April 16, 2000
San Diego Padres 13, Houston Astros 3
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Al Martin scored a team-record five runs and hit a two-run homer in the San Diego Padres' 13-3 rout of the Houston Astros Sunday. Martin has scored 15 runs as the Padres leadoff man while replacing Quilvio Veras, traded in the offseason to Atlanta. Martin, who tied his career high with four hits, is batting .315. Phil Nevin hit a two-homer in the first to put San Diego ahead 3-0 and added a pair of RBI singles. Martin broke the Padres' record for runs scored, achieved 35 times previously, when he scored on Eric Owens' infield single in the seventh. Owens had a career-high four hits, and San Diego had 18 in all. Matt Clement (2-0) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings. Daryle Ward drove in all three Astros runs. Chris Holt (0-3) took the loss.
April 15, 2000
San Diego Padres 5, Houston Astros 3
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Al Martin hit a two-run homer and Woody Williams pitched a strong 7 1/3 innings and drove in a run with an RBI double to lead the San Diego Padres to a 5-3 win Saturday night over the Houston Astros. Martin gave the Padres a 2-1 lead with a two-run shot to center off Jose Lima (1-2) in San Diego's four-run third inning. Williams drew a walk on four pitches to precede Martin's at-bat. Damien Jackson followed with a solo home run, and San Diego added another run on two-out infield singles by Phil Nevin and Eric Owens and Bret Boone's RBI single. Williams (2-1), who gave up four homers in his last start, allowed two runs on five hits. Trevor Hoffman notched his second save. Jeff Bagwell homered for Houston.
April 14, 2000
Houston Astros 10, San Diego Padres 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Jeff Bagwell hit a grand slam and Shane Reynolds hit a solo home run and pitched five effective innings to lead the Houston Astros to a 10-4 win Friday night over the San Diego Padres. Bagwell homered off Kevin Walker to cap a six-run, sixth inning as the Astros broke a 3-3 tie. Walker was making his major league debut. Reynolds (2-0) allowed three runs and 10 hits in five innings. He was more successful with his bat as he hit a solo homer off Brian Boehringer (0-2) leading off the fifth inning to tie the game. Houston then took control in the sixth. Moises Alou led off with a single, knocking Boehringer from the game. Billy Spiers followed with an RBI double off Will Cunnane and Tony Eusebio had an RBI single.
April 13, 2000
Devil Rays acquire Gooden from Astros
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Dwight Gooden is coming home.
Desperate for starting pitching, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
acquired the 35-year-old right-hander from the Houston Astros for
cash Thursday. Now, they'll find out if he can help them out of a
tough situation. "I'm definitely overjoyed. ... It still hasn't
really sunk in yet," Gooden said by telephone from Houston. "I
guess once I put the uniform on, I'll know it's official."
Gooden, who grew up in Tampa and lives in St. Petersburg during
the offseason, will join the Devil Rays on Saturday and start
that day's game at Detroit. He made one start for Houston this
season, but was not involved in the decision April 8 after
allowing four runs and six hits in four innings against
Philadelphia. A four-time All-Star, Gooden has won 188 games and
amassed 2,239 strikeouts over 15 seasons with the Mets, Yankees,
Indians and Astros.
April 12, 2000
Houston Astros 7, St. Louis Cardinals 5
HOUSTON (AP) - Richard Hidalgo homered, doubled twice and drove in three runs as the Houston Astros beat St. Louis, 7-5, Wednesday night, ending the Cardinals' four-game winning streak. Hidalgo hit his fourth home run and also walked as the Astros stopped a three-game slide. He hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the seventh. Jim Edmonds, leading the majors with a .536 (15-for-28) batting average, had his fourth homer and a double, giving him nine consecutive hits. His streak ended in the seventh when he struck out against Yorkis Perez (1-0). Edmonds walked in the sixth to tie the club record for consecutive times reaching base (12) set by Chick Hafey in 1929. Moises Alou and Tim Bogar also homered for the Astros. Dave Wainhouse (0-1) took the loss.
