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?
Gary Nolan tossed a five-hitter for Cincinnati as the Reds won their third straight with an 8-1 victory over the Montreal Expos at Jarry Park.
For the second game in a row, the Reds scored twice in the top of the first as Johnny Bench drove in the runs. In the opener, it was a single. This time it was a two-run homer off Expos starter Steve Renko.
Montreal’s Jerry White led off the bottom of the first with a homer for the Expos, but that would be all Nolan (11-5) would allow as he went the distance for the win.
Led by Bench, the Reds broke open the game in the fifth and sixth.
In the fifth, Doug Flynn had a run-scoring double and Cesar Geronimo added a RBI single. Bench capped the rally with a double that put the Reds on top 5-1.
Bench blasted a three-run bomb off Montreal reliever Dan Warthen one inning later. He finished the contest with three hits and six RBI.
Joe Morgan also had three hits for the Reds with a pair of stolen bases. White topped the Expos with three hits.
Fred Norman (9-6) is slated to start for the Reds in the series finale, while the Expos counter with Woodie Fryman.
National League Standings
(Records involve games only with Reds)
East Division
1971 Pirates (3-2)
1969 Mets (5-4)
2016 Cubs (3-4)
1975 Expos (2-6)
1967 Cardinals (1-4)
2008 Phillies (1-9)
West Division
1975 Reds (62-31)
1954 Giants (2-2)
2017 Astros (5-8)
1957 Braves (4-7)
1981 Dodgers (2-5)
1975 Padres (3-11)