Airtight pitching by Joe Niekro carried the Astros to a 5-0 blanking of the Expos. The Astros began their scoring with a solo homer by Bob Watson in the fourth inning. In the fifth frame, a single by Jose Cruz, a sacrifice and a double by Niekro accounted for another tally. Niekro also had an RBI single in the seventh and Enos Cabell led off the eighth with a solo round-tripper. [The Sporting News]

Houston Astros 5, Montreal Expos 0

Game Played on Wednesday, July 26, 1978 (Night game) at Astrodome

Expos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 0 Astros 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 x - 5 13 1 Expos AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Astros AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Papi 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .262 Puhl cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .291 Unser cf 4 0 0 0 0 1 .209 Fischlin ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .134 Valentine rf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .305 Cabell 3b 4 2 2 1 0 1 .291 Perez 1b 2 0 1 0 1 0 .296 Watson 1b 3 1 2 2 0 0 .284 Parrish 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .277 Gonzalez pr,2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .236 Cromartie lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 .275 Howe 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .288 Speier ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 .249 Bergman 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 .209 Herrmann c 3 0 0 0 0 0 .136 Howard lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 .247 Grimsley p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .161 Cruz rf 3 1 2 0 1 0 .284 Knowles p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 Pujols c 3 1 1 0 0 0 .144 Hutton ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .247 Niekro p 3 0 2 2 0 0 .273 Garman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 29 0 4 0 1 3 Totals 32 5 13 5 1 2 Time of Game: 2:05 Attendance: 8,465 Left on Base: Expos 3, Astros 6 DP: Expos 1, Astros 1 Errors: Fischlin Doubles: Howard (3), Niekro (2), Pujols (6), Watson (20) Triples: Cabell (4) Home Runs: Watson (11), Cabell (6) Stolen Bases: Puhl (16) Sacrifice Hits: Pujols (1) Sacrifice Flies: Watson (9) GIDP: Hutton (2), Pujols (5) Expos IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Grimsley L(12-8) 6 11 4 4 0 2 1 27 3.46 Knowles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2.61 Garman 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 6 5.28 Totals 8 13 5 5 1 2 2 35 Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Niekro W(7-8) 9 4 0 0 1 3 0 30 4.85 Totals 9 4 0 0 1 3 0 30 Passed Balls: Pujols (5) Wild Pitches: Grimsley (2) Umpires: HP - John McSherry, 1B - Paul Runge, 2B - Bob Engel, 3B - Jerry Dale EXPOS 1ST: Papi lined to second; Unser grounded out (third to first); Valentine singled; Valentine was picked off first (pitcher to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 1ST: Puhl singled; Puhl stole second; Fischlin struck out; Cabell struck out; Watson grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 0. EXPOS 2ND: Perez singled; Parrish forced Perez (second to shortstop); Cromartie lined to center; Speier grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 2ND: Howe flied out to right; Howard doubled; Cruz singled [Howard to third]; Pujols grounded into a double play (third to second to first) [Cruz out at second]; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 0. EXPOS 3RD: Herrmann popped to shortstop; Grimsley grounded out (first unassisted); Papi grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 3RD: Niekro lined to left; Puhl grounded out (first unassisted); Fischlin grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 0. EXPOS 4TH: Unser grounded out (second to first); Valentine lined to second; Perez grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 4TH: Cabell grounded out (third to first); Watson homered; Howe grounded out (third to first); Howard flied out to left; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 1. EXPOS 5TH: Parrish singled; Pujols allowed a passed ball [Parrish to second]; Parrish was picked off second (pitcher to second); Cromartie struck out; Speier singled; Herrmann grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 1. ASTROS 5TH: Cruz singled; Pujols out on a sacrifice bunt (pitcher to second) [Cruz to second]; Niekro doubled [Cruz scored]; Puhl flied out to center; Fischlin singled to center [Niekro out at home (center to catcher)]; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 2. EXPOS 6TH: Grimsley grounded out (third to first); Papi made an out to first; Unser flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 2. ASTROS 6TH: Cabell tripled; Watson hit a sacrifice fly to right [Cabell scored]; Howe flied out to right; Howard singled; Cruz grounded out (first unassisted); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 3. EXPOS 7TH: Valentine grounded out (third to first); Perez walked; Parrish popped to first; Cromartie flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 3. ASTROS 7TH: Pujols doubled; Grimsley threw a wild pitch [Pujols to third]; Niekro singled [Pujols scored]; KNOWLES REPLACED GRIMSLEY (PITCHING); Puhl forced Niekro (first to shortstop); Fischlin hit into a double play (pitcher to shortstop to first) [Puhl out at third (first to second)]; Terry Puhl rounded 2B too far, no DP; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 4. EXPOS 8TH: Speier reached on an error by Fischlin [Speier to first]; Herrmann flied out to right; HUTTON BATTED FOR KNOWLES; Hutton grounded into a double play (first to shortstop to pitcher) [Speier out at second]; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 4. ASTROS 8TH: GARMAN REPLACED HUTTON (PITCHING); Cabell homered; Watson doubled; GONZALEZ RAN FOR WATSON; Howe popped to first; Howard popped to catcher; Cruz was walked intentionally; Pujols forced Gonzalez (third unassisted); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 5. EXPOS 9TH: GONZALEZ STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 2B); BERGMAN REPLACED HOWE (PLAYING 1B); Papi struck out; Unser struck out; Valentine flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Expos 0, Astros 5.

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