Summary April The Astros played
Opening Day at
Dodger Stadium on April 9, where they were
shut out by
Los Angeles, 2–0. Both
starting pitchers made their first Opening Day starts, with 36-year-old Astros veteran
Joe Niekro—who, by winning the
1980 National League West tie-breaker game over the
Dodgers, cemented his status as the Astros' first-ever two-time 20-game winner—faced off against 20-year-old
southpaw phenom
Fernando Valenzuela. The Astros became befuddled by Valenzuela's unusual delivery and
screwball—an offering not shown with regularity since
Carl Hubbell in the 1930s and 1940s—as Valenzuela went the
distance on a five-hitter. Hence, Valenzuela's sensational performance resulted in the birth of "Fernandomania." Only
Craig Reynolds (two
hits) and
Art Howe (one hit and one
base on balls) reached base more than once.
César Cedeño became the first player to make as many as 10 Opening Day starts for the Astros. Right-hander
Don Sutton, a key free agent acquisition in the prior off-season, made his Astros debut on April 11 against his former team, the Dodgers. He surrendered six in runs in a 7–4 loss. On April 28, Sutton earned his first victory in an Astros uniform, after having lost each of his first three starts—two of which were to the Dodgers. This time, he pitched into the ninth inning versus the
Atlanta Braves, allowing just two hits and one run in a masterful performance and 2–1 victory, struck out eight and earned a
game score of 82. The only blemish was a fifth inning home run by
Bob Horner.
José Cruz doubled and homered, scoring both of Houston's tallies, while
Art Howe sliced three hits.
Dave Smith spun a clean ninth to earn his first
save.
May From May 1 to 24,
Art Howe achieved a
hitting streak of 23 games, setting a team record that stood for 19 years. During the hitting streak, Howe
batted .460, collecting 40 base hits in just 87
at bats. It eclipsed
César Cedeño's 22-game effort from August 25 to September 21,
1977, for the club record.
Luis Gonzalez tied Howe's club record from May 26 to June 20,
1997, which stood until July 9 to August 28,
2000, when
Tony Eusebio connected in 24 straight. On May 4,
José Cruz homered in the same game as—and against—his brother,
Héctor, who was playing for the
Chicago Cubs. José and Héctor Cruz were the first brother combo to homer in the same contest since
Graig and
Jim Nettles on September 14, 1974. José lifted off in the first inning, a three-run bomb for a lead that Houston would not relinquish. Héctor went deep off Astros starter
Joaquín Andújar during the bottom of the sixth; however, Cruz' shot was the lone run that Andújar (1–1) surrendered to obtain the victory. Craig Reynolds golfed three
triples on May 16 to become just the tenth major leaguer and seventh in the National League since 1950 to do so. On the day, Reynolds accumulated four hits and four RBI to lead a 6–1 decision over the
Chicago Cubs.
Nolan Ryan (3–1) diffused six hits, three walks, with the run being
unearned over seven frames, tallying eight punchouts to pick up the victory. Ryan also singled and scored a run. On May 24,
Art Howe tripled off
Vida Blue to extend his
hitting streak to 23 games, to set the then-franchise record. However, the
San Francisco Giants triumphed over Houston by a narrow margin, 2 to 1.
Luis Pujols hit a solo home run to account for Houston's only run. Howe was recognized with the NL
Player of the Month honors for May, succeeding (and again matching) Cedeño as the most recent Astro in September,
1977. During the month, Howe batted .432 /.500
on-base percentage (OBP) /.579
slugging percentage (SLG) / 1.079
on-base plus slugging (OPS). He accumulated 41 hits, 13 walks, 11 RBI, 7 doubles, two triples, and one home run.
June With a second
base on balls issued on June 5,
Nolan Ryan passed
Early Wynn for all-time most walks issued in major league history with 1,776. In this game, Ryan also struck out 10 and tossed a 3–0
shutout of the
New York Mets. The
Philadelphia Phillies hosted the Astros at
Veterans Stadium on June 10, opponents during the previous year's
National League Championship Series, featuring a marquee matchup between Nolan Ryan and
Steve Carlton. Moreover,
Pete Rose stood just two hits away from surpassing
St. Louis Cardinals legend
Stan Musial for the National League
record in hits (3,630). During his first at bat, Rose singled off Ryan to tie Musial for the National League record. This remained the only hit that Ryan surrendered during the first innings, and Rose's only hit the contest. Moreover, Ryan proceeded to strike Rose out in each of his final three at bats, just the ninth, 10th, and 11th times of the season for Rose. In the top of the seventh,
José Cruz homered off Carlton, while
Tony Scott followed with a two-run double. In the bottom of the eighth, pinch hitter
Luis Aguayo singled up the middle off Ryan, after which, the
power pitcher departed. Houston then blew a four-run lead and lost, 5–4, one day prior to the onset of the
players' strike. During the strike, Rose remained tied with Musial for fourth-place all-time in hits.
