NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds 
Game 1: Don Gullett vs. Steve
Carlton, Veterans Stadium
PERSISTENT PHILS TAKE NLCS OPENER IN EXTAS
Oates' 2-Out Single in 10th Is Game-Winner
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 9 (AP) - Johnny Oates' base hit with two outs in the bottom
of the tenth plated Bobby Tolan with the game-winning run as the Philadelphia
Philles fought back from a deficit on three different occasions to wrest
the opening game of the National League Championship Series from the Cincinnati
Reds, 5-4 at Veterans Stadium. In a game that was closely fought
throughout, the Phillies claimed their only lead in their final at-bat in part
due to a bizarre passed ball on a ball four to pinch hitter Tommy Hutton.
Tug McGraw was credited with the win after tossing a pair of scoreless innings
in relief. Rawley Eastwick was charged with the unearned run that ended
the contest and absorbed the defeat.
The Reds broke out on top in the second inning when George Foster led off the
frame with a long home run to left field off Philadelphia starter Steve
Carlton. But the Phillies knotted the score in the third when Reds starter
Don Gullett endured a sudden spasm of wildness. After retiring Larry Bowa
and Carlton on just three pitches to open the inning, Dave Cash reached on an
infield single. Gullett then walked Garry Maddox and Mike Schmidt to fill
the bases and then issued a third consecutive free pass, this one to Greg
Luzinski, to force home Cash with the tying run. Gullett finally ended the
inning by retiring Dick Allen on a ground out to third.
Cincinnati regained the lead in the fourth when Tony Perez led off with a double
to left, moved to third on Foster's infield grounder and then trotted home when
Johnny Bench clubbed a two-run homer just inside the left field foul pole.
The blast gave the Reds a 3-1 advantage.
But the Phillies got one of those runs back immediately, and Gullett's
difficulty throwing strikes was again a factor. Ollie Brown led off the
frame by drawing a free pass and, after Tim McCarver fanned, Larry Bowa ripped a
double to the gap in left-center, advancing Brown to third. Carlton then
aided his own cause by lifting a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Brown to cut
the Philadelphia deficit to 3-2.
The Phillies tied the game in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Allen and
Brown leading off the inning. With the go-ahead run in scoring position,
Gullett was able to retire McCarver, Bowa and Carlton to keep the score 3-3.
The Reds regained a one-run lead in the top of the seventh. With one out,
Bob Bailey hit for Gullett and rapped a single to left. He was replaced at
first base by pinch runner Ed Armbrister. Pete Rose flied to left for the
second out but, with Ken Griffey at the plate, Armbrister stole second.
Griffey then sliced a single to left, scoring Armbrister to put Cincinnati on
top 4-3.
Pedro Borbon came on in relief for the Reds in the seventh and retired Cash and
Maddox without difficulty but Schmidt crushed a 1-0 offering high into the left
field seats to tie the game at four runs apiece.
Gene Garber took over on the mound for the Phillies in the top of the eighth and
kept the Reds off the board. Borbon did the same to the Phillies in the
bottom of the inning. McGraw then blanked the Reds in the top of the
ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, with Eastwick on in relief for Cincinnati,
Bob Boone led off with a single to center and was replaced by pinch runner Jerry
Martin. Cash then laced a single into the left field corner, advancing
Martin to third with no outs. With the infield in, Philadelphia had the
contact play on when Maddox bounced the first pitch he saw from Eastwick to
third and Rose cut Martin down at the plate for the first out, leaving runners
on first and third. Again the Reds brought the infield in and Schmidt
again grounded to third. Rose threw out Cash at the plate for the second
out. Eastwick then induced Luzinski to fly to left to end the
inning. The Phillies had missed a golden opportunity to end the game.
McGraw got the first two batters he faced in the tenth, walked Foster on four
pitches, then fanned Bench to end the inning.
