# 1998 Houston Astros season

The 1998 Houston Astros season was the 37th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. On the strength of a club record 102 wins, they rocketed to a second consecutive trip to the postseason with an National League Central title. They did not win 100 games again until 2017, while the record for wins would be broken the following year. On September 14, the Astros clinched the division title when the Chicago Cubs, the eventual NL Wild Card winners, lost. The next day, Craig Biggio became the first Astro to collect 200 hits in a season.

## Offseason

* December 22, 1997: Rob Butler signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros.

## Regular season

First baseman Jeff Bagwell hit his first career grand slam while tying a career-high six runs batted in (RBI) against Cincinnati on September 9 in a 13–7 victory. It was his 218th career home run, making his streak the then-longest among active players without a grand slam.

### Season standings

vteNL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Houston Astros | 102 | 60 | .630 | — | 55‍–‍26 | 47‍–‍34 |
| Chicago Cubs | 90 | 73 | .552 | 12½ | 51‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍42 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 79 | .512 | 19 | 48‍–‍34 | 35‍–‍45 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 77 | 85 | .475 | 25 | 39‍–‍42 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 74 | 88 | .457 | 28 | 38‍–‍43 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 69 | 93 | .426 | 33 | 40‍–‍40 | 29‍–‍53 |

### Record vs. opponents

1998 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LA | MIL | MTL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | AL |
| Arizona | — | 1–8 | 5–7 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 6–2 | 4–5 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 2–7 | 6–3 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 5–8 |
| Atlanta | 8–1 | — | 3–6 | 7–2 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 8–1 | 7–2 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 9–7 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | 6–3 | — | 6–5 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 4–7 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 7–2 | 4–5 | 3–6 | 8–3 | 5–4 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 5–8 |
| Cincinnati | 5–4 | 2–7 | 5–6 | — | 4–5 | 9–0 | 3–8 | 5–4 | 6–5 | 8–1 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 5–7 | 1–11 | 2–7 | 8–3 | 7-6 |
| Colorado | 6–6 | 3–5 | 2–7 | 5–4 | — | 6–3 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 7–2 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 3–6 | 4–8 |
| Florida | 2–6 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 0–9 | 3–6 | — | 3–6 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 3–6 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 4–5 | 8–8 |
| Houston | 5–4 | 5–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 6–3 | — | 3–6 | 9–2 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 7–2 | 9–2 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 5–7 | 10–4 |
| Los Angeles | 8–4 | 1–8 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 5–4 | 6–3 | — | 5–4 | 5–4 | 3–5 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 4–5 | 8–5 |
| Milwaukee | 3–6 | 2–7 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 9–0 | 2–9 | 4–5 | — | 6–3 | 1–8 | 4–5 | 6–5 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 3–8 | 8–6 |
| Montreal | 7–2 | 6–6 | 2–7 | 1–8 | 2–7 | 7–5 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 3–6 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 | 2–7 | 4–4 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 6–10 |
| New York | 5–4 | 3–9 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 5–3 | 8–1 | 4–8 | — | 8–4 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 9–7 |
| Philadelphia | 7-2 | 4–8 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 8–1 | 1–8 | 2–6 | 3–6 | 7–9 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–6 | 2–7 | 3–8 | 7–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 2–9 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 1–8 | — | 5–4 | 2–7 | 6–5 | 6–7 |
| San Diego | 9–3 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 11–1 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 7–5 | 6–3 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 8–1 | 4–5 | — | 8–4 | 6–3 | 6–7 |
| San Francisco | 7–5 | 2–7 | 3–7 | 7–2 | 5–7 | 9–0 | 3–6 | 6–6 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 6–2 | 7–2 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 8–5 |
| St. Louis | 7–2 | 3–6 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 6–3 | 5-4 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 8–3 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 6–3 | 5–6 | 3–6 | 5–7 | — | 4–9 |

### Notable Transactions

July 31, 1998: Randy Johnson was traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later, Freddy Garcia, and Carlos Guillén. The Houston Astros sent John Halama (October 1, 1998) to the Seattle Mariners to complete the trade.

