# 1981 Houston Astros season

The 1981 Houston Astros season was the 20th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in Houston, Texas. The season was divided into two halves because of a players' strike in mid-season. The Astros won the National League West in the second half with a loss by the Cincinnati Reds on October 3, the penultimate day of the season. The Astros advanced to the playoffs, which matched the winners of the two halves in a Division Series (the name would be re-introduced fourteen years later). However, they were defeated in five games by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.

## Offseason

* December 4, 1980: Don Sutton was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
* December 8, 1980: Chris Bourjos was traded by the San Francisco Giants with Bob Knepper to the Houston Astros for Enos Cabell.
* March 27, 1981: Julio González was released by the Astros.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cincinnati Reds | 66 | 42 | .611 | — | 32‍–‍22 | 34‍–‍20 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 63 | 47 | .573 | 4 | 33‍–‍23 | 30‍–‍24 |
| Houston Astros | 61 | 49 | .555 | 6 | 31‍–‍20 | 30‍–‍29 |
| San Francisco Giants | 56 | 55 | .505 | 11½ | 29‍–‍24 | 27‍–‍31 |
| Atlanta Braves | 50 | 56 | .472 | 15 | 22‍–‍27 | 28‍–‍29 |
| San Diego Padres | 41 | 69 | .373 | 26 | 20‍–‍35 | 21‍–‍34 |
| NL West First Half Standings | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 36 | 21 | .632 | — |
| Cincinnati Reds | 35 | 21 | .625 | 1⁄2 |
| Houston Astros | 28 | 29 | .491 | 8 |
| Atlanta Braves | 25 | 29 | .463 | 9+1⁄2 |
| San Francisco Giants | 27 | 32 | .458 | 10 |
| San Diego Padres | 23 | 33 | .411 | 12+1⁄2 |
| NL West Second Half Standings | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| Houston Astros | 33 | 20 | .623 | — |
| Cincinnati Reds | 31 | 21 | .596 | 1+1⁄2 |
| San Francisco Giants | 29 | 23 | .558 | 3+1⁄2 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 27 | 26 | .509 | 6 |
| Atlanta Braves | 25 | 27 | .481 | 7+1⁄2 |
| San Diego Padres | 18 | 36 | .333 | 15+1⁄2 |

### Record vs. opponents

1981 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 3–2–1 | 6–5 | 4–8 | 7–7 | 3–7 | 3–3 | 4–5 | 2–3 | 9–6 | 5–7 | 4–3 |
| Chicago | 2–3–1 | — | 1–5 | 1–6 | 6–4 | 4–7 | 5–8–1 | 2–10 | 4–10 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 5–4–1 |
| Cincinnati | 5–6 | 5–1 | — | 8–4 | 8–8 | 5–4 | 7–3 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 10–2 | 9–5 | 0–5 |
| Houston | 8–4 | 6–1 | 4–8 | — | 4–8 | 5–2 | 6–3 | 4–6 | 2–4 | 11–3 | 9–6 | 2–4 |
| Los Angeles | 7–7 | 4–6 | 8–8 | 8–4 | — | 5–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 6–5 | 7–5 | 5–5 |
| Montreal | 7–3 | 7–4 | 4–5 | 2–5 | 2–5 | — | 9–3 | 7–4 | 10–3 | 4–2 | 2–5 | 6–9 |
| New York | 3–3 | 8–5–1 | 3–7 | 3–6 | 1–5 | 3–9 | — | 7–7 | 3–6–1 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 6–5 |
| Philadelphia | 5-4 | 10–2 | 2–5 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 4–7 | 7–7 | — | 7–5 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 7–6 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–2 | 10–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–10 | 6–3–1 | 5–7 | — | 6–4 | 3–7 | 3–8 |
| San Diego | 6–9 | 3–3 | 2–10 | 3–11 | 5–6 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 4–6 | — | 6–7 | 3–7 |
| San Francisco | 7–5 | 5–5 | 5–9 | 6–9 | 5–7 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 7–3 | 7–6 | — | 2–3 |
| St. Louis | 3–4 | 4–5–1 | 5–0 | 4–2 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–3 | 7–3 | 3–2 | — |

### Notable transactions

* April 1, 1981: Chris Bourjos was traded by the Houston Astros with cash to the Baltimore Orioles for Kiko Garcia.
* April 3, 1981: Gary Rajsich was traded by the Astros to the New York Mets for John Csefalvay (minors).
* April 17, 1981: David Clyde was signed as a free agent by the Astros.
* April 20, 1981 - Dave Bergman and Jeffrey Leonard were traded by the Astros to the San Francisco Giants for Mike Ivie.
* June 7, 1981: Joaquín Andújar was traded by the Astros to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tony Scott.
* June 8, 1981: Eric Bullock was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft (secondary phase).