In the bottom of the tenth, Tolan, who had come on as a pinch hitter in the
seventh and stayed in the game to play first base, led off with a base
hit. Another pinch hitter/defensive replacement, Jay Johnstone, then filed
to center for the first out. Hutton then came on to pinch hit for
McGraw. Eastwick fell behind 3-1 and then issued ball four. But the
pitch--which didn't miss by much--eluded Bench and rattled around the
backstop. The alert Tolan moved all the way to third and, on the throw
there, the hustling Hutton advanced to second. On the very first pitch
from Eastwick, Bowa bounced a ball back to the mound and Eastwick, after looking
Tolan back to third, got the second out at first base. It appeared that
the Phillies would miss out on another game-winning opportunity but Oates, who
had come on defensively after Boone was lifted for a pinch runner in the ninth,
took a rip at the first pitch he saw from Eastwick and lined it between short
and third into left field to score Tolan as the sellout crowd of better than
56,000 erupted.
The Reds, favored to win this series, will look to even things up tomorrow in
Game 2 when Pat Zachry will lock horns with Jim Lonborg.
10/9/1976, Cin76-Phi76, Veterans Stadium
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E LOB DP
1976 Reds 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 10 0 8 1
1976 Phillies 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 5 12 1 11 1
Reds AB R H BI AVG Phillies AB R H BI AVG
Rose 3b 5 0 1 0 .200 Cash 2b 5 1 2 0 .400
Griffey rf 5 0 2 1 .400 Maddox,G cf 4 0 0 0 .000
Morgan,J 2b 5 0 1 0 .200 Schmidt 3b 4 1 1 1 .250
Perez,T 1b 5 1 1 0 .200 Luzinski lf 4 0 2 1 .500
Foster,G lf 4 1 1 1 .250 Allen 1b 3 1 1 0 .333
Bench c 4 1 1 2 .250 Tolan ph 2 1 1 0 .500
Concepcion ss 4 0 1 0 .250 Brown,O rf 2 1 2 1 1.000
Geronimo cf 4 0 1 0 .250 Johnstone ph 2 0 0 0 .000
Gullett p 2 0 0 0 .000 McCarver c 4 0 0 0 .000
Bailey ph 1 0 1 0 1.000 McGraw p 0 0 0 0 .000
Armbrister pr 0 1 0 0 .000 Hutton ph 0 0 0 0 .000
Borbon p 0 0 0 0 .000 Bowa ss 5 0 1 0 .200
Flynn ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Carlton p 2 0 0 1 .000
Eastwick p 0 0 0 0 .000 Garber p 0 0 0 0 .000
40 4 10 4 Boone c 1 0 1 0 1.000
Martin pr 0 0 0 0 .000
Oates c 1 0 1 1 1.000
39 5 12 5
Reds INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Gullett 6.0 6 3 3 4 6 113 65 4.50
Borbon BS 1 2.0 2 1 1 0 1 27 17 4.50
Eastwick L 0-1 1.2 4 1 0 1 0 30 16 0.00
9.2 12 5 4 5 7 170 98
Phillies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Carlton 7.0 9 4 4 0 8 129 85 5.14
Garber 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 11 8 0.00
McGraw W 1-0 2.0 1 0 0 1 2 31 19 0.00
10.0 10 4 4 1 12 171 112
Cin: Bailey batted for Gullett in the 7th
Armbrister ran for Bailey in the 7th
Flynn batted for Borbon in the 9th
Phi: Tolan batted for Allen in the 7th
Tolan moved to 1b in the 8th
Johnstone batted for Brown,O in the 8th
Johnstone moved to rf in the 9th
Boone inserted at c in the 9th
Martin ran for Boone in the 9th
Oates inserted at c in the 10th
Hutton batted for McGraw in the 10th
E-Cash. 2B-Rose(1), Perez,T(1), Cash(1), Luzinski(1), Allen(1), Brown,O 2(2),
Bowa(1). HR-Foster,G(1), Bench(1), Schmidt(1). RBI-Griffey(1), Foster,G(1),
Bench 2(2), Schmidt(1), Luzinski(1), Brown,O(1), Carlton(1), Oates(1).
SB-Armbrister(1), Flynn(1). CS-Concepcion. K-Rose, Morgan,J, Perez,T 3,
Foster,G, Bench 2, Concepcion 2, Geronimo, Gullett, Maddox,G 2, Schmidt 2,
McCarver 3. BB-Foster,G, Maddox,G, Schmidt, Luzinski, Brown,O, Hutton.
