Today in 1984 - Philadelphia Phillies vs Houston Astros

Today in 1984, the Houston Astros hosted the Philadelphia Phillies in the Houston Astrodome. Charles Hudson of the Phillies would face Bob Knepper of the Astros.

    Philadelphia got things started in the top of the second inning when John Wockenfuss hit a RBI double to score Glenn Wilson. Mike Schmidt added to the lead in the top of the fourth when he hit a solo homerun to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

    Houston tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Mark Bailey hit a two run shot and scored Terry Puhl. Then the defenses took over.

    The game remained tied into the ninth inning. In the top of the ninth, Knepper kept the Phillies off the bases and had two strikeouts. In the bottom of the ninth, Phillies reliever Larry Andersen got Larry Spilman out, but Puhl hit a single. Al Holland relieved Andersen and got into trouble with Phil Garner, who hit a single, putting Puhl in scoring position. Holland redeemed himself against Enos Cabell, who hit into a double play. The game would go into extra innings.

    Houston had opportunities to win the game in the 12th and 13th innings, but Philadelphia held them into the 16th inning. In the top of the 16th, Wilson got a single, but Von Hayes hit into a double play. Ivan de Jesus grounded out, ending the top half of the inning. In the bottom of the 16th, with one out, Jose Cruz hit a single off reliever Don Carman and made it to scoring position on a wild pitch. As a result, Carman intentionally walked Jerry Mumphrey. Carman then faced Alan Ashby. Would Ashby hit into a double play, blowing yet another scoring opportunity for the Astros? Not this time. Ashby hit a single and Cruz scored from second for the win. The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2.

    Astros reliever Frank De Pino went to 3-5 with the win. Carman fell to 0-1. Knepper struck out nine batters, while Hudson struck out six. Houston improved to 43-48, fourth in the NL West and ten games behind the San Diego Padres. Philadelphia fell to 48-40, 3.5 games behind the New York Mets and third in the NL East. The Phillies ended the season at 81-81, fourth in the NL East. The Astros finished at 80-82, second in the NL West.


Trivia

• There was one Hall of Famer playing in this game: Mike Schmidt of the Phillies.

• This was Paul Owens' second and final season coaching the Phillies. He was previously an interim coach of the Phillies in 1972.

• This was Bob Lillis' third season with the Astros. He managed the team from 1982-85.

• Lillis played for the Astros from 1962-67. The Astros were called the Colt .45's from its first season in 1962 until 1964.

• Phillies second baseman Juan Samuel was an interim manager for the Baltimore Orioles in 2010.

• Phillies outfielder John Russelll managed the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2008-10.

• Astros third baseman Phil Garner went on to manage the Milwaukee Brewers (1992-99), Detroit Tigers (2000-02), and the Astros (2004-07). He led the Astros to the World Series in 2005, losing to the Chicago White Sox 4-0.

Game stats can be found at Baseball Reference on the box score page Philadelphia Phillies vs Houston Astros - July 15, 1984.