The Astrodome Opens (April 9, 1965): Not sure if indoor baseball on Astroturf qualifies as a great moment, but it is noteworthy. The Astrodome was the world’s first domed sports facility. The idea originated in the early fifties, but it took Houston’s brutal climate to motivate someone to build it. The first ballgame was an exhibition between Houston and the New York Yankees. Mickey Mantle hit the first homer in the dome’s history. The first regular season game occurred three days later with the Phillies beating Houston 2-0 behind Dick Allen’s home run.
Houston: 1 Philadelphia: 0 (October 10, 1980 Game 3 NLCS): The Astros took a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five NLCS with an 11 inning win over Tug McGraw and the Phillies. They won the game in the 11th inning on a sacrifice fly by Denny Walling. The Astros failed in their two attempts to close out the series. Four of the five games went into extra innings with Philadelphia winning the last two for the pennant.
Nolan Ryan’s 5th No-Hitter (September 26, 1981): Nolan Ryan passed Sandy Koufax for most career no-hitters in 1981. By this point in his career, it seemed unlikely that Ryan would be able to toss another no-no. He beat the Dodgers 5-0. Later in his career, he’d throw two more no-hitters.
Mike Scott’s no-hitter wins NL West (September 25, 1986): Almost five years to the day that Nolan Ryan tossed his gem, Mike Scott equaled the feat. In this case, Scott victimized San Francisco and clinched the NL West with the win. Scott struck out 13 in the 2-0 win. It remains the only no-hitter to clinch a postseason berth.
Scott k’s 14 Mets (October 8, 1986 Game 1 NLCS): Mike Scott capped off his Cy Young campaign with a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the 1986 NLCS. He bested Dwight Gooden and the Mets by scattering five meaningless hits and striking out 14. He returned to even the series at 2 with a Game 4 win. Luckily for the Mets, they managed to win the series in six. Mets players admit they had no chance against Scott in a Game 7.
The 22 inning game: Astros: 5 Dodgers: 4 (June 3, 1989): It took 7 hours and 14 minutes, but the Astros outlasted the Dodgers. Jim Clancy beat reserve infielder Jeff Hamilton. The Dodgers ran out of pitchers, so Tommy Lasorda used Hamilton in the 21st inning. The Astros won on a walk off single by Rafael Ramirez which scored Bill Doran. The following day, Houston beat Los Angeles in 13 innings. The two teams combined for 35 innings and 11 hours and 31 minutes of baseball over two days.
Chris Burke’s 18th inning home run (October 9, 2005 Game 4 NLDS): The Astros have a history of extra inning playoff games. From a Houston perspective, the Braves and Astros NLDS game is perhaps the best of the lot. The game lasted nearly 6 hours and Houston ran out of pitchers. Roger Clemens was forced to pitch three innings in relief before Burke ended the series with a dramatic home run off Joey Devine.
Clemens in Relief (October 9, 2005 Game 4 NLDS): It’s rare that the same game will score two appearances on a best of list, but that NLDS game has to be considered one of the greatest ever played. Roger Clemens lost three days earlier to John Smoltz. He wanted a measure of revenge and was given the opportunity. He pitched three lockdown innings to win the game and save Houston’s bacon.
Astros in pennant in 6 games (2005): Houston lost a hard fought series to St Louis in 2004. They avenged that loss and advanced to their first, and only, World Series with a six game NLCS victory over the Cardinals. Roy Oswalt earned MVP honors and a tractor from Houston’s owner. The ‘stros went on to lose the World Series to the White Sox.
Craig Biggio gets 3000 hits (June 28, 2007): Craig Biggio scored five hits, including his 3000th, in Houston’s victory over Colorado. Carlos Lee won the game in the 11th with a slam, but Biggio was the story. He needed three hits to reach the magic number and he managed five safeties to finish the game with 3002. He finished his career with 3060 hits and is the only Astros player to ever reach the 3000 hit plateau.
Houston: 1 Philadelphia: 0 (October 10, 1980 Game 3 NLCS): The Astros took a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five NLCS with an 11 inning win over Tug McGraw and the Phillies. They won the game in the 11th inning on a sacrifice fly by Denny Walling. The Astros failed in their two attempts to close out the series. Four of the five games went into extra innings with Philadelphia winning the last two for the pennant.
Nolan Ryan’s 5th No-Hitter (September 26, 1981): Nolan Ryan passed Sandy Koufax for most career no-hitters in 1981. By this point in his career, it seemed unlikely that Ryan would be able to toss another no-no. He beat the Dodgers 5-0. Later in his career, he’d throw two more no-hitters.
Mike Scott’s no-hitter wins NL West (September 25, 1986): Almost five years to the day that Nolan Ryan tossed his gem, Mike Scott equaled the feat. In this case, Scott victimized San Francisco and clinched the NL West with the win. Scott struck out 13 in the 2-0 win. It remains the only no-hitter to clinch a postseason berth.
Scott k’s 14 Mets (October 8, 1986 Game 1 NLCS): Mike Scott capped off his Cy Young campaign with a 1-0 victory in Game 1 of the 1986 NLCS. He bested Dwight Gooden and the Mets by scattering five meaningless hits and striking out 14. He returned to even the series at 2 with a Game 4 win. Luckily for the Mets, they managed to win the series in six. Mets players admit they had no chance against Scott in a Game 7.
The 22 inning game: Astros: 5 Dodgers: 4 (June 3, 1989): It took 7 hours and 14 minutes, but the Astros outlasted the Dodgers. Jim Clancy beat reserve infielder Jeff Hamilton. The Dodgers ran out of pitchers, so Tommy Lasorda used Hamilton in the 21st inning. The Astros won on a walk off single by Rafael Ramirez which scored Bill Doran. The following day, Houston beat Los Angeles in 13 innings. The two teams combined for 35 innings and 11 hours and 31 minutes of baseball over two days.
Chris Burke’s 18th inning home run (October 9, 2005 Game 4 NLDS): The Astros have a history of extra inning playoff games. From a Houston perspective, the Braves and Astros NLDS game is perhaps the best of the lot. The game lasted nearly 6 hours and Houston ran out of pitchers. Roger Clemens was forced to pitch three innings in relief before Burke ended the series with a dramatic home run off Joey Devine.
Clemens in Relief (October 9, 2005 Game 4 NLDS): It’s rare that the same game will score two appearances on a best of list, but that NLDS game has to be considered one of the greatest ever played. Roger Clemens lost three days earlier to John Smoltz. He wanted a measure of revenge and was given the opportunity. He pitched three lockdown innings to win the game and save Houston’s bacon.
Astros in pennant in 6 games (2005): Houston lost a hard fought series to St Louis in 2004. They avenged that loss and advanced to their first, and only, World Series with a six game NLCS victory over the Cardinals. Roy Oswalt earned MVP honors and a tractor from Houston’s owner. The ‘stros went on to lose the World Series to the White Sox.
Craig Biggio gets 3000 hits (June 28, 2007): Craig Biggio scored five hits, including his 3000th, in Houston’s victory over Colorado. Carlos Lee won the game in the 11th with a slam, but Biggio was the story. He needed three hits to reach the magic number and he managed five safeties to finish the game with 3002. He finished his career with 3060 hits and is the only Astros player to ever reach the 3000 hit plateau.
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