July 15, 1975 National League 6, American League 3

The National League won their fourth straight All Star Game by topping the American League team 6-3. The National League jumped out on top with two runs in second and a run in the third to make it 3-0, but the American League tied it up with three runs in the sixth on a pinch hit three run homer by Carl Yaztrzemski.

The game would remain tied until the top of the ninth when the National League scored three runs to put them up for good. Pete Rose helped out during the rally by driving in a run with a sacrafice fly.

Here’s a look at how the four Reds did in the game.

Pete Rose – Two for four with an RBI
Joe Morgan – One for four
Johnny Bench – One for four with an RBI
Dave Concepcion – One for two

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July 13, 1975 Reds 5, Mets 3 (61-29)

The Reds continued their impressive run going into the All Star Break as they finished a four game sweep of the Mets and beat a future Hall of Famer. The Mets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, and it wasn’t until the seventh that the Reds finally answered. Joe Morgan led off the inning with a walk and then stole second base. He then reached third on a passed ball and scored on a Dan Driessen double. Tony Perez struck out to make it two outs when the Reds really started their rally. Cesar Geronimo singled and Driessen moved to third. Then Dave Concepcion singled to drive in Driessen. Terry Crowley walked to load up the bases and then the Reds took the lead for the first time when Pete Rose drove in two with a single.

Tony Perez drove in Morgan in the eighth to give the Reds an insurance run that they didn’t need. Will McEnaney improved to 4-1 with a shutout seventh inning and Rawly Eastwick pitched a shutout ninth to earn his sixth save of the season.

With 10 straight wins heading into the All Star Break, the Reds completed a run that has been matched only by the 1998 Yankees (as best as I could tell). From May 21 through July 13, the Reds went 41-9. Not even the 1984 Tigers, who started 35-5, had that impressive of a run. The 1998 Yankees started the season 1-4, and then went 41-9 to improve to 42-13. If anyone else knows of an instance where this has been matched (or topped), feel free to drop me a line at brian@tigerblog.net .

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July 12, 1975 Reds 3, Mets 2 (60-29)

The Reds scored all three of their runs in the first frame and got some good pitching to win their 60th game of the season. Pete Rose led off with a single and he moved to second when Dave Concepcion reached base on an error. Joe Morgan loaded the bases with a single of his own when the Reds finally got to driving in runs. Tony Perez drove home Pete Rose with a single and Merv Rettenmund drove in two with a two out single. All three runs against Jerry Koosman were unearned, but it was enough for the win.

The Mets scored both of their runs in the second inning on a Joe Torre groundout and a Mike Phillips sac. fly. Pat Darcy was pulled after two innings (not sure, no injury was indicated, although Sparky might have been playing games with the pen with the All Star Break coming up). Tom Carroll then came in and pitched four shutout innings to improve to 3-0. Rawly Eastwick finished the game with three shutout innings to earn his fifth save of the season.

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July 11, 1975 Reds 4, Mets 3 (58-29)

A big three run sixth inning was the difference for the Reds in this one. Trailing 2-1, Johnny Bench led off with a single and moved to third on a Tony Perez double. George Foster drove in the first run of the inning when he hit a sac. fly that scored Bench and moved Perez over to third. Merv Rettenmund then drove in Perez and reach first base safely on a fielders choice. A groundout and an error moved Rettenmund over to third and he then scored on a Pete Rose single to cap off the scoring in the inning.

The Mets added a run in the seventh on a solo shot by Rusty Staub, but Rawly Eastwick and Will McEnaney held the Mets scoreless in the final two frames as the Reds walked away with a win. Fred Norman improved to 5-3 with 6 2/3 decent innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and he walked three.

July 11, 1975 Reds 4, Mets 1 (59-29)
The Reds took the second game with some strong pitching by Clay Kirby and the bullpen. Kirby pitched six shutout innings as he gave up only three hits in improving to 7-3. Clay Carroll and Will McEnaney threw the final three innings and gave up only one run on a single hit. McEnaney earned his tenth save of the season.

The Reds offense did the bulk of their damage in the first inning. Pete Rose led off with a double and Ken Griffey drew a walk. Joe Morgan popped out, but Johnny Bench put three runs on the board with his nineteenth homer of the season. Dan Driessen added a run in the bottom of the eighth with a solo shot. The Mets scored their only run in the eighth when McEnaney hit Rusty Staub with two outs and the bases loaded. He was then able to get out of the inning when Dave Kingman popped out.

