May 5, 1985 Game 298: Astros (8-15) at Phillies (9-13)

There was an exciting game at the Vet today between the Phillies and the Astros.  John Denny who has been the best pitcher for the Phillies gets the start and Joe Niekro who has been the Astros worst pitcher gets the start for the Astros.  They both brought their A game.  Niekro would run into some trouble in the 7th that would change the game.

In the 2nd the Astros take a 3-0 lead on Reynolds 3 run homer off of Denny.  The Phillies get 2 back in the bottom of the 2nd on Virgil's 2 run shot off of Niekro and the Astros lead it 3-2.  The pitchers then battle it out until the 7th, when things unravel for Niekro.

With runners on 1st and 2nd, Knicely pinch hits for Denny and laces a single to left that would score Wilson and the game is tied.   Samuel follows with a single scoring Virgil.  Maddox caps off the scorinf with a double that scores Knicely and the Phillies lead it 5-3.  Kent Tekulve pitches the final 2 innings to pick up his 5th save.  Denny picks up the win to improve to 4-2 and Niekro takes the loss and he is now 1-5 on the season.

The Final Score 5-3 Phillies