[Joy in Mudville]

A hot streak has propeled the Houston Astros into orbit and boosted their lead in the Joy in Mudville National League West.

Houston, the defending JIM champions, have strung together 11 straight victories and opened a 9.5-game lead over second-place San Diego. The Astros have won 45 of their last 55 games.

Houston leads the NL in virtually every pitching category. All-Star Game MVP Frank Tanana is 21-5 with a 1.82 ERA. While the left-hander leads the NL in both categories, Tanana is also tops in strikeouts. He has fanned 203 batters in 217 innings this season.

Meanwhile, veteran Jim Bibby (16-7) has also been solid. Rookie southpaw Bob Knepper has won 13 of 15 decisions. Finally, 31-year-old Don Wilson has rebounded to go 8-2 after overcoming arm ailments that limited him to just one game at the big league level last season.

At the back end, side-winding right-hander Kent Tekulve has racked up 25 saves.

On offense, the Astros top the NL in base on balls, stolen bases, runs scored and on-base percentage. All-Star selections Joe Morgan (.325-18-65), Mike Hargrove (.335-10-73) and Cesar Cedeno (.276-12-78) have led the way.

Diamond JIM Notes: A rash of injuries have swept through the ranks of the league. Among the notables on the sidelines are Texas second baseman Dave Nelson, Pittsburgh short stop Fred Patek, Los Angeles pitcher Don Sutton and Detroit pitcher Vern Ruhle . . . JIM players collecting five hits in one game were Tim Cullen (Giants), Bruce Bochte (Phillies) and Jerry Grote (Mets) . . . Baltimore has reeled off seven straight victories and won eight of its last 10 to slip past Detroit and into first place in the AL East. This marks the first time the Orioles have been in first place this season . . . Kansas City has won eight of its last 10 games and taken over first in the AL West. The Royals grabbed the top spot from Texas . . . the New York Mets have opened a 10-game lead over second-place Philadelphia in the NL East race . . . League owners are reminded that the trade deadline is July 31.

Major League 1970 07-29-1976 Standings Report

American Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Baltimore Orioles 57 42 .576 - 64-35 -7 34-17 23-25 3-7 14-21 63 W7 8-2 Detroit Tigers 57 43 .570 .5 61-39 -4 30-17 27-26 4-3 11-12 W1 4-6 Cleveland Indians 52 47 .525 5.0 46-53 6 34-15 18-32 4-3 18-9 L1 5-5 Boston Red Sox 44 55 .444 13.0 39-60 5 24-23 20-32 5-3 17-16 W1 5-5 Milwaukee Brewers 39 59 .398 17.5 46-52 -7 26-21 13-38 4-4 11-20 L1 2-8 New York Yankees 38 62 .380 19.5 33-67 5 26-26 12-36 9-4 15-19 L3 2-8 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Kansas City Royals 58 42 .580 - 54-46 4 30-20 28-22 8-5 24-10 59 W1 8-2 Texas Rangers 53 46 .535 4.5 50-49 3 27-27 26-19 5-7 21-17 W1 3-7 Minnesota Twins 52 48 .520 6.0 48-52 4 30-20 22-28 9-4 16-16 L1 6-4 California Angels 52 50 .510 7.0 53-49 -1 33-18 19-32 1-4 12-17 L1 5-5 Oakland Athletics 50 51 .495 8.5 54-47 -4 21-29 29-22 1-5 13-12 L5 4-6 Chicago White Sox 48 55 .466 11.5 51-52 -3 32-20 16-35 5-9 16-19 W3 8-2

National Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 New York Mets 63 40 .612 - 62-41 1 27-20 36-20 8-4 14-12 52 W2 8-2 Philadelphia Phillies 51 48 .515 10.0 48-51 3 24-30 27-18 3-4 17-11 L2 5-5 Pittsburgh Pirates 49 51 .490 12.5 45-55 4 23-25 26-26 7-3 16-10 L1 4-6 St. Louis Cardinals 48 53 .475 14.0 51-50 -3 27-25 21-28 7-7 16-21 W1 6-4 Chicago Cubs 38 65 .369 25.0 43-60 -5 18-29 20-36 3-4 7-17 W2 5-5 Montreal Expos 34 67 .337 28.0 36-65 -2 21-29 13-38 2-7 10-16 L1 5-5 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Houston Astros 78 27 .743 - 75-30 3 43-12 35-15 2-3 17-8 49 W11 10-0 San Diego Padres 68 36 .654 9.5 62-42 6 35-21 33-15 6-2 22-13 L4 3-7 Atlanta Braves 52 50 .510 24.5 52-50 0 28-23 24-27 10-7 20-15 L5 1-9 Cincinnati Reds 48 52 .480 27.5 50-50 -2 27-23 21-29 3-2 11-15 L1 7-3 San Francisco Giants 42 61 .408 35.0 47-56 -5 22-29 20-32 2-4 12-15 W1 2-8 Los Angeles Dodgers 41 62 .398 36.0 41-62 0 22-29 19-33 3-9 13-22 W4 7-3