100 victories as an Astro
(c) Houston Astros

by Darrell Pittman

For most of his major league career, Joe Niekro labored in the shadow of his older brother Phil, who would win 318 games en route to the Hall of Fame. Joe, however, did attain a small measure of payback, becoming on May 29, 1976 one of only three players to hit a homer off his own brother. The right-handed knuckleballer also held the franchise record for single-season wins at 21, until Mike Hampton went 22-4 in 1999. He remains the only Houston pitcher to win at least 20 games in consecutive seasons.

On a chilly Montreal night in Olympic Stadium, August 28, 1982, Niekro earned his 100th career victory as an Astro, a complete-game, six-hit shutout of the Expos. With the win, he became the fourth Astros pitcher to reach the 100 victory milestone, behind Larry Dierker, Don Wilson, and J.R. Richard. Niekro would end his career in Houston as the all-time franchise leader in victories, with 144.

Niekro was a large (but largely unsung) part of what was possibly the greatest pitching staff in Houston Astros history, perhaps the best in all of baseball at the time. Look at some of the other names on that stellar pitching staff from the 1979-1986 period: Richard, Nolan Ryan, Bob Knepper, Don Sutton, Mike Scott, Dave Smith... the list goes on and on.

Perhaps his accomplishments were overlooked by the media because of the superstar pitching staffs that he bolstered, perhaps he was overshadowed by his brother Phil, or perhaps it was simply because he played the bulk of his career in Houston, away from the media spotlight. But there is no doubt that Joe Niekro was the bedrock of the Houston Astros' rotation from the late '70s to the mid '80s; they could not have achieved their success in those years without him.

(c) Houston Astros Niekro shuts down Expos 2-0 by Harry Shattock, Houston Chronicle August 28, 1982 - All four times Charlie Lea has pitched for Montreal against Houston this season, the result has been a shutout. But, finally, the Astros made Lea the victim Saturday. Not only did they end the Expo right-hander's scoreless streak against them at 31 1/3 innings, but Houston pitcher Joe Niekro stifled Montreal's offense on six hits as the Astros won 2-0 before 38,185 chilled Olympic Stadium spectators. Niekro became only the fourth pitch to win 100 games for the Astros, joining Larry Dierker (137), J.R. Richard (107) and Don Wilson (104) with that distinction. He had won 58 games before joining Houston in 1975. Niekro's effort Saturday was typical of his overall 1982 performance which he repeatedly has called the most consistent of his career, more so even than in 1979 and 1980 when he was a 20-game winner. Despite a frequent lack of run support, Niekro is 13-9 this year. "With ony six starts remaining, I guess 20 wins are out of the question," he said, smiling. But with his second consecutive 2-0 triumph, Niekro joined Nolan Ryan (also 13-9) and Don Sutton (13-8) as contenders for Houston's best pitching record of the season. Even with Niekro's superb mound work, the Astros still had to contend with the Lea Factor. In three previous games, they had managed nine hits off Lea, easily the most effective moundsman against them all year. So Manager Bob Lillis called a pre-game meeting -- not a full team meeting. "We just got the starting lineup together, and kicked around a few ideas," Lillis said. "We figured we owed him one." "I asked for suggestions. Everybody contributed. And I think everybody benefited. We talked about the guys who were overaggressive against Lea being more patient, and about the guys who were too patient being more aggressive." "We didn't exactly hit him hard. Just call it timely hittig." The Astros mustered only seven hits off Lea in 7 2/3 innings. But Art Howe's single and Luis Pujols' triple produced a fifth-inning run. And Dickie Thon's single, a wild pitch and Phil Garner's single delivered an eighth-inning run. "I didn't know what to expect, because I didn't play against him in his other three starts," Pujols said. "But I did listen and learn in the pregame meeting. I think what we found out by talking it over was he had pitched differently to almost everybody." "So what I did was just try to look for the ball, follow it closely and go with the pitch." Pujols' RBI proved all Niekro needed, though the knuckle-ball specialist didn't breeze through the powerful Expos' lineup without tension. Three times Montreal advanced runners to second base with one out only to be stymied by Niekro. And twice again, Niekro was aided by pivotal defensive plays. The first assistance was provided by center fielder Tony Scott. Warren Cromartie had opened the fourth inning with an infield single. With still nobody out, Andre Dawson blooped a hit into center field and Cromartie scooted toward third base. Scott seemed to have little chance at throwing out Cromartie, but the runner took a wide detour between second and third base, then made a bad headfirst slide. Scott's throw was perfect, Cromartie was out and a potential big inning was defused. Third baseman Howe helped rescue Niekro in the ninth inning. After Joel Youngblood singled, Dawson, Al Oliver and Gary Carter -- a.k.a. Murderers Row -- were primed to bat. Dawson's low grounder hit a seam on the artificial turf and bounced high, the kind of ball which usually goes for a bad-hop single. But Howe reacted remarkably fast. Not only did he glove the ball, but Howe started a double play. "I've begun to expect bad hops here," Howe said. "It's the worst field in the league. Some holes are 1 or 2 inches deep. And after the (Canadian League) football game last night, they watered the whole field, which didn't help." "I was fortunate, too, that I moved back a few steps before that swing. Dawson had been trying to bunt, but we got ahead on the count and I figured he'd be hacking." Oliver followed with a routine grounder to Niekro. And Carter, hero of the Expos' double-header sweep over Houston on Thursday night, never got to bat. Niekro didn't allow unusual August weather to adversely affect him. Sweltering Houstoniams may be comforted to know that autumn arrived here Friday. Winter followed Saturday, a light frost decorating the ground in suburbs during the morning and late-afternoon temperatures dipping back into the 40s. "It was cold," Lillis said. "I had on a sweater and a jacket. Toward the end, I had to put on gloves." The Expos' bats were cold, too. "It's especially satisfying to beat this team," Niekro said. "They've got one of the best lineups in the league. They've got good speed high in the order, and they've got good power." "Joe mixed his pitches well against them," catcher Pujols said. "The last two games, he's thrown more fastballs and sliders instead of knuckle balls withmen on base." "He kept them off balance today," Lillis said. Shades of Charlie Lea.