### Nolan Ryan's 5th No-Hitter

On September 26, 1981, Nolan Ryan no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0, on national television. The 34-year-old right-hander became the first pitcher to throw five career no-hitters. It had been six years since Ryan's last no-hitter; he pitched for the California Angels for the last of four no-hitters.

### Roster
## Game log
### Regular season (First half)

1981 regular season game log: 28–29 (home: 14–14; away: 14–15) :
April: 7–12 (home: 4–9; away: 3–3)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
1April 93:05 p.m. CST@ DodgersL 0–2Valenzuela (1–0)Niekro (0–1)–2:1750,5110–1L1
2April 119:05 p.m. CST@ DodgersL 4–7Hooton (1–0)Sutton (0–1)–2:5651,6910–2L2
3April 123:05 p.m. CST@ DodgersL 2–3Sutcliffe (1–0)Ruhle (0–1)Howe (1)2:1650,7340–3L3
4April 137:35 p.m. CSTBravesL 1–2 (10)Camp (1–0)Sambito (0–1)Bradford (1)2:5734,9610–4L4
5April 147:35 p.m. CSTBravesW 8–2Niekro (1–1)Walk (0–1)–2:3821,4401–4W1
6April 157:35 p.m. CSTBravesW 2–0Ryan (1–0)Boggs (0–1)LaCorte (1)2:0022,3652–4W2
7April 177:35 p.m. CSTPiratesL 3–4Rhoden (2–0)Sutton (0–2)Romo (2)2:2839,1192–5L1
8April 1812:50 p.m. CSTPiratesL 3–6 (11)Jackson (1–0)Smith (0–1)–3:0629,7902–6L2
9April 192:05 p.m. CSTPiratesL 0–2Scurry (1–0)Niekro (1–2)Solomon (1)2:2130,3942–7L3
10April 207:35 p.m. CSTDodgersL 2–5Hooton (3–0)Andújar (0–1)Goltz (1)2:3421,3702–8L4
11April 217:35 p.m. CSTDodgersW 1–0Knepper (1–0)Reuss (0–1)–1:4821,9043–8W1
12April 226:05 p.m. CSTDodgersL 0–1Valenzuela (4–0)Sutton (0–3)–2:2422,8303–9L1
13April 237:35 p.m. CSTRedsL 4–5 (10)Price (1–0)Smith (0–2)Moskau (1)3:0623,1733–10L2
14April 247:35 p.m. CSTRedsL 0–3Pastore (1–0)Niekro (1–3)–2:2327,0873–11L3
15April 2512:50 p.m. CSTRedsL 1–2Berenyi (2–0)Ryan (1–1)Hume (1)2:4519,9573–12L4
16April 262:05 p.m. CDTRedsW 1–0Knepper (2–0)Soto (1–3)–2:2123,4284–12W1
17April 286:35 p.m. CDT@ BravesW 2–1Sutton (1–3)Montefusco (1–2)Smith (1)2:348,6695–12W2
18April 296:35 p.m. CDT@ BravesW 5–4LaCorte (1–0)Camp (2–1)–3:188,3346–12W3
19April 306:35 p.m. CDT@ BravesW 5–1Niekro (2–3)Boggs (1–3)–2:1910,0067–12W4 :
May: 17–12 (home: 8–4; away: 9–8)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
20May 16:35 p.m. CDT@ PiratesW 5–3Sambito (1–1)Solomon (0–1)–3:017,0128–12W5
21May 26:05 p.m. CDT@ PiratesL 4–5 (12)Solomon (1–1)Smith (0–3)–3:5621,9938–13L1
22May 312:35 p.m. CDT@ PiratesW 3–1Sutton (2–3)Bibby (1–1)Smith (2)3:1510,4389–13W1
23May 41:35 p.m. CDT@ CubsW 5–4Andújar (1–1)Krukow (1–2)Sambito (1)3:022,94110–13W2
24May 51:35 p.m. CDT@ CubsW 4–3Smith (1–3)Smith (0–2)–2:412,09211–13W3
25May 61:35 p.m. CDT@ CubsL 1–2 (11)Smith (1–2)LaCorte (1–1)–3:272,57211–14W4
26May 71:35 p.m. CDT@ CubsW 6–0Knepper (3–0)Martz (1–1)–2:403,11212–14L1
27May 86:35 p.m. CDT@ RedsL 0–4Seaver (3–1)Sutton (2–4)–2:2131,96112–15L1
