The 2004 Houston Astros season was the 43rd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 40th as the Astros, 43rd in the National League (NL), 11th in the NL Central division, and fifth at Minute Maid Park. The Astros entered the season with an 87–75 record, in second place and one game behind the division-champion Chicago Cubs. In the NL Wild Card race, the Astros also finished second, four games behind the World Series-champion Florida Marlins.
On April 5, pitcher Roy Oswalt made his second Opening Day starts for the Astros, who hosted the San Francisco Giants, but were defeated, 5–4. On May 6, Roger Clemens moved into second place all-time in strikeouts, increasing his total to 4,140, while on May 8, Craig Biggio became the first Astro to reach 2,500 career hits.
The Astros hosted the MLB All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park, which was the first held in Houston since 1986. Outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Lance Berkman, second baseman Jeff Kent, and Clemens each represented the Astros as All-Stars, and Clemens was selected as the starting pitcher for the National League. Berkman and Kent were also chosen to the starting lineup, accounting for the first time in club history the Astros were represented accordingly.
Having limped into the All-Star break with a 44–44 record, Phil Garner was named manager, the 16th in franchise history, replacing Jimy Williams. On September 18, Jeff Bagwell scored both the 1,500th run and run batted in (RBI) of his career to become the 29th major leaguer and first Astro to reach both milestones. Kent hit his 300th home run on September 29. The Astros won 36 of their final 46 games: . The Astros established an all-time franchise record with 3,087,872 in attendance to surpass their 2000 total, when they had reached 3 million for the first time.
Having completed the regular season with a 92–70 record, Houston ranked second in the NL Central, finishing 13 games behind the division-champion St. Louis Cardinals. However, the Astros captured the NL Wild Card title for the first time, finishing just one game ahead of the San Francisco Giants. It was the eighth playoff qualification overall for Houston.
In the National League Division Series (NLDS), the Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-games-to-2 by scoring an NLDS-record 36 runs. Hence, the Astros won a playoff series for the first time in franchise history, while also defeating Atlanta in a playoff series on their fourth attempt. They advanced to the third National League Championship Series (NLCS) in franchise history and first since 1986 to face the Cardinals. Beltrán, who connected for eight home runs between the NLDS and NLCS, tied Barry Bonds' record for one postseason in 2002. However, the Astros were eliminated in 7 games, ending their season as St. Louis claimed the NL pennant.
Clemens won the NL Cy Young Award, becoming the fourth pitcher to win the award in both leagues,Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.236, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, the only one with seven overall,Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.234, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, and joined Mike Scott in 1986 as the second Astro to be selected.
Offseason Summary The Astros concluded the 2003 campaign with an record, runners-up in the National League (NL) Central division, and one game behind the division-champion Chicago Cubs. The Astros also finished as runners-up in the NL Wild Card race to the eventual World Series-champion Florida Marlins. Hence, they missed the playoffs by one game. On June 11, 2003, Roy Oswalt, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel, and Billy Wagner combined to hurl the tenth no-hitter in franchise history, and first combined effort for the team. It was the first in the Major Leagues to involve as many as six pitchers.
Transactions November 3, 2003: Traded Billy Wagner to the Philadelphia Phillies for Brandon Duckworth, Taylor Buchholz, and Ezequiel Astacio. December 16, 2003: Signed free agent starting pitcher Andy Pettite. December 16, 2003: Selected outfielder Willy Taveras from the Cleveland Indians in the Rule 5 draft. January 19, 2004: Signed free agent starting pitcher Roger Clemens. March 25, 2004: Traded Juan DeLeon (minors) to the New York Yankees for Mike Lamb.
Regular season Summary April + Opening Day starting lineup Player Position 7 Craig Biggio Center fielder 28 Adam Everett Shortstop 5 Jeff Bagwell First baseman 12 Jeff Kent Second baseman 15 Richard Hidalgo Right fielder 17 Lance Berkman Left fielder 14 Morgan Ensberg Third baseman 11 Brad Ausmus Catcher 44 Roy Oswalt Pitcher Venue: Minute Maid Park • San Francisco 5, Houston 4 Sources:
The Astros hosted the San Francisco Giants for Opening Day on April 5, falling in defeat, 5–4. During the top of the ninth inning, Giants first baseman J. T. Snow swatted a sacrifice fly against Astros reliever Octavio Dotel for the game-winning run batted in (RBI). One inning earlier, Barry Bonds drilled a game-tying, three-run home run off Astros starter Roy Oswalt. Bonds also doubled twice and drew a base on balls to reach base four times. Richard Hidalgo collected three hits and went deep for the Astros.
On April 7, a 41-year-old Roger Clemens, also known as "The Rocket," made his Houston Astros debut, to deal to the San Francisco Giants. A memorable debut, Clemens blanked San Francisco for just one hit over seven innings to earn his 311th career victory and lead a 10–1 rout. Home runs by Richard Hidalgo, Jeff Bagwell and Jeff Kent bolstered Houston's scoring output. Clemens also struck out nine, including slugger Barry Bonds twice. At the plate, Clemens singled in his first at bat as a National Leaguer.
