This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons
.com for more sports history. On June 11, 1981,
the Cincinnati Reds faced the New York Mets in
a Thursday night game at Shea Stadium. This date
is significant because it marked the final set
of baseball games before the 1981 baseball player
strike, which would last for nearly two months.
The season resumed in August, and the league
decided to split the season into two halves.
Teams leading in the standings in each half were
declared division winners and given a berth to
the postseason. The Cincinnati Reds were managed
by John McNamara, who was in his third year with
the club. The Mets were managed by Joe Torre
in what would be his last season with the team
before leaving for Atlanta in 1982. In this game,
the Reds sent their longtime ace, Tom Seaver,
to the mound to face the Mets' Pat Zachary. This
audio recording is from the Cincinnati Radio
Broadcast featuring announcers Marty Brenneman
and Joe Nuxhall. For Cincinnati, it's Collins
in right field, Griffey in center field, Concepcion
at shortstop. Foster in left, Dreesen at first
base, Knight at third. With Oster at second,
Nolan catching, and Sieber on the mound. For
the match, to lead off in center field, Mookie
Wilson. Bob Baylor will play shortstop in that
second. Ellis Valentine in right field will hit
third. Batting in the cleanup spot, left fielder
Dave Kingman. Rusty Staub will play first base
at fifth. Hitting number six at third base, Mike
Covitz. Alex Trevino will catch and hit number
seven. Batting eighth at second base, Doug Flynn.
And batting ninth, the New York pitcher, right
-hander, Pat Zachary. Right now from Shea Stadium
in New York, our national anthem. Thank you.
Again, going over the Mets batting order quickly.
Wilson in center field, Baylor at shortstop,
Valentine in right field, Kingman in left, Staub
at first base, Cubbage at third, with Trevino
catching, Flynn at second, and Zachary pitching.
This copyrighted broadcast is authorized under
broadcasting rights granted by the Cincinnati
Reds solely for the entertainment of our listening
audience. Any publication, rebroadcast, or other
use of the descriptions and accounts of this
game without the express written consent of the
Cincinnati Reds is prohibited. The announcers
on this broadcast are employed by the Cincinnati
Reds. Well, as the Reds complete the first leg
of the scheduled three -city eight -game Eastern
Division road trip, the question on the tips
of tongues of everybody, fans, players, management
alike, will there be baseball after tonight as
far as the major leagues are concerned? As we
mentioned earlier during our pregame shows, three
negotiating sessions have already taken place.
At a downtown Manhattan hotel today, with another
one having gotten underway about six minutes
ago, where the idea, of course, is of burning
a baseball strike that would begin tomorrow throughout
the Major League. And I would imagine the feeling
among many people close to the situation, or
as close as you might be while not being there,
although there were a number of players from
a number of different teams who were at the negotiating
sessions here in New York City today who feel
that They will probably be negotiating throughout
the night, much in the same fashion as was the
case last year when a settlement was reached
early in the morning to avoid a baseball strike
then. And, Joe, I'm sure that is the hope and
the prayer of us and everybody connected with
baseball, certainly the fans first and foremost.
They don't want to see baseball stop, and I don't
think anybody else does either. Marty, I'm very
sure that that is the absolute truth, that no
one wants to see a strike in this great game.
It's a game that the family enjoys, mom and dad
bringing the youngsters to the ballpark. It would
just be a shame if something should happen that
there is a strike. And hopefully they'll be able
to get this thing ironed out before tomorrow
and we can continue on with the schedule. Because
as we were talking to George, things are going
right good for this ball club now. They're playing
excellent baseball, doing the things that are
needed to be done to win baseball games. If we
need good pitching, the pitching's been outstanding.
If we need some offense, the offense is able
to... generate some runs, so the ball club is
really playing excellent baseball, and hopefully
we'll continue right on. You look at Pat Zachary,
of course, Pat, as we mentioned, a 2 -2, one
loss record against the Reds last year. He was
1 -1. He started four times against Cincinnati
last year, beat them 2 -0 on July the 25th of
last year when he went all the way, and he beat
Paul Bosco on that game. The Reds beat Zach here
on May the 7th. of last year. He pitched just
three innings, and Tommy Hume picked up the win
and relieved Zachary, the loser, and Tom Seaver,
we pointed out, he only pitched once against
the Mets last year. No decision. Tom worked eight
innings in that game, allowing six innings. But
we look back on Tom's last start, and it was
a 9 -3 win over the Montreal Expos, and if you
might remember, Tom was asked about the home
run that Gary Carter hit in the first inning.
And Tom said, well, you know, I felt that I was
just doing kind of a mediocre slider. He said,
I found out I better not do that anymore during
the course of the game. And from that point on,
the Expos rather scored one more run, and that
came in the ninth inning when Raines tripled.