April 11, 2000
St. Louis Cardinals 10, Houston Astros 6
HOUSTON (AP) - Pinch-hitter Thomas Howard had a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh and Edgar Renteria added a three-run homer later in the inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 10-6 Tuesday night. St. Louis fell behind 6-3 before Howard homered in the seventh off Chris Holt (0-2), who loaded the bases with walks to Mark McGwire and Eric Davis around a single by Jim Edmonds, who is 7-for-7 in his last two games. Holt then walked pinch-hitter Eli Marrero and Fernando Vina. Doug Henry relieved and Renteria homered for the second straight night, getting a career-high four RBIs. Edmonds also homered for the Cardinals improved to 7-1. Jeff Bagwell and Moises Alou hit two-run homers for the Astros. Garrett Stephenson (2-0) allowed six runs and seven hits in six innings.
Houston trades catcher Bako to Florida
HOUSTON (AP) - Backup catcher Paul Bako was traded Tuesday from
the Houston Astros to the Florida Marlins for cash and a player
to be named. The move allows Houston to keep rookie Mitch
Meluskey on the roster. Bako, acquired in a trade with Detroit
last year, likely would not have cleared waivers had the Astros
tried to demote him to the minors. Bako, 27, hit .256 with 17
RBIs in 215 at-bats in 1999. As the club's third catcher this
season behind Tony Eusebio and Meluskey, Bako was 0-for-2 in the
first seven games. To replace Bako, the Astros promoted infielder
Julio Lugo from their Triple-A team at New Orleans. Outfielder
Matt Mieske eventually is expected to take the roster spot, when
he returns from the disabled list, possibly as early as Thursday.
April 10, 2000
St. Louis Cardinals 8, Houston Astros 7
HOUSTON (AP) - Mark McGwire homered for the third straight game, and Edgar Renteria and Ray Lankford hit consecutive homers off Jose Lima, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Houston Astros 8-7 Monday night. St. Louis, tied with Arizona for the best record in the majors at 6-1, has 20 homers, most in the big leagues. In Enron Field's fourth game, the teams combined for eight home runs, two more than the previous record for a major league game in Houston. Lima (1-1) allowed his first three homers of the year before J.D. Drew hit his fourth of the season off Jose Cabrera in the eighth. Daryle Ward homered twice for Houston, and Craig Biggio and Richard Hidalgo also connected. Pat Hengten (2-0) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings, and Dave Veres got the save.
April 9, 2000
Philadelphia Phillies 2, Houston Astros 1
HOUSTON (AP) - Mickey Morandini's two-out RBI single in the eighth inning rallied the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday. Jay Powell (0-1) walked Bobby Abreu to start the eighth but got the next two batters before walking Mike Lieberthal. Morandini followed with a single to center field and Abreu beat center fielder Roger Cedeno's throw to the plate. Steve Schrenk (1-1) got five outs for the win. The Astros loaded the bases in the eighth before Wayne Gomes got Daryle Ward to ground out. Gomes finished for his second save. Andy Ashby and Lieberthal drove in the other two runs for Philadelphia. Jeff Bagwell and Tim Bogar had sacrifice flies for Houston.
Astros' Caminiti injures hamstring
HOUSTON (AP) - Houston Astros third baseman Ken Caminiti left
Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth
inning because of a strained left hamstring. Caminiti limped home
from third base to score the Astros second run, then was replaced
at the start of the fifth inning by Bill Spiers. "It tightened up
on me," Caminiti said. "It was cramping up last night and I've
been drinking a lot of fluids. I don't think it's disabling or
anything major. I might be out a couple of days. We'll know more
tomorrow." Caminiti missed almost three months last season with a
strained right calf muscle. The Astros called his latest injury
day-to-day. Craig Biggio has been playing despite a right eye
condition called conjunctivitis, an inflammation of the membrane
lining the eyelids and covering the eyeball. "I've never had
anything like this before," Biggio said.
April 8, 2000
Houston Astros 8, Philadelphia Phillies 5
HOUSTON (AP) - Moises Alou hit a two-run single in the fifth inning and a solo homer in the seventh for his first RBIs since the 1998 season, leading the Houston Astros to an 8-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. Alou, who missed all of last season recovering from knee surgery, put the Astros ahead to stay 6-4 with his single off Kirk Bullinger. His first homer since Aug. 24, 1998, made it 8-5. Ken Caminiti hit a two-run homer off Chris Brock (0-1) in the third inning to put Houston up 4-2 and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Brock gave up six runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings. Mike Maddux (1-0) allowed one run in one inning to get the win. Billy Wagner pitched the ninth for his second save.