28May 91:15 p.m. CDT@ RedsL 5–9Berenyi (3–1)Andújar (1–2)–2:3830,86012–16L2
29May 101:35 p.m. CDT@ RedsW 7–5Niekro (3–3)Pastore (1–1)LaCorte (2)2:4431,90313–16W1
30May 116:35 p.m. CDT@ RedsW 5–0Ryan (2–1)LaCoss (1–4)–2:3611,79514–16W2
31May 127:35 p.m. CDTCardinalsL 2–3 (10)Sutter (1–1)Sambito (1–2)Kaat (2)2:2620,02013–17L1
32May 137:35 p.m. CDTCardinalsW 3–0Sutton (3–4)Shirley (4–1)–2:2421,70514–17W1
33May 147:35 p.m. CDTCardinalsL 6–7Otten (1–0)Sambito (1–3)Sutter (6)2:5420,04214–18L1
34May 157:35 p.m. CDTCubsW 5–0Niekro (4–3)Caudill (0–3)–2:1623,71816–18W1
35May 167:35 p.m. CDTCubsW 6–1Ryan (3–1)Martz (1–2)Sambito (2)2:4843,72617–18W2
36May 172:35 p.m. CDTCubsW 6–1Knepper (4–0)Krukow (1–4)–2:3434,06818–18W3
37May 197:35 p.m. CDT@ CardinalsL 12–15Kaat (2–0)Sprowl (0–1)–3:0314,58518–19L1
38May 207:35 p.m. CDT@ CardinalsW 4–3 (11)Niekro (5–3)Sutter (1–2)Sambito (3)2:4719,17519–19W1
39May 217:35 p.m. CDT@ CardinalsL 1–3Martin (1–0)Ryan (3–2)–2:1319,82319–20L1
40May 227:35 p.m. CDTGiantsL 3–6 (15)Minton (2–2)Andújar (1–3)–4:3830,37719–21L2
41May 237:35 p.m. CDTGiantsW 5–3LaCorte (2–1)Whitson (1–5)–3:0938,58620–21W1
42May 245:00 p.m. CDTGiantsL 1–2Blue (4–3)Sutton (3–5)Minton (9)2:2634,92220–22L1
43May 257:35 p.m. CDTPadresW 6–3Niekro (6–3)Mura (1–7)Sambito (4)2:4119,02521–22W1
44May 267:35 p.m. CDTPadresW 1–0Ryan (4–2)Eichelberger (4–3)Sambito (5)2:2317,70922–22W2
45May 277:35 p.m. CDTPadresW 1–0Knepper (5–0)Welsh (2–3)–1:5021,25623–22W3
46May 299:35 p.m. CDT@ GiantsL 1–3Blue (5–3)Sutton (3–6)Holland (2)2:228,39723–23L1
47May 303:05 p.m. CDT@ GiantsW 9–8 (14)Andújar (2–3)Breining (1–1)Ruhle (1)4:338,86924–23W1
48May 313:05 p.m. CDT@ GiantsL 1–6Griffin (4–3)Ryan (4–3)Holland (3)2:3420,62624–24L1 :
June: 4–5 (home: 2–1; away: 2–4)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
49June 29:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresW 2–1LaCorte (3–1)Welsh (2–4)Sambito (6)2:199,67125–24W1
50June 39:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresW 6–1Sutton (4–6)Wise (2–5)–2:2510,02326–24W2
51June 43:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresL 5–7Mura (3–7)Niekro (6–4)Lucas (8)2:3112,40326–25L1
52June 57:35 p.m. CDTMetsW 3–0Ryan (5–3)Jones (1–6)–2:0928,08527–25W1
53June 67:35 p.m. CDTMetsW 6–2Ruhle (1–1)Zachry (5–6)Smith (3)2:1742,47828–25W2
54June 77:35 p.m. CDTMetsL 1–3Scott (3–4)Knepper (5–1)Allen (6)2:1329,87328–26L1
55June 87:35 p.m. CDT@ PhilliesL 3–4Ruthven (8–3)Sutton (4–7)McGraw (6)2:4131,66428–27L2
56June 96:35 p.m. CDT@ PhilliesL 3–10Bystrom (4–3)Niekro (6–5)Reed (5)2:1733,97828–28L3
57June 106:35 p.m. CDT@ PhilliesL 4–5Carlton (9–1)LaCorte (3–2)McGraw (7)2:2257,38628–29L4 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Astros team member :

