Steve Carlton and the St. Louis Wizards had another rough loss. This time, Carlton himself was mostly to blame. With two outs in the 2nd inning, Carlton issued a pair of walks and added a bobbled grounder that would have ended the inning. Instead, Tim Raines broke through with a 2-run single to give the Houston Hoots an early lead. Carlton allowed just one earned run in 7 innings while striking out 7. Houston hurler Phil Niekro was even better. Niekro allowed a run on just 3 hits entering the 8th inning. Mike Piazza’s 2-out double plated two more. Houston added insurance runs on sacrifice flies in the 8th and 9th to hand on to win it 6-3. Bruce Sutter dominated in the 9th, striking out all 3 hitters he faced. He earned his 11th save and has yet to allow an earned run this season. Houston has now won 3 in a row, keeping space from Los Angeles in the National League.