1986 Houston Astros season

1986 Houston Astros
1986 National League West Champions
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1962)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
The Astrodome (since 1965)
Houston, Texas (since 1962)
Results
Record	96–66 (.593)
Divisional place	1st
Other information
Owner(s)	John McMullen
General manager(s)	Dick Wagner
Manager(s)	Hal Lanier
Local television	KTXH HSE
Local radio	KTRH (Gene Elston, Milo Hamilton, Larry Dierker, Jerry Trupiano, Bill Worrell)
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The Houston Astros' 1986 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League West, which they did for their third time in seven seasons.

Offseason

• November 13, 1985: Mike Richardt was released by the Astros.

Regular season

• Kevin Bass had a twenty game hit streak during the season.
• Dave Smith set a club record with 33 saves in one season.
• September 24, 1986: Jim Deshaies set a record for the most strikeouts to start a game. Deshaies started the game with 8 strikeouts versus the Los Angeles Dodgers
• September 25, 1986: Mike Scott threw a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants to help the Astros win the National League West. The final score was 2-0 and Scott struck out 13 Giants batters.

Scott was the first pitcher in the National League and the second overall to throw a no-hitter to clinch a pennant. The first was New York Yankees pitcher Allie Reynolds, who accomplished the feat on September 18, 1951.

Opening Day starters

• Mark Bailey
• Kevin Bass
• Eric Bullock
• Glenn Davis
• Bill Doran
• Nolan Ryan
• Dickie Thon
• Tony Walker
• Denny Walling

All-Star Game

The 1986 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 57th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 15, 1986 at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, the home of the Astros. The game resulted in the American League defeating the National League 3-2.

Season standings

NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Houston Astros	96	66	0.593	—	52–29	44–37
Cincinnati Reds	86	76	0.531	10	43–38	43–38
San Francisco Giants	83	79	0.512	13	46–35	37–44
San Diego Padres	74	88	0.457	22	43–38	31–50
Los Angeles Dodgers	73	89	0.451	23	46–35	27–54
Atlanta Braves	72	89	0.447	23½	41–40	31–49

Record vs. opponents

1986 National League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	9–3	6–12	5–13	10–8	4–7	4–8	4–8	5–7	12–6	7–11	6–6
Chicago	3–9	—	5–7	4–8	6–6	8–10	6–12	9–8	7–11	6–6	6–6	10–7
Cincinnati	12–6	7–5	—	4–14	10–8	7–5	4–8	7–5	10–2	9–9	9–9	7–5
Houston	13–5	8–4	14–4	—	10–8	8–4	5–7	6–6	6–6	10–8	9–9	7–5
Los Angeles	8–10	6–6	8–10	8–10	—	5–7	3–9	5–7	8–4	6–12	8–10	8–4
Montreal	7–4	10–8	5–7	4–8	5–7	—	8–10	8–10	11–7	4–8	5–7	9–9
New York	8–4	12–6	8–4	7–5	9–3	10–8	—	8–10	17–1	10–2	7–5	12–6
Philadelphia	8-4	8–9	5–7	6–6	7–5	10–8	10–8	—	11–7	6–6	9–3	6–12
Pittsburgh	7–5	11–7	2–10	6–6	4–8	7–11	1–17	7–11	—	8–4	4–8	7–11
San Diego	6–12	6–6	9–9	8–10	12–6	8–4	2–10	6–6	4–8	—	8–10	5–7
San Francisco	11–7	6–6	9–9	9–9	10–8	7–5	5–7	3–9	8–4	10–8	—	5–7
St. Louis	6–6	7–10	5–7	5–7	4–8	9–9	6–12	12–6	11–7	7–5	7–5	—

Notable transactions

• June 2, 1986: 1986 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Ryan Bowen was drafted by the Astros in the 1st round.
  • Karl Rhodes was drafted by the Astros in the 3rd round. Player signed June 10, 1986.
  • Trenidad Hubbard was drafted by the Astros in the 12th round of the 1986 amateur draft. Player signed June 16, 1986.
  • Eric Anthony was drafted by the Astros in the 34th round. Player signed June 7, 1986.
• June 30, 1986: Matt Keough was signed as a free agent by the Astros.

