Sonny Gray put together an outstanding start once again, and while it took a while the Reds offense finally put some runs on the board for him as Cincinnati took a 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals with late-inning damage to take the series. Next up is a 1st-half ending series against 1st place Milwaukee.
| Final | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (45-41) |
5 | 13 | 1 |
| Kansas City Royals (36-50) |
2 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Gray (2-4) L: Barlow (2-3) SV: Hembree (4) |
|||
| Statcast | Box Score | Game Thread | |||
The Offense
Cincinnati’s offense was rather quiet through the first three innings of the game. In the top of the 4th they tried to get something going when Joey Votto had an infield single off of pitcher Brady Singer and then Tyler Naquin was hit by a pitch to put two men on and just one out, but a pop out by Eugenio Suárez and a line out by Tucker Barnhart ended the Reds threat without a runner coming across the plate.
The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th to put the offense in the hole with Sonny Gray on the mound once again. Jonathan India singled in the top of the 5th, but that was all there was. In the 6th inning Tyler Stephenson was hit by a pitch to begin the inning but he was erased on a double play that followed. Tyler Naquin then singled, but a fly out ended the inning with the Royals still up and the Reds still scoreless.
Tucker Barnhart led off the 7th inning with a single and with that he also ran Brady Singer from the game. The winds seemed to shift right then and there. Shogo Akiyama followed with a single off of reliever Scott Barlow to put two on for Mike Freeman. He came through with a single of his own, plating Barnhart and making it a 2-1 game. Jonathan India then came through with him umpteenth clutch hit of the year as he drove in two runs with a double to the left field wall and gave Cincinnati a 3-2 lead. India would be stranded there, but the Reds held a lead with the grounds crew on standby as a storm seemed close to rolling into Kansas City.
After a rain delay, the teams got back on the field with the Reds holding a 3-2 lead and heading into the top of the 8th. Cincinnati played add on in the inning with doubles by Eugenio Suárez and Shogo Akiyama led to a 4-2 lead. In the top of the 9th inning they would add to their lead again. Jonathan India led off with a single and moved to third base on a single by Tyler Stephenson with one out. After Joey Votto was caught looking at strike three the Reds broke through with the hit they needed as Tyler Naquin singled into left field to make it 5-2.
The Pitching
Sonny Gray worked around a single in both the first and second innings. In the 3rd inning he ran into trouble after back-to-back singles put runners on the corners to start the inning. He got a pop up from Whit Merrifield for the first out. Tucker Barnhart got in on the action and picked off Michael A. Taylor at third base to provide some wiggle room, if needed, for Gray with two outs. He didn’t need it as Andrew Benintendi struck out to end the threat and keep the game scoreless.
Things didn’t go as well in the 4th after a 1-out single and a walk put two men on. An error by Jonathan India brought in the Royals first run of the game. Back-to-back singles followed to bring in another run to make it 2-0. A walk followed to load the bases, but Sonny Gray got Whit Merrifield to pop up once again with this one ending the inning and keeping the score at 2-0.
Gray settled in from there, getting 1-2-3 innings in both the 5th and 6th innings. And in the top of the 7th the Reds finally, amazingly, put some runs on the board while the right-hander was still in the game. We didn’t consult Elias, but we’re pretty sure it’s the first time since the John Quincy Adams administration that’s happened.
The offense scored three runs in the top of the 7th inning and gave Sonny Gray a lead to work with. All he did with that was strike out all three batters he faced, and it didn’t happen a second too soon. As soon as the inning was over the grounds crew rolled out the tarp as rain came into Kansas City.
After the rain delay it was Josh Osich taking over for the 8th inning. He retired the first two hitters of the inning, but then walked Carlos Santana. With Hanser Alberto coming up, David Bell went to the mound and brought in Art Warren. Alberto took advantage of the defense and laid down a bunt single to the open third-base side of the infield to put two men on with two outs. Jorge Soler battled and earned a 7-pitch walk to load the bases. That sent Tucker Barnhart out to the mound to discuss how to go about facing Hunter Dozier. Whatever they discussed both worked and didn’t. Dozier hit the ball 373 feet, but he needed about 380 to get it over the wall and Jesse Winker caught it about midway on the warning track in left field to keep the Reds ahead 4-2.
