Thanks to a Paul Waner triple and a sacrifice fly, the Houston Hoots carried a 2-1 lead into the 8th in what was a pitcher’s duel between Chicago’s William Bell and Juan Marichal. Marichal hit Joey Votto to lead off the 8th, and after Albert Pujols doubled, Sammy Sosa hit a 2-run single to put the Docs on top. Jeff Bagwell and Willie Stargell hit back-to-back doubles to even things up heading into the 9th. Houston’s Warren Spahn got two quick outs before allowing singles to Troy Tulowitzki and Votto. Buster Posey followed with a 3-run home run. Tug McGraw came in to close things out, but allowed three straight hits and a sac fly to cut the lead to 6-5. Pujols bobbled a Richie Ashburn grounder to put the tying run on 2nd. But Waner grounded right to Chase Utley for a textbook double play to end the game. The loss has Houston clinging to a 1 1/2-game lead in the National League race. Pujols finished 4 for 5.