1983 - Timeline
from This Date in Astros History

Jan 20 - Matt Albers is born in Houston, TX. The righthanded prospect compiles a 4-13 record playing for his hometown team over parts of two seasons (2006,2007) before being dealt to Baltimore.

Mar 31 - Astros deal catcher Alan Knicely to Cincinnati for pitcher Bill Dawley and outfielder Tony Walker. Another in the long line of catching prospects, Knicely bats .197 over parts of four seasons.

Apr 17 - Nolan Ryan fans seven Expos to pass 3,500 strikeouts for his career. He beats Montreal, 6-3, for his first win of the season. Ray Knight adds two hits, including a home run.

Apr 19 - Pinch-hitter Harry Spilman drills a three-run ninth-inning homer off Tom Hume to stun Cincinnati, 6-5. Shortstop Dickie Thon has four hits, including a home run. Bill Dawley earns his second win in relief. The Astros' day does not start well as catcher John Mizerock suffers three passed balls in the first inning while the Reds jump on Joe Niekro for four runs.

Apr 24 - Mike LaCoss battles Steve Carlton to a 2-2 draw before Jose Cruz caps a three-hit night with the game-winner in the eleventh. Omar Moreno scores for the 3-2 win over Philadelphia.

Apr 27 - Nolan Ryan breaks Walter Johnson's major league record for career strikeouts, fanning Montreal's Brad Mills for his 3,509th victim. Ironically it was a curveball, not Ryan's famed fastball, that claims Mills. Ryan accomplishes the feat in 2,500 less innings than Johnson needed to set it. Nolan tips his cap to the applauding Canadian fans then quickly resumes on his way to a 4-2 victory.

May 09 - Phil Garner scores the winning run while ex-Astro Danny Heep argues the call of first base ump Terry Tata in a 6-4 victory over the New York Mets. Tata had ruled that Jose Cruz beat Heep to the bag on a roller to first. Nobody calls for time and Garner alertly speeds home. Garner's double off the third base bag had scored Omar Moreno and Dickie Thon to set up the go-ahead moment.

May 30 - Terry Puhl 's two-run two-out triple off the ivy beats Chicago, 9-7. The eighth-inning drive off Bill Campbell makes a winner of Bill Dawley. Ray Knight has three hits to pace Houston's attack.

Jun 04 - Alan Ashby smashes two homers and a double, driving in six, to rout the Reds, 13-0. Mike Scott wins his first game as an Astro. Ray Knight contributes four hits.

Jun 17 - Dickie Thon tags two solo homers off Eric Show to give Nolan Ryan all the cushion he needs. Houston dumps San Diego, 4-1. Ryan fans six and is one behind Philly's Steve Carlton in the all-time strikeout race.

Jun 28 - Dickie Thon swats two home runs to carry Houston to a 4-2 victory over Atlanta. He hits a solo shot off Craig McMurtry then a two-run blast off Terry Forster to give the Astros the cushion they need.

Jul 13 - Injury call-up George Bjorkman, in his third big league game, swats a three-run homer and drives in five to lead a 9-4 victory over Montreal. But his biggest thrill, he says afterwards, is catching Nolan Ryan. The Express fans five while winning his eighth straight decision.

Aug 03 - Nolan Ryan hurls a one-hitter at San Diego, 1-0. A roller by Tim Flannery in the third is the lone blemish. Terry Puhl reaches on an infield hit in the first and scores on a triple by Dickie Thon. Ryan makes that stand up while striking out ten.

Aug 16 - John Mizerock doubles, homers and drives in four to pace an 8-5 triumph over the Reds. Ray Knight also goes deep. Mike Scott runs out of gas, turning it over to Bill Dawley who collects the save.

Aug 18 - For nearly twenty years, engineers had debated how well the Astrodome would hold up in a hurricane. With 95-mph winds, Hurricane Alicia passes through Houston and the Dome suffers hardly a scratch. The Astros, on the road in St. Louis, lose as many worry about their families and property back home.

Sep 20 - Jose Cruz smacks a two-run single and a grand slam to pace a 15-2 demolition of Los Angeles. Alejandro Pena, Burt Hooton and Pat Zachry are torched for 13 runs in the first four innings. Denny Walling chimes in with three hits, including two doubles and three RBIs. Nolan Ryan coasts to his 14th win.