MLB All-Star Game Two members of the Astros'
starting rotation were selected to the
MLB All-Star Game, held on August 9.
Nolan Ryan received his first selection as an Astro, sixth overall, and first since
1979 as a member of the
California Angels. Knepper made the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career.
August The Astros commenced the second half of the season on August 10, defeating the
San Francisco Giants, 6 to 5. In the bottom of the ninth with two outs,
Joe Pittman bailed out
Frank LaCorte when he lunged for, and snared,
Larry Herndon's liner with two runners aboard to decide the game.
Nolan Ryan's no-hitter On September 26, 1981, Ryan
no-hit the Dodgers, 5–0, on national television. The 34-year-old right-hander became the first pitcher to throw five career no-hitters, which surpassed former Dodgers great
Sandy Koufax, one of the most dominant left-handers in major league history. During the seventh frame,
Terry Puhl's one-handed, running catch of a
Mike Scioscia line drive was a key moment that helped preserve the no-hit effort. Ryan struck out 11, yielded just three bases on balls, raised his record to 10–5 and earned a
game score of 95. In the bottom of the third inning, catcher
Alan Ashby opened the scoring with a two-run single. Later, during the eighth,
Craig Reynolds doubled in
Denny Walling,
Phil Garner singled in Reynolds, and
José Cruz singled home Puhl to make the score 5–0. Ryan had been tied with Koufax with four no-hitters since June 1,
1975, as a member of the
California Angels, the club with whom he accomplished each of the four. Prior to the contest against the Dodgers, Ryan had pitched seven one-hitters. Ryan's was the first Astros no-hitter since
Ken Forsch's on April 7,
1979, and the seventh in club history. The Astros' win kept them games ahead of Cincinnati for the second-half division title.
Performance overview The Astros' pitching staff led the National League in each of
earned run average (2.66 ERA), fewest hits (842), fewest home runs (40), most
shutouts (19), and most strikeouts (610). Led by Ryan and Knepper, the 1981 Astros pitching staff set an all-time franchise mark in ERA. The Astros' pitching staff had established the club record just year prior (3.10), which had superseded the prior record of 3.13 set in
1971. Although the 1981 season was abbreviated to 110 contests as a result of the work stoppage, this pitching staff tied their
1979 counterpart for most team shutouts in franchise history (19). Ryan, who posted an ERA of 1.69 for the season, led MLB, succeeding as
J. R. Richard the second Astros pitcher to lead the NL, who did so in
1979. Knepper finished as runner-up in the NL in ERA (2.18) to Ryan, while Sutton (2.61) placed ninth. In his 15th major league season, it was the first time Ryan had led the league. while Knepper established the club record for ERA in a qualified season among left-handers. Four members of the Astros'
starting rotation each placed within the top 10 of the league for individual shutouts. Knepper ranked second (5), while Sutton and Ryan tied for fourth with 3, and Niekro tied for 10th with two. Knepper was recognized as
The Sporting News NL Comeback Player of the Year, after having rebounded from two subpar years with San Francisco, including an ERA well over 4.00 during both. Knepper produced a breakout campaign in 1978 with the
Giants, when he went 17–11, 2.63 ERA, 16 complete games, and an-NL leading six shutouts over 36 games. • April 17, 1981:
David Clyde was signed as a free agent by the Astros. • April 20, 1981 -
Dave Bergman and
Jeffrey Leonard were traded by the Astros to the
San Francisco Giants for
Mike Ivie. • June 7, 1981:
Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Astros to the
St. Louis Cardinals for
Tony Scott. • June 8, 1981: Eric Bullock was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft (secondary phase). https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ryanno01.shtml Nolan Ryan -->
Roster == Game log ==