Today in 1981 - Philadelphia Phillies vs Houston Astros

August 30, 1981 – The Philadelphia Phillies visited the Astrodome to take on the Houston Astros.

Houston had a 4-2 lead after the 3^rd inning, including a leadoff homerun by Tony Scott to start off the bottom of the 1^st.  Starting pitcher Nolan Ryan kept the Phillies at bay for seven innings.

But the Phillies came back.  In the top of the 8^th, Mike Schmidt hit a leadoff homerun and Pete Rose hit an RBI double in the top of the 9^th.  The game was now tied 4-4 and went to the 10^th.

After Philadelphia left a man in scoring position, Houston got its chance.  Craig Reynolds hit a single to center field.  Denny Walling bunted and Reynolds got to second.  With one out, Jose Cruz came to bat.  Cruz hit a single to left field and Reynolds scored.  Game over.  The Houston Astros edged the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4.

Relief pitcher Dave Smith got the win and improved to 3-3.  Phillie reliever Sparky Lyle got the loss and dropped to 6-4.  Neither pitcher had an official at bat.

Philadelphia fell to 40-34.  They were 5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals and 3^rd in the NL East.  Houston went to 40-37.  They were 8 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and 3^rd in the NL West.

Notables

• There were 2 Hall of Famers playing in this game: Mike Schmidt for the Phillies and Nolan Ryan for the Astros.
  
• This was Dallas Green’s last year managing the Phillies.  He managed the team from 1979-81.  He went on to manage the New York Mets from 1993-96.
  
• Dallas Green was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1960-64 and 1967.
  
• This was Bill Virdon’s seventh year managing the Astros.  He managed the team from 1975-82.  He was hired in mid-season in 1975 after getting fired by the New York Yankees.
  
• Bill Virdon started his playing career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1955 and was traded to Pittsburgh in 1956.  He played for the Pirates from 1956-65 and 1968. 
  
• Art Howe went on to manage the Astros from 1989-93.
  
• Luis Pujols managed the Detroit Tigers for most of the 2002 season.  That was his only experience as manager.
  
• Larry Bowa went on to manage the Phillies from 2001-04.
  
• Pete Rose was featured in the Notables section of Today in 1978 - St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds.

Game stats and other data can be found on Baseball-Reference.com at Philadelphia Phillies vs Houston Astros - August 30, 1981.