Sports THE BATTALION Page 13 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1981 "5 Astros win mother from Braves United Press International HOUSTON -The Houston stros play the Los Angeles Dod- :rs tonight for the first time in ore than five months and they ipe among other things they ow more stamina than Bob tnepper did in picking up his ninth pitching victory of the lason. | Knepper, a . 122 hitter, gets on ® )ase so infrequently that when he werdid it with a home run and a angle Thursday night in a 5-3 win liver the Atlanta Braves, he rob bed himself of pitching effective- “I was sharp in the first few 11 finings. Then things fell apart and I had to struggle,’ Knepper said. . “I don’t know if it was the exeite- * imcnt of the home run or not. I was * i’Jriml.i out of breath from being on * Ibase and when I tried to pitch I I couldn’t concentrate. ’’ ■ Knepper, 9-4, made it through a 7 1-3 innings only because the 4Bistros racked three Braves pitch er for 14 hits, and with the win Houston increased its lead to 2V2 mes over the second-place Cin- nati Reds, who did not play 'Ihursday. If the Astros win the second half and Manager Bill Virdon said in Bs estimation his team has to win ■only five of its 10 remaining games to do that — they would meet first | half winner Los Angeles in a best- of-five Western Division playoff Bginning Oct. 6 in the Astro dome. Major League Baseball National League American League East East Montreal 24 19 .558 — Detroit 26 17 St. Louis 22 20 .524 l‘/2 Boston 25 18 Chicago 20 21 .488 3 Milwaukee 25 19 New York 20 23 .465 4 Baltimore 23 19 Philadelphia 19 23 .452 4 1 / 2 New York 22 21 Pittsburgh 17 26 .395 7 Toronto 19 21 Cleveland 21 23 West West Houston 28 15 .651 _ Oakland 22 18 Cincinnati 25 17 .595 2Va Kansas City 24 19 San Francisco 23 19 .548 4V2 Minnesota 21 23 Los Angeles 23 20 .535 5 Texas 18 21 Atlanta 21 21 .500 6 l A Seattle 19 24 San Diego 13 31 .295 15V2 Chicago 17 26 California 15 26 .605 .581 .568 .548 .512 .477 .475 .558 .550 .477 .442 .439 .395 .366 1 1 Vz 21/2 4 5V2 5V4 —V* 5 5 7 8 Thursday's Results Friday’s Games Thursday’s Results Friday’s Games Houston 5, Atlanta 3 Chicago 10, New York 9 Philadelphia 14, St. Louis 6 Montreal 7, Pittsburgh 1 Los Angeles 7, San Francisco 3 Los Angeles at Houston Philadelphia at Chicago New York at Montreal Cincinnati at Atlanta Pittsburgh at St. Louis San Francisco at San Diego Seattle 2, Texas 1 Baltimore 5, New York 1 Cleveland 5, Boston 2 Kansas City 9, Minnesota 2 Chicago 4, California 1 Cleveland at Boston Baltimore at New York Milwaukee at Detroit Texas at Minnesota Seattle at Kansas City Toronto at California Chicago at Oakland Rangers lose third straight oipw The final 10 days of the regular lason are a pretty fair warmup for I ule playoffs since the Astros play vx f six of those dates against the Dod- orfgers, a team they haven’t played t t-Hice April 22. iJ “I really don’t know what to Ipectffom the Dodgers,’ Virdon said “It’s been so long since I’ve Jen them that I don’t know what they’ll be like.” t: It will be easy for the Astros, who beat the Dodgers in 1980 for the West title in a one-game play off to approach this Dodgers series with a possible playoff re match in mind. iet» “w e better not be thinking of “ that, Virdon said. “We can’t wor ry about that. We’ve got to win [games to get in the playoffs. K Winning five of the remaining te “ l| games, he said, would make Cincinnati win eight of their 10. >y 3: H< likes the chances. Sports Editor ARLINGTON — Most teams don’t like going to the bullpen — it usually means they are in trouble. But the way Seattle relievers have performed of late, manager Rene Lachemann doesn’t hesitate call ing for help. Relievers Shane Rawley and Dick Drago got the call Thursday night and preserved a 2-1 Seattle victory in 11 innings. The win was Seattle’s third straight over the Rangers, enabl ing the Mariners to climb into fourth place in the American League West. Rawley improved his record to 3-6 while Drago picked up his fifth save. Rawley had earned the pre vious three saves for the Mariners. “We’ve been pitching well since the second half began, ” said starter Jim Beattie, who had aper- fect game going until giving up a walk to Tom Poquette with two outs in the fifth. “We’ve only been giving up two or three runs a game, but our hitters weren’t scoring,” he said. Bump Wills broke up the no hitter with a two-out single in the sixth. Beattie left the game in the seventh, complaining of a stiff shoulder. “Yes, I was thinking about it (the perfect game). I was kinda mad when I walked that guy. I figured when you’re going for a no-hitter, it may as well be a per fect game,” Beattie said. Dan Meyer gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in the first when he whacked a line drive to right field for his Second homer of the year off star ter Doc Medich, 9-6. Medich went 10 2-3 innings, scattering eight hits before Seat tle’s Tom Paciorek’s one-out sing le scored Meyer with the winning run. Texas tied it in the seventh when reliever Larry Andersen walked in Buddy Bell with the bases loaded. Rawley then came on and pitched four innings before Drago got the final two outs. The faltering Rangers scored a meager eight runs in the four- game series with the Mariners. f : . : :: i " ' ' - : v'- /[if) ■ : : ■ TRY OUR: Wines Liquor Fondue Steaks Shrimp Oysters Bill ■ • isii is . Deli-style sandwiches Half-pound Baker burger Attitude Adjustment from 4:30-6:30 p.m. ff;;: HILL SEAFOOD RESTAURANT SATURDAY 26TH FOR YOUR PRE-GAME DINING PLEASURE SERVING FROM 11:30 AM TO 6:30 PM Hill Seafood Co.\ 4301 CARTER CREEK (CORNER OF CARTER CREEK AND EAST 29TH ST.) Dennis Ivey's Lakeview Club The Very Best In Country-Western Music and Dancing" 1. , 11 Contemporary Jazz Atmosphere rfji jp.% 1 11111 Come by and enjoy yourself at mimmm v