On the strength of a club record 102 wins, they rocketed to a second consecutive trip to the postseason with an National League Central title.
On September 14, the Astros clinched the division title when the Chicago Cubs, the eventual NL Wild Card winners, lost.
[1] First baseman Jeff Bagwell hit his first career grand slam while tying a career-high six runs batted in (RBI) against Cincinnati on September 9 in a 13–7 victory.
July 31, 1998: Randy Johnson was traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Houston Astros for a player to be named later, Freddy Garcia, and Carlos Guillén.
As the Game 1 starter opposing Randy Johnson, Brown allowed no runs in eight innings and struck out 16 Astros, a career-high, and second to that point in MLB playoff history only to Bob Gibson's 17-strikeout performance in the 1968 World Series.