A homer by rookie catcher Larry Howard with a man on base in the seventh inning provided the Astros with a 3-1 victory over the Giants. The Astros scored their first run on a single by Joe Morgan and double by Cesar Cedeno in the third inning, but the Giants tied the score with a homer by Willie McCovey in the seventh. In the Astros' half, Jim Wynn doubled ahead of Howard's homer. [The Sporting News]

Houston Astros 3, San Francisco Giants 1

Game Played on Tuesday, September 21, 1971 (Night game) at Astrodome

Giants 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 5 0 Astros 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 x - 3 6 1 Giants AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Astros AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Mays cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .275 Metzger ss 3 0 0 0 1 1 .239 Fuentes 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .266 Morgan 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .259 Bonds rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .288 Cedeno cf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .268 McCovey 1b 4 1 1 1 0 1 .262 Watson lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .293 Kingman lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .269 Geronimo pr,lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224 Dietz c 2 0 0 0 0 2 .247 Wynn rf 3 1 1 0 0 0 .208 Rosario pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224 Menke 3b 1 0 0 0 1 1 .255 Gibson c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .193 Howard c 2 1 1 2 1 0 .233 Gallagher ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .285 Mayberry 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .183 Speier ss 2 0 0 0 1 0 .234 Billingham p 3 0 1 0 0 1 .132 Lanier 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .229 Cumberland p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .127 Henderson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .256 Barr p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 30 1 5 1 1 6 Totals 27 3 6 3 3 4 Time of Game: 1:52 Attendance: 7,777 Left on Base: Giants 5, Astros 4 DP: Giants 1, Astros 2 Errors: Metzger Doubles: Bonds (30), Cedeno (39), Wynn (14) Home Runs: McCovey (17), Howard (2) Stolen Bases: Kingman (5) Caught Stealing: Geronimo (2) Sacrifice Hits: Menke (5) GIDP: Lanier (6), Fuentes (14), Morgan (4) Hit by Pitch: Fuentes (6,by Billingham), Dietz (4,by Billingham) Giants IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Cumberland L(9-6) 7 5 3 3 3 4 1 28 2.87 Barr 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3.67 Totals 8 6 3 3 3 4 1 31 Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Billingham W(9-15) 9 5 1 1 1 6 1 33 3.58 Totals 9 5 1 1 1 6 1 33 Hit by Pitch: Billingham 2 (16) Umpires: HP - Andy Olsen, 1B - Tom Gorman, 2B - Chris Pelekoudas, 3B - Harry Wendelstedt GIANTS 1ST: Mays struck out; Fuentes flied out to left; Bonds flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 1ST: Metzger walked; Morgan grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Metzger out at second]; Cedeno grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 0. GIANTS 2ND: McCovey grounded out (second to first); Kingman flied out to left; Dietz struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 2ND: Watson flied out to right; Wynn flied out to center; Menke walked; Howard walked [Menke to second]; Mayberry grounded out (first to pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 0. GIANTS 3RD: Speier reached on an error by Metzger; Lanier grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Speier out at second]; Cumberland struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 0 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 3RD: Billingham struck out; Metzger made an out to second; Morgan singled to right; Cedeno doubled to center [Morgan scored]; Watson made an out to second; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 1. GIANTS 4TH: Mays singled; Fuentes grounded into a double play (shortstop to first) [Mays out at second]; Bonds grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 1. ASTROS 4TH: Wynn flied out to left; Menke struck out; Howard flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 1. GIANTS 5TH: McCovey struck out; Kingman singled to center; Dietz struck out; Kingman stole second; Speier walked; Lanier struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 1. ASTROS 5TH: Mayberry struck out; Billingham flied out to right; Metzger grounded out (second to pitcher); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 1. GIANTS 6TH: Cumberland flied out to center; Mays grounded out (shortstop to first); Fuentes was hit by a pitch; Bonds doubled to center [Fuentes out at home (center to second to catcher)]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 1. ASTROS 6TH: Morgan grounded out (second to first); Cedeno grounded out (pitcher to first); Watson flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 0, Astros 1. GIANTS 7TH: McCovey homered; Kingman flied out to center; Dietz was hit by a pitch; ROSARIO RAN FOR DIETZ; Speier flied out to center; Lanier grounded out (third to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Giants 1, Astros 1. ASTROS 7TH: GIBSON REPLACED ROSARIO (PLAYING C ); Wynn doubled to left; Menke out on a sacrifice bunt (first to second) [Wynn to third]; Howard homered [Wynn scored]; Mayberry flied out to right; Billingham singled to center; Metzger was called out on strikes; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Giants 1, Astros 3. GIANTS 8TH: HENDERSON BATTED FOR CUMBERLAND; Henderson grounded out (first unassisted); Mays popped to catcher in foul territory; Fuentes singled to center; Bonds grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Giants 1, Astros 3. ASTROS 8TH: BARR REPLACED HENDERSON (PITCHING); Morgan flied out to center; Cedeno made an out to third; Watson singled to right; GERONIMO RAN FOR WATSON; Geronimo was caught stealing second (catcher to second); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 1, Astros 3. GIANTS 9TH: GERONIMO STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF); McCovey flied out to center; Kingman grounded out (third to first); GALLAGHER BATTED FOR GIBSON; Gallagher flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Giants 1, Astros 3.

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