Houston starter Phil Niekro kept the Los Angeles hitters off-balance, allowing just 1 hit in his first 5 innings of work, giving the Hoots the momentum they needed to end the Dynamo win streak at 8 games. Sandy Koufax had an uncharacteristic poor start, allowing 11 hits and 6 earned runs in 7 innings of work, failing to become the first Baseball Maelstrom pitcher with 8 wins. LA hitters finally scored 2 runs in the 6th and 7th innings, kicked off by solo home runs from Frank Robinson and Cristóbal Torriente. Lee Smith picked up his 11th save for the Hoots. The loss drops Los Angeles to 23-15, 2 games behind the St. Louis Wizards in the NL. Houston is now 17-21.