1981 Houston Astros season

1981 Houston Astros
1981 Houston Astros
National League West Division Co-Champion
Major League affiliations
	National League (since 1962) Western Division (since 1969); ;
Location
	Astrodome (since 1965); Houston, Texas (since 1962);
Results
Record	61–49 (55.5%)
Divisional place	3rd (first half); 1st (second half)
Other information
Owners	John McMullen
General managers	Al Rosen
Managers	Bill Virdon
Local television	KRIV–TV 26; (Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker)
Local radio	KENR–AM 1070; (Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker)
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The 1981 Houston Astros season was the 20th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. The season was divided into two halves because of a players' strike in mid-season. The Astros won the Western Division of the National League in the second half with a loss by the Cincinnati Reds on October 3, the penultimate day of the season.[1] The Astros advanced to the playoffs, which matched the winners of the two halves in a Division Series (the name would be re-introduced fourteen years later). However, they were defeated in five games by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series.

Offseason

December 4, 1980: Don Sutton was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[2]
December 8, 1980: Chris Bourjos was traded by the San Francisco Giants with Bob Knepper to the Houston Astros for Enos Cabell.[3]
March 27, 1981: Julio González was released by the Astros.[4]

Regular season

Season standings

NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	66	42	0.611	—	32–22	34–20
Los Angeles Dodgers	63	47	0.573	4	33–23	30–24
Houston Astros	61	49	0.555	6	31–20	30–29
San Francisco Giants	56	55	0.505	11½	29–24	27–31
Atlanta Braves	50	56	0.472	15	22–27	28–29
San Diego Padres	41	69	0.373	26	20–35	21–34

NL West First Half Standings	W	L	Pct.	GB
Los Angeles Dodgers	36	21	.632	—
Cincinnati Reds	35	21	.625	1⁄2
Houston Astros	28	29	.491	8
Atlanta Braves	25	29	.463	9+1⁄2
San Francisco Giants	27	32	.458	10
San Diego Padres	23	33	.411	12+1⁄2

NL West Second Half Standings	W	L	Pct.	GB
Houston Astros	33	20	.623	—
Cincinnati Reds	31	21	.596	1+1⁄2
San Francisco Giants	29	23	.558	3+1⁄2
Los Angeles Dodgers	27	26	.509	6
Atlanta Braves	25	27	.481	7+1⁄2
San Diego Padres	18	36	.333	15+1⁄2

Record vs. opponents

1981 National League record Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	3–2–1	6–5	4–8	7–7	3–7	3–3	4–5	2–3	9–6	5–7	4–3
Chicago	2–3–1	—	1–5	1–6	6–4	4–7	5–8–1	2–10	4–10	3–3	5–5	5–4–1
Cincinnati	5–6	5–1	—	8–4	8–8	5–4	7–3	5–2	4–2	10–2	9–5	0–5
Houston	8–4	6–1	4–8	—	4–8	5–2	6–3	4–6	2–4	11–3	9–6	2–4
Los Angeles	7–7	4–6	8–8	8–4	—	5–2	5–1	3–3	5–1	6–5	7–5	5–5
Montreal	7–3	7–4	4–5	2–5	2–5	—	9–3	7–4	10–3	4–2	2–5	6–9
New York	3–3	8–5–1	3–7	3–6	1–5	3–9	—	7–7	3–6–1	2–5	2–4	6–5
Philadelphia	5-4	10–2	2–5	6–4	3–3	4–7	7–7	—	7–5	4–2	4–3	7–6
Pittsburgh	3–2	10–4	2–4	4–2	1–5	3–10	6–3–1	5–7	—	6–4	3–7	3–8
San Diego	6–9	3–3	2–10	3–11	5–6	2–4	5–2	2–4	4–6	—	6–7	3–7
San Francisco	7–5	5–5	5–9	6–9	5–7	5–2	4–2	3–4	7–3	7–6	—	2–3
St. Louis	3–4	4–5–1	5–0	4–2	5–5	9–6	5–6	6–7	8–3	7–3	3–2	—

