Today in 1990 - Pittsburgh Pirates vs Houston Astros

August 31, 1990 – Today in 1990, the Houston Astros hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Astrodome.

The Pirates got off a 2-0 lead with an RBI single by Mike LaVilliere in the 2^nd and a solo homerun by Jay Bell in the 3^rd.  Pittsburgh held that lead and in the bottom of the 9^th and all they had to do was close Houston out.

First up for Houston was Ken Caminiti, who Stan Belinda struck out.  Glenn Davis didn’t fare any better, getting out on a fly ball to center field; two outs.  Craig Biggio got things going for Houston with a single to center field.  Casey Candaele pinch hit for Mark Davidson.  Candaele hit a double to right field and Biggio scored.

Belinda was then relieved by Bob Patterson.  He faced Franklin Stubbs, who hit an RBI single to right field and Candaele scored.  The score was now 2-2.  Dave Rohde hit a single to left field and Stubbs advanced to second.  Patterson was relieved by Bill Landrum and faced Glenn Wilson, who was pinch hitting for Astro pitcher Juan Agosto.  Wilson hit a single to right field and Stubbs scored.  Game over.  Houston came back from a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the 9^th to win 3-2.

In one inning of work, Juan Agosto got the win and went to 6-7.  Bob Patterson, who was charged with the winning run, fell to 8-5 with his third blown save.  Neither pitcher had an official at bat.

The Houston Astros went to 59-72.  They were 16.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds, 4th in the NL West.  The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped to 75-55.  The led the NL East by half a game over the New York Mets.

Notables

• This was Art Howe’s second season managing the Astros.  He managed the team from 1989-93.  He also managed the Oakland A’s from 1996-2002.  Howe was also featured in the Notables section in yesterday’s entry.
  
• This was Jim Leyland’s fifth season managing the Pirates.  He managed the team from 1986-96.  He went to the Florida Marlins in 1997 and led them to a World Series title.  Leyland is currently the manager of the Detroit Tigers and has been there since 2006.
  
• Both starting pitchers, Zane Smith for the Pirates and Mike Scott for the Astros, pitched for eight innings.  Smith struck out four and batted 0-3.  Scott struck out three and hit 0-1, with a sacrifice hit.
  
• Pirates’ first baseman Sid Bream went on to score the winning run for the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 
  
• Except for Jay Bell’s homerun (center field), every RBI hit in this game was to right field.

Game stats and other data can be found on Baseball-Reference.com at Houston Astros vs Pittsburgh Pirates - August 31, 1990