Xist
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Dr, I i
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 1979
Pennant fever hits Houston
IN THE GRAND TRADITION OF
OLD TEXAS WHERE MOTHER
TAUGHT DAUGHTER THE FINE
ART OF SEWING — SO HELEN
MARIE TAUGHT EDITH MARIE
THE SECRETS OF SEWING AND
ALTERATIONS.
DON’T GIVE UP — WE'LL
MAKE IT FIT!”
United Press International
ity, sjj,, t HOUSTON — Manager Bill
cientistj. V^ 011 > s en j°yi n g but not promoting
so apal theearly-season pennant fever being
ittomuflprocl'iced by the Houston Astros’ fas
test start in their history.
itlieCe * ve seen *bis happen before,”
anstgj said Virdon, a former player and
las major league coach for most of the
last 24 years. “I’ve seen this happen
ml33 (
osity
to blubs that weren’t that, good. And
■
ist ’ he l' ve seen them faint.
ine n J Bin 1957 (Pittsburgh Pirates)
lost rf pitcher Dale Long had a good streak
and we were 30-20 and in first place.
[ i 1 We ended up in last place.
r r“But that club,” Virdon added,
,, “was not nearly as far along as this
dub is. I think what we’ve done so far
this year means something.”
A three-game sweep over
Pittsburgh in the Astrodome this
weekend boosted Houston’s record
((■2-4 and maintained the Astros’
two-game lead in the National
igue West.
he low-key Virdon pointed out,
wing Houston’s 3-2 win Sunday,
that all three wins were by one run
lovereJi
answer.
e anxiw
becaW
ncounli
arWars,'
and were keyed by Pirates fielding
errors.
“If we were this hot with this kind
of lead in September, I’d be real ex
cited,” he said. “I watch the wins and
losses (of the other division teams).
I’m not concerned with how many
games they are behind. We. don’t
have a magic number yet.”
Houston fans, who paid for 88,760
tickets in the weekend series, are
looking ahead to a point nearer than
next year for the first time in years.
“They’re excited? I’m excited,”
said Astros lefty reliever Joe Sam-
bito, whose two-thirds innings of
work Sunday earned him a second
save and kept his ERA at 0.00
through 8.2 innings.
Right handed reliever Joaquin
Andujar, a 1977 all-star pitcher who
last year suffered from minor in
juries, is another reason for the pres
ent success. He allowed one hit in
one and one-third innings Sunday for
his second victory in two days.
Those two Astros, Andujar and
Sambito, have pitched 26 innings
this season. In that time they have al
lowed nine hits and one run.
“To this point,” said Virdon, “our
pitching has been sensational. It
could not have been any better.”
Sambito acknowledged that the
difference between winning and los
ing streaks is fragile.
“Last year we would play tough
until we would make an error late in
the game,” he said. “This year the
other team is doing it. Once it starts,
you build confidence and
momentum.”
An error by Pittsburgh shortstop
Tim Foli on Bob Watson’s hard
ground ball in the eighth inning
Sunday allowed Craig Reynolds to
score from second base and break a
2-2 tie. Reynolds had doubled with
one out for Houston’s fifth extra-base
hit of the game.
In the two previous games against
Pittsburgh, each won by Houston
5-4 in the tenth inning. Pirates’ third
basemen made critical errors. Phil
Garner’s wild throw allowed the
winning run to reach base Friday,
and on Saturday Dale Berra’s missed
pop up allowed Houston to move its
im
lay
purs need one more
winning run into scoring position.
Andujar, one of three Astros
pitchers with 3-0 records, won
Saturday’s game with two and one-
third innings of no-hit ball. He is
surprising Virdon after having been
counted on as a fifth starter and not as
an everyday reliever.
“I am surprised that he has been
this consistent,” Virdon said.
Cesar Cedeno’s sacrifice fly in the
first inning and back-to-back doubles
by Cedeno and Watson in the sixth
provided Houston’s runs Sunday.
But Pittsburgh matched the Astros
with a run on a passed ball and a run
on two doubles by Willie Stargell
and John Milner.
The Astros have not been in first
place this late in the season since
they were tied for first place on May
25, 1973. The team began the 1972
season 11-5 for the previous fastest
start.
First baseman Bob Watson played
for those teams as well as many losing
Astros squads.
“This is the best team we’ve put
together,” Watson said. “It seems
like the components are here. No
one is playing that spectacularly, but
each individual is making a contribu
tion.”