Notable transactions

April 1, 1981: Chris Bourjos was traded by the Houston Astros with cash to the Baltimore Orioles for Kiko Garcia.[3]
April 3, 1981: Gary Rajsich was traded by the Astros to the New York Mets for John Csefalvay (minors).[5]
April 17, 1981: David Clyde was signed as a free agent by the Astros.[6]
April 20, 1981 - Dave Bergman and Jeffrey Leonard were traded by the Astros to the San Francisco Giants for Mike Ivie.[7]
June 7, 1981: Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Astros to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tony Scott.[8]
June 8, 1981: Eric Bullock was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft (secondary phase).[9]

Nolan Ryan's 5th No-Hitter

On September 26, 1981, Nolan Ryan no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0, on national television. The 34-year-old right-hander became the first pitcher to throw five career no-hitters.[10] It had been six years since Ryan's last no-hitter; he pitched for the California Angels for the last of four no-hitters.

Roster

1981 Houston Astros

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

7 Bill Virdon

Coaches

Game log

Regular season (First half)

1981 regular season game log: 28–29 (home: 14–14; away: 14–15)

April: 7–12 (home: 4–9; away: 3–3)

#	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Time of Game	Attendance	Record	Box/ Streak
1	April 9	3:05 p.m. CST	@ Dodgers	L 0–2	Valenzuela (1–0)	Niekro (0–1)	–	2:17	50,511	0–1	L1
2	April 11	9:05 p.m. CST	@ Dodgers	L 4–7	Hooton (1–0)	Sutton (0–1)	–	2:56	51,691	0–2	L2
3	April 12	3:05 p.m. CST	@ Dodgers	L 2–3	Sutcliffe (1–0)	Ruhle (0–1)	Howe (1)	2:16	50,734	0–3	L3
4	April 13	7:35 p.m. CST	Braves	L 1–2 (10)	Camp (1–0)	Sambito (0–1)	Bradford (1)	2:57	34,961	0–4	L4
5	April 14	7:35 p.m. CST	Braves	W 8–2	Niekro (1–1)	Walk (0–1)	–	2:38	21,440	1–4	W1
6	April 15	7:35 p.m. CST	Braves	W 2–0	Ryan (1–0)	Boggs (0–1)	LaCorte (1)	2:00	22,365	2–4	W2
7	April 17	7:35 p.m. CST	Pirates	L 3–4	Rhoden (2–0)	Sutton (0–2)	Romo (2)	2:28	39,119	2–5	L1
8	April 18	12:50 p.m. CST	Pirates	L 3–6 (11)	Jackson (1–0)	Smith (0–1)	–	3:06	29,790	2–6	L2
9	April 19	2:05 p.m. CST	Pirates	L 0–2	Scurry (1–0)	Niekro (1–2)	Solomon (1)	2:21	30,394	2–7	L3
10	April 20	7:35 p.m. CST	Dodgers	L 2–5	Hooton (3–0)	Andújar (0–1)	Goltz (1)	2:34	21,370	2–8	L4
11	April 21	7:35 p.m. CST	Dodgers	W 1–0	Knepper (1–0)	Reuss (0–1)	–	1:48	21,904	3–8	W1
12	April 22	6:05 p.m. CST	Dodgers	L 0–1	Valenzuela (4–0)	Sutton (0–3)	–	2:24	22,830	3–9	L1
13	April 23	7:35 p.m. CST	Reds	L 4–5 (10)	Price (1–0)	Smith (0–2)	Moskau (1)	3:06	23,173	3–10	L2
14	April 24	7:35 p.m. CST	Reds	L 0–3	Pastore (1–0)	Niekro (1–3)	–	2:23	27,087	3–11	L3
15	April 25	12:50 p.m. CST	Reds	L 1–2	Berenyi (2–0)	Ryan (1–1)	Hume (1)	2:45	19,957	3–12	L4
16	April 26	2:05 p.m. CDT	Reds	W 1–0	Knepper (2–0)	Soto (1–3)	–	2:21	23,428	4–12	W1
17	April 28	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Braves	W 2–1	Sutton (1–3)	Montefusco (1–2)	Smith (1)	2:34	8,669	5–12	W2
18	April 29	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Braves	W 5–4	LaCorte (1–0)	Camp (2–1)	–	3:18	8,334	6–12	W3
19	April 30	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Braves	W 5–1	Niekro (2–3)	Boggs (1–3)	–	2:19	10,006	7–12	W4

