The Phillies would win the opener after the Astros got out to a 1-0 third-inning lead.

Ryan got his third taste of postseason play in 1980, but the Astros were stopped one game short of the World Series.

In the 1980 NLCS versus the Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan pitched well in Game 2, leaving the game tied 2 – 2 in the seventh ( having contributed to both Astros runs with a run scored following a walk, and a sacrifice bunt leading to a run ) but again got a no decision in a game that went extra innings.

Ryan got a no-decision as his Astros lost in 12 innings.

Ramírez got off to a quick start in 2009 with 5 RBI during the Cubs ' opening series against the Houston Astros.

He got his first-ever complete game in Major League Baseball against the Houston Astros on June 19.

He got his first start two days later against the Houston Astros, but went 0-for-4.

In his Mets debut on July 13, against the Houston Astros, Lawton got one hit in four at-bats.

On September 5, Gilliam hit a 2-run pinch triple in a road game against the Houston Astros, giving the Dodgers a 3 – 2 lead in the 9th inning ; the Los Angeles Rams, playing a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at the Coliseum, were playing so poorly despite their 10 – 0 win that the biggest cheer from the stands came from people listening to portable radios tuned to the Dodger game who cheered when Gilliam got the hit.

Game 2 saw the Mets knot the series at one game apiece as New York scored two runs in the fourth inning and then got three more in the fifth against Astros ' starter Nolan Ryan en route to a 5 – 1 victory.

Bako appeared in 73 games for the 1999 Astros ; he got at least one hit in his first six games with Houston after beginning the season in the minor leagues, highlighted by a 3-for-4 performance on April 30, the anniversary of his debut.

Needing a win to get to Mike Scott ( who had been dominant in the series ) in Game 7, the Astros jumped off to a 3 – 0 lead in the first inning but neither team would score again until the 9th inning.

The Astros would get the run back in the bottom of the 14th when Hatcher ( in a classic goat-to-hero-conversion-moment ) hit one of the most dramatic home runs in NLCS history, off the left field foul pole.

The Houston Chronicle newspaper had written them off with a tombstone emblazened with " RIP 2005 Astros ".

Clemens again decided to put off retirement before the season after the Houston Astros offered salary arbitration.

* May 5 – Matt Stairs ' home run off Houston Astros pitcher Wade Miller was estimated at 461 feet, making it the longest home run in the history of Minute Maid Park.

* The first home run in the Astrodome was hit by Mickey Mantle off of pitcher Turk Farrell on April 9, 1965 in an exhibition game between the Astros and Yankees.

Gwynn also reached 1, 000 career hits on April 22 with a single off Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros.

He managed to get out of the inning, and keep the Astros scoreless until the eleventh inning, when Joe Morgan led the inning off with a triple.

The crowd at that performance may not have known that Rawls was extremely ill with cancer, but he reportedly delivered a well received performance to kick off Game Two of the 2005 World Series between the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros at U. S. Cellular Field in his hometown of Chicago.

In the 1980 National League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, he posted a. 381 batting average with four runs batted in, and teamed up with Bake McBride in the decisive Game 5 to relay a throw to home plate, cutting off Luis Pujols attempting to score from first base on a double by Craig Reynolds.

He was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros on August 20.

On June 28, 1998 at Jacobs Field, Gutiérrez, then a member of the Astros, squared off against Cleveland Indians pitcher Bartolo Colón to open the top of the eighth inning.

The final, deciding Game 7 started off with Astros ' leadoff man Craig Biggio smacking a home run in the game's first at-bat off Cardinals ' starter Jeff Suppan to make it 1 – 0.

The 2000 season started off in typical fashion for Wagner, who saved three of the Astros ' first four wins while retiring 16 of the first 20 batters he faced.

On May 14, 2012, Polanco reached the 2, 000 hit mark with an eighth-inning home run off David Carpenter of the Houston Astros.