Heath Hembree, now with the Reds leading 5-2, came out for the bottom of the 9th inning. He struck out Michael A. Taylor to start the inning. Nicky Lopez followed up with a lazy fly ball into left for the second out of the game. A ground out to shortstop ended the game as the Reds won 5-2 and took the series over the Royals.
Up Next for the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers
Thursday July 8th, 8:10pm ET
Tyler Mahle (7-3, 3.63 ERA) vs Adrian Houser (5-5, 3.94 ERA)
Yesterday it appeared that DB thought he had a big enough lead that he could bring in his worst reliever. Momentum shifted and once it had, game over.
Today he went with the guys who have been doing the job and they did the job, albeit a bit shaky in the 8th.
It’s interesting that it appears that once a Reds reliever throws a called ball, he has trouble throwing a strike. Last night a first pitch strike was followed by four straight balls to start the rally. Ditto tonight in the eighth.
All year it’s looked to me that a lot of Reds pitchers (almost all of them) have the same basic philosophy: “If I get ahead in the count, I’m going to strike the guy out by getting him to chase.” So they get ahead and then throw ball 1 and ball 2 way outside the zone, then often have trouble throwing a strike when they need to. I’d like to see more of them try to get guys out on 0-2 and 1-2 pitches an inch or two off the plate, or maybe over the edge of the plate, instead of throwing a foot outside or in the dirt on the off chance that a guy swings. I think this philosophy is responsible for a lot of walks and high pitch counts. Some of them do it more than others, but almost all of them do it to some extent. Miley seems to be one of the few who doesn’t, because he’s usually pitching to contact.
Outstanding assessment of the apparent pitching philosophy of the current Reds pitchers, except for that crafty, left-handed veteran named Wade Miley! Miley seems to understand the concept of “pitch-to-contact!” Sonny is awesome in his own right! And, LC appears to have returned to form! Now if we can just get Mahle to be more efficient and keep his pitch count down enabling him to go more than 5 innings!
Mahle is the one who really drives me nuts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy who goes from 0-2 to 3-2 as often as he does. He usually manages to get the guy out on the 3-2 pitch, sometimes after a couple foul balls, but this is the main reason he has so much trouble making it to the 7th inning. He seems to not trust his “stuff” is good enough to get guys out if he throws strikes, and I think he’s wrong. With this bullpen, I’d rather see him give up 3 runs and pitch 8 innings than give up 2 runs but pitch only 6 innings. His ERA would be higher, but I think his contribution would be greater. And I’m not really sure his ERA would actually be higher if he threw more strikes. It might be lower because he’d cut down on the walks and the 3-2 fastballs.
You make it sound so easy.
I know at times we all get upset with Bell and some of the players, but the bottom line we are all Red fans and that has been frustrating the last 8 or so years. We all want this team to succeed and have someone to cheer for in August and September and it’s been awhile since that happened in a full season. Lets beat the Brewers.
Great bounce back win. I have been following the Reds since 1970 and have seen some pretty bad Reds teams in those 51 years. This is not one of them.
Got you beat! Been a fervent Reds fan since 1961. Yes, not a typo, !961, when they lost the World Series the Yankees! Got revenge in 1976 by sweeping the Yankees in 4 games! Best Reds team ever, The Big Red Machine!
Dennis you and I must be close in age. Went to the 61 series as a 8 year old with my Dad. And yes Big Red Machine was the best.
Been a Reds fan since 1955 when I was 6 years old. First became a fan of Big Klu and as a result played 1B my whole career through college to age 35..
1961 was when I started paying attention to the Reds. I, too, was eight. I remember out teacher brought in a TV so we could watch a little 9f one of the games. Wasn’t much on TV so listened to Waite Hoyt. I used to love rain delays because he would talk about the Yankees during the Ruth years.
Put me in the 1954-5 category, the year I first played. Remember sitting even with 1B and Big Klu manning the position.
