In a tight game, the Houston Hoots came through with base hits at the right time, topping the St. Louis Wizards 3-2 to keep a 2 1/2 game lead in the National League race. Houston put together three straight singles to score a run off Greg Maddux in the 1st. A Stan Musial double and a Larry Walker triple off Phil Niekro gave St. Louis a 2-1 lead in the 4th. But the Hoots put together another good inning off Maddux in the 6th. Eddie Mathews capped three more hits with an RBI single, and Ted Simmons hit a double in the gap to score another run before Mathews was thrown out at the plate. Houston loaded the bases in the 7th, but failed to score. In the 8th, reliever Billy Wagner hit two batters and threw two wild pitches, but somehow escaped the inning without a Hoots run scoring. Bruce Sutter shut down St. Louis in the 9th for his 15th save. Niekro allowed 2 runs on just 6 hits in 8 innings to earn his 5th win. It’s a tight race heading into the final stretch of the season.