April 7, 2000
Philadelphia Phillies 4, Houston Astros 1
HOUSTON (AP) - Scott Rolen broke up a scoreless game with a sixth-inning home run, and Enron Field officially opened Friday night with the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Astros 4-1 in Houston's first outdoor home game since 1964. Ron Gant added a two-run homer off Doug Henry in the eighth for the Phillies, who avoided their first 0-4 start since 1987. Octavio Dotel (0-1) allowed only three hits until Rolen led off the seventh with a drive over the left-field scoreboard, his third home run of the season. Rico Brogna's double chased Dotel and Mickey Morandini's sacrifice fly off Doug Henry made it 2-0 for the Phillies. Randy Wolf (1-0) also allowed a leadoff homer in the seventh, a 408-foot drive to left by Richard Hidalgo.
Downtown stadium begins regular season
HOUSTON (AP) - There was no reason to close the roof Friday night
when Enron Field opened for real as the Houston Astros played the
Philadelphia Phillies. There were clear skies and the temperature
was 78 as the Astros played a regular-season game outdoors in
Houston for the first time since before the Astrodome opened in
1965. Last week, the Astros played three exhibition games against
the New York Yankees and Texas at Enron. "This is more exciting
for me because these games count," Astros manager Larry Dierker
said. "We are still not all moved in. We have pictures still to
put on the walls and there are boxes in there to be unloaded."
It's going to take the Astros awhile to see if the new field is
an advantage. "It's going to depend on how well we play and how
the other teams play," Dierker said. Scott Rolen broke up a
scoreless game with a sixth-inning home run, and Philadelphia
beat the Astros 4-1.
April 6, 2000
Pittsburg Pirates 10, Houston Astros 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Francisco Cordova lost his no-hitter with one out in the eighth, his shutout one batter later. That didn't diminish how he dominated the Houston Astros -- again. Cordova, who teamed with Ricardo Rincon for the only two-pitcher extra-inning no-hitter in major league history in 1997, kept Houston hitless for 7 1/3 innings before yielding two hits in the eighth inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates' 10-1 romp Thursday. Brian Giles went a career-high 5-for-5 with two solo homers and a triple as the Pirates finally won after being outscored 16-5 in the first two games of the series. The Astros had hit only two balls out of the infield and didn't have anything resembling a hit off Cordova (1-0) until Mitch Meluskey doubled off the center-field wall in the eighth. Tim Bogar ended the shutout bid with an RBI double. Chris Holt (0-1) took the loss.
Houston ballpark's roof undergoing repairs
HOUSTON (AP) - Several wheel assemblies are damaged on the
retractable roof at Enron Field, the Houston Astros' new
ballpark, and designers plan to check more than 100 others. The
assemblies were stored outside for more than a year during the
ballpark's construction. The current problems are partly due to
rainwater damage. Cyril Silberman, president of Uni-Systems Inc.
of Minneapolis, told the Houston Chronicle that work has begun to
check all 140 of the assemblies. But officials at the company
that designed the roof's transport system said Wednesday that
kinks were expected and the roof is working fine. Silberman said
the transport system's 140 gear cases and 60 electric motors will
be checked during the next month for damage, but the inspections
will not affect the roof's movement during games.
Enron Field could epitomize Home Run Central
HOUSTON (AP) - Home Run Central might find Enron Field its
favorite stop. The NL Central got its nickname when Cincinnati
acquired Ken Griffey Jr. to join Mark McGwire of St. Louis and
Sammy Sosa of Chicago for an anticipated home run derby in
pursuit of the three-time division champion Houston Astros.
Houston will play its first regular-season game in its new home
Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies, which also played the
first official game at the pitching-friendly Astrodome in 1965.
If the exhibition season was any indication, however, Enron Field
will be a slugger's sanctuary. "I think it's going to be a
hitter's park, no question," Texas Rangers shortstop Royce
Clayton said. "The ball seems to carry really well here. It's
just a comfortable feeling." Two exhibition games against the New
York Yankees and one with the Rangers produced nine homers.