May: 17–12 (home: 8–4; away: 9–8)

#	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Time of Game	Attendance	Record	Box/ Streak
20	May 1	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Pirates	W 5–3	Sambito (1–1)	Solomon (0–1)	–	3:01	7,012	8–12	W5
21	May 2	6:05 p.m. CDT	@ Pirates	L 4–5 (12)	Solomon (1–1)	Smith (0–3)	–	3:56	21,993	8–13	L1
22	May 3	12:35 p.m. CDT	@ Pirates	W 3–1	Sutton (2–3)	Bibby (1–1)	Smith (2)	3:15	10,438	9–13	W1
23	May 4	1:35 p.m. CDT	@ Cubs	W 5–4	Andújar (1–1)	Krukow (1–2)	Sambito (1)	3:02	2,941	10–13	W2
24	May 5	1:35 p.m. CDT	@ Cubs	W 4–3	Smith (1–3)	Smith (0–2)	–	2:41	2,092	11–13	W3
25	May 6	1:35 p.m. CDT	@ Cubs	L 1–2 (11)	Smith (1–2)	LaCorte (1–1)	–	3:27	2,572	11–14	W4
26	May 7	1:35 p.m. CDT	@ Cubs	W 6–0	Knepper (3–0)	Martz (1–1)	–	2:40	3,112	12–14	L1
27	May 8	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Reds	L 0–4	Seaver (3–1)	Sutton (2–4)	–	2:21	31,961	12–15	L1
28	May 9	1:15 p.m. CDT	@ Reds	L 5–9	Berenyi (3–1)	Andújar (1–2)	–	2:38	30,860	12–16	L2
29	May 10	1:35 p.m. CDT	@ Reds	W 7–5	Niekro (3–3)	Pastore (1–1)	LaCorte (2)	2:44	31,903	13–16	W1
30	May 11	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Reds	W 5–0	Ryan (2–1)	LaCoss (1–4)	–	2:36	11,795	14–16	W2
31	May 12	7:35 p.m. CDT	Cardinals	L 2–3 (10)	Sutter (1–1)	Sambito (1–2)	Kaat (2)	2:26	20,020	13–17	L1
32	May 13	7:35 p.m. CDT	Cardinals	W 3–0	Sutton (3–4)	Shirley (4–1)	–	2:24	21,705	14–17	W1
33	May 14	7:35 p.m. CDT	Cardinals	L 6–7	Otten (1–0)	Sambito (1–3)	Sutter (6)	2:54	20,042	14–18	L1
34	May 15	7:35 p.m. CDT	Cubs	W 5–0	Niekro (4–3)	Caudill (0–3)	–	2:16	23,718	16–18	W1
35	May 16	7:35 p.m. CDT	Cubs	W 6–1	Ryan (3–1)	Martz (1–2)	Sambito (2)	2:48	43,726	17–18	W2
36	May 17	2:35 p.m. CDT	Cubs	W 6–1	Knepper (4–0)	Krukow (1–4)	–	2:34	34,068	18–18	W3
37	May 19	7:35 p.m. CDT	@ Cardinals	L 12–15	Kaat (2–0)	Sprowl (0–1)	–	3:03	14,585	18–19	L1
38	May 20	7:35 p.m. CDT	@ Cardinals	W 4–3 (11)	Niekro (5–3)	Sutter (1–2)	Sambito (3)	2:47	19,175	19–19	W1
39	May 21	7:35 p.m. CDT	@ Cardinals	L 1–3	Martin (1–0)	Ryan (3–2)	–	2:13	19,823	19–20	L1
40	May 22	7:35 p.m. CDT	Giants	L 3–6 (15)	Minton (2–2)	Andújar (1–3)	–	4:38	30,377	19–21	L2
41	May 23	7:35 p.m. CDT	Giants	W 5–3	LaCorte (2–1)	Whitson (1–5)	–	3:09	38,586	20–21	W1
42	May 24	5:00 p.m. CDT	Giants	L 1–2	Blue (4–3)	Sutton (3–5)	Minton (9)	2:26	34,922	20–22	L1
43	May 25	7:35 p.m. CDT	Padres	W 6–3	Niekro (6–3)	Mura (1–7)	Sambito (4)	2:41	19,025	21–22	W1
44	May 26	7:35 p.m. CDT	Padres	W 1–0	Ryan (4–2)	Eichelberger (4–3)	Sambito (5)	2:23	17,709	22–22	W2
45	May 27	7:35 p.m. CDT	Padres	W 1–0	Knepper (5–0)	Welsh (2–3)	–	1:50	21,256	23–22	W3
46	May 29	9:35 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	L 1–3	Blue (5–3)	Sutton (3–6)	Holland (2)	2:22	8,397	23–23	L1
47	May 30	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	W 9–8 (14)	Andújar (2–3)	Breining (1–1)	Ruhle (1)	4:33	8,869	24–23	W1
48	May 31	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	L 1–6	Griffin (4–3)	Ryan (4–3)	Holland (3)	2:34	20,626	24–24	L1