### Regular season (games canceled by the 1981 Major League Baseball strike)

1981 regular season game log :
June
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
–June 12@ MetsCanceled (Strike)
–June 13@ MetsCanceled (Strike)
–June 14@ MetsCanceled (Strike)
–June 15@ ExposCanceled (Strike)
–June 16@ ExposCanceled (Strike)
–June 17PhilliesCanceled (Strike)
–June 18PhilliesCanceled (Strike)
–June 19ExposCanceled (Strike)
–June 20ExposCanceled (Strike)
–June 21ExposCanceled (Strike)
–June 23@ PiratesCanceled (Strike)
–June 24@ PiratesCanceled (Strike)
–June 25@ PiratesCanceled (Strike)
–June 26DodgersCanceled (Strike)
–June 27DodgersCanceled (Strike)
–June 28DodgersCanceled (Strike)
–June 29RedsCanceled (Strike)
–June 30RedsCanceled (Strike) :
July
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
–July 1RedsCanceled (Strike)
–July 3@ BravesCanceled (Strike)
–July 4@ BravesCanceled (Strike)
–July 5@ BravesCanceled (Strike)
–July 7@ DodgersCanceled (Strike)
–July 8@ DodgersCanceled (Strike)
–July 9@ DodgersCanceled (Strike)
–July 10BravesCanceled (Strike)
–July 11BravesCanceled (Strike)
–July 12BravesCanceled (Strike)
–July 16@ RedsCanceled (Strike)
–July 17@ RedsCanceled (Strike)
–July 18@ RedsCanceled (Strike)
–July 19@ CubsCanceled (Strike)
–July 20@ CubsCanceled (Strike)
–July 21PiratesCanceled (Strike)
–July 22PiratesCanceled (Strike)
–July 23PiratesCanceled (Strike)
–July 24CardinalsCanceled (Strike)
–July 25CardinalsCanceled (Strike)
–July 26CardinalsCanceled (Strike)
–July 27CubsCanceled (Strike)
–July 28CubsCanceled (Strike)
–July 29CubsCanceled (Strike)
–July 31@ CardinalsCanceled (Strike) :
August
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
–August 1@ CardinalsCanceled (Strike)
–August 2@ CardinalsCanceled (Strike)
–August 3GiantsCanceled (Strike)
–August 4GiantsCanceled (Strike)
–August 5GiantsCanceled (Strike)
–August 7PadresCanceled (Strike)
–August 8PadresCanceled (Strike)
–August 9PadresCanceled (Strike) :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Astros team member :