Box score

     Game of 8/28/1982 -- Houston at Montreal 
     Courtesy of Retrosheet



  Houston            AB  R  H RBI    Montreal           AB  R  H RBI  
Thon D, ss            4  1  1  0   Raines T, lf          4  0  1  0   
Scott T, cf           4  0  0  0   Cromartie W, rf       3  0  2  0   
Knight R, 1b          3  0  1  0   Youngblood J, pr      0  0  0  0   
Garner P, 2b          4  0  1  1   Dawson A, cf          4  0  1  0   
Cruz J, lf            4  0  1  0   Oliver A, 1b          4  0  0  0   
Heep D, rf            4  0  2  0   Carter G, c           2  0  0  0   
Howe A, 3b            4  1  1  0   Wallach T, 3b         3  0  1  0   
Pujols L, c           3  0  1  1   Speier C, ss          3  0  0  0   
Niekro J, p           4  0  0  0   Flynn D, 2b           1  0  0  0   
                                   Little B, ph-2b       2  0  1  0   
                                   Lea C, p              2  0  0  0   
                                   Fryman W, p           0  0  0  0   
                                   White J, ph           1  0  0  0   
                                   Reardon J, p          0  0  0  0   
                     -- -- -- --                        -- -- -- --
                     34  2  8  2                        29  0  6  0   

Houston          000 010 010 --  2
Montreal         000 000 000 --  0

  Houston              IP  H  R ER BB SO
Niekro J (W)          9.0  6  0  0  2  4

  Montreal             IP  H  R ER BB SO
Lea C (L)             7.2  7  2  2  2  6
Fryman W              0.1  0  0  0  0  0
Reardon J             1.0  1  0  0  0  1

Game winning RBI -- Pujols L
E -- Flynn D
DP -- Houston 3
LOB -- Houston 7, Montreal 4
2B -- Raines T
3B -- Pujols L
SB -- Scott T
CS -- Pujols L, Knight R
WP -- Niekro J, Lea C
PB -- Pujols L
T -- 2:40
A -- 38165

Play by Play

Game of Saturday, 8/28/1982 -- Houston Astros at Montreal Expos
Courtesy of Retrosheet

Starting Lineups:


   Houston                       Montreal                      
1. ss Dickie Thon                lf Tim Raines                    
2. cf Tony Scott                 rf Warren Cromartie                 
3. 1b Ray Knight                 cf Andre Dawson                    
4. 2b Phil Garner                1b Al Oliver                    
5. lf Jose Cruz                   c Gary Carter                     
6. rf Danny Heep                 3b Tim Wallach                   
7. 3b Art Howe                   ss Chris Speier                    
8.  c Luis Pujols                2b Doug Flynn                     
9.  p Joe Niekro                  p Charlie Lea                        

ASTROS 1ST: D.Thon popped to C.Speier-ss; T.Scott struck out;
R.Knight flied to W.Cromartie-rf; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros
0, Expos 0.

EXPOS 1ST: T.Raines popped to L.Pujols-c in foul territory;
W.Cromartie walked; A.Dawson grounded into a double play
(D.Thon-ss to P.Garner-2b to R.Knight-1b) [W.Cromartie out at
second]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Expos 0.

ASTROS 2ND: P.Garner popped to A.Oliver-1b in foul territory;
J.Cruz singled to right field; D.Heep was called out on strikes;
A.Howe struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0, Expos 0.