June: 4–5 (home: 2–1; away: 2–4)

#	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Time of Game	Attendance	Record	Box/ Streak
49	June 2	9:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	W 2–1	LaCorte (3–1)	Welsh (2–4)	Sambito (6)	2:19	9,671	25–24	W1
50	June 3	9:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	W 6–1	Sutton (4–6)	Wise (2–5)	–	2:25	10,023	26–24	W2
51	June 4	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	L 5–7	Mura (3–7)	Niekro (6–4)	Lucas (8)	2:31	12,403	26–25	L1
52	June 5	7:35 p.m. CDT	Mets	W 3–0	Ryan (5–3)	Jones (1–6)	–	2:09	28,085	27–25	W1
53	June 6	7:35 p.m. CDT	Mets	W 6–2	Ruhle (1–1)	Zachry (5–6)	Smith (3)	2:17	42,478	28–25	W2
54	June 7	7:35 p.m. CDT	Mets	L 1–3	Scott (3–4)	Knepper (5–1)	Allen (6)	2:13	29,873	28–26	L1
55	June 8	7:35 p.m. CDT	@ Phillies	L 3–4	Ruthven (8–3)	Sutton (4–7)	McGraw (6)	2:41	31,664	28–27	L2
56	June 9	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Phillies	L 3–10	Bystrom (4–3)	Niekro (6–5)	Reed (5)	2:17	33,978	28–28	L3
57	June 10	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Phillies	L 4–5	Carlton (9–1)	LaCorte (3–2)	McGraw (7)	2:22	57,386	28–29	L4

Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Astros team member

Regular season (games canceled by the 1981 Major League Baseball strike)

1981 regular season game log

June

#	Date	Opponent	Score
–	June 12	@ Mets	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 13	@ Mets	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 14	@ Mets	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 15	@ Expos	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 16	@ Expos	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 17	Phillies	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 18	Phillies	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 19	Expos	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 20	Expos	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 21	Expos	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 23	@ Pirates	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 24	@ Pirates	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 25	@ Pirates	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 26	Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 27	Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 28	Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 29	Reds	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 30	Reds	Canceled (Strike)

July

#	Date	Opponent	Score
–	July 1	Reds	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 3	@ Braves	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 4	@ Braves	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 5	@ Braves	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 7	@ Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 8	@ Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 9	@ Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 10	Braves	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 11	Braves	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 12	Braves	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 16	@ Reds	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 17	@ Reds	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 18	@ Reds	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 19	@ Cubs	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 20	@ Cubs	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 21	Pirates	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 22	Pirates	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 23	Pirates	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 24	Cardinals	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 25	Cardinals	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 26	Cardinals	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 27	Cubs	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 28	Cubs	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 29	Cubs	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 31	@ Cardinals	Canceled (Strike)