His RBI single off Houston Astros closer Brad Lidge provided the deciding run in Chicago's 1-0 Game 4 victory, clinching the Series sweep Dye with then-President of the United States | U. S. President George W. Bush.

Hernandez would reveal in 2011 that he had stepped off the bag as the first baseman in the top of the second inning, when the Astros had runners on first and third and one out, and batter Craig Reynolds, grounded to second and the Mets tried to turn a double-play.

On August 13, 2004, Rauch hit a home run against the Houston Astros off Roger Clemens, making him the tallest man ever to hit a home run in Major League Baseball.

After the Second Greek National Assembly, at Astros in May, 1823 he was appointed sub-prefect of Euboea and managed to remove Turkish troops off the island.

On April 15, he hit a pinch hit, first pitch HR off Houston Astros closer Jose Valverde in the 9th inning with his team down three runs.

He recorded his first Major League hit in his first at-bat of the season, a single to center field off of Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt on April 3.

With one out and the bases empty, he hit a home run in his first at bat off the Houston Astros ' Tom Griffin to open a three-run rally in the bottom of the second inning in a 4 – 2 Mets victory.

After the Astros had a slow start under then manager Jimy Williams, Garner was brought in mid-season to replace Williams and led the Astros to a National League Wild Card berth, eventually losing to St. Louis in the National League Championship Series in seven games.

Richard became the first Astros pitcher to start an All-Star game.

Surgery was done to save his life, but the Astros had lost their ace pitcher after a 10 – 4 start with a stingy 1. 89 ERA.

Prior to the start of the season the Astros acquired outfielder Billy Hatcher from the Cubs for Jerry Mumphrey.

On the other side of the roster, the Astros would start without Kazuo Matsui, who was on a minor league rehab assignment after a spring training injury.

In his fifth career start, on May 6, he threw a one-hit, no walk, 20-strikeout shutout against the Houston Astros, tying Roger Clemens ' record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game and breaking Bill Gullickson's single-game rookie record of 18 strikeouts in 1980.

With the Houston Astros moving to the American League for the 2013 MLB season, which will require Interleague play season-round ( as well as the Astros to start using a DH full-time ), there is debate within MLB to unify the rules of the two leagues, with either the National League adopting the DH or the American League returning to its pre-1973 rules and have the pitcher hit, like the National League.

The Houston Astros retired his jersey on August 26, 2007, prior to the start of a game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Houston Astros retired his No. 7 jersey on August 17, 2008, prior to the start of a game versus the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Known throughout his career for his hitting and his excellent defense behind the plate, Carter made a major contribution to the Mets ' World Series championship in 1986, including a 12th-inning single against the Houston Astros that won Game 5 of the NLCS and a 10th-inning single against the Boston Red Sox to start the fabled comeback rally in Game 6 of the World Series.

The Phillies traded him to the Houston Astros prior to the start of the season.

Starting pitcher Orlando Hernandez was originally supposed to start against the Houston Astros, but early rain caused the Mets to put in Maine instead.

In his last start of the season against the Astros, he went 7. 0 innings letting up one earned run with 7 strikeouts, with that encouraging start he gave the Mets more certainty that he can return to his ' 07 form in the 2010 season.

Richard made his next start, after five days rest, against the Cincinnati Reds, who would later finish the NL West season in a tie for fourth place with the Astros.

Afterwards, the Astros placed Richard in the starting rotation, and he made his first major league start since July 30 of the previous year.

The following start, he walked a career-high eleven batters in just six innings of pitching and also gave up seven runs in the Astros ' 12 – 8 win over the Giants.

This second no-hitter was vengeance for Wilson: in his previous start against the Reds nine days earlier, he had given up seven runs in five innings and was the losing pitcher in the Reds ' 14 – 0 drubbing of the Astros at the Astrodome.

He earned his first major league win in his first start with the Mets on July 16 against the Houston Astros at the Astrodome.

This earned him a start in game three of the National League Division Series in Houston, Texas against the Houston Astros.