SF-Carlton. HBP-Bench. PB-Bench. HB-Garber. WP-Carlton.
GWRBI: Oates
Temperature: 71, Sky: clear, Wind: right to left at 5 MPH.
Attendance: 56,206
Game Time: 2:58
Game 2: Pat Zachry vs. Jim Lonborg, Veterans Stadium
REDS EKE OUT NARROW VICTORY, EVEN SERIES
Zachry Earns Win; Griffey Remains Hot
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 10 (AP) - The Cincinnati Reds overcame an early deficit,
rallying in the middle innings to take the lead and then held on to squeeze out
a 4-3 victory in Game Two of the National League Championship Series at Veterans
Stadium. The win evens the series at a game apiece as the two teams travel
to Riverfront Stadium for the duration. Pat Zachry held the Phillies to a
single earned run and Ken Griffey banged out three more hits for the Reds.
Cincinnati took the lead with a run in the first inning, but it could have been
more. Pete Rose drew a lead-off walk and Griffey drilled a double into the
right field corner, putting runners on second and third. Joe Morgan worked
a 3-1 count from Phillies starter Jim Lonborg and then lifted a fly ball to
left. Rose scored easily, but Greg Luzinski gunned down Griffey as he
attempted to advance to third. What appeared to be a possible big inning
was limited to a single run.
Philadelphia evened the contest with an unearned run in the third. Garry
Maddox doubled with one out. Mike Schmidt grounded to short but Dave
Concepcion's throw to first was in the dirt and couldn't be handled by first
baseman Tony Perez. Schmidt reached on the error and Maddox took
third. Luzinski then lifted a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game.
Zachry retired Dick Allen on a grounder to third to end the inning.
The Phillies took the lead in the fourth. Jay Johnstone flared a single to
left to open the inning. Zachry fanned Bob Boone for the first out and
Johnstone then took second on Larry Bowa's soft grounder to short. In an
important development, Zachry walked Lonborg to put runners on fist and second
and turned the lineup over in the process. Dave Cash made him pay by
grounding a single through the box, scoring Johnstone for a 2-1 Philadelphia
advantage.
But the Reds regained the lead in the fifth and, again, the inability to retire
the pitcher was a key. Cesar Geronimo tripled to right-center with one out
and Concepcion followed with a double to the left-center field gap to tie the
game. That brought Zachry to the plate and he aided his own cause with a
base hit to center, scoring Concepcion with the go-ahead run. Rose rolled
into an inning-ending double play, but the damage had been done.
Cincinnati added a key insurance run in the sixth. Griffey started things
off with a single and then took second when Lonborg was called for a balk.
Morgan struck out but Perez followed with a run-scoring single to give the Reds
a 4-2 lead. When George Foster followed with a single of his own, Lonborg
was removed in favor of Ron Schueler who got Johnny Bench on a line out to
left. Geronimo walked to load the bases but Schueler retired Concepcion on
a grounder to short to end the inning.
Zachry got through the sixth and then was lifted for a pinch hitter in a
scoreless top of the seventh. Manny Sarmiento replaced Zachry on the mound
for the Reds and pitched around a one-out single to retain the two-run
advantage.
In the bottom of the eighth, with Sarmiento still on the hill, Allen led off
with a bomb into the left field seats to cut the lead to 4-3 and Johnstone
followed with an opposite field double. Boone dropped down a sacrifice and
the Phillies had the tying run on third with one out. Larry Bowa then
lined sharply to Concepcion at short for the second out of the frame and pinch
hitter Tim McCarver hit a soft line drive right back to Sarmiento to end the
inning with the Reds still on top.
Tom Underwood took over on the mound for the Phillies in the ninth and walked
Bench to open the inning. Geronimo struck out but Concepcion rolled a
single into right field, with the alert Bench taking third base on the
play. Bob Bailey came on to pinch hit for Sarmiento and swung at the first
pitch--producing a tailor made double play ball to Cash at second. The
Phillies successfully turned the twin killing and the Reds would have to protect
a one-run lead to even the series.
Rawley Eastwick, the losing pitcher in the opening game, came on and needed only
eight pitches to retire Cash, Maddox and Schmidt in order to close out the game.