A lifetime Reds fan. I remember listing to the St. Louis Browns/Cardinals World Series on the Mutual Radio Network in 1944 at the age of seven. Many trips to Crosley from then on to see so many unforgotten players like Joe Nuxhall, Ted Kluszewski, Smokey Burgess, Eddie Miller, Ewell Blackwell, and others. I saw Hank Aaron play his first ML game in 1954, and, not too long ago saw Junior Griffey hit his 600th. homerun at old Dolfin Stadium in Miami. And now the Reds have a winner in the making. We just have to be patient.
I’ve also been following the Reds since 1970. Man, we were spoiled that first decade. However, here we are, through thick and thin. The success has been pretty thin of late but the enthusiasm hasn’t waned.
I noticed a few of you go back further than me. First baseball card was Vada Pinson. Dad took me to Crosley Field many times. Couple of memories: my Dad leaned over and said, I want you to watch this man hit. He’s one of the best. That man? Stan Musial. He singled. I also got a foul ball off the bat of Art Shamsky down the Right Field stands. Best memory though was attending the final game at Crosley Field. I was there. Beat the Giants. I have the ticket stubs, program and Enquirer article framed.
Sorry, but Jonathan India is kinda making Nick Senzel look bad.
Yeah, India is a gamer.
Safely, we don’t know what kind of player Senzel might be because he’s never played long enough to to get into any sort of rhythm. India has taken every advantage of his opportunity.
Correction: He isn’t making Senzel look bad. He’s simply making himself look really good, at least for now.
Agree. I like Lopez but no where near as much as India.
I like India more than Moustakas. Gets on base and scores. Walks, hbp, base hits and power. Good speed on the bases an a decent glove. Love Moose but India is a fireball.
That feels like a potentially huge win, and one I definitely didn’t expect. Who knows what will happen in the Milwaukee series, but at least they can head into it with some confidence instead of a “uh-oh, here we go again” feeling.
On the negative, side: as ironic as it may be, it sort of bugs me how well these guys can hit in close games from the 7th inning on, because it shows how much potential they have. I don’t attribute it to being “clutch,” I attribute it to not taking all their other at-bats as seriously. When it gets late and the game is close, I think they become more selective and more focused on just getting on base somehow, whether it means taking a walk, hitting it the other way, or whatever. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but it looks to me that they have higher quality AB’s when they feel they “need to,” which means the last two or three innings of close games.
Looking as season splits, their best inning is the 3rd inning. (Not counting extras)
1st Inning 43 R .709 OPS
2nd Inning 44 R .699 OPS
3rd Inning 59 R .857 OPS
4th Inning 36 R .737 OPS
5th Inning 48 R .749 OPS
6th Inning 37 R .638 OPS
7th Inning 50 R .798 OPS
8th Inning 49 R .760 OPS
9th Inning 29 R .744 OPS
Thanks for showing it this way. Simple and to the point.
They’ve also had very explosive first innings.
I’d like to see the run distribution of the Reds but I’m guessing it’s similar to other teams.
Also, you are criticizing the #2 team in the NL for scoring runs (and they’ve played less games than the leader, LA). That suggests to me their taking at least some of their early and mid game at-bats seriously.
According to stathead.com, the Reds are averaging .51 runs in the first inning (and this is the inning where their two best hitters are almost always getting ABs), compared to .60 in the 7th inning and .59 in the 8th. We could say that’s because they aren’t facing starters in the 7th and 8th, but their BEST inning is the 3rd (.69 runs), when they ARE facing starters, so that complicates matters. In short, their three best scoring innings are the 3rd, 7th, and 8th, which I believe supports the theory that they treat a lot of middle inning at-bats as less crucial than 7th and 8th inning at-bats, but obviously there’s really no way to know because we can’t get inside their heads.
Unfortunately, I don’t know what the numbers are when games are close or not close. I think if we looked at close games, their 7th and 8th inning numbers would be even better. They were talking about this on the TV broadcast today. The Reds are an elite offensive team in close games late. I’m not convinced they’re an elite offensive team when they’re up by three runs in the 4th. I think they’re a very meh team in those situations.
By contrast, the Reds’ opponents are scoring the most runs in the 4th inning (.67) and the 6th inning (.60). So they’re actually doing better in the middle of games (when Reds starters are beginning to lose it and relief pitchers come in).
For the entire NL, the highest scoring inning is the 1st, followed by the 6th, 8th, and 3rd. I have no idea what to make of that, other than the fact that it’s quite different than the Reds best innings.