### Regular season (Second half)

1981 regular season game log: 33–20 (home: 17–6; away: 16–14) :
August: 13–8 (home: 7–1; away: 6–7)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
52nd All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio
1 {58)August 109:35 p.m. CDT@ GiantsW 6–5Sambito (2–3)Breining (2–2)LaCorte (3)3:0811,1151–0 (29–29)W1
2 (59)August 119:35 p.m. CDT@ GiantsL 2–3Griffin (5–5)Niekro (6–6)Minton (10)2:3612,3541–1 (29–30)L1
3 (60)August 122:05 p.m. CDT@ GiantsW 5–4Sambito (3–3)Holland (3–3)Smith (1)2:518,7072–1 (30–30)W1
4 (61)August 133:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresL 1–9Welsh (4–4)Knepper (5–2)–2:294,8992–2 (30–31)L1
5 (62)August 149:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresW 5–1Ryan (6–3)Lollar (1–5)–2:248,4143–2 (31–31)W1
6 (63)August 159:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresW 5–0Sutton (5–7)Eichelberger (6–4)–1:595,8524–2 (32–31)W2
7 (64)August 163:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresW 3–0Niekro (7–6)Mura (4–9)Smith (4)2:165,8805–2 (33–31)W3
8 (65)August 177:35 p.m. CDTExposL 2–6Burris (5–5)Ruhle (1–2)Fryman (4)2:1924,2035–3 (33–32)L1
9 {66)August 187:35 p.m. CDTExposW 4–2Knepper (6–2)Rogers (8–5)Sambito (7)2:0423,3066–3 (34–32)W1
10 (67)August 197:35 p.m. CDTExposW 9–1Ryan (7–3)Sanderson (6–4)Smith (5)2:3927,1697–3 (35–32)W2
11 (68)August 217:05 p.m. CDT@ PhilliesL 4–5Lyle (6–2)Ruhle (1–3)McGraw (8)2:4131,6937–4 (35–33)L1
12 (69)August 221:15 p.m. CDT@ PhilliesL 4–8Ruthven (9–5)Niekro (7–7)–2:1635,1997–5 (35–34)L2
13 (70)August 236:05 p.m. CDT@ PhilliesL 0–6Carlton (10–3)Knepper (6–3)–1:5130,6307–6 (35–35)L3
14 (71)August 257:05 p.m. CDT@ MetsL 1–2Marshall (1–0)Sambito (3–4)–2:3215,6227–7 (35–36)L4
15 (72)August 267:05 p.m. CDT@ MetsW 9–3Sutton (6–7)Zachry (6–9)–2:3416,7318–7 (36–36)W1
16 (73)August 271:05 p.m. CDT@ MetsL 2–3Marshall (2–0)Sambito (3–5)Allen (12)2:2817,4888–8 (36–37)L1
17 (74)August 287:35 p.m. CDTPhilliesW 3–2 (10)Smith (2–3)Lyle (6–3)–2:3729,4829–8 (37–37)W1
18 (75)August 29 (1)5:35 p.m. CDTPhilliesW 6–1Ruhle (2–3)Davis (0–2)–2:22N/A10–8 (38–37)W2
19 (76)August 29 (2)8:32 p.m. CDTPhilliesW 2–1Smith (1–0)Noles (0–1)LaCorte (4)2:0133,32711–8 (39–37)W3
20 77)August 307:35 p.m. CDTPhilliesW 5–4 (10)Smith (3–3)Lyle (6–4)–2:5323,10212–8 (40–37)W4
21 (78)August 317:35 p.m. CDTMetsW 6–1Sutton (7–7)Zachry (6–10)–2:2710,66913–8 (41–37)W5 :
September: 18–10 (home: 10–5; away: 8–5)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
22 (79)September 17:35 p.m. CDTMetsW 3–2Sambito (4–5)Marshall (2–1)–2:3916,33914–8 (42–37)W6
23 (80)September 27:35 p.m. CDTMetsW 8–0Knepper (7–3)Scott (4–8)–2:2118,93815–8 (43–37)W7
24 {81)September 36:35 p.m. CDT@ ExposW 2–1Ruhle (3–3)Sanderson (7–5)Smith (6)2:2024,83316–8 (44–37)W8
25 (82)September 46:35 p.m. CDT@ ExposW 5–0Ryan (8–3)Gullickson (4–7)Sambito (8)2:5432,58017–8 (45–37)W9
26 (83)September 51:15 p.m. CDT@ ExposL 2–5Burris (7–5)Sutton (7–8)–2:1330,47117–9 (45–38)L1