There will be a travel day tomorrow and the the teams will meet at Riverfront
Stadium for Game 3 the following day. Jim Kaat and Gary Nolan are the
projected starters.
10/10/1976, Cin76-Phi76, Veterans Stadium
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1976 Reds 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 4 9 1 5 0
1976 Phillies 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 0 9 3
Reds AB R H BI AVG Phillies AB R H BI AVG
Rose 3b 3 1 0 0 .125 Cash 2b 4 0 1 1 .333
Griffey rf 4 1 3 0 .556 Maddox,G cf 5 1 2 0 .222
Morgan,J 2b 3 0 0 1 .125 Schmidt 3b 5 0 0 0 .111
Perez,T 1b 4 0 1 1 .222 Luzinski lf 2 0 0 1 .333
Driessen 1b 0 0 0 0 .000 Allen 1b 4 1 2 1 .429
Foster,G lf 4 0 1 0 .250 Johnstone rf 3 1 2 0 .400
Bench c 3 0 0 0 .143 Boone c 3 0 1 0 .500
Geronimo cf 3 1 1 0 .286 Bowa ss 4 0 0 0 .111
Concepcion ss 4 1 2 1 .375 Lonborg p 1 0 0 0 .000
Zachry p 2 0 1 1 .500 Schueler p 0 0 0 0 .000
Lum ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Tolan ph 1 0 0 0 .333
Sarmiento p 0 0 0 0 .000 Reed p 0 0 0 0 .000
Bailey ph 1 0 0 0 .500 McCarver ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Eastwick p 0 0 0 0 .000 Underwood p 0 0 0 0 .000
32 4 9 4 Garber p 0 0 0 0 .000
33 3 8 3
Reds INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Zachry W 1-0 6.0 5 2 1 4 3 115 69 1.50
Sarmiento H 1 2.0 3 1 1 0 0 26 19 4.50
Eastwick S 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 9 8 0.00
9.0 8 3 2 4 4 150 96
Phillies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Lonborg L 0-1 5.1 8 4 4 1 2 84 53 6.75
Schueler 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 10 4 0.00
Reed 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 20 14 0.00
Underwood 0.1 1 0 0 1 1 14 8 0.00
Garber 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00
9.0 9 4 4 3 4 129 80
Cin: Lum batted for Zachry in the 7th
Driessen inserted at 1b in the 8th
Bailey batted for Sarmiento in the 9th
Phi: Tolan batted for Schueler in the 6th
McCarver batted for Reed in the 8th
E-Concepcion. 2B-Griffey(1), Concepcion(1), Maddox,G(1), Johnstone(1).
3B-Geronimo(1). HR-Allen(1). RBI-Morgan,J(1), Perez,T(1), Concepcion(1),
Zachry(1), Cash(1), Luzinski(2), Allen(1). SB-Griffey(1). K-Morgan,J 2,
Foster,G, Geronimo, Maddox,G, Luzinski, Boone, Bowa. BB-Rose, Bench,
Geronimo, Cash, Luzinski, Johnstone, Lonborg. SH-Boone. SF-Morgan,J,
Luzinski. BALK-Lonborg.
GWRBI: Zachry
Temperature: 64, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 6 MPH.
Attendance: 57,036
Game Time: 2:39
Game 3: Jim Kaat vs. Gary Nolan,
Riverfront Stadium
REDS METHODICAL IN OUTLASTING PHILS
Griffey's Offensive Surge Continues-3 H, 3 R
CINCINNATI, Oct. 12 (AP) - The Cincinnati Reds scored in five different innings
and went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 in a pivotal Game 3 of the
National League Championship Series at Riverfront Stadium. Gary Nolan held
the Phillies to two runs in seven innings of work and secured the victory.
The Reds tagged Philadelphia starter Jim Kaat with the loss. Kaat allowed
four runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Cincinnati right fielder Ken Griffey
continued his NLCS offensive explosion with three more hits and scored three
times. Griffey is hitting .615 (8-for-13) in the series thus far.