EXPOS 2ND: A.Oliver struck out (L.Pujols-c to R.Knight-1b);
G.Carter walked; T.Wallach flied to D.Heep-rf; C.Speier grounded
out (A.Howe-3b to R.Knight-1b); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0,
Expos 0.

ASTROS 3RD: L.Pujols walked; L.Pujols was caught stealing
second (G.Carter-c to C.Speier-ss); J.Niekro flied to
W.Cromartie-rf; D.Thon lined to D.Flynn-2b; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Astros 0, Expos 0.

EXPOS 3RD: D.Flynn grounded out (D.Thon-ss to R.Knight-1b);
C.Lea grounded out (J.Niekro-p to R.Knight-1b); T.Raines flied
to T.Scott-cf; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Expos 0.

ASTROS 4TH: T.Scott reached on an error by D.Flynn-2b [T.Scott
to first]; T.Scott stole second; R.Knight flied to A.Dawson-cf;
P.Garner grounded out (C.Speier-ss to A.Oliver-1b); J.Cruz flied
to A.Dawson-cf; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0, Expos 0.

EXPOS 4TH: W.Cromartie singled to shortstop; A.Dawson singled
to center field (T.Scott-cf to A.Howe-3b) [W.Cromartie out at
third, A.Dawson to second (on throw)]; A.Oliver struck out;
G.Carter flied to J.Cruz-lf; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0,
Expos 0.

ASTROS 5TH: D.Heep struck out; A.Howe singled to center field;
L.Pujols tripled to right-center [A.Howe scored]; J.Niekro
grounded out (C.Speier-ss to A.Oliver-1b); D.Thon flied to
A.Dawson-cf; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 1, Expos 0.

EXPOS 5TH: T.Wallach singled to left field; C.Speier popped to
R.Knight-1b in foul territory; B.LITTLE BATTED FOR D.FLYNN;
B.Little grounded into a double play (D.Thon-ss to P.Garner-2b
to R.Knight-1b) [T.Wallach out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
 Astros 1, Expos 0.

ASTROS 6TH: B.LITTLE STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 2B); T.Scott
grounded out (T.Wallach-3b to A.Oliver-1b); R.Knight singled to
center field; R.Knight was caught stealing second (G.Carter-c to
C.Speier-ss); P.Garner flied to W.Cromartie-rf; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Astros 1, Expos 0.

EXPOS 6TH: C.Lea grounded out (A.Howe-3b to R.Knight-1b);
T.Raines doubled to left field; J.Niekro threw a wild pitch
[T.Raines to third]; W.Cromartie flied to J.Cruz-lf; A.Dawson
struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 1, Expos 0.

ASTROS 7TH: J.Cruz was called out on strikes; D.Heep singled to
center field; A.Howe flied to T.Raines-lf; L.Pujols forced
D.Heep (C.Speier-ss to B.Little-2b) [L.Pujols to first]; 0 R, 1
H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 1, Expos 0.

EXPOS 7TH: A.Oliver grounded out (P.Garner-2b to R.Knight-1b);
G.Carter struck out; T.Wallach popped to R.Knight-1b; 0 R, 0 H,
0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 1, Expos 0.

ASTROS 8TH: J.Niekro grounded out (G.Carter-c to A.Oliver-1b);
D.Thon singled to left field; C.Lea threw a wild pitch [D.Thon
to second]; T.Scott struck out; R.Knight was walked
intentionally; P.Garner singled to center field [D.Thon scored,
R.Knight to second]; W.FRYMAN REPLACED C.LEA (PITCHING); J.Cruz
flied to A.Dawson-cf; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Astros 2, Expos 0.

EXPOS 8TH: C.Speier popped to L.Pujols-c in foul territory;
B.Little singled to left field; J.WHITE BATTED FOR W.FRYMAN;
L.Pujols allowed a passed ball [B.Little to second]; PB may have
occurred with White or Raines at bat; J.White flied to
J.Cruz-lf; T.Raines popped to A.Howe-3b in foul territory; 0 R,
1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 2, Expos 0.

ASTROS 9TH: J.REARDON REPLACED J.WHITE (PITCHING); D.Heep
singled to right field; A.Howe flied to W.Cromartie-rf; L.Pujols
struck out; J.Niekro flied to A.Dawson-cf; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
 Astros 2, Expos 0.

EXPOS 9TH: W.Cromartie singled to center field; J.YOUNGBLOOD
RAN FOR W.CROMARTIE; A.Dawson grounded into a double play
(A.Howe-3b to P.Garner-2b to R.Knight-1b) [J.Youngblood out at
second]; A.Oliver grounded out (J.Niekro-p to R.Knight-1b); 0 R,
1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 2, Expos 0.

Final Totals      R   H   E  LOB
 Astros           2   8   0   7
 Expos            0   6   1   4