## Game log
### Regular season

1998 Game Log: 102–60 (Home: 55–26; Away: 47–34) :
March: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–0)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
1March 314:06 p.m. CDTGiantsL 4–9 (13)Johnstone (1–0)Nitkowski (0–1)—4:2943,7760–1L1 :
April: 17–9 (Home: 8–3; Away: 9–6)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
2April 16:37 p.m. CDTGiantsW 7–6Miller (1–0)Tavarez (0–1)Wagner (1)3:0413,7191–1W1
3April 27:05 p.m. CDTGiantsL 2–9Rueter (1–0)Halama (0–1)—3:1815,0401–2L1
4April 37:05 p.m. CDTRockiesW 15–2Lima (1–0)Wright (0–1)—2:4726,0262–2W1
5April 47:06 p.m. CDTRockiesL 3–5Thompson (1–0)Bergman (0–1)Dipoto (2)2:5421,3252–3L1
6April 51:36 p.m. CDTRockiesW 6–2Reynolds (1–0)Kile (1–1)—2:2921,0373–3W1
7April 612:37 p.m. CDTRockiesW 13–4Hampton (1–0)Thomson (1–1)—2:5113,5534–3W2
8April 73:11 p.m. CDT@ GiantsL 4–5 (10)Nen (1–0)Wagner (0–1)—3:3855,3704–4L1
9April 89:05 p.m. CDT@ GiantsW 6–3Lima (2–0)Rueter (1–1)Wagner (2)3:0210,0215–4W1
10April 99:04 p.m. CDT@ GiantsW 3–1Bergman (1–1)Gardner (1–1)Nitkowski (1)2:5410,1536–4W2
11April 109:07 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 2–7Martínez (2–1)Reynolds (1–1)—2:5134,9946–5L1
12April 119:07 p.m. CDT@ DodgersW 6–2Hampton (2–0)Dreifort (0–1)Henry (1)2:2740,0377–5W1
13April 127:08 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 6–7 (10)Osuna (1–0)Wagner (0–2)—3:2733,4297–6L1
14April 137:05 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 1–3Nomo (1–1)Lima (2–1)Radinsky (2)2:1432,2897–7L2
15April 156:12 p.m. CDT@ RedsL 1–4Tomko (2–1)Reynolds (1–2)Shaw (4)2:2815,6197–8L3
16April 166:30 p.m. CDT@ RedsW 7–4Hampton (3–0)Weathers (1–1)Wagner (3)3:0214,5968–8W1
17April 177:06 p.m. CDTExposW 5–3Halama (1–1)Hermanson (1–2)Wagner (4)2:3126,4859–8W2
18April 187:05 p.m. CDTExposW 4–3Henry (1–0)Batista (0–1)—2:5529,36210–8W3
19April 191:37 p.m. CDTExposL 4–5Telford (2–0)Magnante (0–1)Urbina (4)2:5718,48410–9L1
20April 21@ Mets6–0Hampton (4–0)Reed (1–2)—2:3814,77411–9W1
21April 22@ Mets7–10Cook (2–0)Henry (1–1)—3:4112,77211–10L1
–April 23@ MetsPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: April 27)
22April 246:07 p.m. CDT@ ExposW 8–4Lima (3–1)Valdes (0–3)—2:498,71312–10W1
23April 256:08 p.m. CDT@ ExposW 4–3Magnante (1–1)Urbina (1–1)Wagner (5)3:118,48913–10W2
24April 2612:38 p.m. CDT@ ExposW 15–0Bergman (2–1)Moore (1–3)iller (1)2:499,88914–10W3
25April 27@ Mets4–3Nitkowski (1–1)Franco (0–1)Wagner (6)2:3017,65615–10W4
26April 28Mets4–3 (10)Magnante (2–1)Hudek (0–1)—3:4314,94316–10W5
27April 29Mets6–1Lima (4–1)Mlicki (0–3)—2:2614,44817–10W6 :
May: 16–12 (Home: 8–6; Away: 8–6)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