The Reds secured a lead they would never surrender in the very first
inning. Pete Rose led off the bottom of the opening frame with a single to
center on the first pitch he saw from Kaat. Griffey then chased him to
third with a base hit to right. Joe Morgan's sacrifice fly to center
plated Rose with the game's first run and Tony Perez followed by grounding a
single into right field to give the Reds runners on the corners with one
out. George Foster hit into a fielder's choice, with Perez being forced at
second, but Griffey scored to put the Reds on top 2-0. Johnny Bench then
struck out to end the inning.
The Phillies got one of the runs back in the top of the second. Dick Allen
led off with a double off the base of the wall in right field. Jay
Johnstone struck out but Bob Boone drew a walk. Larry Bowa's dribbler to
the left of the mound resulted in Allen being forced at third for the second out
but, in a theme reminiscent of Game 2, Kaat helped himself by bouncing a single
through the middle, scoring Boone to cut the Cincinnati lead to a single run.
The Reds got the run back in the third and, once again, Griffey was in the
middle of it. He singled with one out and advanced to second on Morgan's
tapper back to the mound. Perez then drove Griffey home by dropping a
two-out single into shallow left field, making it 3-1.
Dave Cash isn't known for his power, but he led off the top of the fifth with a
home run that just cleared the wall in straight away left field. Cash
managed to hit only two home runs during the entire regular season in 751 plate
appearances, but it revived an ugly memory for the Reds. Nolan surrendered
36 home runs during the regular season, nine more than any other National League
pitcher. With the lead down to a single run, Nolan set the next three
batters down in order.
Like clockwork, the Reds got the run back in the bottom of the inning and
knocked Kaat out in the process. Rose singled with one out and Griffey's
third hit in as many at-bats--a single to center--advanced the runner to
third. Morgan followed with a soft grounder to Bowa, who had been in
double play depth. The shortstop's only play was at first base and Rose
came home with the fourth Cincinnati run of the game. Kaat was removed in
favor of Wayne Twitchell who walked Perez but fanned Foster to end the inning
with Philadelphia trailing 4-2.
After a scoreless sixth, Tim McCarver pinch hit for Twitchell to open the
seventh and reached on an infield single. The Reds had the bullpen going
but, after a conference at the mound, Reds manager Sparky Anderson stuck with
Nolan, who was due to lead-off in the bottom of the inning. The
right-hander rewarded his skipper's confidence by retiring Cash, Garry Maddox
and Mike Schmidt in order to maintain the two-run advantage.
The Reds added an insurance fun in the bottom of the inning thanks to some
shoddy Philadelphia defense. With one out, Rose reached when Schmidt
uncharacteristically booted a routine grounder for an error. Reliever Tug
McGraw finally retired Griffey--who hit into a force play--but Morgan slashed a
skimmer beyond the reach of Schmidt into left field. Greg Luzinski had to
go a long way for the ball and Griffey motored for third. Luzinski's throw
was far off the target and bounced against the grandstand wall, allowing Griffey
to score the fifth Reds run of the game on the error.
Cincinnati added a sixth run off reliever Ron Reed in the bottom of the
eighth. Foster led off with a single to left and stole second. Reed
fanned Bench and Concepcion, but then fell behind Geronimo before walking him
intentionally to put runners on first and second with two outs. Dan
Driessen, who had entered as part of a double switch in the top of the inning,
then came through with a single to right, scoring Foster to put the Reds ahead
6-2. Reed retired Rose on a fly to left to end the inning.
Pedro Borbon had worked a 1-2-3 eighth and remained on the mound in the ninth in
an attempt to close out the game. But the Phillies had other ideas.
Boone led off by drilling a line drive off the right-center field wall that
eluded Geronimo for a triple. Bobby Tolan then pinch hit for Bowa and
sliced a double into the left field corner, scoring Boone to make it 6-3.
The potential tying run was now on deck. Tommy Hutton was announced as a
pinch hitter for Reed and Anderson countered with left-hander Will McEnaney.
But Phillies manager Danny Ozark sent right-handed hitting Jerry Martin to the
plate instead. Martin flied to left, however, and with a string of
right-handed hitters due, Anderson summoned Rawley Eastwick from the bullpen for
the third time in as many games. Eastwick retired Cash on a grounder to
second and then induced Maddox to roll out to Concepcion at short to end the
game.
