1975 World Series – Game 5

October 16, 1975 Reds 6, Red Sox 2 Reds Lead Best of Seven Series 3-2

Don Gullett was phenomenal in his start as Darrell Johnson passed up the spaceman, Bill Lee in favor of starter Reggie Cleveland. Boston actually got on the board with a run in the first and it looked like Johnson’s move might pay off. It wasn’t until the fourth inning that it looked like the starting pitcher switch might have been the wrong move.

Tony Perez tied the game up in that fourth inning with a solo shot. The Reds took the lead (for good) in the fifth when Pete Rose doubled home Gullett. In the sixth inning, the Reds put the nail in the coffin as Tony Perez went yard for the second time in the game. The only difference was, this was a huge three run shot that gave the Reds a 5-1 lead.

The Reds added another run in the bottom of the eight on a Dave Concepcion sac. fly, and after seven straight shutout innings, the Red Sox finally got to Gullett. Fred Lynn’s RBI double shaved the lead back down to four runs, but the Red Sox never got closer. Sparky called in Rawly Eastwick, who summarily struck out Rico Petrocelli to end the game.

The series was heading back to Boston, and the Reds were one win away from winning the World Series.

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