Thanks, J. Very insightful. I shall look into stathead!
And I attribute their late inning hitting to not being able to hit quality starting pitching.
Second. Most. Runs. In. The. NL.
How is that indicating they can’t hit quality pitching?
I really don’t understand that conclusion.
Tom, I believe I said quality STARTING pitching.
Who hits quality starting pitching? If it got hit it wouldn’t be quality.
We watch the Reds. If we watched a different team as much, would we see similar trends? I think that it’s generally true that nobody consistently hits quality starting pitching very well, hence its designation.
How about: Reds’ hitters, like all hitters, do better the second or third time through the lineup. It’s not an effort or lack of talent issue.
Earmbrister, they aren’t hitting better the second or third time around, if you’re talking about hitting off of the same pitcher two or three times. They’re hitting better in the 7th and 8th innings than the 4th, 5th, or 6th. In the 7th and 8th they’re almost always seeing a different pitcher than they saw earlier in the game. If it was a case of doing better after facing a pitcher once or twice already, their strongest innings out to be the 4th, 5th, and 6th.
I’m not sure why it’s so hard for people to accept the idea that Reds hitters might take a slightly different approach when it’s the 7th or 8th inning of a close game. They’re people, not robots.
*ought to be
Crazy season but go back to june 1 and you would take 2nd place with 7 games against the brewers.
Give this team credit . They rebound from really bad losses
Old School around Jun 1 my enthusiasm was sinking. Would love to go 5-2 against the brewers but will settle for 4-3. The reds are in contention for league title and a wild card spot. Love me some meaningful baseball games.
Responding to your earlier reply to my post! Yes, Jim T., born in 1952 and was 8 years old when the Reds played the Yankees at Crosley Field. Unfortunately, my Dad and grandfather went to at least one 1961 World Series game but left little old me at home! Despite that, didn’t change my becoming a life-long and somewhat obsessive fan! Go Reds! And, go Mets in game 2 against the Brewers!
Our 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Hannah, was a huge Reds fan. She wheeled a portable TV in our classroom for the ’61 World Series. It looked something like this:
Dennis went to game 4 and sadly saw the reds shutout 7-0 giving the yankeee a 3-1 series lead. My dad worked at post office on Dalton ave a block from Crosley. My mom grew up in a area know as little Italy on pleasant st. off Liberty. She attended St Francis in OTR. My dad was a yankee fan in those days growing up in Brooklyn. NY. He relocated here after WWII with a friend he met in the military during the war.
Thanks Jim! I grew up in Northern Kentucky on the banks of the Ohio River 50 miles down river from Cincinnati. Made the 1-hour trip many times to Crosley Field and then Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field. Have been to Great America Ballpark but just once when I flew up from Orlando, FL to attend my Mom’s surprise 80th birthday gathering. Hope to make it up there this fall when I attend my 50th high school reunion at Carroll County High School in Carrollton KY.
Wow Dennis!
Gallatin Co High Class of ’79.
Best Regards,
Very happy to see the rain delay didn’t beat us down. I couldn’t follow much at all. While we’d all have loved the sweep that “should have been” we’ll take 2 of 3 and head to Beer Town.
And threads like this one are why I really enjoy “hanging around” with y’all. My Reds fandom started in the mid-70’s when I was a pre-teen. A response to living among NYY fans.
Mark you picked a great time to come aboard.
I have many great memories T Crosley. Took in many opening days with some now life long friends. Still remember how excited we were to show our tickets to the nun so we could be let out of school to go to the game. Usually sat in the sun deck.
North Jersey native myself.
Mine started around 1962. Went to quite a few games at Crosley, best memory was sneaking down to the boxes in the late innings(Knothole baseball night) with some friends and watching Roger Maris. He was playing right for St. Louis and would come into the bullpen between innings if he wasnt close to coming up, and smoke cigarettes. Even at that age I remember how unhappy and sad he looked. Too bad.
True story: first 4 games I ever saw was the Sweep of Oakland. I asked my parents if that meant the reds play in the World Series every year.
I’m sure they got a kick out of that question. “Yes. And they always sweep, too.”
