1981 Houston Astros season

1981 Houston Astros
1981 Houston Astros
National League West co-champions
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Astrodome
City	Houston, Texas
Record	1st half: 28–29 (.491); 2nd half: 33–20 (.623); Overall: 61–49 (.555);
Divisional place	1st half: 3rd (8 GB); 2nd half: 1st;
Owners	John McMullen
General managers	Al Rosen
Managers	Bill Virdon
Television	KRIV–TV 26; (Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker)
Radio	KENR–AM 1070; (Gene Elston, Dewayne Staats, Larry Dierker)

The 1981 Houston Astros season was the 20th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 17th as the Astros, 20th in the National League (NL), 13th in the NL West division, and 17th at The Astrodome. The Astros entered the season as NL West division champions with a 93–70 record for their first-ever division title and playoff appearance, ultimately losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 National League Championship Series (NLCS).

On April 9 at Dodger Stadium, Joe Niekro made his first Opening Day start for Houston, who were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2–0. The Astros attained a record of 28–29 and third place position behind Los Angeles in the NL West until a players' strike interrupted the season, later classified as the season's first half.

With nearly one-third of the season eventually lost (52 games for Houston), a one-time modified format with a split regular season and a new opening round to the playoffs, the Division Series (DS), was introduced.^{[Note 1]} Pitchers Bob Knepper (first career selection) and Nolan Ryan (sixth) represented the Astros at the MLB All-Star Game. The Astros acquired second baseman Phil Garner, another All-Star that year, after the event.

On September 26, Ryan pitched the seventh no-hitter in franchise history, a 5–0 victory over the Dodgers. The fifth no-hitter of Ryan's career, this surpassed Sandy Koufax for most in major league history.

Houston won the NL West in the second half with a loss by the Cincinnati Reds on October 3, the penultimate day of the season.^[1] With a 33–20 record, the Astros claimed an NL West division title and advanced to the playoffs for the second consecutive season, to the first-ever National League Division Series (NLDS). Here, they faced the Dodgers, the NL West-division winners of the first half of the season. However, the Astros were defeated in five games, ending their season, and the Dodgers became World Series champions.

Following the season, Knepper was named The Sporting News NL Comeback Player of the Year, and Bill Virdon The Sporting News Manager of the Year,^[b] the first Houston Astros to win these awards. Ryan led the major leagues in earned run average (ERA, 1.69), his first time winning the title.

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

Summary

With his second base on balls allowed on June 5, Nolan Ryan passed Early Wynn for all-time most walks issued in major league history with 1,776. In this game, Ryan also struck out 10 and tossed a 3–0 shutout of the New York Mets.^[5]

Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies singled off Ryan on June 10 to tie St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial for fourth-place all-time in hits. Following Rose's hit, Houston blew a four-run lead and lost, 5–4, one day prior to the onset of the players' strike.^[6]

On September 26, 1981, 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.^[7] It had been six years since Ryan's last no-hitter; he pitched for the California Angels for the last of four no-hitters.

Season standings

v
t
e
NL West
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	66	42	.611	—	32‍–‍22	34‍–‍20
Los Angeles Dodgers	63	47	.573	4	33‍–‍23	30‍–‍24
Houston Astros	61	49	.555	6	31‍–‍20	30‍–‍29
San Francisco Giants	56	55	.505	11½	29‍–‍24	27‍–‍31
Atlanta Braves	50	56	.472	15	22‍–‍27	28‍–‍29
San Diego Padres	41	69	.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 v t e Sources: [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	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).^[8]
April 17, 1981: David Clyde was signed as a free agent by the Astros.^[9]
April 20, 1981 - Dave Bergman and Jeffrey Leonard were traded by the Astros to the San Francisco Giants for Mike Ivie.^[10]
June 7, 1981: Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Astros to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tony Scott.^[11]
June 8, 1981: Eric Bullock was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft (secondary phase).^[12]

Roster

1981 Houston Astros

Roster

Pitchers

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

7 Bill Virdon

Coaches

Game log

Regular season (First half)

Legend
	Astros win
	Astros loss
	Postponement
Bold	Astros team member

1981 regular season game log (First half): 28–29 (home: 14–14; away: 14–15)^[13]

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

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

Legend
	Canceled (Strike)
Bold	Astros team member

1981 regular season game log

June

#	Date	Time (CT)	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	7:35 p.m. CDT	Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
—	June 27	7:35 p.m. CDT	Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
—	June 28	5:00 p.m. CDT	Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 29		Reds	Canceled (Strike)
–	June 30		Reds	Canceled (Strike)

July

#	Date	Time (CT)	Opponent	Score
–	July 1		Reds	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 3		@ Braves	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 4		@ Braves	Canceled (Strike)
–	July 5		@ Braves	Canceled (Strike)
—	July 7	9:30 p.m. CDT	@ Dodgers	Canceled (Strike)
—	July 8	9:30 p.m. CDT	@ Dodgers	Canceled (Strike) (Makeup date: May 17)
—	July 9	3:05 p.m. CDT	@ 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)

Regular season (Second half)

Legend
	Astros win
	Astros loss
	Postponement
	Clinched division
Bold	Astros team member

1981 regular season game log (Second half): 33–20 (home: 17–6; away: 16–14)^[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
—	August 9	7:15 p.m. CDT	52nd All-Star Game in Cleveland, OH
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

Detailed records

National League
Opponent	W	L	WP	RS	RA
NL East
Chicago Cubs	6	1	0.857	33	11
Montreal Expos	5	2	0.714	28	18
New York Mets	6	3	0.667	39	16
Philadelphia Phillies	4	6	0.400	34	46
Pittsburgh Pirates	2	4	0.333	18	21
St. Louis Cardinals	2	4	0.333	28	31
Div Total	25	20	0.556	180	143
NL West
Atlanta Braves	8	4	0.667	37	30
Cincinnati Reds	4	8	0.333	35	42
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers	4	8	0.333	26	38
San Diego Padres	11	3	0.786	52	27
San Francisco Giants	9	6	0.600	64	51
Div Total	36	29	0.554	214	188
Season Total	61	49	0.555	394	331

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
April	19	7	12	0.368	44	50
May	29	17	12	0.586	118	100
June	9	4	5	0.444	33	33
August	21	13	8	0.619	84	67
September	28	18	10	0.643	99	64
October	4	2	2	0.500	16	17
Total	110	61	49	0.555	394	331

Home	51	31	20	0.608	166	106
	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
Away	59	30	29	0.508	228	225
Total	110	61	49	0.555	394	331

Postseason Game log

Legend
	Astros win
	Astros loss
Bold	Astros team member

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)^[15]

#	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	LAN 3–2	L3

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

Player stats

Batting

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

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

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