28May 1@ Phillies12–5Reynolds (2–2)Beech (0–2)—3:1711,41018–10W7
29May 2@ Phillies4–1Hampton (5–0)Schilling (3–3)Wagner (7)2:3918,76619–10W8
30May 3@ Phillies3–5Gomes (1–0)Bergman (2–2)Leiter (2)2:5221,28819–11L1
31May 5@ Cubs10–5Lima (5–1)Clark (2–4)Nitkowski (2)2:4421,43120–11W1
32May 6@ Cubs0–2Wood (3–2)Reynolds (2–3)—2:1915,75820–12L1
33May 8@ Brewers1–4Juden (4–1)Hampton (5–1)Jones (10)2:4214,71120–13L2
34May 9@ Brewers11–6Schourek (1–0)Eldred (0–2)—3:2320,14521–13W1
35May 10@ Brewers7–1Lima (6–1)Woodard (2–1)—2:3319,02322–13W2
36May 11Marlins5–2Reynolds (3–3)Hernandez (2–3)Wagner (8)2:5014,11023–13W3
37May 12Marlins4–2Bergman (3–2)Hammond (0–1)Wagner (9)2:3814,91924–13W4
38May 13Pirates1–0Hampton (6–1)Lieber (1–5)Wagner (10)2:1614,23925–13W5
39May 14Pirates2–7Silva (4–3)Schourek (1–1)—2:3616,12325–14L1
40May 15Braves2–3Neagle (5–1)Lima (6–2)Martinez (1)2:2338,94125–15L2
41May 16Braves3–2Henry (2–1)Lightenberg (3–2)—2:3451,52626–15W1
42May 17Braves8–1Bergman (4–2)Smoltz (4–1)—2:2935,25027–15W2
43May 18Braves0–4Glavine (6–2)Hampton (6–2)—2:4722,11927–16L1
44May 196:06 p.m. CDT@ ExposL 2–4Perez (3–3)Schourek (1–2)Urbina (10)2:369,12627–17L2
45May 206:06 p.m. CDT@ ExposW 4–3Henry (3–1)Telford (2–1)Wagner (11)2:498,37228–17W1
46May 2112:37 p.m. CDT@ ExposW 6–0Reynolds (4–3)Bennett (1–2)—2:557,60129–17W2
47May 22Padres6–9Miceli (4–1)Nitkowski (1–2)Hoffman (14)3:1228,55029–18L1
48May 23Padres4–3Miller (2–0)Miceli (4–2)Wagner (12)2:5336,28130–18W1
49May 24Padres5–2Schourek (2–2)Hamilton (3–5)Wagner (13)3:0225,70131–18W2
50May 253:07 p.m. CDTDodgersL 3–4 (10)Bruske (1–0)Scanlan (0–1)Radinsky (9)3:3534,07931–19L1
51May 267:06 p.m. CDTDodgersW 13–2Reynolds (5–3)Valdéz (4–6)—2:3416,25132–19W1
52May 276:37 p.m. CDTDodgersL 1–3Dreifort (3–4)Bergman (4–3)Radinsky (10)2:5017,19032–20L1
53May 298:05 p.m. CDT@ RockiesW 7–6Hampton (7–2)Astacio (4–7)Wagner (14)2:5948,32533–20W1
54May 303:06 p.m. CDT@ RockiesL 3–6Thomson (4–5)Schourek (2–3)Dipoto (12)2:5548,03633–21L1
55May 312:06 p.m. CDT@ RockiesL 5–7McElroy (1–1)Henry (3–2)—2:4048,09733–22L2 :
June: 17–10 (Home: 8–4; Away: 9–6)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
56June 2@ Padres4–3Reynolds (6–3)Reyes (2–2)Wagner (15)2:4315,73534–22W1
57June 3@ Padres8–2Bergman (5–3)Hamilton (3–7)—2:4313,22935–22W2
58June 4@ Padres1–5Ashby (7–4)Hampton (7–3)—2:2421,02735–23L1
59June 5Royals0–3Belcher (5–6)Schourek (2–4)Montgomery (10)2:3627,89535–24L2
60June 6Royals6–0Lima (7–2)Rosado (1–5)—2:2825,51636–24W1
61June 7Royals7–1Reynolds (7–3)Pittsley (0–1)—2:3323,22837–24W2
62June 8@ Tigers9–5Henry (4–2)Jones (0–2)—3:2811,76738–24W3