Reds have won their 9 World Series games
Reds have won their last 9 World Series games
their last 9 World Series games
Same here. Had to go to bed until my little brother fell asleep then I went and watched the series. I remember asking who do we root for.
Very good, IMHO, to see RBI from India, Naquin, Akiyama, and Freeman. The bigger sticks don’t always have to carry the load. And then there’s the bullpen… Today they managed to get out of another potentially sticky situation. What’s with all the walks, guys? Thankfully, Hembree was sharp.
Question for the group? Would love to hear people’s best memory or personal story while attending a game. I have 2 where I came away with souvenirs. I was attending a game after being hospitalized for being hit by a car and Tommy Harper who I asked for a autograph couldn’t stop and sign but he flipped be a ball and another time I was attending opening day and was in the sun deck prior to the game during batting practice and a reserve catcher named Jim Coker tossed me a ball. Really don’t want to hijack the thread but it would be fun to hear people’s stories.
First game ever was circa 1965. Dad took me to Crosley, glove in hand, seated in the high bleachers along the 3rd base line. Pine benches with no backs and thinly painted stripes between seats designating where to plant your rear. Seat probably cost about a two bucks. No souvenir on that fine day!
One evening in 2006 when I was working in Cincy and went downtown to see the game. $5 general admission ticket (got me a Concepcion bobblehead) and I took in the game from multiple places. We beat the WLB’s on a walk-off smash by David Ross. The place was electric as we spilled out into the streets.
Jim, my best memory was travelling from Indianapolis to Cincy to see Tom Seaver pitch late summer of 1978. Don’t remember the Reds opponent that night. There was a long rain delay (2+ hours) before the game started which didn’t go over well with my wife who was pregnant with our first son. The Reds won, the game ended near midnight and then we had to make the long drive back to Indianapolis and work the next day.
My pen holder on my desk is a pewter mug from the 1975 World Series. I was born in January 1975 and there’s a picture of me asleep at one of the home games in the series against Boston. I also have the same mug from the 1976 and 1990 World Series. Thankfully, I was conscious during the 1990 series.
I got to attend the 9th game the team won to start the 1990 season and that was definitely when we could see how special that team had to the potential to be.
But my favorite memory is from a couple years ago. It wasn’t a game. It was actually a Reds Community Fund event at GABP where I got to meet and have lunch with Marty and Jeff. Also got a tour and picture with them in the radio booth. It was an amazing day.
1977 (I think?) and in Riverfront. I was 11 years old. My Dad doesn’t even like baseball, but he took my buddy and I because we were so obsessed with the BRM! 9th inning against the Phillies and Tug McGraw saw the Reds down 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th. I believe George Foster hit into a doubleplay and the crowd rose from their seats and started to shuffle out as the Reds were down to their last out. Somebody got on and Danny Driessen hit a long flyball off the top of the wall in left (or left-center?) and beat it out for a game tying inside the park HR! Of course everyone was going nuts and ran back to their seats and before the crowd died down, Johnny Bench hit one out to left to win it! I remember Mike Schmidt kicking the 3B bag…lollll. That was fun to be a part of!
Hit to dead CF per Marty and maybe it was a solo HR by Driessen? It was crazy. August 27, 1977
I can’t decide between two.
1) Glenn Braggs’ saving game six of the NLCS by robbing Carmelo Martinez of a go-ahead home run, and the “Can’t Touch This” eruption that followed the victory an out later. Never experienced more excitement at a baseball game.
2) I don’t know who the Reds were playing, but I remember as a kid, the Reds were involved in a very low scoring game, which I believe was tied (probably 0-0 or 1-1) in the 7th or 8th inning, with Pete Rose at the plate. My friend and I started chanting “let’s go Pete! Let’s go Pete!” It felt like we had half the stadium chanting “let’s go Pete” by the time he got his hit, and he eventually came around to score. The Reds won that game by a run or two and my friend and I felt like we’d really been part of it.
Drove up the night before from Raleigh, NC early 90’s. Box office attendant asked if we wanted to sit behind Marge (of course). She walked down the steps to her seats in the 3rd inning (kids were lining up to meet her). Was as nice as she could be and allowed my girlfriend and I to take pictures with her.
