In what has become a common theme lately, the St. Louis Wizards found themselves playing from behind. The Houston Hoots scored 5 runs in the 3rd off starter John Smoltz thanks to 5 straight base hits. The Wizards got 3 runs back on back-to-back doubles from Larry Walker and Stan Musial in the bottom of the 3rd. Musial hit his league-leading 12th homer in the 5th and St. Louis scored another run in the 6th to close the Hoots lead to one run, but Gary Carter hit a solo homer in the 7th off reliever Fergie Jenkins to give Houston some breathing room. Lee Smith pitched a perfect 9th for his 10th save of the season, as Houston topped the Wizards 7-5. St. Louis’ lead in the National League is now just 1 1/2 games over LA. Houston’s Billy Williams was 4 for 5 with 2 RBI in the game. Bob Gibson did just enough, allowing the 5 St. Louis runs in 7 innings to pick up his 4th win. Houston improved to 16-20, while the Wizards fell to 23-13.