63June 9@ Tigers5–3Hampton (8–3)Jones (0–3)Wagner (16)2:4310,87139–24W4
64June 10@ Tigers10–3Schourek (3–4)Castillo (2–5)—2:3511,47140–24W5
65June 126:05 p.m. CDT@ RedsL 1–8Remlinger (4–7)Lima (7–3)—2:2321,31040–25L1
66June 136:05 p.m. CDT@ RedsL 4–7Klingenbeck (1–1)Reynolds (7–4)Shaw (18)2:5028,05540–26L2
67June 1412:15 p.m. CDT@ RedsW 6–3 (10)Wagner (1–2)Shaw (1–4)—3:2322,00841–26W1
68June 156:06 p.m. CDT@ RedsW 13–2Magnante (3–1)Tomko (5–6)—2:5614,55642–26W2
69June 16Cardinals4–9Acevedo (2–1)Schourek (3–5)—3:1034,82242–27L1
70June 17Cardinals6–5Nitkowski (2–2)Brantley (0–4)—3:0337,14743–27W1
71June 18Cardinals6–7Bottenfield (2–3)Reynolds (7–5)Croushore (1)3:0543,80643–28L1
72June 197:05 p.m. CDTRedsW 4–2Bergman (6–3)Winchester (3–4)Wagner (17)2:3829,25144–28W1
73June 2012:18 p.m. CDTRedsW 9–8Nitkowski (3–2)Krivda (2–1)Wagner (18)3:1324,30145–28W2
74June 211:35 p.m. CDTRedsW 3–1Schourek (4–5)Harnisch (6–3)Magnante (1)2:5742,28146–28W3
75June 227:05 p.m. CDTTwinsL 3–5Milton (4–6)Lima (7–4)Aguilera (15)2:4223,16846–29L1
76June 2312:36 p.m. CDTTwinsW 9–0Reynolds (8–5)Tewksbury (4–9)—2:4927,15747–29W1
77June 248:08 p.m. CDT@ RockiesL 6–8Astacio (5–8)Bergman (6–4)Veres (2)2:3748,15047–30L1
78June 252:06 p.m. CDT@ RockiesL 5–6 (12)Leskanic (4–3)Magnante (3–2)—3:3948,04647–31L2
79June 26@ Indians2–4Colon (8–4)Magnante (3–3)Jackson (17)2:5843,22247–32L3
80June 27@ Indians9–5 (11)Wagner (2–2)Mesa (3–4)—3:5343,13248–32W1
81June 28@ Indians12–3Reynolds (9–5)Nagy (7–4)Nitkowski (3)3:1243,04749–32W2
82June 30White Sox17–2Bergman (7–4)Navarro (6–10)—2:3026,40050–32W3 :
July: 15–12 (Home: 10–4; Away: 5–8)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
83July 1White Sox10–4Schourek (5–5)Parque (2–2)—2:5429.05051–32W4
84July 2White Sox3–4Baldwin (3–3)Lima (7–5)Simas (4)2:2525,34451–33L1
85July 3Diamondbacks6–5Reynolds (10–5)Benes (6–9)Wagner (19)2:5634,38252–33W1
86July 4Diamondbacks4–7Anderson (6–7)Hampton (8–4)—2:5031,47752–34L1
87July 5Diamondbacks5–2Bergman (8–4)Blair (3–12)Wagner (20)3:2223,60753–34W1
69th All-Star Game in Denver, Colorado
88July 9@ Cardinals5–4Reynolds (11–5)Stottlemyre (9–7)Wagner (21)2:5234,39854–34W2
89July 10@ Cardinals3–6King (2–0)Nitkowski (3–3)Brantley (13)2:3144,65554–35L1
90July 11@ Cardinals3–4 (11)Painter (3–0)Wagner (2–3)—3:0145,76054–36L2
91July 12@ Cardinals4–6Acevedo (4–2)Bergman (8–5)Croushore (4)2:4245,48554–37L3
92July 13@ Diamondbacks3–5Telemaco (3–3)Schourek (5–6)Olson (12)2:5340,00754–38L4
93July 14@ Diamondbacks4–2Reynolds (12–5)Daal (3–5)Wagner (22)2:4540,41955–38W1
94July 15@ Diamondbacks8–9 (11)Embree (3–0)Magnante (3–4)—4:0042,22955–39L1
95July 177:06 p.m. CDTGiantsW 10–7Lima (8–5)Rueter (10–5)—2:4440,70956–39W1