In 1958, I went to a game where the reds starter, Brooks Lawrence, was 13-0 at that point. He lead the game by, I think, 3-1 going into the ninth. He was tiring, and gave up a three run homer and the reds lost by a run. Still a great game, and Lawrence was lights out until that loss. I don’t know if that was the first game I attended, but it’s the one I remember.
Dittos on Marge. Took my son, who was no more than 5-6 at the time, to a Sunday game. Arrived early enough for him to get on the field, run the bases and sit in the dugout. Of course, he got to meet Marge and Shotzie. Something Marge did for the kids.
Also recall getting autographs @ Riverfront after the games. No fence around the club house doors in those days. Johnny Bench would stand near his Lincoln Continental and sign forever as long as no one pushed or shoved.
Attended Johnny Bench Night which was a great memory as well!
my favorite memories are games i went with my son
1. Mario Soto’s near no hitter broken up by George Hendrick
2. Sabo, Larkin, Davis homering back to back to back against the astros i believe.
3. Norm Chalrton bowling over Mike Scioscia at home plate wearing a big Red warm up jacket.
those are games that stick out
we were going to go to Brownings perfect game but we decided not to because of the rain. we still kick ourselves for that.
I’ve been a fan since twinkie cards from the mid 70’s. I asked my Cubs fan father when I was 6 who the best player was…”Pete Rose”. Mama was a Reds fan…good enough for me. Didn’t make it to Cincy for a game till 1999 since I grew up in South Bend…but I did see the game where Pete tied Cobb in Wrigley in person in what…85? Some say that’s where he actually went ahead of Cobb since they accidentally credited Cobb with an extra hit. Rain delay that day…and Cub fans cheered for Pete.
I have a couple “best memory games.” I grew up 30 miles west of Cleveland (born 1951), and became a Reds’ fan as soon as I was able to get an old tinny AM radio in my bedroom. The local MLB team up there was awful and had even worse radio announcers, and TV games were still a rarity. (And Cleveland was just as bad on TV anyway.) I started to listen to Reds’ games on WLW, first with Claude Sullivan & Jim McIntyre, eventually with the Ol’ Lefthander and others. Exciting baseball, offense and speed, even when they weren’t yet winning before construction of the BRM. I can’t recall ever seeing a TV game at Crosley Field, so in the days of limited information, I imagined what a game must look like when outfielders were challenged by the Terrace at Crosley. I wished I’d have been able to see Vada Pinson and Big Klu play in their primes, I saw them in their career twilights in the A.L. (Vada belongs in HOF in my opinion.)
OK, fast forward…I lived in Cincinnati from Fall, 1972-Fall, 1975 while in grad school at U.C., and FINALLY got to see the Reds in person, at Riverfront! Such a contrast to the Cleveland Mausoleum. Actual fans in the seats, atmosphere, and a contemporary (for its time) scoreboard with lots of info and 70’s level graphics. I didn’t get to Riverfront to see a game until the 1973 season, but was a frequent attendee there in 1973-74-75. OK, the top memory games:
1. 1975 World Series, Game 5. At the time, I was dating the comely daughter of a renowned Cincinnati newspaper sports icon, and had access to tickets for most games. (The relationship didn’t last, but nice memories…) Alas, in the WS, tickets were controlled by MLB. So, instead of having choice seats for the Series, I had press credentials that got me anywhere in the ballpark except team areas and press row! I watched the home 1975 Series games by roving through the park and seeing the game from various perspectives. I should have taken lots more pictures, alas.
The Reds had broken our hearts in Game 4 when they almost came back against hated Boston. Griffey Sr.’s deep drive into the LCF gap was grabbed just short of the wall by Fred Lynn on a typically good Lynn catch, not far from where I was watching at the moment. Series now tied 2-2, Game 5 became a critical must-win. And win the Reds did, as Don Gullett pitched like the young ace he was (when healthy) and Doggie slapped a pair of home runs. I was forever a Bench fan, but it seemed like Doggie and Pete (my other favorite) were the guys who hit clutch when I was at the yard. After I forever became a non-fan of Fisk (and Carbo) in the bitter loss of Game 6, catharsis came at last in Game 7. Listening to Curt Gowdy call that game on TV made it seem in the final moments like he was doing pxp of a funeral, not a ballgame. The droll monotone “and the Reds are the 1975 champions” still rings somewhere in my gray matter. He got the network gigs, and was usually at the top of his craft for the time frame, but was a unending shill for the BoSox on national games.
