1976 National League Championship Series Game 3
October 12, 1976 at Riverfront Stadium
Reds 7, Phillies 6  Reds Win Best of Five Series 3-0

The Reds came from behind and beat the Phillies to lock up their second straight World Series appearance.  Jim Kaat started the game for the Phillies and he went head to head against Gary Nolan.

For all of the drama of this game, it started out pretty slowly.  Neither team scored in the first three innings, and it was the Phillies who got on the board first in the fourth when Greg Luzinski doubled home Mike Schmidt.  The Phillies padded their lead in the seventh when Garry Maddox doubled home Larry Bowa and Mike Schmidt doubled home Maddox to make it 3-0.  Similar to game two, the Reds managed only only one single through six innings and that base runner was eliminated on a double play.

The Reds finally struck in the seventh.  Ken Griffey led off with a single and he moved to second on Joe Morgan’s walk.  Tony Perez singled and scored Griffey to make it 3-1 and then George Foster drove home Morgan on a sac. fly to make it 3-2.  Johnny Bench walked to put runners at first and second before Dave Concepcion lined out to second base.  Then Cesar Geronimo came up huge with a two run triple to give the Reds a 4-3 lead.

In the top of the eighth, the Phillies answered against Rawly Eastwick.  Larry Bowa doubled home Jay Johnstone to tie the game at four, and then Dave Cash hit a sac. fly to score Terry Harmon which gave the Phillies a 5-4 lead.  The Reds went down without much of a threat in the bottom of the eighth and then the Phillies scored again in the ninth on Jay Johnstone’s triple.  The run was set up by Pete Rose’s fielding error.  The Reds entered the bottom of the ninth down 6-4.

Little time was wasted in the ninth.  George Foster and Johnny Bench led off with back to back solo shots and the game was tied 6-6.  Dave Concepcion singled and he moved to second on Cesar Geronimo’s walk.  Both baserunners moved over a base on bunting specialist Eddie Armbrister’s sacrafice and then Pete Rose was given a free pass to load the bases.  Then, Ken Griffey drove home Concepcion with a single to win the game.

For the second straight season, the Reds were headed to the World Series.  This time it was against the New York Yankees, who needed all five of their games to get past the Kansas City Royals.  That gave the Reds three days off in between their come from behind win and game one of the World Series.

Permalink | Posted in 1976 NLCS, Uncategorized