to first); Cedeno made an out to first; Howe made an out to third; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Reds 0. REDS 4TH: Collins grounded out (shortstop to first); Griffey made an out to shortstop; Concepcion flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Reds 0. ASTROS 5TH: Reynolds grounded out (first unassisted); Ruhle struck out; Puhl flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Reds 0. REDS 5TH: Foster homered; Bench flied out to center; Nolan singled to center; Nolan was caught stealing second (catcher to second); Knight struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 1, Reds 1. ASTROS 6TH: Garner singled to right; Scott forced Garner (shortstop to second); Cruz flied out to center; Ashby flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 1, Reds 1. REDS 6TH: Oester tripled to center; Soto grounded out (third to first); Collins singled to right [Oester scored]; Griffey forced Collins (second to shortstop); Concepcion doubled to left [Griffey scored]; LACORTE REPLACED RUHLE (PITCHING); Foster popped to first in foul territory; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 1, Reds 3. ASTROS 7TH: MEJIAS REPLACED COLLINS (PLAYING RF); Cedeno homered; Howe made an out to second; Reynolds grounded out (second to first); SPILMAN BATTED FOR LACORTE; Spilman flied out to center; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 3. REDS 7TH: D. SMITH REPLACED SPILMAN (PITCHING); Bench grounded out (third to first); Nolan walked; Knight doubled to left [Nolan scored (error by Ashby; assists by Cruz and Reynolds) (unearned), Knight to third (on throw to home)]; Oester singled to right [Knight scored, Oester out at second (right to second)]; Ron Oester hurt right shoulder sliding into 2B; Soto grounded out (shortstop to first); 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 5. ASTROS 8TH: O'BERRY REPLACED NOLAN (PLAYING C ); KENNEDY REPLACED OESTER (PLAYING 2B); Puhl made an out to shortstop; Garner flied out to left; Scott struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 5. REDS 8TH: SAMBITO REPLACED SCOTT (PITCHING); LOUCKS REPLACED D. SMITH (PLAYING CF); Mejias made an out to second; Griffey flied out to left; Concepcion flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 5. ASTROS 9TH: Cruz walked; Ashby walked [Cruz to second]; HUME REPLACED SOTO (PITCHING); Cedeno grounded into a double play (second to first) [Cruz to third, Ashby out at second]; Howe grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 5.

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