A six-run explosion in the eighth inning carried the Astros to a 6-5 decision over the Pirates. Trailing, 5-0, the Astros began their comeback on a one-out double by Jesus Alou and two-out RBI single by Jose Cruz. Kent Tekulve replaced John Candelaria on the mound and walked Wilbur Howard.

Dave Hamilton then replaced Tekulve and walked pinch-hitter Joe Ferguson to load the bases. Ed Whitson then issued another pass to pinch-hitter Dave Bergman to score Cruz. Enos Cabell beat out an infield hit to score Howard and Cesar Cedeno followed by smacking a 3-2 pitch to left for a three-run single. [The Sporting News]

Houston Astros 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 5

Game Played on Monday, June 12, 1978 (Night game) at Astrodome

Pirates 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 - 5 12 1 Astros 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 x - 6 11 7 Pirates AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Astros AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Taveras ss 5 1 3 0 0 0 .272 Sexton ss 4 0 1 0 0 0 .167 Moreno cf 3 1 0 1 1 0 .190 Bergman ph,lf 0 1 0 1 1 0 .083 Parker rf 3 1 2 1 2 0 .299 Cabell 3b,ss 5 1 3 1 0 0 .295 B. Robinson lf 5 0 0 0 0 3 .246 Cedeno cf 5 0 1 3 0 0 .278 Stargell 1b 4 0 3 0 0 1 .266 Watson 1b 4 0 1 0 1 0 .266 Sanguillen pr,1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .271 Alou lf 4 1 4 0 0 0 .353 Stennett 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .255 Sambito p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Mendoza 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258 Howe 2b,3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .285 Brye ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .290 Cruz rf 4 1 1 1 0 0 .281 Ott c 4 1 1 0 0 1 .256 Baldwin c 1 0 0 0 0 0 .205 Garner 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .238 Howard c,2b 2 1 0 0 1 1 .263 Candelaria p 3 0 1 0 0 2 .154 Dixon p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .100 Tekulve p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 Metzger ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .220 Hamilton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Niekro p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273 Whitson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gonzalez ph 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250 Williams p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Walling ph 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255 Ferguson ph,c 0 1 0 0 1 0 .224 Totals 37 5 12 2 3 9 Totals 35 6 11 6 5 3 Time of Game: 3:14 Attendance: 9,886 Left on Base: Pirates 10, Astros 10 DP: Pirates 1, Astros 0 Errors: Stennett, Sexton, Cabell, Alou, Howe 2, Cruz, Baldwin Doubles: Taveras 2 (13), Stargell (6), Ott (6), Alou 2 (2) Stolen Bases: Moreno (26), Garner 2 (8), Parker 2 (10) Sacrifice Hits: Candelaria (4) Sacrifice Flies: Moreno (1) GIDP: Cruz (4) Pirates IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Candelaria 7.2 9 2 2 2 3 0 34 3.33 Tekulve 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 3.03 Hamilton 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 6.11 Whitson L(0-1) 0.1 2 2 2 1 0 0 4 3.86 Totals 8 11 6 6 5 3 0 40 Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Dixon 5 8 3 2 2 6 0 24 2.42 Niekro 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 7.71 Williams W(1-0) 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 5 9.00 Sambito SV(3) 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 4 3.60 Totals 9 12 5 3 3 9 0 42 Umpires: HP - Ed Vargo, 1B - Charlie Williams, 3B - Terry Tata PIRATES 1ST: Taveras lined to center; Moreno walked; Moreno stole second; Parker singled to center [Moreno scored]; B. Robinson struck out; Stargell struck out; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 0. ASTROS 1ST: Sexton flied out to center; Cabell flied out to center; Cedeno lined to first; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 0. PIRATES 2ND: Stennett made an out to second; Ott struck out; Garner singled to third; Garner stole second; Candelaria struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 0. ASTROS 2ND: Watson walked; Alou singled to right [Watson to second]; Howe flied out to right; Cruz made an out to third; Baldwin grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 0. PIRATES 3RD: Taveras singled to left; Moreno flied out to center; Parker singled to left [Taveras to third, Parker out at second (left to second)]; B. Robinson lined to third; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 