They scored on a sacrifice bat off the bat of
Mike Phillips. So, Tom, this fits very well since
coming back off that five problem. Now Pat Zachary
has finished his warm -up to catcher Alex Trevino,
and it'll be Dave Collins to lead it off as normal
for Cincinnati. He was a .313 batting average,
a couple of home runs on the season, and a total
of 17 runs batted in. So a former Red, Pat Zachary,
pitching against a former Met, Tom Seaver, in
the wind -up of three here at Chase Stadium.
Zachary brings in the pitch. Collins bunts. Third
base side. Picked up by Trevino. Throwing to
first in the dirt. That's the rest. He sobbed.
Digs it out. So the out in this game is underway.
Collins really didn't get it out far enough along
the third baseline. Trevino was able to go out
and make the quick pickup. And although throwing
low, the bounce was not really a short hop where
it could create a great deal of problem for Stobb.
He was able to make the play and Collins is out
in the bunt attempt. So one away, and it's 2
-3 if you're scoring with us. And here's center
fielder Ken Griffey. Griffey batting .294 with
16 RBIs and a home run. Zachary with a line,
the kick and the pitch, and Kenny takes it high
and away. Ball one. Zachary, the co -rookie pitcher
of the year in the National League back in 1976
when he was a 14 -game winner with the Reds along
with a .274 Earned run average. He misses down
low with that pitch. He's behind 2 -0. He and,
at the time, San Diego relief pitcher Butch Metzger
shared the award. Metzger has been out of Major
League Baseball for a few years now. Zachary
trying to win his sixth game of the season tonight,
and he's in with a 2 -0 pitch, a call strike.
Cincinnati remaining a game and a half behind
Los Angeles with the... 2 -0 victory here last
night. The Dodgers knocking off the St. Louis
Cardinals on a three -hitter by Jerry Roy. Swung
on, ripped into right field, and Ballantyne will
have to play that ball on the bounce. Ken Griffey
with a one -out single to right field. His fourth
hit and eight times up in this series. One -out,
one -on. The batter shortstop Dave Concepcion
moved back into the number three slot in the
batting order last night. He responded with an
eighth -inning single to drive in the second
and final run of the night for the Reds. His
44th RBI trailing George Foster, the Major League
leader, by two. And Concepcion batting .308.
Stob, Flynn, Baylor, and Covidge at first, second,
short, and third for New York as Zachary straightens
up on the mound, pours it flayward, and Concepcion
takes a strike. In the outfield, Kingman and
left, Wilson in center, Ballantyne and right,
and Trevino catching. Joe Torrey making still
more changes in his lineup tonight in an effort
to try and salvage a victory here. Zachary checking
Griffey. Now steps off the pitching rubber and
throws on to Rusty Staub. Our plate on fire is
Lee Weier. Dutch Rennert is at first base, Charlie
Williams at second, and Randy March at third.
Reds have won the first two games by scores of
8 -4 and 2 -0. The pitch inside. One ball and
one strike. And we might point out the 12 strikeout
that Mario Soto had in the wind last night. That's
a high for a National League pitcher in 1981.
And, of course, it was his first shutout of the
season. One ball, one strike, one out. Griffey
at first base. We're in the top half of the first
inning. Pat Zachary again will lob one over to
first base. Dodgers and the Cardinals close out
the series at Busch Stadium tonight. Fernando
Valenzuela will be going for his 10th win of
the season against right -hander Silvio Martinez.
Each of those teams has won a game. Zachary with
a long pause, and now Concepcion backs out of
the batter's box. Zachary coming set just a little
bit too long to suit the batter. Back coming
to the Mets on the 15th of June, 1977. So he
will have been a New York Met exactly four years,
four days from now, as Tom Seaver will have been
a Cincinnati Red. There's another throw to first.
Zachary working very deliberately here in the
first inning. George Foster on deck. Concepcion
up eight times in the series, two hits and a
run batted in. He grounds it off the leg of Zachary,
rolling between second and third. That's going
to be a base hit. That ball appeared to hit Zachary
somewhere up around the right thigh or right
side and tear him over between second and third
base. The ball definitely finding the hole between
third baseman coverage and shortstop Baylor.
Getting Zachary on the right thigh, or the side,
upper side of the right leg, and that'll be an
infield hit for Concepcion, with Griffey going
on to second. So the Reds have two men on, a
man out, and they're a top run producer, and
George Foster is to play. Foster's had some kind
of series here in New York. Five hits and nine
times up. A home run, a double, a triple, a couple
of singles, and he's driven in two runs. He's
now batting. 300 on the season. There's a pitch
to him, and Foster takes a breaking ball for
a strike. After Collins was thrown out on the
butt attempt, Griffey lines a single to right.
