Wizards Woes Continue, Hoots Hang On

After snapping a losing streak yesterday, the St. Louis Wizards were hopeful they were turning things around. But Houston’s Randy Johnson kept the Wizards scoreless through 5 innings, while St. Louis ace Steve Carlton struggled. Hank Aaron drew a walk on a questionable ball four call that nearly got Wizards skipper Tony LaRussa ejected to lead off the 2nd inning. Carlton seemed off his game the rest of the inning, allowing a single to Mike Schmidt, hitting Duke Snider with a pitch, and serving up a 2-run double to Billy Williams. Schmidt hit a 2-run homer in the next inning to give the Hoots a 5-0 lead. Johnson, the league leader in homers allowed, returned to form in the 6th and 7th, allowing homers to Chipper Jones, Pee Wee Reese, and Stan Musial. It was Musial’s NL-leading 11th home run. Hoyt Wilhelm held off the St. Louis rally, and Lee Smith pitched a scoreless 9th for his 9th save as Houston held on to win it 7-5. Carlton allowed all 7 runs in 7 innings and fell to 4-4. Aaron hit his 10 home run for the Hoots, who improved to 15-20. The Wizards are now 23-12, with just a 2-game lead over the surging LA Dynamos.

Houston @ St. Louis – 5/10/22