August

#	Date	Opponent	Score
–	August 1	@ Cardinals	Canceled (Strike)
–	August 2	@ Cardinals	Canceled (Strike)
–	August 3	Giants	Canceled (Strike)
–	August 4	Giants	Canceled (Strike)
–	August 5	Giants	Canceled (Strike)
–	August 7	Padres	Canceled (Strike)
–	August 8	Padres	Canceled (Strike)
–	August 9	Padres	Canceled (Strike)

Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Astros team member

Regular season (Second half)

1981 regular season game log: 33–20 (home: 17–6; away: 16–14)

August: 13–8 (home: 7–1; away: 6–7)

#	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Time of Game	Attendance	Record	Box/ Streak
52nd All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio
1 {58)	August 10	9:35 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	W 6–5	Sambito (2–3)	Breining (2–2)	LaCorte (3)	3:08	11,115	1–0 (29–29)	W1
2 (59)	August 11	9:35 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	L 2–3	Griffin (5–5)	Niekro (6–6)	Minton (10)	2:36	12,354	1–1 (29–30)	L1
3 (60)	August 12	2:05 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	W 5–4	Sambito (3–3)	Holland (3–3)	Smith (1)	2:51	8,707	2–1 (30–30)	W1
4 (61)	August 13	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	L 1–9	Welsh (4–4)	Knepper (5–2)	–	2:29	4,899	2–2 (30–31)	L1
5 (62)	August 14	9:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	W 5–1	Ryan (6–3)	Lollar (1–5)	–	2:24	8,414	3–2 (31–31)	W1
6 (63)	August 15	9:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	W 5–0	Sutton (5–7)	Eichelberger (6–4)	–	1:59	5,852	4–2 (32–31)	W2
7 (64)	August 16	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	W 3–0	Niekro (7–6)	Mura (4–9)	Smith (4)	2:16	5,880	5–2 (33–31)	W3
8 (65)	August 17	7:35 p.m. CDT	Expos	L 2–6	Burris (5–5)	Ruhle (1–2)	Fryman (4)	2:19	24,203	5–3 (33–32)	L1
9 {66)	August 18	7:35 p.m. CDT	Expos	W 4–2	Knepper (6–2)	Rogers (8–5)	Sambito (7)	2:04	23,306	6–3 (34–32)	W1
10 (67)	August 19	7:35 p.m. CDT	Expos	W 9–1	Ryan (7–3)	Sanderson (6–4)	Smith (5)	2:39	27,169	7–3 (35–32)	W2
11 (68)	August 21	7:05 p.m. CDT	@ Phillies	L 4–5	Lyle (6–2)	Ruhle (1–3)	McGraw (8)	2:41	31,693	7–4 (35–33)	L1
12 (69)	August 22	1:15 p.m. CDT	@ Phillies	L 4–8	Ruthven (9–5)	Niekro (7–7)	–	2:16	35,199	7–5 (35–34)	L2
13 (70)	August 23	6:05 p.m. CDT	@ Phillies	L 0–6	Carlton (10–3)	Knepper (6–3)	–	1:51	30,630	7–6 (35–35)	L3
14 (71)	August 25	7:05 p.m. CDT	@ Mets	L 1–2	Marshall (1–0)	Sambito (3–4)	–	2:32	15,622	7–7 (35–36)	L4
15 (72)	August 26	7:05 p.m. CDT	@ Mets	W 9–3	Sutton (6–7)	Zachry (6–9)	–	2:34	16,731	8–7 (36–36)	W1
16 (73)	August 27	1:05 p.m. CDT	@ Mets	L 2–3	Marshall (2–0)	Sambito (3–5)	Allen (12)	2:28	17,488	8–8 (36–37)	L1
17 (74)	August 28	7:35 p.m. CDT	Phillies	W 3–2 (10)	Smith (2–3)	Lyle (6–3)	–	2:37	29,482	9–8 (37–37)	W1
18 (75)	August 29 (1)	5:35 p.m. CDT	Phillies	W 6–1	Ruhle (2–3)	Davis (0–2)	–	2:22	N/A	10–8 (38–37)	W2
19 (76)	August 29 (2)	8:32 p.m. CDT	Phillies	W 2–1	Smith (1–0)	Noles (0–1)	LaCorte (4)	2:01	33,327	11–8 (39–37)	W3
20 77)	August 30	7:35 p.m. CDT	Phillies	W 5–4 (10)	Smith (3–3)	Lyle (6–4)	–	2:53	23,102	12–8 (40–37)	W4
21 (78)	August 31	7:35 p.m. CDT	Mets	W 6–1	Sutton (7–7)	Zachry (6–10)	–	2:27	10,669	13–8 (41–37)	W5

