With baseball expansion and trades, the Astros had dramatically changed in 1969. Aspromonte was sent to the Braves and Staub was traded to the expansion Montreal Expos, in exchange for outfielder Jesús Alou and first baseman Donn Clendenon. However, Clendenon refused to report to Houston, electing to retire and take job with a pen manufacturing company. The Astros asked Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to void the trade, but he refused. Instead, he awarded Jack Billingham and a left-handed relief pitcher to the Astros to complete the trade. Cuellar was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Curt Blefary. Other new players included catcher Johnny Edwards, infielder Denis Menke and pitcher Denny Lemaster. Wilson continued to pitch brilliantly and on May 1 threw the second no-hitter of his career. In that game, he struck out 18 batters, tying what was then the all-time single-game mark. He was just 24 years of age and was second to only Sandy Koufax for career no-hit wins. Wilson's no-hitter lit the Astros' fire after a miserable month of April, and six days later the team tied a major league record by turning seven double plays in a game. By May's end, the Astros had put together a ten-game winning streak. The Houston infield tandem of Menke and Joe Morgan continued to improve, providing power at the plate and great defense. Morgan had 15 homers and stole 49 bases while Menke led the Astros with 90 RBIs. The Menke/Morgan punch was beginning to come alive, and the team was responding to Walker's management style. The Astros dominated the season series against their expansion twins, the New York Mets. In one game at New York, Denis Menke and Jimmy Wynn hit grand slams in the same inning, against a Mets team that would go on to win the World Series that same year. The Astros finished the 1969 season with a record of 81 wins, 81 losses, marking their first season of .500 ball.