96July 183:07 p.m. CDTGiantsW 7–2Bergman (9–5)Darwin (6–7)—2:4335,25757–39W2
97July 191:35 p.m. CDTGiantsW 4–3 (12)Henry (5–2)Nen (6–2)—3:4732,90058–39W3
98July 207:05 p.m. CDTRockiesW 10–9Henry (6–2)Veres (0–1)—3:1725,49159–39W4
99July 217:05 p.m. CDTRockiesL 0–5Brownson (1–0)Hampton (8–5)—2:1028,71859–40L1
100July 229:37 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 4–6Bohanon (3–6)Lima (8–6)Shaw (28)2:3031,36559–41L2
101July 239:07 p.m. CDT@ DodgersW 8–6 (10)Henry (7–2)Hall (0–2)Powell (4)3:3840,20560–41W1
102July 24@ Padres2–1Schourek (6–6)Hitchcock (4–4)Magnante (2)2:3431,04761–41W2
103July 25@ Padres5–6Langston (4–3)Reynolds (12–6)Hoffman (33)3:0454,17661–42L1
104July 26@ Padres4–5 (10)Wall (4–2)Magnante (3–5)—3:0641,03461–43L2
105July 27Marlins9–1Lima (9–6)Meadows (9–8)—2:1520,88862–43W1
106July 28Marlins7–3Bergman (10–5)Ojala (1–1)—2:4726,22063–43W2
107July 29Marlins10–6Schourek (7–6)Larkin (2–6)Elarton (1)2:4521,87064–43W3
108July 30Marlins3–4Hernandez (9–7)Reynolds (12–7)—2:3533,30364–44L1
109July 31@ Pirates7–4Hampton (9–5)Cordova (9–9)Henry (2)3:0032,47665–44W1 :
August: 22–7 (Home: 14–3; Away: 8–4)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
110August 1@ Pirates2–1Lima (10–6)Williams (2–1)—2:4919,78366–44W2
111August 2@ Pirates6–2Johnson (10–10)Christiansen (1–2)Elarton (2)2:3521,20167–44W3
112August 3@ Marlins3–11Larkin (3–6)Bergman (10–6)Mantei (5)3:2514,48467–45L1
113August 4@ Marlins9–5Reynolds (13–7)Hernandez (9–8)—3:1914,58668–45W1
114August 5@ Marlins3–5Sanchez (5–6)Hampton (9–6)Mantei (6)2:4619,03868–46L1
115August 7Phillies9–0Johnson (11–10)Welch (0–2)—2:2152,07169–46W1
116August 8Phillies7–6Henry (8–2)Leiter (6–3)—2:5242,52370–46W2
117August 9Phillies11–2Reynolds (14–7)Beech (3–9)—2:5428,65171–46W3
118August 10Brewers5–2Elarton (1–0)Fox (0–3)Wagner (23)2:3218,99572–46W4
119August 11Brewers6–5 (10)Magnante (4–5)Plunk (3–2)—3:3020,55373–46W5
120August 12Brewers3–0Johnson (12–10)Woodall (5–7)—2:3940,21774–46W6
121August 13Brewers6–2Lima (11–6)Woodard (9–7)—2:2021,21875–46W7
122August 14Cubs4–6Clark (7–11)Reynolds (14–8)Beck (35)2:5345,04075–47L1
123August 15Cubs5–4 (11)Wagner (3–3)Mulholland (3–3)—3:3252,00376–47W1
124August 16Cubs1–2 (11)Karchner (3–4)Powell (4–5)Beck (36)3:1552,19976–48L1
125August 17@ Phillies0–4Byrd (1–0)Johnson (12–11)—2:2718,97576–49L2
126August 18@ Phillies8–2Lima (12–6)Grace (4–6)—2:5817,54177–49W1
127August 19@ Phillies4–3Reynolds (15–8)Leiter (6–4)Wagner (24)2:4421,34178–49W2
128August 20@ Brewers5–6 (10)Wickman (6–6)Magnante (4–6)—3:4617,58978–50L1
129August 21@ Brewers5–2Bergman (11–6)Pulsipher (1–1)Powell (5)3:0026,82079–50W1