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Despite losing a close one this afternoon, the Reds won their very first road series of the season. And they did it in the first half of the season (barely). And I don’t mean the unofficial mathematical halfway point of 81 games, I’m talking about the OFFICIAL half way point that is the All Star Break. I was never good at math anyway.

We already talked about Friday’s game on Friday. Saturday’s game was all Adam Dunn. In the top of the eighth he hit a huge grand slam to put the Reds up 6-2. Sean Casey drove in the other two runs, and the bullpen actually pitched well (3 1/3 innings, one hit, no runs, 4 k’s). Maybe they’re inspired by the 1975 Reds Diary (which Brian is once again behind on).

Today’s game was a tough one. Eric Milton had a very strong start (6 2/3 innings, eight strikeouts, two runs) but the Reds didn’t give him even a single run. They left nine men on base, and three of their five hits were doubles.

Eric Milton now has his ERA below 7.00, which is good, sort of. He did give up his 29th homer. If you extrapolate (long word) that number over 34 starts (he now has 19), you get 52, which would top Bert Blyleven. The Reds as a team have given up 131 in 88 games. If we extrapolate again (I love that word), we come up with 241. The major league record is…..241. So we’re right on pace to tie the 1996 Tigers.

Good luck to Felipe Lopez on Tuesday. The Reds host Colorado when the regular season gets back on track.

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July 9, 1975 Reds 9, Phillies 7 (57-29)

A huge five run eighth inning put the Reds in front after the Phillies scored five of their own in the sixth to take the lead. Johnny Bench and Tony Perez both had huge games. Bench went three for five with three runs. He hit his eighteenth homer of the season. Tony Perez went two for three with a homer, two runs, and two RBIs.

Pedro Borbon walked away with the win when he pitched a scoreless seventh and eight inning. Rawly Eastwick made things interesting by giving up two runs in the ninth, but held on as the Reds walked away with yet another.

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It would have been nice to come away with more then this, but I guess any win is a good game. The Reds took the first two games of their four game series with the Giants, only to drop the final two as the bats disappeared.

The pitching hardly came out. The pitchers held the Giants to under five runs only once. Adam Dunn continued to struggle as his batting average is now .243 and he misplayed a fly ball in yesterday’s game for his sixth error.

Yesterday’s game was a very pleasant surprise. It’s usually the Reds blowing the big lead. Down 3-0 for most of the game, the Reds scored three in the eighth on an huge three run shot by Ken Griffey, Jr. Then in the in the ninth, Rich Aurilia singled home future Hall of Famer Adam Dunn for the go ahead run. Nice way to end the short skid. Ramon Ortiz had his second straight strong outing, which was pretty encouraging.

Two games left before the All Star break. Congrats to Felipe Lopez for getting the nod. He’s been the biggest surprise (at least good one) this year.

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July 8, 1975 Reds 2, Phillies 1 (56-29)

The Reds won a close game with some solid pitching and some timely hitting. Pete Rose got an RBI when he drew a bases loaded walk in the second inning. The Reds added a run in the fourth when Ken Griffey drove in Merv Rettenmund with a single.

Gary Nolan threw 6 2/3 solid innings. He gave up only one run on six hits, and he didn’t walk a single Philly. Rawly Eastwick was even more effective as he pitched 2 1/3 innings of no hit ball to earn his fourth save of the season.

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July 7, 1975 Reds 7, Phillies 3 (55-29)

The Reds jumped all over future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton with three runs in the first inning. They never looked back as they never gave up the lead. Johnny Bench went three for five with a run, two stolen bases and an RBI while Tony Perez and George Foster both went yard.

Pat Darcy threw eight solid innings. He struck out five while giving up three runs on nine hits. Rawly Eastwick pitched a shutout ninth to put the Phillies out of their misery.

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July 6, 1975 Reds 13, Padres 2 (54-29)

The Reds had three hits, three runs and a walk before even making one out as they sent Padres starter Joe McIntosh packing. The Reds put three more runs on the board in the second, and after only an inning and a half, the Reds were up 6-0. By the end of six innings, they had thirteen runs.

Pete Rose went three for five and scored three times. Ken Griffey scored four runs and Joe Morgan also had a big game. He went three for four with two runs and two RBIs. George Foster and Bill Plummer also had multihit games.

Reds starter Clay Kirby got off easy, but he threw a good game. He pitched five innings and gave up only six hits and two runs. Pedro Borbon finished the game with four shutout innings while earning his third save.

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