September: 18–10 (home: 10–5; away: 8–5)

#	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Time of Game	Attendance	Record	Box/ Streak
22 (79)	September 1	7:35 p.m. CDT	Mets	W 3–2	Sambito (4–5)	Marshall (2–1)	–	2:39	16,339	14–8 (42–37)	W6
23 (80)	September 2	7:35 p.m. CDT	Mets	W 8–0	Knepper (7–3)	Scott (4–8)	–	2:21	18,938	15–8 (43–37)	W7
24 {81)	September 3	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Expos	W 2–1	Ruhle (3–3)	Sanderson (7–5)	Smith (6)	2:20	24,833	16–8 (44–37)	W8
25 (82)	September 4	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Expos	W 5–0	Ryan (8–3)	Gullickson (4–7)	Sambito (8)	2:54	32,580	17–8 (45–37)	W9
26 (83)	September 5	1:15 p.m. CDT	@ Expos	L 2–5	Burris (7–5)	Sutton (7–8)	–	2:13	30,471	17–9 (45–38)	L1
27 (84)	September 6	12:35 p.m. CDT	@ Expos	W 4–3 (12)	LaCorte (4–2)	Sosa (1–2)	–	3:33	47,193	18–9 (46–38)	W1
28 (85)	September 7	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Braves	W 3–2	Smith (4–3)	Camp (7–2)	Sambito (9)	2:40	7,358	19–9 (47–38)	W2
29 (86)	September 8	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Braves	L 2–3	Camp (8–2)	Smith (1–1)	–	2:13	2,800	19–10 (47–39)	L1
30 (87)	September 9	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Braves	L 0–9	Niekro (7–5)	Ryan (8–4)	–	2:34	4,482	19–11 (47–40)	L2
31 (88)	September 11	7:35 p.m. CDT	Giants	W 6–0	Sutton (8–8)	Blue (8–6)	–	2:30	23,677	20–11 (48–40)	W1
32 (89)	September 12	7:35 p.m. CDT	Giants	W 5–2	Niekro (8–7)	Whitson (5–8)	Smith (7)	2:39	35,867	21–11 (49–40)	W2
33 (90)	September 13	5:00 p.m. CDT	Giants	W 3–0	Knepper (8–3)	Alexander (8–7)	LaCorte (5)	2:32	19,642	22–11 (50–40)	W3
34 (91)	September 14	7:35 p.m. CDT	Reds	L 2–4	Berenyi (8–5)	Ruhle (3–4)	–	2:30	19,742	22–12 (50–41)	L1
35 (92)	September 15	5:00 p.m. CDT	Reds	L 0–4	Leibrandt (1–0)	Ryan (8–5)	–	2:26	16,354	22–13 (50–42)	L2
36 (93)	September 16	9:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	W 5–2	Sutton (9–8)	Lollar (1–8)	Sambito (10)	2:35	4,241	23–13 (51–42)	W1
37 (94)	September 17	9:05 p.m. CDT	@ Padres	W 9–0	Niekro (9–7)	Mura (5–13)	–	2:14	2,428	24–13 (52–42)	W2
38 (95)	September 18	9:35 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	L 2–5	Alexander (9–7)	Knepper (8–4)	Holland (7)	2:26	8,183	24–14 (52–43)	L1
39 (96)	September 19	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	W 8–1	Ruhle (4–4)	Griffin (8–7)	–	2:26	11,522	25–14 (53–43)	W1
40 (97)	September 20	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Giants	W 7–3	Ryan (9–5)	Lavelle (0–6)	–	3:04	16,824	26–14 (54–43)	W2
41 (98)	September 22	7:35 p.m. CDT	Braves	W 3–0	Sutton (10–8)	Perry (7–8)	–	2:16	22,564	27–14 (55–43)	W3
42 (99)	September 23	7:35 p.m. CDT	Braves	L 1–3	Mahler (6–6)	Niekro (9–8)	–	2:13	24,142	27–15 (55–44)	L1
43 (100)	September 24	7:35 p.m. CDT	Braves	W 5–3	Knepper (9–4)	McWilliams (1–1)	Smith (8)	2:17	23,341	28–15 (56–44)	W1
44 (101)	September 25	7:35 p.m. CDT	Dodgers	L 0–3	Hooton (11–6)	Ruhle (4–5)	–	2:18	35,481	28–16 (56–45)	L1
45 (102)	September 26	1:20 p.m. CDT	Dodgers	W 5–0	Ryan (10–5)	Power (1–3)	–	2:46	32,115	29–16 (57–45)	W1
46 (103)	September 27	5:05 p.m. CDT	Dodgers	W 4–1	Sutton (11–8)	Valenzuela (13–6)	–	2:23	41,686	30–16 (58–45)	W2
47 (104)	September 28	7:35 p.m. CDT	Padres	W 2–1	Sambito (5–5)	Eichelberger (8–8)	–	2:07	21,576	31–16 (59–45)	W3
48 (105)	September 29	7:35 p.m. CDT	Padres	L 1–2	Wise (4–8)	Knepper (9–5)	Lucas (12)	2:19	34,732	31–17 (59–46)	L1
49 (106)	September 30	6:35 p.m. CDT	@ Reds	L 2–3	Soto (11–9)	Ruhle (4–6)	Hume (13)	2:14	24,394	31–18 (59–47)	L2

