Editor’s note: How good were the 1975 Cincinnati Reds? The best way to end the speculation is to challenge the team with a 162-game season against some great teams. This is a series that will include each game played with the Strat-o-Matic cards and dice, while hoping to reach the 108-54 record that the Reds had that season. Game stories will be published periodically on Press Room Pass through out the year. What’s your predicted victory total?
It didn’t take Cincinnati very long to set the tone for a second straight win over San Diego as the Reds went on to Reds to blast the Padres 10-3.
Pete Rose led off with a homer off Padres starter Joe McIntosh. Ken Griffey reached on a error and eventually scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0.
A pair of error led to four Cincinnati runs in the second. Rose drove in the first score with a sacrifice fly before Joe Morgan‘s three-run homer to make it 6-0.
The Padres answered in the bottom of the second with a three-run homer by Fred Kendall off Reds starter Gary Nolan (9-5), who would eventually work six frames to get the win.
The score would remain the same until McIntosh walked Johnny Bench and Tony Perez to begin the seventh.
Dave Tomlin replaced McIntosh and retired the next two hitters before giving up a single to Cesar Geronimo, which loaded the bases.
Reds manager Sparky Anderson decided that George Foster would come off the bench to pinch-hit for Nolan, who had worked four scoreless innings since the Kendall homer.
With one swing, Foster put the game away as his grand slam turned out to be the final runs for the Reds.
Will McEnaney picked up a save by tossing three perfect innings to shut the door on the Padres.
Fred Norman (7-6) starts for the Reds in the series finale of the four-game set, while Dan Spillner gets the ball for the Padres.
National League Standings
(Records involve games only with Reds)
East Division
1969 Mets (4-1)
1971 Pirates (3-2)
2016 Cubs (3-4)
1975 Expos (2-4)
1967 Cardinals (1-4)
2008 Phillies (1-6)
West Division
1975 Reds (53-30)
1954 Giants (2-2)
2017 Astros (5-8)
1957 Braves (4-7)
1981 Dodgers (2-5)
1975 Padres (3-10)