Concepcion reaches on the infield hit. The infield
looking for the ground ball as Zachary kicks
and fires, and Foster swings it a pitch away
behind two strikes. Reds have three .300 hitters
in their lineup, led by Collins at .313, then
Concepcion at .308, Foster at .300. Ken Griffey
on the rise. He came in batting .294. That average
shoots up as a result of the base hit. And Joe
Nolan behind the plate batting .288. Of course,
Danny Dreesen has also been swinging a hot bat
here in this series. Ronnie Oster at 293. So
Cincinnati continues to do everything right of
late. Two -strike pitch. Foster takes strike
three. George Foster caught looking as Ackrey
rings up a strikeout as first of the night. He'll
pitch now to first baseman Danny Dreesen. Trevino
going out to the mound to talk with Ackrey for
a moment. Dreesen batting 210. Always interesting
things you see at a ballpark, Marty, in the play
of a game. On that particular pitch, Torino wanted
the ball up and in. And Zach threw it down and
away. Whether he meant to do that or not. Sometimes
you get away with it and sometimes you don't.
Maybe they tricked George. Here's Danny Dreesen
now with two outs. Dreesen takes it in the dirt
for a ball. 2 -10 the batting average, as we
pointed out, but he's batted 533 in the last
four games, going 8 for 15 with two doubles,
two home runs, and five RBIs, and it would be
a safe statement to make right now that Danny
Dreesen is on top of his game. Even in making
outs, especially last night when he went 1 for
4, he hit some balls awfully hard. Up high, two
balls and no strike. Griffey's at second, Concepcion
is at first, two outs. On deck for the Reds,
third baseman Ray Knight. Right -hander looking
back at second, brings it up there, and he's
behind three balls and no strikes. So Zach, a
pitch away from loading him up for Ray Knight.
Joe Torre putting Baylor in at shortstop, replacing
Tavares for this game, replacing UB Brooks with
Mike Cubbage at third base. Rusty Staub getting
a start at first for the second straight night
and Trevino behind the plate rather than Stearns.
There's strike one call. Three and one. Valentine
deep and straight away and right. Wilson shading
Dreesen to pull and setter as is Kingman and
left. From Zachary to Dreesen, that's ball four
and that loads the bases. Griffey moves to third,
Concepcion to second, Danny with a walk. He's
heading down to first base, and here's Knight.
Knight batting .246, five home runs, 18 RBIs,
only one for eight in the first two games here
at Shea with an RBI. That came on a two -base
hit here on Tuesday night. Knight waving the
bat around as Zachary works out of the windup.
He pitches, and Knight swings and drives it into
right field, backing on it is Valentine. He's
there, and he makes the catch. A couple of steps
short of the warning track to end the inning.
Cincinnati with a first -inning threat, but comes
away with no runs, two hits, three left. After
a half -inning of play and a wrap -up of three
in New York, the Reds nothing, and the Mets are
coming to back. Tom Seaver left the Reds dugout
along the third baseline, and as he went to the
Shea Stadium now, the move that he has made many,
many times throughout his Major League career,
he received a standing ovation from the Mets
fans. So while he's been gone almost 40 years,
they remember Tom Seaver with fond memories for
having some just unbelievable years while pitching
for this New York Mets team. He's having a fine
year with the Reds in 81, six wins and a loss
with a .208 ERA. And he's ready to face the center
fielder and leadoff batter, rookie Mookie Wilson.
Here's a pitch to him, and he shows the butt,
takes it away, strike one. So talk about Sieber's
last start Saturday when he came back after being
down ten days with that left thigh problem. Wilson
fouls it off. Gave up the two -run homer to Carter
in the first inning and then shut out the Expos
until they got that ninth -inning run. He went
the distance to win his sixth game of the season.
The 2 -0 -8 ERA is fourth best in the National
League. Wilson, strike three. Started around.
It didn't make any difference. The pitch was
there, and Seaver has himself a strikeout. That
brings up shortstop Bob Baylor. Baylor has seen
action in each of the first two games as a latecomer
and has had two hits and three times up on the
year, batting .255 against National League pitching
with six runs batted in. Former American leaguer
Baylor with a ball of Orioles and the Toronto
Blue Jays. He takes it low a ball. Drees and
Oster, Concepcion and Knight. First, second,
short, and third defensively for the Reds. Foster,
Griffey, Collins, left center and right in the
outfield. Behind the plate, Joe Nolan. And it's
two balls and no strikes on a pitch in on Bob
Baylor. After two in Montreal, the Expos lead
the Atlanta Braves 2 -0. Montreal trying to sweep
that series. And this afternoon, the Cubs beat
the Giants 6 -1. Swung on, fly ball, headed toward
Collins and Wright. Two out. Here's the right
fielder, Ellis Valentine. The Cubs winning today
have now run off five victories in their last
six games and sent the Giants down to their fifth
consecutive defeat. Chicago came out smoking
against Tom Griffin, who was unable to survive
the first inning in the wake of a four -run outburst.