October: 2–2 (home: 0–0; away: 2–2)

#	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Time of Game	Attendance	Record	Box/ Streak
50 (107)	October 1	4:00 p.m. CDT	@ Reds	W 8–1	Ryan (11–5)	Berenyi (9–6)	–	3:12	26,484	32–18 (60–47)	W1
51 (108)	October 2	9:30 p.m. CDT	@ Dodgers	L 1–6	Reuss (10–4)	Sutton (11–9)	–	2:30	46,108	32–19 (60–48)	L1
52 (109)	October 3	2:50 p.m. CDT	@ Dodgers	L 2–7	Welch (9–5)	Niekro (9–9)	–	2:43	42,272	32–20 (60–49)	L2
53 (110)	October 4	3:00 p.m. CDT	@ Dodgers	W 5–3	Smith (5–2)	Goltz (2–7)	–	3:17	47,072	33–20 (61–49)	W1

Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Astros team member

Postseason Game log

1981 Postseason game log: 2–3 (home: 2–0; away: 0–3)

NL Western Division Series: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 2–3 (home: 2–0; away: 0–3)

#	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Score	Win	Loss	Save	Time of Game	Attendance	Series	Box/ Streak
1	October 6	7:15 p.m. CDT	Dodgers	W 3–1	Ryan (1–0)	Stewart (0–1)	–	2:22	44,836	HOU 1–0	W1
2	October 7	12:05 p.m. CDT	Dodgers	W 1–0 (11)	Sambito (1–0)	Stewart (0–2)	–	3:39	42,398	HOU 2–0	W2
3	October 9	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Dodgers	L 1–6	Hooton (1–0)	Knepper (0–1)	–	2:35	46,820	HOU 2–1	L1
4	October 10	7:15 p.m. CDT	@ Dodgers	L 1–2	Valenzuela (1–0)	Ruhle (0–1)	–	2:00	55,983	Tied 2–2	L2
5	October 11	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ Dodgers	L 0–4	Reuss (1–0)	Ryan (1–1)	–	2:52	55,979	LA 3–2	L3