The Reds will have a chance to end the series tomorrow in Game 4. They
could bring Game 1 starter Don Gullett back on short rest but instead are
expected to send Fred Norman to the mound. The Phillies have a similar
choice in front of them but are expected to go the other direction. Most
observers anticipate Game 1 starter Steve Carlton taking the hill rather than
either Tom Underwood or Larry Christenson.
10/12/1976, Phi76-Cin76, Riverfront Stadium
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1976 Phillies 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 9 2 8 0
1976 Reds 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 x 6 10 1 7 0
Phillies AB R H BI AVG Reds AB R H BI AVG
Cash 2b 5 1 1 1 .286 Rose 3b 5 2 2 0 .231
Maddox,G cf 5 0 1 0 .214 McEnaney p 0 0 0 0 .000
Schmidt 3b 4 0 0 0 .077 Eastwick p 0 0 0 0 .000
Luzinski lf 4 0 0 0 .200 Griffey rf 4 3 3 0 .615
Allen 1b 4 0 2 0 .455 Morgan,J 2b 3 0 1 2 .182
Johnstone rf 4 0 0 0 .222 Perez,T 1b 3 0 2 1 .333
Boone c 3 2 2 0 .571 Borbon p 0 0 0 0 .000
Bowa ss 3 0 0 0 .083 Flynn 3b 0 0 0 0 .000
Tolan ph 1 0 1 1 .500 Foster,G lf 4 1 1 1 .250
Kaat p 2 0 1 1 .500 Bench c 4 0 0 0 .091
Twitchell p 0 0 0 0 .000 Concepcion ss 4 0 0 0 .250
McCarver ph 1 0 1 0 .167 Geronimo cf 3 0 0 0 .200
McGraw p 0 0 0 0 .000 Nolan p 2 0 0 0 .000
Reed p 0 0 0 0 .000 Bailey ph 1 0 0 0 .333
Hutton ph 0 0 0 0 .000 Driessen 1b 1 0 1 1 1.000
Martin ph 1 0 0 0 .000 34 6 10 5
37 3 9 3
Phillies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Kaat L 0-1 4.2 7 4 4 0 3 80 56 7.71
Twitchell 1.1 0 0 0 1 3 24 13 0.00
McGraw 0.2 1 1 0 0 0 12 9 0.00
Reed 1.1 2 1 1 1 2 26 15 2.70
8.0 10 6 5 2 8 142 93
Reds INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Nolan W 1-0 7.0 7 2 2 1 3 106 72 2.57
Borbon H 1 1.0 2 1 1 0 2 16 11 6.00
McEnaney H 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.00
Eastwick S 2 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0.00
9.0 9 3 3 1 5 128 88
Phi: McCarver batted for Twitchell in the 7th
Tolan batted for Bowa in the 9th
Hutton batted for Reed in the 9th
Martin batted for Hutton in the 9th
Cin: Bailey batted for Nolan in the 7th
Driessen inserted at 1b in the 8th
Flynn inserted at 3b in the 9th
E-Schmidt, Luzinski, Rose. 2B-Allen(2), Tolan(1). 3B-Boone(1). HR-Cash(1).
RBI-Cash(2), Kaat(1), Tolan(1), Morgan,J 2(3), Perez,T(2), Foster,G(2),
Driessen(1). SB-Foster,G(1). K-Schmidt, Luzinski, Allen 2, Johnstone, Rose,
Foster,G, Bench 3, Concepcion, Geronimo, Nolan. BB-Boone, Perez,T, Geronimo.
SF-Morgan,J. PB-Bench.
GWRBI: Morgan,J
Temperature: 51, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: in from right at 16 MPH.
Attendance: 51,923
Game Time: 2:46
Game 4: Steve Carlton vs. Fred
Norman,
Riverfront Stadium
UNEARNED RUN IN 9TH CLINCHES PENNANT FOR REDS
Concepcion Scores on Bases Loaded Infield Squibber
CINCINNATI, Oct. 13 (AP) - Dave Concepcion raced home, beating Dave Cash's
throw, on a Pete Rose infield roller with the bases loaded to lift the
Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 victory and the National League pennant at Riverfront
Stadium. The Reds had blown a three-run lead when the Philadelphia
Phillies rallied for the tying runs in the top of the seventh inning. But
an error charged to the usually sure-handed Mike Schmidt on Concepcion's ground
ball leading off the bottom of the ninth set the tone for the game-winning play.
