Pete Alexander walked 5, but scattered 6 hits to do his part to give the Los Angeles Dynamos their 8th straight win. Houston Hoots’ slugger Mike Schmidt’s solo home run was the only run allowed by Alexander. Houston starter Tom Seaver allowed 5 runs on 10 hits in a losing effort. LA’s Eddie Mathews hit a 2-out grand slam off Rube Marquard in the 8th to give the Dynamos a 9-1 lead. That’s when things got interesting. LA reliever Tom Glavine hadn’t allowed an earned run in his last 16 innings of relief, but Houston Hoots hitters nearly did the unthinkable. Willie Stargell hit a solo shot to lead off the 9th against Glavine. Pop Lloyd singled, and Jeff Bagwell walked. Then Billy Williams hit a 3-run homer. Three batters later, Gary Carter hit a 2-run shot to make it a 9-7 game. Los Angeles closer Goose Gossage came in and walked the first 2 batters he faced but got Stargell to ground out in his 2nd at-bat of the inning, and struck out Lloyd to end the game and avoid an epic collapse. LA improved to 23-14 with the win, keeping pace with the Wizards for the NL lead.