27 (84)September 612:35 p.m. CDT@ ExposW 4–3 (12)LaCorte (4–2)Sosa (1–2)–3:3347,19318–9 (46–38)W1
28 (85)September 76:35 p.m. CDT@ BravesW 3–2Smith (4–3)Camp (7–2)Sambito (9)2:407,35819–9 (47–38)W2
29 (86)September 86:35 p.m. CDT@ BravesL 2–3Camp (8–2)Smith (1–1)–2:132,80019–10 (47–39)L1
30 (87)September 96:35 p.m. CDT@ BravesL 0–9Niekro (7–5)Ryan (8–4)–2:344,48219–11 (47–40)L2
31 (88)September 117:35 p.m. CDTGiantsW 6–0Sutton (8–8)Blue (8–6)–2:3023,67720–11 (48–40)W1
32 (89)September 127:35 p.m. CDTGiantsW 5–2Niekro (8–7)Whitson (5–8)Smith (7)2:3935,86721–11 (49–40)W2
33 (90)September 135:00 p.m. CDTGiantsW 3–0Knepper (8–3)Alexander (8–7)LaCorte (5)2:3219,64222–11 (50–40)W3
34 (91)September 147:35 p.m. CDTRedsL 2–4Berenyi (8–5)Ruhle (3–4)–2:3019,74222–12 (50–41)L1
35 (92)September 155:00 p.m. CDTRedsL 0–4Leibrandt (1–0)Ryan (8–5)–2:2616,35422–13 (50–42)L2
36 (93)September 169:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresW 5–2Sutton (9–8)Lollar (1–8)Sambito (10)2:354,24123–13 (51–42)W1
37 (94)September 179:05 p.m. CDT@ PadresW 9–0Niekro (9–7)Mura (5–13)–2:142,42824–13 (52–42)W2
38 (95)September 189:35 p.m. CDT@ GiantsL 2–5Alexander (9–7)Knepper (8–4)Holland (7)2:268,18324–14 (52–43)L1
39 (96)September 193:05 p.m. CDT@ GiantsW 8–1Ruhle (4–4)Griffin (8–7)–2:2611,52225–14 (53–43)W1
40 (97)September 203:05 p.m. CDT@ GiantsW 7–3Ryan (9–5)Lavelle (0–6)–3:0416,82426–14 (54–43)W2
41 (98)September 227:35 p.m. CDTBravesW 3–0Sutton (10–8)Perry (7–8)–2:1622,56427–14 (55–43)W3
42 (99)September 237:35 p.m. CDTBravesL 1–3Mahler (6–6)Niekro (9–8)–2:1324,14227–15 (55–44)L1
43 (100)September 247:35 p.m. CDTBravesW 5–3Knepper (9–4)McWilliams (1–1)Smith (8)2:1723,34128–15 (56–44)W1
44 (101)September 257:35 p.m. CDTDodgersL 0–3Hooton (11–6)Ruhle (4–5)–2:1835,48128–16 (56–45)L1
45 (102)September 261:20 p.m. CDTDodgersW 5–0Ryan (10–5)Power (1–3)–2:4632,11529–16 (57–45)W1
46 (103)September 275:05 p.m. CDTDodgersW 4–1Sutton (11–8)Valenzuela (13–6)–2:2341,68630–16 (58–45)W2
47 (104)September 287:35 p.m. CDTPadresW 2–1Sambito (5–5)Eichelberger (8–8)–2:0721,57631–16 (59–45)W3
48 (105)September 297:35 p.m. CDTPadresL 1–2Wise (4–8)Knepper (9–5)Lucas (12)2:1934,73231–17 (59–46)L1
49 (106)September 306:35 p.m. CDT@ RedsL 2–3Soto (11–9)Ruhle (4–6)Hume (13)2:1424,39431–18 (59–47)L2 :
October: 2–2 (home: 0–0; away: 2–2)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/ Streak
50 (107)October 14:00 p.m. CDT@ RedsW 8–1Ryan (11–5)Berenyi (9–6)–3:1226,48432–18 (60–47)W1
51 (108)October 29:30 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 1–6Reuss (10–4)Sutton (11–9)–2:3046,10832–19 (60–48)L1
52 (109)October 32:50 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 2–7Welch (9–5)Niekro (9–9)–2:4342,27232–20 (60–49)L2
53 (110)October 43:00 p.m. CDT@ DodgersW 5–3Smith (5–2)Goltz (2–7)–3:1747,07233–20 (61–49)W1 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement Bold = Astros team member :