The Phillies took the lead off Reds starter Fred Norman in the second inning,
aided by a Cincinnati miscue. Ollie Brown drew a lead-off walk from Norman
and, after Tim McCarver flied out, Larry Bowa's would-be double play grounder
was kicked by second baseman Joe Morgan. Instead of being out of the
inning the Reds were facing runners at first and second and only one out.
Norman struck out his counterpart, Philadelphia starter Steve Carlton, but Cash
came through with a single through the box, scoring Brown to give the Phillies a
1-0 lead.
That advantage held up until the fourth when the Reds tied the game. In an
attempt to atone for his costly error, Morgan lined a one-out single and
promptly stole second base. Tony Perez then roped a double to right-center
field, plating Morgan easily to knot the score at a run apiece. Carlton
limited the damage by retiring George Foster and Johnny Bench to end the
inning.
After a scoreless fifth, Norman pitched around another walk to Brown to keep the
game tied into the bottom of the sixth. After Rose grounded out, Ken
Griffey resumed his hot hitting with a single to right. With Griffey
running, Morgan popped to second, and Griffey returned to first without
incident. But Perez came through with his second hit of the contest.
His base hit to left-center chased Griffey around to third. Foster then
grounded a single through the hole on the left side, plating Griffey with the
go-ahead run and advancing Perez to second. Right-hander Gene Garber
replaced Carlton on the mound but Bench foiled the strategy by lacing a double
into the gap in right-center field, scoring both Perez and Foster to give
Cincinnati a 4-1 lead. Concepcion grounded out to end the inning but the
Reds now held a three-run advantage. With only three innings to go, that
seemed like a mountain for the Phillies to climb.
But, this series being what it is, the Phillies got right back in the
game. Norman retired Bob Boone, who had been part of a double switch when
Garber entered the game, to open the inning but Cash singled to center.
Garry Maddox grounded out, with Cash advancing to second, but Schmidt, who had
been just 1-for-15 in the series to that point, lined a double into the left
field corner, scoring Cash easily and driving Norman from the game. The
Reds executed a double switch of their own. With Norman due to lead off
the bottom of the seventh, Dan Driessen was inserted in the ninth spot in the
lineup and took over for Perez at first base. Manny Sarmiento replaced
Norman on the mound and was inserted in the fourth spot in the batting
order. It did not go well for Sarmiento. Greg Luzinski greeted the
new pitcher with a two-bagger off the left field wall, scoring Schmidt and
cutting the Cincinnati lead to 4-3. With the tying run in scoring
position, Jerry Martin replaced the slow-footed Luzinski on second base.
Dick Allen made it count by lining a single, scoring Martin easily from second,
to knot the score at four. Just like that, the three-run lead was
gone. Jay Johnstone pinch hit for Brown and drew a base on balls, but
Sarmiento finally ended the uprising by retiring pinch hitter Bobby Tolan on a
ground ball to Concepcion.
Tug McGraw took over on the mound for the Phillies and retired the Reds in order
in the bottom of the seventh. Sarmiento partially redeemed himself for the
awful top half of the inning by disposing of the Phillies in the eighth without
incident.
In the bottom of the eighth, McGraw got Griffey and Morgan easily to open the
inning but pinch hitter Joel Youngblood lined a single past Schmidt at
third. With a string of right-handed batters due, Ron Schueler replaced
McGraw, but Foster greeted him with a base hit to center, advancing Youngblood
to third. But Schueler retired Bench on a tapper in front of the plate to
extinguish the threat.
