April 21, 1976 at Riverfront Stadium 

Reds 5, Padres 4  (6-4)

A big third inning pushed the Reds out in front as they edged the Padres by a single run.  With the score 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Bill Plummer led off the inning with a double but was gunned down at third base on Fred Norman’s fielders choice.  Pete Rose doubled home Norman to tie the game up, then Ken Griffey singled home Rose to give the Reds a 2-1 lead.  Griffey stole second and then Joe Morgan made the second out of the inning by popping up to second base.

Then the Reds put on their rally caps.  Tony Perez, George Foster and Cesar Geronimo all singled in succession and by the time Padres manager John McNamara could get Dave Wehrmeister out of the game, the Reds were up 5-1.

The Padres scored two in the fourth then one in the sixth to shave the lead to a single run but the bullpen held the Padres in check as Don Gullett and Rawly Eastwick held the Padres scoreless in the final three frames.  Fred Norman improved to 3-0 on the season and Eastwick earned his second save.

Permalink | Posted in 1976 Reds Diary - April