130August 22@ Cubs8–3Johnson (13–11)Wengert (1–3)—3:0039,88680–50W2
131August 23@ Cubs13–3Lima (13–6)Trachsel (13–7)—3:0838,71481–50W3
132August 24@ Cubs12–3Reynolds (16–8)Clark (7–12)—2:5834,71182–50W4
133August 25Braves3–2Hampton (10–6)Millwood (14–8)Wagner (25)2:2432,15783–50W5
134August 26Braves2–6Smoltz (13–2)Bergman (11–7)—2:4832,65183–51L1
135August 28Pirates2–0Johnson (14–11)Cordova (12–11)—2:2340,70984–51W1
136August 29Pirates6–3Lima (14–6)Schmidt (11–10)Powell (6)2:3941,76285–51W2
137August 30Pirates11–4Reynolds (17–8)McCurry (1–3)—3:1225,34286–51W3
138August 31@ Braves4–3Powell (5–5)Smoltz (13–3)Wagner (26)2:4333,88387–51W4 :
September: 15–9 (Home: 9–5; Away: 6–4)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
139September 1@ Braves4–6Neagle (14–11)Elarton (1–1)Lightenberg (25)3:0631,16887–52L1
140September 2@ Braves4–2Johnson (15–11)Maddux (17–7)Wagner (27)2:2246,23888–52W1
141September 4@ Diamondbacks1–3Telemaco (6–8)Lima (14–7)Olson (26)2:2741,39688–53L1
142September 5@ Diamondbacks6–5 (12)Wagner (4–3)Embree (4–1)—4:0543,63889–53W1
143September 6@ Diamondbacks10–1Hampton (11–6)Daal (7–10)—3:0244,07690–53W2
144September 74:06 p.m. CDTRedsW 1–0Johnson (16–11)Parris (4–4)—2:0742,78791–53W3
145September 87:06 p.m. CDTRedsW 13–7Bergman (12–7)Bere (4–8)—3:1316,57492–53W4
146September 9Brewers6–2Lima (15–7)Woodard (9–11)Wagner (28)2:2924,46293–53W5
147September 10Brewers7–1Reynolds (18–8)Karl (9–9)—2:5420,81394–53W6
148September 11Cardinals8–2Powell (6–5)Morris (5–5)—2:3452,18695–53W7
149September 12Cardinals3–2Johnson (17–11)Oliver (9–10)Wagner (29)2:3652,49396–53W8
150September 13Cardinals2–3Mercker (11–11)Bergman (12–8)Acevedo (9)2:4052,33896–54L1
151September 14Mets4–7 (13)McMichael (4–4)Magnante (4–7)Franco (37)4:0824,24196–55L2
152September 15 (1)Mets6–5 (12)Powell (7–5)Tam (1–1)—3:53—97–55W1
153September 15 (2)Mets4–8Leiter (16–5)Powell (7–6)Wendell (3)3:1940,83597–56L1
154September 16Mets3–4 (11)McMichael (5–4)Bergman (12–9)Wendell (4)4:0524,26997–57L2
155September 18@ Pirates5–2Johnson (18–11)Dessens (2–5)Powell (7)2:4716,93798–57W1
156September 19@ Pirates1–7Cordova (13–13)Lima (15–8)—2:2120,67098–58L1
157September 20@ Pirates2–0Reynolds (19–8)Schmidt (11–13)Wagner (30)2:3223,65799–58W1
158September 22@ Cardinals0–4Morris (7–5)Hampton (11–7)—2:1540,73999–59L1
159September 23@ Cardinals7–1Johnson (19–11)Oliver (10–11)—3:0538,997100–59W1
160September 25Cubs6–2Lima (16–8)Tapani (19–9)—2:3851,831101–59W2
161September 26Cubs2–3Clark (9–14)Powell (7–7)Beck (50)2:5051,950101–60L1
162September 27Cubs4–3 (11)Elarton (2–1)Beck (3–4)—3:3051,916102–60W1 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Astros team member :

