Summary April—May The Astros launched their 1992 campaign on April 7 by hosting the
Atlanta Braves, the previous
year's division champions, who pitted reigning NL
Cy Young Award winner
Tom Glavine against Houston's emerging ace,
Pete Harnisch in his first
Opening Day start. All-time in Opening Day meetings the Braves were 0–5 against Houston; moreover, in his career, Glavine had never won a start in 13 outings against Houston. However, Glavine was dominant this time, hurling a two-hit
shutout as he changed speeds and location to keep the Astros off balance and better Harnish in a 2–0 pitchers' duel in front of 34,761 in
attendance. Glavine, also the reigning
Silver Slugger winner, singled in the top of the eighth inning to start a decisive rally for Atlanta. First baseman
Jeff Bagwell came off the bench on May 10 to deliver two home runs, including one in an
extra innings. He hit the decisive blow in the 10th inning for a 6–4 win over the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
June On June 14, outfielder
Pete Incaviglia tied the club record with 7
runs batted in (RBI) to lead a 15–7 victory over the
San Francisco Giants. He homered twice and hit a run-scoring
double. Incaviglia's performance equaled infielder
Rafael Ramírez' effort on August 29,
1989, in which the
Chicago Cubs came all the way back from a 9–0 deficit to claim victory, 10–9, in the tenth inning. The Astros' Jones duo of
Jimmy and
Doug combined to deliver a 1–0
shutout of the
Los Angeles Dodgers on June 20. Jimmy tossed the first 8 innings to earn the win, while Doug closed the final three outs for the save. On June 21,
Butch Henry and Doug Jones combined on another shutout of Los Angeles, en route to 2–0 win and series sweep. The two contests were the last of 20 consecutive innings in which Houston held Los Angeles scoreless. Incaviglia's two-run home run accounted for all the scoring in the game. On June 28, with the Dodgers hosting the Astros, the
Landers earthquake in nearly
San Bernardino County struck in the morning of the game. The Astros lost, 8–2. Meanwhile,
Ken Caminiti led the Astros with four hits.
MLB All-Star Game Closer
Doug Jones and second baseman
Craig Biggio were selected to the
MLB All-Star Game, which was hosted at
Jack Murphy Stadium. It was the third career selection for Jones, and second for Biggio, who was also selected to the previous year's
All-Star Game as a catcher. Biggio became the first player ever to make the All-Star team at both positions.
Rest of July During the bottom of the 12th inning on July 21,
Juan Guerrero swatted a
Roger Mason offering for a
walk-off home run to stun the Pirates, 4–3. This remained the lone home run of Guerrero's major league career.
August The
Republican National Convention was held at the Astrodome from August 17–20; however, a total of three weeks was required or preparation. As a result, the Astros played 26 games in a span of 28 days on the road.
Andújar Cedeño's cycle In their first game back at The Astrodome on August 25 following the 28-day road trip, shortstop
Andújar Cedeño hit for the cycle, the fourth in club history. With the Astros hosting the
St. Louis Cardinals, Cedeño's first hit was a
triple, he homered in the seventh inning,
doubled in the 11th inning and got the
single off
Les Smith in the 13th inning. It was the first cycle for an Astros player since
Bob Watson accomplished the feat on June 24,
1977. The final cycle hit at the Astrodome, the next Astros cycle after Cedeño was by teammate
Jeff Bagwell on July 18,
2001 at
Enron Field. Both players were key figures during the Astros' playoff run in
1986, at the time, the club's most recent. During his career with the Astros, Scott accumulated the most regular-season outings with a
game score of 90 or higher in club history (6). In the
1986 playoffs, Scott tossed one other such outing. Cruz retired as the franchise leader in numerous categories—many of which would be passed by Biggio—including games played (1,870), runs scored (871), hits (1,937),
total bases (2,846), RBI (842),
singles (1,384),
times on base (2,670), and
intentional base on balls (123), among others. Cruz remains the club leader in triples (80),
walk-off home runs (six), and the NL record-holder with eight bases-loaded triples—all with Houston—and tied for the Major League record with
Shano Collins in the
American League. (
Steve Finley would eventually tie the Major League record.) Through each of Houston's first nine playoff runs, Cruz remained an on-field presence: the first three as a player (
1980,
1981, and
1986) and as a coach during the next six (
1997–
1999,
2001,
2004, and
2005).
Performance overview The Astros concluded the 1992 campaign with a final record of 81–81, in fourth place, and 17 games trailing the first-place Atlanta Braves, an overall improvement of 16 wins from the year before. The 1992 season also initiated an era of unprecedented success and consistency for the club, as they continued to assemble a regular season record of .500 or higher on 15 occasions over a span of the next 17 seasons through
2008, while qualifying for six playoff appearances. It was also the first of eight successive campaigns each with a winning percentage of .500 or more through
1999, an achievement ultimately establishing a club record. The Astros won six games via walk-off home runs, the most of any MLB team in 1992. Two were hit by Bagwell, which tied for second in the majors with three others. Doug Jones established the club single-season record for
saves with 36,
Season standings Record vs. opponents Notable transactions • April 2, 1992:
Curt Schilling was traded by the Astros to the
Philadelphia Phillies for
Jason Grimsley.
Roster ==Player stats==