Steve Carlton scattered 8 hits, allowing 3 runs in 7 innings of work, as the St. Louis Wizards topped the Houston Hoots. All 3 Hoots runs came in the 3rd inning. The Wizards responded by scoring 4 in the 4th against Phil Niekro. The runs came on back-to-back 2-out 2-run singles from Ozzie Smith and Oscar Charleston. A Mike Schmidt error with 2 out in the 9th allowed 3 more unearned runs to score off Houston reliever Rube Marquard. Two of those runs came from a double by Ted Simmons. Simmons went 4 for 5 in the game to boost his average to .302. The Wizards improved to 29-14 and now hold a 4 1/2 game lead over Los Angeles in the National League. With just 11 games left to go, can anybody catch them?