Pedro Borbon entered the game for Cincinnati in the top of the ninth and retired
Philadelphia in order. In the bottom of the ninth, Schueler induced a
routine grounder to third off the bat of Concepcion but Schmidt couldn't field
it cleanly and Concepcion reached on the error. With four of the next hitters
due left-handed swingers (and the odd man out--Rose--a switch-hitter who is much
stronger as a left-handed hitter), Phillies manager Danny Ozark called upon the
lone southpaw he had available, Tom Underwood, to replace Schueler. But
Underwood couldn't find home plate. He walked Geronimo on four pitches and
then missed with a 3-2 offering to Driessen to load the bases with no one
out. That brought Rose to the plate and, on a 1-1 offering, Rose hit a
weak tapper toward the drawn-in Cash at second. Cash fielded the ball and
fired to the plate but Concepcion got a great jump off third and cleanly beat
the throw from Cash, who had to move in and to his right just to field the
ball. The Reds swarmed Concepcion and the sellout crowd cheered as
everyone realized that the club was headed to the World Series.
Ken Griffey was a unanimous choice as NLCS Most Valuable Player, hitting .529
for the series with five runs scored and a stolen base.
The Reds will wait to see who they'll face in the World Series. Game 1
will be held at Riverfront Stadium on October 16.
10/13/1976, Phi76-Cin76, Riverfront Stadium
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1976 Phillies 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 4 8 1 9 0
1976 Reds 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 1 5 9 1 8 1
Phillies AB R H BI AVG Reds AB R H BI AVG
Cash 2b 5 1 2 1 .316 Rose 3b 5 0 0 1 .167
Maddox,G cf 5 0 2 0 .263 Griffey rf 4 1 1 0 .529
Schmidt 3b 4 1 1 1 .118 Morgan,J 2b 4 1 1 0 .200
Luzinski lf 4 0 2 1 .286 Perez,T 1b 3 1 2 1 .400
Martin pr 1 1 0 0 .000 Sarmiento p 0 0 0 0 .000
Allen 1b 4 0 1 1 .400 Youngblood ph 1 0 1 0 1.000
Brown,O rf 1 1 0 0 .667 Borbon p 0 0 0 0 .000
Johnstone ph 0 0 0 0 .222 Foster,G lf 4 1 2 1 .313
McCarver c 3 0 0 0 .111 Bench c 4 0 1 2 .133
Garber p 0 0 0 0 .000 Concepcion ss 4 1 0 0 .188
Tolan ph 1 0 0 0 .400 Geronimo cf 3 0 1 0 .231
McGraw p 0 0 0 0 .000 Norman p 1 0 0 0 .000
Schueler p 0 0 0 0 .000 Driessen 1b 1 0 0 0 .500
Underwood p 0 0 0 0 .000 34 5 9 5
Bowa ss 4 0 0 0 .063
Carlton p 1 0 0 0 .000
Boone c 2 0 0 0 .444
35 4 8 4
Phillies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Carlton 5.2 6 4 4 0 2 73 49 5.68
Garber 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 8 5 0.00
McGraw 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 28 19 0.00
Schueler L 0-1 0.1 1 1 0 0 0 9 6 0.00
Underwood 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 14 6 0.00
8.0 9 5 4 2 3 132 85
Reds INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Norman 6.2 6 3 2 3 4 98 70 2.70
Sarmiento BS 1 1.1 2 1 1 1 0 28 15 5.40
Borbon W 1-0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 8 7 4.50
9.0 8 4 3 4 4 134 92
Phi: Boone inserted at c in the 6th
Martin ran for Luzinski in the 7th
Johnstone batted for Brown,O in the 7th
Tolan batted for Garber in the 7th
Martin moved to lf in the 7th
Johnstone moved to rf in the 7th
Cin: Driessen inserted at 1b in the 7th
Youngblood batted for Sarmiento in the 8th
E-Schmidt, Morgan,J. 2B-Schmidt(1), Luzinski(2), Perez,T(2), Bench(1).
RBI-Cash(3), Schmidt(2), Luzinski(3), Allen(2), Rose(1), Perez,T(3),
Foster,G(3), Bench 2(4). SB-Morgan,J(1). K-Schmidt, Allen, Brown,O, Carlton,
Morgan,J 2, Concepcion. BB-Schmidt, Brown,O 2, Johnstone, Geronimo, Driessen.
SH-Norman. HBP-Carlton. HB-Norman.
GWRBI: Rose
Temperature: 55, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 7 MPH.
Attendance: 51,731
Game Time: 2:45