0. ASTROS 3RD: Dixon grounded out (third to first); Sexton grounded out (pitcher to first); Cabell singled to second; Cedeno grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 0. PIRATES 4TH: Stargell singled to right; Stennett singled to center [Stargell to third]; Ott reached on a fielder's choice [Stargell out at home (first to catcher), Stennett to second]; Garner popped to shortstop; Candelaria struck out; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 0. ASTROS 4TH: Watson flied out to center; Alou doubled to left; Howe reached on an error by Stennett [Alou stayed at second, Howe to first]; Cruz grounded into a double play (second to first) [Howe out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 0. PIRATES 5TH: Taveras doubled to left [Taveras to third (error by Alou)]; Moreno hit a sacrifice fly to center [Taveras scored]; Parker walked; Parker stole second [Parker scored (error by Baldwin) (error by Howe) (unearned)]; Reggie Baldwin left after collision with Dave Parker; HOWARD REPLACED BALDWIN (PLAYING C ); B. Robinson struck out; Stargell singled to center; Stennett flied out to right; 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 3 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 3, Astros 0. ASTROS 5TH: Howard grounded out (second to first); METZGER BATTED FOR DIXON; Metzger struck out; Sexton singled to center; Cabell singled to right [Sexton to third]; Cedeno flied out to center; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Pirates 3, Astros 0. PIRATES 6TH: NIEKRO REPLACED METZGER (PITCHING); Ott grounded out (first unassisted); Garner reached on an error by Sexton [Garner to first]; Garner stole second; Candelaria reached on an error by Cabell on a sacrifice bunt [Garner scored (unearned) (no RBI), Candelaria out at second (second to shortstop)]; Taveras doubled to left; Moreno flied out to right; 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 2 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 4, Astros 0. ASTROS 6TH: Watson singled to third; Alou singled to left [Watson to second]; Howe struck out; Cruz popped to shortstop; Howard struck out; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Pirates 4, Astros 0. PIRATES 7TH: Parker flied out to left; B. Robinson lined to second; Stargell doubled to center; SANGUILLEN RAN FOR STARGELL; Stennett flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 4, Astros 0. ASTROS 7TH: MENDOZA REPLACED STENNETT (PLAYING 3B); SANGUILLEN STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 1B); GONZALEZ BATTED FOR NIEKRO; Gonzalez walked; Sexton popped to first in foul territory; Cabell forced Gonzalez (shortstop to second); Cedeno forced Cabell (shortstop to second); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 4, Astros 0. PIRATES 8TH: WILLIAMS REPLACED GONZALEZ (PITCHING); Ott doubled to right [Ott scored (error by Cruz) (error by Howe)]; Debut game for Rick Williams; Garner flied out to left; Candelaria singled to center; Taveras forced Candelaria (shortstop to second); Moreno flied out to right; 1 R, 2 H, 2 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 5, Astros 0. ASTROS 8TH: Watson grounded out (shortstop to first); Alou doubled to center; Howe flied out to right; Cruz singled to right [Alou scored]; TEKULVE REPLACED CANDELARIA (PITCHING); Howard walked [Cruz to second]; WALLING BATTED FOR WILLIAMS; HAMILTON REPLACED TEKULVE (PITCHING); FERGUSON BATTED FOR WALLING; Ferguson walked [Cruz to third, Howard to second]; WHITSON REPLACED HAMILTON (PITCHING); BERGMAN BATTED FOR SEXTON; Bergman walked [Cruz scored, Howard to third, Ferguson to second]; Cabell singled to shortstop [Howard scored, Ferguson to third, Bergman to second]; Cedeno singled to center [Ferguson scored, Bergman scored, Cabell scored, Cedeno to second (on throw to home)]; Watson flied out to right; 6 R, 4 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 5, Astros 6. PIRATES 9TH: FERGUSON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING C ); BERGMAN STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF); CABELL CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING SS); HOWE CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING 3B); HOWARD CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING 2B); SAMBITO REPLACED ALOU (PITCHING); Parker walked; Parker stole second; B. Robinson struck out; Sanguillen struck out; BRYE BATTED FOR MENDOZA; Brye struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 5, Astros 6.

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