Handed a seven-run lead in the first two innings, J.R. Richard had no trouble pitching the Astros to a 7-2 victory over the Pirates. The complete game was the 12th of the season for Richard, who struck out eight to bring his major league-leading total to 244.

The Pirates brought about their downfall in the first inning with three errors that resulted in five unearned runs. Bruce Bochy knocked in a pair with a double. When the Astros completed their scoring in the second, one run crossed the plate on a wild pitch by Bruce Kison. [The Sporting News]

Houston Astros 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 2

Game Played on Saturday, August 26, 1978 (Day game) at Astrodome

Pirates 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 2 6 4 Astros 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 x - 7 8 1 Pirates AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Astros AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Taveras ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 .278 Puhl cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .291 Moreno cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 .232 Bergman 1b 4 1 1 0 0 0 .250 Parker rf 4 0 1 1 0 2 .309 Cabell 3b 4 2 1 1 0 0 .289 Milner 1b 3 1 0 0 1 0 .289 Cruz rf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .301 Ott c 4 0 2 0 0 1 .266 Howe 2b 3 1 2 1 1 0 .293 B. Robinson lf 3 0 1 1 0 1 .243 Walling lf 4 1 1 1 0 1 .230 Garner 2b 3 0 0 0 0 2 .263 Gonzalez ss 0 1 0 0 0 0 .233 Berra 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 .149 Sexton ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .181 Kison p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .059 Bochy c 3 0 1 2 0 0 .268 Hamilton p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Richard p 3 0 0 0 0 2 .157 Candelaria ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .136 Bibby p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 Sanguillen ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .246 Reuss p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .176 Totals 31 2 6 2 1 8 Totals 32 7 8 5 1 4 Time of Game: 2:18 Attendance: 9,985 Left on Base: Pirates 3, Astros 3 DP: Pirates 1, Astros 2 Errors: Taveras 2, Parker, Ott, Howe Doubles: Bergman (5), Bochy (4) Triples: Moreno (6) Stolen Bases: Moreno (54), Puhl (24), Cruz (27) Caught Stealing: Howe (3) GIDP: B. Robinson (6), Milner (3) Hit by Pitch: Gonzalez (1,by Kison) Pirates IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Kison L(4-5) 1.1 7 7 2 1 2 0 14 3.80 Hamilton 3.2 1 0 0 0 2 0 11 4.58 Bibby 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3.94 Reuss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5.74 Totals 8 8 7 2 1 4 0 34 Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Richard W(14-11) 9 6 2 2 1 8 0 32 2.99 Totals 9 6 2 2 1 8 0 32 Hit by Pitch: Kison (5) Wild Pitches: Kison 2 (3) Umpires: HP - Satch Davidson, 1B - Ed Vargo, 2B - Paul Pryor, 3B - Terry Tata PIRATES 1ST: Taveras struck out (catcher to first); Moreno grounded out (second to first); Parker flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 0. ASTROS 1ST: Puhl grounded out (second to first); Bergman doubled to left; Cabell reached on an error by Taveras [Bergman stayed at second, Cabell to first]; Cruz struck out; Howe singled to right [Bergman scored (unearned), Cabell scored (error by Parker) (unearned) (no RBI), Howe to second]; Walling singled to left [Howe scored (unearned), Walling to third (error by Ott)]; Gonzalez was hit by a pitch; Kison threw a wild pitch [Gonzalez to second]; Bochy doubled to right [Walling scored (unearned), Gonzalez scored (unearned)]; Richard struck out; 5 R (0 ER), 4 H, 3 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 5. PIRATES 2ND: Milner flied out to right; Ott singled to center; B. Robinson grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Ott out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 5. ASTROS 2ND: Puhl singled to right; Puhl stole second; Bergman grounded out (first unassisted) [Puhl to third]; Cabell singled to center [Puhl scored]; Cruz singled to center [Cabell to third (error by Taveras)]; Frank Taveras called for obstructiuon; Kison threw a wild pitch [Cabell scored]; Cruz stole second; Howe walked; HAMILTON REPLACED KISON (PITCHING); Walling struck out while Howe was caught stealing second (catcher to shortstop); 2 R, 3 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. PIRATES 3RD: SEXTON REPLACED GONZALEZ (PLAYING SS); Garner struck out; Berra flied out to center; Hamilton struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. ASTROS 3RD: Sexton grounded out (third to first); Bochy flied out to right; Richard struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. PIRATES 4TH: Taveras grounded out (shortstop to first); Moreno singled to center; Moreno stole second; Parker struck out; Milner grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. ASTROS 4TH: Puhl flied out to center; Bergman lined to shortstop; Cabell flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. PIRATES 5TH: Ott struck out; B. Robinson struck out (catcher to first); Garner grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. ASTROS 5TH: Cruz flied out to center; Howe singled to left; Walling flied out to center; Sexton flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. PIRATES 6TH: Berra flied out to left; CANDELARIA BATTED FOR HAMILTON; Candelaria grounded out (third to first); Taveras grounded out (pitcher to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. ASTROS 6TH: BIBBY REPLACED CANDELARIA (PITCHING); Bochy grounded out (third to first); Richard grounded out (second to first); Puhl popped to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 0, Astros 7. PIRATES 7TH: Moreno grounded out (second to first); Parker struck out; Milner walked; Ott singled to right [Milner to third]; B. Robinson singled to second [Milner scored, Ott to third (error by Howe)]; Garner struck out; 1 R, 2 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 7. ASTROS 7TH: Bergman grounded out (shortstop to first); Cabell grounded out (shortstop to first); Cruz grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 7. PIRATES 8TH: Berra flied out to left; SANGUILLEN BATTED FOR BIBBY; Sanguillen popped to second; Taveras made an out to pitcher; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 7. ASTROS 8TH: REUSS REPLACED SANGUILLEN (PITCHING); Howe flied out to left; Walling grounded out (second to first); Sexton grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 1, Astros 7. PIRATES 9TH: Moreno tripled to center; Parker singled to right [Moreno scored]; Milner grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first) [Parker out at second]; Ott grounded out (first to pitcher); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Pirates 2, Astros 7.

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