April 5, 2000
Houston Astros 11, Pittsburg Pirates 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Jose Lima shook off control problems to pitch seven effective innings and Daryle Ward homered in the Houston Astros' 11-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. Lima (1-0), a 21-game winner last season, walked two and gave up three singles in the first, including a hit by Aramis Ramirez that drove in two runs. An extra-base hit might have driven Lima from the game, but he settled down to finish up with six shutout innings. Pirates starter Kris Benson (0-1) gave up seven runs -- five earned -- in six innings, quickly got into trouble again in the third. Ward, starting only because newly acquired center fielder Roger Cedeno has a sore right elbow, was 2-for-3 and reached base three times.
April 4, 2000
Houston Astros 5, Pittsburg Pirates 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Richard Hidalgo, back after missing the final two months of last season with a knee injury, hit a grand slam and drove in all of Houston's runs in a 5-2, rain-delayed opening-night victory Tuesday over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Moises Alou, who sat out last season with an even more serious knee injury, was one of three Astros walked by Jason Schmidt (0-1) ahead of Hidalgo's drive in the sixth -- the first opening day slam in Astros history. Shane Reynolds (1-0) pitched seven effective innings to outduel Schmidt, whose 1.16 spring ERA led all major league starters. Reynolds improved to 3-1 with one no-decision in openers by allowing two runs and six hits in seven innings. John Vander Wal broke up Reynolds' bid for his eighth career shutout with a two-run pinch-hit home run in his first Pirates at-bat in the seventh. Billy Wagner got the save.
Astros' Hidalgo overshadows return of Alou and Kendall
(AP) - Moises Alou and Jason Kendall got all the attention as
they came back from serious injuries. Richard Hidalgo got all the
RBIs. Hidalgo, back after missing the final two months last
season with a knee injury, hit a grand slam and drove in all of
Houston's runs in a 5-2, rain-delayed opening-night win Tuesday
over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Alou, out all of last season with a
knee injury, was one of three Astros walked by Jason Schmidt
ahead of Hidalgo's drive in the sixth -- the first opening day
slam in Astros history. It also was the first grand slam for
Hidalgo, who is 7-for-11 with three homers against Schmidt. "I'm
just happy because that's my first grand slam and because we won.
That's the way you want to start," Hidalgo said. Alou went
1-for-3 with a run scored. Kendall, the Bucs catcher, was 0-for-3
in his first game since dislocating his right ankle on July 4.
Tigers, Giants, Astros lead ticket price increases
(AP) - Fans who go to baseball's three new ballparks this season
will leave with much lighter wallets. The sport's average ticket
price went up 11.8 percent -- the highest markup in a decade --
to $16.67 this year. But that's nothing compared with the
increases in Detroit, San Francisco and Houston. The average at
Comerica Park is $24.83, the fourth-highest in baseball and a 103
percent jump from the $12.23 average at Tiger Stadium last
season, according to the annual survey by the Team Marketing
Report. At Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, the average of
$21.24, baseball's sixth-highest, is up 75.2 percent from the
$12.12 average last year at 3Comm Park, formerly Candlestick.
Houston's Enron Field is reasonable by these standards. The
average there is $20.01, No. 8 among the 30 major league teams.
That's up 50.4 percent from last year's average of $13.30 at the
Astrodome.
April 3, 2000
Houston Astros at Pittsburg Pirates, Postponed
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates have never met on Opening Day in Pittsburgh. Their rainout Monday night means they must wait at least a day to play the final opener in Three Rivers Stadium. The Astros and Pirates now will play their opener at 7:05 p.m. ET Tuesday on what originally was a day off for both teams. It was the first Opening-Day rainout in Pittsburgh since 1982. The two scheduled starters -- Shane Reynolds, making his fifth consecutive Opening-Day start for Houston and the Pirates' Jason Schmidt -- will start Tuesday. All tickets for the washed-out game Monday will be honored Tuesday.
April 2, 2000
Astros place Mieske on disabled list
(AP) - Outfielder Matt Mieske was put on the 15-day disabled list
Sunday by the Houston Astros because of a lower back strain, a
move retroactive to March 28. Mieske, who was traded from Seattle
for Kevin Hodges last June, had five home runs and 22 RBIs with a
.284 batting average in 54 games. By placing Mieske on the
disabled list, the Astros reached the 25-man roster limit.