United Press International
PHILADELPHIA — The San An
tonio Spurs did what they wanted to
do and are now in a position to wrap
■their NBA Eastern Conference
semi-finals series with the Philadel-
)hia 76ers Thursday night on their
home court.
I The Spurs came to Philadelphia
■thinking they could win one of two
a tional I games. They achieved their goal
-Anal: ISunclay when George Gervin’s 32
Court ji
rmer Sup
go ont
dth theS
cisco’s
Scial.
mde Pi
mse atW
poijnts led them to a 115-112 victory
a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-
seven series.
But San Antonio coach Doug Moe,
se team has never won a league
off series in two previous years,
Iws it’s not over yet.
■you can be in the driver’s seat but
lisqualilj! HI have an accident,” Moe said.
Walter (
dlastwei
ible nui
Normail
i asking!
irgumeal
i, toei
/e juron
; death
otion.
d until Hi
250
summ®
prospect
time.
“The big thing we have to guard
inst is overconfidence. I’m thril
led to win, the players are thrilled to
win, but I think they realize it’s not
i the si- over.
'or Ged plStill, the Spurs are in the enviable
isor Haa T
died in 4
/isorhin
jeenanj
; to reap?
ruing s?
ers win
United Press International
BhLINGTON — Doyle Alexan
der, who had not lasted more than
five innings in his first three starts,
cottibined with Jim Kern Monday
night to throw a three-hit shutout
and give the Texas Rangers a 5-0
a fetory over the Toronto Blue Jays,
on il Al Oliver, who has had at least one
hit in each of Texas’ 13 games, sin
gled twice and scored in the Rangers’
three-run first inning. Alexander,
1-0, lasted innings, gave up all three
nioronto hits and was helped by a
club record-tying five double-plays.
Toronto starter and loser Jim
ncy, 1-3, walked Billy Sample
with one out in the first and Oliver
singled in the third. Buddy Bell’s po
tential double play grounder went
between the legs of Toronto second
baseman Dave McKay, allowing
Sample to score. Richie Zisk drove in
Oliver with a single and Bell scored
on a sacrifice fly by Oscar Gamble.
■Singles by Gamble and Jim
Sundberg, followed by a sacrifice fly
ng-pongl i by Nelson Norman accounted for a
mg Jad! run in the fourth. Texas scored in the
[hth on a triple by Bell and a sac-
ice fly by John Ellis.
: wasco®!
osee
3-tennii
outh a®
position of only having to win one of
their next three games — two of
them being at the noisy Hemisfair
Arena, where they won the series’
first two contests last week.
But James Silas, who combined
with Gervin for 21 points of 33 San
Antonio points in the fourth quarter
Sunday, says the Spurs have seen the
last of Philadelphia this season.
“We’ve got to take the games one
at a time but I predict we ll finish off
Philly at our place,” said Silas, who
also had predicted his team would
gain a split in two Philadelphia
games. “We complement each other
so well and we re thinking positively
all the time.”
The Spurs, who lost by eight
points in Game 3 of the series last
Friday night, bounced back behind
Silas and Gervin, who had six key
points down the stretch to quiet
every late Sixer rally.
Forward Larry Kenon also played
a valuable role in the victory with 23
points, nine rebounds, six assists and
an excellent defensive job on Julius
Erving.
“I played him off the ball and tried
to keep them from getting him the
ball,” said Kenon, a former team
mate of Erving’s in the American
Basketball Association. “I didn’t
think playing him took anything
away from my offense. People talk
about who covers me, but I feel no
one can stop me for the whole
game.”
Erving, who had a single field goal
at halftime and needed 10 points in
the final 3:48 to finish with 15, says
it’s up to his team to play with more
intensity or face an early spring vaca
tion.
“We have to hold them to only one
shot the next game because they
shoot the ball exceptionally well in
their building,” he said. “We have to
play with greater intensity but the
intensity level tends to rise anyway
as the games get bigger. It can’t get
any bigger for us, going into their
building down 3-1. ”
Philadelphia’s big gun Sunday was
rookie Maurice Cheeks, who scored
a career-high 33 points and added
nine assists and six steals. But they’ll
need scoring help for Cheeks Thurs
day from Erving and Darryl Daw
kins, who scored 13 points before
fouling out with 4:11 left to play.
THE BATT
DOES IT
DAILY
Monday
through Friday
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