2. Opening Day, 1974, Reds vs. Braves. Marty Brennaman’s first Reds’ game. My first True Traditional Opening Day experience. Henry Aaron ties The Babe with # 714 in his opening first inning at bat off Jack Billingham. The Reds claw back from an early deficit, as The Doggie hits a 3-run shot in the 8th to close the gap and the Reds tie it on a single run in bottom of the 9th on a double by Pete. My two in-person clutch guys came through! And then the good guys win it in the 11th, as Pete doubles and scores all the way from second (standing up!) on a wild pitch that caromed badly off the Atlanta catcher. Alas, the good guys finished 2nd to the hated Dodgers that season, and it would be another season, my last year living in Cincinnati, before I could see the BRM play their way to that 1975 title!
Thanks to all who have contributed their favorite games/moments to this thread. This website is really a fun way to follow from afar thanks to all of you who contribute and have a passion. (Even when I respectfully disagree with another’s opinion. Keeps me momentarily away from getting angry at politics and politicians!)
Living today 500 miles from GABP, I still get to a game or two most years, but Covid has kept me away since a 2019 trip in conjunction with a U.C. campus visit. Hopefully the next in-person memory isn’t far away. Please, Vegetable Bob, get this team a reliable bullpen arm or two. And maybe an everyday SS, even though Farmer has played above my expectations and it’s hard not to become a fan of what he brings!
Fun thread. I’d narrow it down to these:
Last game at Crosley. I, too, have my ticket stub and the pencil drawing of the stadium they handed out framed and on the wall in my office.
Hal King’s home run in 1972, I think, that brought them back to win the first game of a great double-header and started their comeback from 10 or so back.
Game 3 of the 75 series – the Ed Armbrister game
Caught a ball that Pete Rose, playing for the Phillies, fouled off of Tom Seaver.
Does anyone remember the pitching speed gun for fans at Riverfront? You got three pitches, all clocked for speed. I was in the best shape of my life, working out with weights, etc., and couldn’t hit 75 mph. It amazed me how those guys were throwing in the 90’s. (No more speed guns at ballparks for fans to my knowledge. Potential for injury and subsequent lawsuit, I suppose.)
there was one at the Reds hall of fame museum as of 4 years ago. third floor i think
Reds within 4.5 of the Pads again for the last wildcard!
Two questions for Doug. Even though Freeman got a big hit yesterday he is still hitting below .200 While one is a righty and one a lefty it also seems as if Farmer and Freeman are the same players?
Also Perez and Doolittle and perhaps Hendrix are the likely casualties when Hoffman and Lorenzen and Antone are activated? Any chance Moreta is brought up before September?
Another come from behind win. Love this team’s fight.
I was born in 1947. My kids got me a brick with my name and BIG KLU 1947 rookies on it. There is one at the Reds HOF walkway also. Unbelieveably I saw Hershell Freeman hit a HR over the center field fence, I think there was 2 on.
Adding to the favorite memories thread.
7/1/72 Riverfront Stadium-The place is packed and it is very hot and humid. Everyone is sweating. Dodger twi-night DH – We are 11 games back of LA. Standing room only and I am behind the plate in the Plaza Section. It has to be 6 deep back there. Down 3-1 – ninth inning-Don Sutton pitching-Yea we have no chance,right? Hal King strides to the plate-3rd string catcher-left handed hitter-quick 2 strikes-this is over you know.
BOOM-drills a shot down the first base line.
Now if you remember-standing behind the green seats you really could not see the entire outfield so I stooped down and watched his drive hit the right field foul screen. Winner 4-3- Won the second game in extras as well.
People were jumping all over the place – hugging total strangers-screaming running around-complete madness.
Unbeknownst to me, my high school physics teacher is standing next to me the whole time with a transistor radio in his ear. He just smiled. Never forget it.
Wasn’t around for Crosley Field but glad several on here are having a good time remembering. A few years back the Reds offered a tour of the old site. It was very interesting. Let’s keep on winning.