Thursday, September 30, 1999

Astros: 'It was a big win'

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Hampton helps deliver victory

BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mike Hampton exults after striking out Dmitri Young to end the Reds' eighth. | ZOOM |

        HOUSTON — The Houston Astros were one relieved bunch after beating the Reds 4-1 Wednesday night to split the National League Central showdown series here.

        “It was a big win,” Houston manager Larry Dierker said, “for practical reasons and emotion. It keeps us in the playoff hunt. Also, it was big for our confidence to beat a team that has beaten up on us all year.”

        The Reds had won nine of the previous 12 games against the Astros.

        The Reds never really had a chance Wednesday against Mike Hampton, who pushed his record to 21-4, equaling Joe Niekro's Houston record for victories in a season.

        Hampton went eight innings, allowing seven hits and the one run.

        “He was outstanding,” Dierker said. “To pitch that well against a team that hits the ball the way they do is tremendous. He proved to himself that he's ready to take on a tough game. If we get in the playoffs, he's going to have to do it again.”

        The Astros had lost seven of 10 coming in. That allowed the Reds to go from 3¹/₂ games down to a game up in the NL Central in the course of eight days.

        A loss Wednesday would have dropped the Astros in a tailspin similar to that of the New York Mets, who broke a seven-game losing streak Wednesday.

        “We were going to win this game,” Hampton said. “This is a scrappy bunch of guys. I think we're going to take off from here.”

        Daryle Ward, the hero of Wednesday's game with a two-run homer, said the recent losses had put a dent in the Astros' confidence.

        “After losing for a little while,” he said, “you start to wonder. We weren't going out and playing ball.”

        The Astros and the Reds remain 1¹/₂ games ahead of the Mets in the wild-card race.

        The Astros close the season with a three-game series here against the Dodgers.

        “At this point, all the games are big,” center fielder Carl Everett said. “Each win is a step closer to the playoffs.”

       

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