### Postseason Game log

1981 Postseason game log: 2–3 (home: 2–0; away: 0–3) :
NL Western Division Series: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 2–3 (home: 2–0; away: 0–3)
#DateTime (CT)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceSeriesBox/ Streak
1October 67:15 p.m. CDTDodgersW 3–1Ryan (1–0)Stewart (0–1)–2:2244,836HOU 1–0W1
2October 712:05 p.m. CDTDodgersW 1–0 (11)Sambito (1–0)Stewart (0–2)–3:3942,398HOU 2–0W2
3October 93:05 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 1–6Hooton (1–0)Knepper (0–1)–2:3546,820HOU 2–1L1
4October 107:15 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 1–2Valenzuela (1–0)Ruhle (0–1)–2:0055,983Tied 2–2L2
5October 113:05 p.m. CDT@ DodgersL 0–4Reuss (1–0)Ryan (1–1)–2:5255,979LA 3–2L3 :
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 | Alan Ashby | 83 | 255 | 69 | .271 | 4 | 33 |
| 1B | César Cedeño | 82 | 306 | 83 | .271 | 5 | 34 |
| 2B | Joe Pittman | 52 | 135 | 38 | .281 | 0 | 7 |
| SS | Craig Reynolds | 87 | 323 | 84 | .260 | 4 | 31 |
| 3B | Art Howe | 103 | 361 | 107 | .296 | 3 | 36 |
| LF | José Cruz | 107 | 409 | 109 | .267 | 13 | 55 |
| CF | Tony Scott | 55 | 225 | 66 | .293 | 2 | 22 |
| RF | Terry Puhl | 96 | 350 | 88 | .251 | 3 | 28 |

#### 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 |
| Denny Walling | 65 | 158 | 37 | .234 | 5 | 23 |
| Kiko Garcia | 48 | 136 | 37 | .272 | 0 | 15 |
| Luis Pujols | 40 | 117 | 28 | .239 | 1 | 14 |
| Phil Garner | 31 | 113 | 27 | .239 | 0 | 6 |
| Gary Woods | 54 | 110 | 23 | .209 | 0 | 12 |
| Danny Heep | 33 | 96 | 24 | .250 | 0 | 11 |
| Dickie Thon | 49 | 95 | 26 | .274 | 0 | 3 |
| Rafael Landestoy | 35 | 74 | 11 | .149 | 0 | 4 |
| Dave Roberts | 27 | 54 | 13 | .241 | 1 | 5 |
| Mike Ivie | 19 | 42 | 10 | .238 | 0 | 6 |
| Harry Spilman | 28 | 34 | 10 | .294 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeffrey Leonard | 7 | 18 | 3 | .167 | 0 | 3 |
| Tim Tolman | 4 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Loucks | 10 | 7 | 4 | .571 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Knicely | 3 | 7 | 4 | .571 | 2 | 2 |
| Dave Bergman | 6 | 6 | 1 | .167 | 1 | 1 |
| Bert Peña | 4 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 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 |
| Joe Niekro | 24 | 166.0 | 9 | 9 | 2.82 | 77 |
| Don Sutton | 23 | 158.2 | 11 | 9 | 2.61 | 104 |
| Bob Knepper | 22 | 156.2 | 9 | 5 | 2.18 | 75 |
| Nolan Ryan | 21 | 149.0 | 11 | 5 | 1.69 | 140 |
| Vern Ruhle | 20 | 102.0 | 4 | 6 | 2.91 | 39 |

#### Other 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 |
| Joaquín Andújar | 9 | 23.2 | 2 | 3 | 4.94 | 18 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Joe Sambito | 49 | 63.2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 1.84 | 41 |
| Dave Smith | 42 | 75.0 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2.76 | 52 |
| Frank LaCorte | 37 | 42.0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3.64 | 40 |
| Bobby Sprowl | 15 | 28.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.97 | 18 |
| Billy Smith | 10 | 20.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.05 | 3 |
| Gordie Pladson | 2 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 3 |

## 1981 National League Division Series

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Houston Astros
Los Angeles wins series, 3-2.
| Game | Score | Date |
| 1 | Houston 3, Los Angeles 1 | October 6 |
| 2 | Houston 1, Los Angeles 0 (11 innings) | October 7 |
| 3 | Los Angeles 6, Houston 1 | October 9 |
| 4 | Los Angeles 2, Houston 1 | October 10 |
| 5 | Los Angeles 4, Houston 0 | October 11 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Tucson Toros | Pacific Coast League | Jimmy Johnson |
| AA | Columbus Astros | Southern League | Matt Galante |
| A | Daytona Beach Astros | Florida State League | Carlos Alfonso |
| Rookie | GCL Astros Blue | Gulf Coast League | Eric Swanson |
| Rookie | GCL Astros Orange | Gulf Coast League | Lyle Olsen |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Daytona Beach