Legend: = Win = Loss = Postponement
Bold = Astros team member

Player stats

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Alan Ashby	83	255	69	.271	4	33
1B	César Cedeño	82	306	83	.271	5	34
2B	Joe Pittman	52	135	38	.281	0	7
SS	Craig Reynolds	87	323	84	.260	4	31
3B	Art Howe	103	361	107	.296	3	36
LF	José Cruz	107	409	109	.267	13	55
CF	Tony Scott	55	225	66	.293	2	22
RF	Terry Puhl	96	350	88	.251	3	28

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Denny Walling	65	158	37	.234	5	23
Kiko Garcia	48	136	37	.272	0	15
Luis Pujols	40	117	28	.239	1	14
Phil Garner	31	113	27	.239	0	6
Gary Woods	54	110	23	.209	0	12
Danny Heep	33	96	24	.250	0	11
Dickie Thon	49	95	26	.274	0	3
Rafael Landestoy	35	74	11	.149	0	4
Dave Roberts	27	54	13	.241	1	5
Mike Ivie	19	42	10	.238	0	6
Harry Spilman	28	34	10	.294	0	1
Jeffrey Leonard	7	18	3	.167	0	3
Tim Tolman	4	8	1	.125	0	0
Scott Loucks	10	7	4	.571	0	0
Alan Knicely	3	7	4	.571	2	2
Dave Bergman	6	6	1	.167	1	1
Bert Peña	4	2	1	.500	0	0

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Joe Niekro	24	166.0	9	9	2.82	77
Don Sutton	23	158.2	11	9	2.61	104
Bob Knepper	22	156.2	9	5	2.18	75
Nolan Ryan	21	149.0	11	5	1.69	140
Vern Ruhle	20	102.0	4	6	2.91	39

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Joaquín Andújar	9	23.2	2	3	4.94	18

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Joe Sambito	49	63.2	5	5	10	1.84	41
Dave Smith	42	75.0	5	3	8	2.76	52
Frank LaCorte	37	42.0	4	2	5	3.64	40
Bobby Sprowl	15	28.2	0	1	0	5.97	18
Billy Smith	10	20.2	1	1	1	3.05	3
Gordie Pladson	2	4.0	0	0	0	9.00	3

1981 National League Division Series

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Houston Astros

Los Angeles wins series, 3-2.

Game	Score	Date
1	Houston 3, Los Angeles 1	October 6
2	Houston 1, Los Angeles 0 (11 innings)	October 7
3	Los Angeles 6, Houston 1	October 9
4	Los Angeles 2, Houston 1	October 10
5	Los Angeles 4, Houston 0	October 11

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tucson Toros	Pacific Coast League	Jimmy Johnson
AA	Columbus Astros	Southern League	Matt Galante
A	Daytona Beach Astros	Florida State League	Carlos Alfonso
Rookie	GCL Astros Blue	Gulf Coast League	Eric Swanson
Rookie	GCL Astros Orange	Gulf Coast League	Lyle Olsen

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Daytona Beach

References

"The Story Of The 1981 Houston Astros". October 18, 2014.
Don Sutton at Baseball Reference
"Chris Bourjos Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
Julio González at Baseball Reference
Gary Rajsich at Baseball Reference
David Clyde at Baseball Reference
Joaquín Andújar at Baseball Reference
"Eric Bullock Stats".
"Big Days in Astros History – September 26, 1981 – Nolan Ryan pitches his fifth no-hitter". AstrosDaily.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.

External links

1981 Houston Astros season at Baseball Reference

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "The Story Of The 1981 Houston Astros". October 18, 2014.

[2] Don Sutton at Baseball Reference

[baseball-reference.com-3] "Chris Bourjos Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.

[4] Julio González at Baseball Reference

[5] Gary Rajsich at Baseball Reference

[6] David Clyde at Baseball Reference

[8] Joaquín Andújar at Baseball Reference

[9] "Eric Bullock Stats".

[10] "Big Days in Astros History – September 26, 1981 – Nolan Ryan pitches his fifth no-hitter". AstrosDaily.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.