### Postseason Game log

1998 Postseason game log: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–2) :
NL Division Series: vs. San Diego Padres 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–2)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceSeriesBox/ Streak
1September 293:07 p.m. CDTPadresL 1–2Brown (1–0)Johnson (0–1)Hoffman (1)2:3850,080SD 1–0L1
2October 13:07 p.m. CDTPadresW 5–4Wagner (1–0)Miceli (0–1)–2:5345,550Tied 1–1W1
3October 310:07 p.m. CDT@ PadresL 1–2Miceli (1–1)Elarton (0–1)Hoffman (2)2:3265,235SD 2–1L1
4October 46:37 p.m. CDT@ PadresL 1–6Hitchcock (1–0)Johnson (0–2)–2:3964,898SD 3–1L2 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Astros team member :

## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Brad Ausmus | 128 | 412 | 111 | .269 | 6 | 45 |
| 1B | Jeff Bagwell | 147 | 540 | 164 | .304 | 34 | 111 |
| 2B | Craig Biggio | 160 | 646 | 210 | .325 | 20 | 88 |
| SS | Ricky Gutiérrez | 141 | 491 | 128 | .261 | 2 | 46 |
| 3B | Bill Spiers | 123 | 384 | 105 | .273 | 4 | 43 |
| LF | Moisés Alou | 159 | 584 | 182 | .312 | 38 | 124 |
| CF | Carl Everett | 133 | 467 | 138 | .296 | 15 | 76 |
| RF | Derek Bell | 156 | 630 | 198 | .314 | 22 | 108 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Sean Berry | 102 | 299 | 94 | .314 | 13 | 52 |
| Richard Hidalgo | 74 | 211 | 64 | .303 | 7 | 35 |
| Tony Eusebio | 66 | 182 | 46 | .253 | 1 | 36 |
| Tim Bogar | 79 | 156 | 24 | .154 | 1 | 8 |
| Dave Clark | 93 | 131 | 27 | .206 | 0 | 4 |
| J.R. Phillips | 36 | 58 | 11 | .190 | 2 | 9 |
| Jack Powell | 24 | 38 | 11 | .289 | 1 | 7 |
| Pete Incaviglia | 13 | 16 | 2 | .125 | 0 | 2 |
| Russ Johnson | 8 | 13 | 3 | .231 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitch Meluskey | 8 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Montgomery | 6 | 5 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 0 |
| Daryle Ward | 4 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Shane Reynolds | 35 | 233.1 | 19 | 8 | 3.51 | 209 |
| José Lima | 33 | 233.1 | 16 | 8 | 3.70 | 169 |
| Mike Hampton | 32 | 211.2 | 11 | 7 | 3.36 | 137 |
| Sean Bergman | 31 | 172.0 | 12 | 9 | 3.72 | 100 |
| Randy Johnson | 11 | 84.1 | 10 | 1 | 1.28 | 116 |
| Pete Schourek | 15 | 80.0 | 7 | 6 | 4.50 | 59 |
| John Halama | 6 | 32.1 | 1 | 1 | 5.85 | 21 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Billy Wagner | 58 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 2.70 | 97 |
| Doug Henry | 59 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3.04 | 59 |
| Mike Magnante | 48 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4.88 | 39 |
| C.J. Nitkowski | 43 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3.77 | 44 |
| Trever Miller | 37 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3.04 | 30 |
| Jay Powell | 29 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2.38 | 38 |
| Scott Elarton | 28 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3.32 | 56 |
| Bob Scanlan | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.08 | 9 |
| Reggie Harris | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 2 |
| José Cabrera | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.31 | 1 |
| Mike Grzanich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 1 |

## National League Divisional Playoffs
### Houston Astros vs. San Diego Padres

The Astros season ended by defeat in four games to the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series, including losing two starts against Kevin Brown – one of the league's highest-accomplished pitchers that year – both by a 2–1 score. As the Game 1 starter opposing Randy Johnson, Brown allowed no runs in eight innings and struck out 16 Astros, a career-high, and second to that point in MLB playoff history only to Bob Gibson's 17-strikeout performance in the 1968 World Series. Bagwell, Derek Bell, and Craig Biggio combined for six hits in 51 at bats in this series.
| Game | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Date | Series |
| 1 | Houston | 1 | San Diego | 2 | September 29 | 1-0 (SD) |
| 2 | Houston | 5 | San Diego | 4 | October 1 | 1-1 |
| 3 | San Diego | 2 | Houston | 1 | October 3 | 2-1 (SD) |
| 4 | San Diego | 6 | Houston | 1 | October 4 | 3-1 (SD) |

## Awards and records

* Larry Dierker, National League Manager of the Year

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | New Orleans Zephyrs | Pacific Coast League | John Tamargo |
| AA | Jackson Generals | Texas League | Jim Pankovits |
| A | Kissimmee Cobras | Florida State League | Manny Acta |
| A | Quad Cities River Bandits | Midwest League | Mike Rojas |
| A-Short Season | Auburn Doubledays | New York–Penn League | Lyle Yates |
| Rookie | GCL Astros | Gulf Coast League | Julio Linares |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: New Orleans; LEAGUE CO-CHAMPIONS: Auburn