Roster

1986 Houston Astros
Roster
Pitchers 47 Larry Andersen 49 Jeff Calhoun 44 Danny Darwin 43 Jim Deshaies 11 Frank DiPino 42 Tom Funk 38 Manny Hernández 46 Matt Keough 37 Charlie Kerfeld 39 Bob Knepper 41 Mark Knudson 35 Aurelio López 53 Mike Madden 51 Rafael Montalvo 34 Nolan Ryan 33 Mike Scott 45 Dave Smith 52 Julio Solano		Catchers 14 Alan Ashby  6 Mark Bailey  4 John Mizerock  7 Robbie Wine Infielders 27 Glenn Davis 19 Bill Doran 23 Dan Driessen  3 Phil Garner 20 Jim Pankovits  1 Bert Peña 12 Craig Reynolds 10 Dickie Thon 29 Denny Walling		Outfielders 17 Kevin Bass  9 Eric Bullock 25 José Cruz 24 Ty Gainey 28 Billy Hatcher 11 Davey Lopes 26 Louie Meadows 21 Terry Puhl 30 Tony Walker		Manager 22 Hal Lanier Coaches  8 Yogi Berra 48 Matt Galante 15 Denis Menke 55 Les Moss 18 Gene Tenace

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
1B	Glenn Davis	158	574	152	.265	31	101
2B	Bill Doran	145	550	152	.276	6	37
3B	Denny Walling	130	382	119	.312	13	58
LF	José Cruz	141	479	133	.278	10	72
RF	Kevin Bass	157	591	184	.311	20	79

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Dickie Thon	106	278	69	.248	3	21
Mark Bailey	57	153	27	.176	4	15
Tony Walker	84	90	20	.222	2	10
Bert Peña	15	29	6	.207	0	2
Eric Bullock	6	21	1	.048	0	1

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Bob Knepper	40	258	17	12	3.14	143
Mike Scott	37	275.1	18	10	2.22	306
Nolan Ryan	30	178	12	8	3.34	194
Jim Deshaies	26	144	12	5	3.25	128
Mark Knudson	9	42.2	1	5	4.22	20

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Manny Hernández	9	27.2	2	3	3.90	9

Relief pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Dave Smith	54	56	4	7	33	2.73	46
Charlie Kerfeld	61	93.2	11	2	7	2.59	77
Aurelio López	45	78	3	3	7	3.46	44
Larry Andersen	38	64.2	2	1	1	2.78	33
Frank DiPino	41	40.1	1	3	3	3.57	27

National League Championship Series

Main article: 1986 National League Championship Series

Game 1

October 8 (Astrodome, Houston, Texas)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Houston	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	X	1	7	1
WP: Mike Scott (1-0)  LP: Dwight Gooden (0-1)
HR: NYM – None.; HOU – Glenn Davis (1)

Game 2

October 9 (Astrodome, Houston, Texas)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	0	0	5	10	0
Houston	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	10	2
WP: Bob Ojeda (1-0)  LP: Nolan Ryan (0-1)
HR: NYM – None.; HOU – None.

Game 3

October 11 (Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	5	8	1
New York	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	2	6	10	1
WP: Jesse Orosco (1-0)  LP: Dave Smith (0-1)
HR: HOU – Bill Doran (1); NYM – Darryl Strawberry (1), Lenny Dykstra (1)

Game 4

October 12 (Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	4	1
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	0
WP: Mike Scott (2-0)  LP: Sid Fernandez (0-1)
HR: HOU – Alan Ashby (1), Dickie Thon (1); NYM – None.

Game 5

October 14 (Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
Houston	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	9	1
New York	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	4	0
WP: Jesse Orosco (2-0)  LP: Charlie Kerfeld (0-1)
HRs: HOU – None. NYM – Darryl Strawberry (2)

Game 6

October 15 (Astrodome, Houston, Texas)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	R	H	E
New York	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	7	11	0
Houston	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	6	11	1
WP: Jesse Orosco (3-0)  LP: Aurelio López (0-1)
HRs: NYM – None. HOU – Billy Hatcher (1)

Game 6 was one for the ages, in more ways than one. The game went 16 innings with the Mets coming out on top 7-6. It was the highest scoring game of the series; in fact, the 16th inning alone featured more runs than three of the previous five games had in their entirety.

The Astrodome hosted what some consider to be one of the greatest games of all time that October and it will forever be remembered.

The big story of Game 6 was that it was most nearly a must-win for both teams. The Astros obviously had to have it because they were facing elimination. Even though they were up 3-2 in the series, the Mets regarded it as a must-win because they were scheduled to face Mike Scott again in Game 7. Scott had given up a grand total of 1 run in his first two starts of the series, and had dominated the Mets so completely that even the most optimistic Mets fans knew their chances of beating him in a potential Game 7 were small. The end result was one of the greatest Game 6 scenarios ever seen.

