For game 4 of the season we will be looking at the years in which the Astros sent four representatives to the mid-Summer classic.
The first year the Astros had four All-Stars was 1979. That year Joe Sambito, Craig Reynolds, Joe Niekro and Joaquin Andujar all represented the Astros. As a 26 year old shortstop Reynolds would go 0-2 in the game. Niekro did not appear in the game, Andujar and Sambito did.
Andujar would be the first one to appear replacing George Foster, who started the game, in the second inning. He got through the inning unscathed with three flyball outs, however, he did allow one walk to Cecil Cooper.
Sambito would replace Gaylord Perry who had run into some trouble in the sixth inning. With men on first and third, Sambito would get a fielders choice, issue an intentional walk and then get the next two batters out on a flyout and a groundout, escaping the inning unscathed.
The next year the Astros would have four All-Stars was 1986 when Dave Smith, Mike Scott, Glenn Davis and Kevin Bass made the team. Smith did not appear in the game.
Scott pitched the seventh inning getting two strikeouts and allowing a solo homerun to Frank White. Davis and Bass would each pinch hit and produce an out.
In 1999 Jeff Bagwell, Mike Hampton, Jose Lima and Bill wagner would all appear in the All-Star game. Bagwell went 1-3 as the National League team's designated hitter (Mark McGwire was playing first base).
Lima pitched the bottom of the fifth inning allowing only one hit. Hampton replaced Andy Ashby in the bottom of the seventh inning getting B.J. Surhoff to ground out and Magglio Ordonez to popout. Wagner would pitch the bottom of the eighth inning getting both batters he faced to strikeout.
2004 saw Roger Clemens, Jeff Kent, Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran reach the All-Star game. All three hitters got two at bats and while Berkman failed to get a hit both Kent and Beltran each had a hit and run scored.
As I'm sure many of you know this was the All-Star game in Houston and because of that Jack McKeon tabbed Clemens as the starter for the game. It did not go well for Clemens who facing his former American League peers allowed six runs on five hits, however, only three of those runs were earned. Still it was not a shining moment for Clemens or Houston.
The following year the Astros against sent four players to the All-Star game. Roger Clemens, Morgan Ensberg, Brad Lidge and Roy Oswalt would all appear in the game for the National League team. Clemens would have a much better go of it, pitching a perfect bottom of the fifth inning. Lidge would have a perfect inning of his own with a perfect bottom of the seventh inning, he struck out all three batters faced, swinging.
It did not go so well for Oswalt who pitched the bottom of the third inning and allowed two runs to score on two hits and a walk. Ensberg had two at bats and came up empty in both.