When he hit his sixth career grand slam against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 9, first baseman Jeff Bagwell tied a club record. The Colt .45s/Astros franchise record was established by Bob Aspromonte, who hit six from the 1963 to the 1966 seasons. Bagwell collated five RBI while Hidalgo added four. Each of Berkman, Bagwell, and Hidalgo doubled. Wade Miller picked up his first victory of the season following six innings with two runs allowed, leading n 13–7 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Richard Hidalgo opened the season with four successive multi-hit bouts, and five of the first six. On April 9, Hidalgo produced his 11th career four-RBI bout. Through the first six contests, Hidalgo batted .500 / .538 on-base percentage (OBP) / .833 slugging percentage (SLG) / 1.372 on-base plus slugging (OPS), two doubles, two home runs, and nine RBI. Thus, Hidalgo received National League Player of the Week honors for the week ended April 11.
Brandon Backe's immaculate inning On April 15, Brandon Backe hurled the sixth immaculate inning club history, whiffing Bill Hall, Scott Podsednik, and Craig Counsell of the Milwaukee Brewers during the eighth inning. Backe had come in relief of Mike Gallo for the seventh inning though the Astros trailed, 6–2. Backe tossed a perfect seventh, getting a strikeout of Chad Moeller to end the seventh and start four successive strikeouts. Backe was preceded among Astros pitcher by Shane Reynolds on July 15, 1999, and succeeded by Will Harris on September 27, 2019.
Rest of April On April 29, Andy Pettitte obtained his first win in an Astros uniform, also the 150th of his career. Pettitte tossed six shutout innings at PNC Park, surrendered one hit, one walks, and struck out three. Catcher Brad Ausmus and pinch hitter José Vizcaíno each delivered RBI singles as Houston won over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2–0.
On the strength of a 5–0 win–loss record (W–L), 1.95 earned run average (ERA), 32 strikeouts and 14 bases on balls in innings pitched, Clemens was named NL Pitcher of the Month for April. In just one start did Clemens allow more than one run. Clemens succeeded Roy Oswalt in August 2002 the most recent Houston moundsman to have been so recognized.
May
Clemens passed Steve Carlton to move into then-second place behind Nolan Ryan on the all-time strikeout list on May 6 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6–2 victory while striking out nine and bringing his career total to 4,140. In the fifth inning, Clemens whiffed Raúl Mondesí swinging for the milestone; however, he would be displaced back into ranking third just a few years later by Randy Johnson.
Starting things off May 8, Biggio stroked a leadoff single for the 2,500th hit of his career to become the first player in franchise history to reach the mark, all with the Astros. Biggio added two solo home runs to round out a 3-for-4 day. However, the Astros' bullpen was unable to clutch the lead, as the Atlanta Braves rallied for a 5–4 win in 10 innings.
From May 14 to June 11, second baseman Jeff Kent recorded a 25-game hitting streak to eclipse Tony Eusebio's streak of 24 for longest in franchise history, which he accomplished in 2000. Kent raised his batting average from .284 to .315 while stroking 17 extra-base hits to also raise his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) from .837 to .902. His achievement stood as the franchise leader until 2006, when Willy Taveras hit in 30 straight. Kent's streak led the National League in 2004, and was second-longest in the Major Leagues to Carlos Lee of the Chicago White Sox (28 games).
In May, outfielder Lance Berkman produced a .785 slugging percentage with 24 runs batted in (RBI), winning his first career National League Player of the Month honors. Berkman became the first Astro win the Player of the Month Award since Jeff Bagwell in July 2001.
June The Milwaukee Brewers recorded an immaculate inning versus the Astros on June 13. However, in the Brewers' next at bat, reliever Brad Lidge recorded four strikeouts. Lidge became the third Astros pitcher to get four strikeouts in one inning, succeeding bullpen mate Octavio Dotel by one year and two days on June 11, 2003, as both the most recent Major Leaguer and most recent Astro—the same contest in which the duo partook in the six-man no-hitter at Yankee Stadium. Lidge also struck out six batters over two innings, tying his career high. Moreover, following Brandon Backe's immaculate inning just two months earlier on April 15, the Astros and Brewers became the first Major League teams to trade successive immaculate innings against each other.
In a three-team deal on June 28 involving the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics, the Astros acquired center fielder Carlos Beltrán. The Royals sent Beltrán to Houston for minor league catcher John Buck and cash. The A's sent minor leaguers pitcher Mike Wood and first baseman Mark Teahen to the Royals. The Astros sent relief pitcher Octavio Dotel to the A's. Dotel, the Astros' closer, had a 0–4 W–L with a 3.12 ERA in innings pitched, 50 strikeouts and 14 saves in 17 opportunities. He had replaced Billy Wagner in that role following his trade to Philadelphia in the previous off-season.
On June 25, Beltrán made his debut as an Astro, going 2-for-4 with a double in a 2–1 defeat to the Texas Rangers.
Beltrán concluded a 15-game hitting streak that spanned June 15 to July 1, overlapping his time with Kansas City and Houston. Beltrán scored 17 runs, hit 7 home runs, drove in 14, and drew 10 base on balls. He hit .377 with a .787 slugging percentage.
On June 30, righty Wade Miller was shut down for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury. Miller elected to rest the joint rather than undergo surgery,
July, pre-All-Star break Carlos Beltrán homered from both sides of the plate on July 1 to become the sixth switch hitter in club history to accomplish this feat, while producing his first multi-home run game as a member of the Astros. The tenth multi-home run game of Beltrán's career, this was the third of which featured switch-hit home runs.