The Astros broke through first, and for a low scoring series like this, they broke through big, scoring three runs off a possibly tired Bob Ojeda in the bottom of the first. He settled down after that, however, and the Astros wouldn't score again for the next 12 innings. Meanwhile, Astros starter Bob Knepper was brilliant from the very first pitch, and the game headed to the 9th still 3-0.

Just when it looked like the Mets would have to face the mighty Scott, however, their bats suddenly came to life. After pitching almost perfectly for the first eight innings, Knepper clearly tired in the 9th. He allowed three hits and recorded only one out, and left with the Astros clinging to a 3-2 lead. The decision by Lanier not to bring in Smith to start the inning was talked about for years to come. Smith was their closer, but had blown a save earlier in the series. When Smith finally did appear, he was ineffective, walking two batters to load the bases and then allowing the tying run to score on a sacrifice fly by Ray Knight. In a matter of minutes, the previously raucous crowd of 45,718 had been almost completely silenced and extra innings had soon begun.

In the 14th, the Mets made their first bid to win. After Gary Carter opened with a single, a walk to Darryl Strawberry put two runners on with nobody out. After Knight forced Carter at third, Wally Backman drove a single to right. When Kevin Bass' throw to the plate sailed high over Alan Ashby's head to the screen, Strawberry scored. It looked like the end for the Astros, as Orosco came in to close them down.

With one out in the bottom of the 14th and the Houston fans with their heads in their hands, Billy Hatcher shocked everyone with a line drive home run off the left field foul pole. It was the first earned run allowed by the Mets bullpen in the entire series. Hatcher went 3 for 7 in the game, and his homer meant the Astros would be kept alive for at least one more inning. Both teams failed to score in the 15th, and the game went to the 16th inning, the most innings in playoff history at that time.

The 16th inning would be the deciding factor, and it was not an easy 16th for either pitching staff. The Mets appeared to take control of the game once again, this time coming up with 3 runs in the top half of the inning. The rally began with Strawberry receiving a gift double when Billy Hatcher and Bill Doran misplayed his towering fly ball with one out. When Knight followed with a single to right, a poor throw to the plate by Kevin Bass allowed the tiebreaking run to score, just as it had in the 14th. A walk, two wild pitches, and a single by Lenny Dykstra brought in two more runs, putting the Mets up 7-4. This sent some of the Houston faithful for the exits; those who stayed, however, almost witnessed the unthinkable.

Orosco struck out Craig Reynolds to open the inning, but a walk and two singles later, Houston had a run in and the tying run on base. Orosco induced Denny Walling to hit into a force play at second for the second out, but Glenn Davis singled home another run, bringing the Astros within a run. People everywhere were quiet as they watched Orosco face right fielder Kevin Bass with two outs and the tying run on second, and the winning run on first.

It was all up to Bass to drive in a run and tie the game. Orosco threw Bass six straight sliders; when Bass swung and missed the last of them, the epic series was over. Orosco was awarded the victory, marking the first time in postseason history a reliever won three games in a series. It would be a long winter for the Astros, but for the Mets, an even bigger trial awaited them. After taking two days off to recover from the exhausting series against Houston, the Mets began a legendary World Series against the Boston Red Sox, a series in which they would pull off one of the greatest comebacks of all time.

The Mets had won the series with a .189 batting average, the lowest average ever recorded by a winning team in a postseason series. Their pitching had been the key.

Awards and honors

• Kevin Bass - National League Player of the Month, June
• Mike Scott – National League Leader ERA Champion (2.22)
• Mike Scott – National League Leader in Innings Pitched (275)
• Mike Scott – National League Leader in Shutouts (5)
• Mike Scott – National League Leader in Strikeouts (306)
• Mike Scott – NLCS Most Valuable Player
• Mike Scott - The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year, National League
• Mike Scott - Cy Young Award, National League
• Hal Lanier – National League Manager of the Year
• Hal Lanier, Associated Press Manager of the Year

All-Star Game

• Kevin Bass, Outfield, Reserve
• Glenn Davis, First Baseman, Reserve
• Mike Scott, Starting Pitcher, Reserve
• Dave Smith, Relief Pitcher, Reserve

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Tucson Toros	Pacific Coast League	Carlos Alfonso
AA	Columbus Astros	Southern League	Dave Cripe, Chuck Taylor and Gary Tuck
A	Osceola Astros	Florida State League	Tom Weidenbauer
A	Asheville Tourists	South Atlantic League	Ken Bolek
Short-Season A	Auburn Astros	New York–Penn League	Keith Bodie
Rookie	GCL Astros	Gulf Coast League	Julio Linares

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus

External links

• 1986 Houston Astros on Baseball Reference
• 1986 Astros team page at www.baseball-almanac.com