The only Giant run coming on a sixth -inning
home run by Joe Morgan is fifth of the season,
while Cub catcher Jody Davis had his first Major
League home run, and Hector Cruz hit his seventh
of the season. One ball and no strikes on Ellis
Valentine. Randy Mars got the win. Griffin took
the loss. Tommy Boggs against Steve Rogers up
at Montreal tonight. In there for strike one
call, and Seaver with Valentine, a ball and a
strike. Two outs. Nothing happening in a scoreless
first inning. Swung on and bounced to shortstop.
Concepcion to his left for the pickup, and he
shoots him down. The Mets are out of order, and
after one completed chase, Cincinnati nothing,
New York nothing. In the American League tonight,
six games on the schedule. Kansas City and Toronto
have already started, and it's 1 -0 Royals at
the end of an inning. Paul Splittorf against
Dave Steve. Texas plays in Milwaukee. New York
at Chicago. Detroit at Minnesota. Baltimore in
Seattle. And Boston at California. Ronnie Oster
to lead things off in the second for Cincinnati.
The Reds loaded the bases in the first inning
against Zachary on hits by Griffey and Concepcion.
And then a two -odd walk to Danny Dreesen, but
the inning ended when Zachary got Knight on a
fly ball to fairly deep right field on Ellis
Valentine. Ronnie Oster batting .293, looking
for his first hit here in New York. He's 0 for
9. Zachary pitches. Oster takes it inside, ball
one. Swung on, ground ball, right side. There's
Doug Flynn on the outfield grass to make the
play, and he throws him out. Oster grounds out
second to first. The batter will be Ketcher Nolan.
Poster day with the Reds is pick your poster
day this year. Everybody 21 and under gets to
choose one of the seven posters in the Reds poster
series. The on -hand Sunday, June 28th, the Reds
against the Braves on poster day at Riverfront.
288 batting average for Joe Nolan with a home
run and nine runs batted in. Left -handed batter.
Line drive, right center field, a hit. Over to
cut it off is Dallas Valentine. Nolan takes a
turn, and that's hit number three for Cincinnati.
So with one out, Tom Seaver will probably be
up trying to move Nolan into scoring position
for Dave Collins, and Seaver again gets a big
welcome from the Shea Stadium baseball. Mike
Covington to step off the grass at third and
now coming as Zachary pauses, delivers, receiver
squares to Bunt, takes it away, ball one. Zachary,
a 6 '5", string bean, 175 -pounder out of Waco,
Texas. This one, Bunt at first base side, rusty
stop, makes a play, kicks it around, recovers,
and now throws on to Doug Flynn at first base.
3 -4 sacrifice receiver. With Nolan moving to
second, here's Dave Collins for the second time.
Out Alex Trevino to Rusty Stubb on a bunt attempt
in the first inning. We'll pause for station
identification on the Cincinnati Reds baseball
network. So why do we call Jim Sager the Beast
of Baltimore? Well, you can draw your own conclusions
each and every weekday evening from 6 until midnight
here at K95. It's the Jim Sager Show, the Beast
of Baltimore at K95, WHOK -FM. Lancaster. Collins
with Nolan at second, two away, and a scoreless
game in the second inning. Right -hander kicks
and throws, and Collins takes it up and in ball
one. Now the one over the plate. That's inside
and low. Two balls and no strikes on Dave Collins.
They said now we'll get a first run of the night
home as Nolan takes a lead at second. Zachary
behind and pitching. Collins taking, and that's
strike one called just below the belt. Two balls
and a strike. If we do not have the work stop,
the Jerez are scheduled to open up a three -game
series in Montreal tomorrow night. Bruce Perenny
against Charlie Lee. Saturday night it will be
Mike Lacoste against Ray Burris. And Sunday afternoon,
to close things out there, Frank Pastore will
duel Scott Sanderson. 2 -1 pitch. High and outside,
ball three. In the event there is a strike, we
might inform all our stations as well as our
fans along the network line that... Joe and I
will be doing a one -hour show, a talk show,
beginning tomorrow night on our flagship station
in Cincinnati and on our stations along the Red
Baseball Network, beginning at 8 .05 Cincinnati
time. That is ball four. Collins flips it out
of the way and goes on down to first base as
Zachary has issued his second walk. That would
be a Monday through Friday nightly show, 8 .05
to 9 o 'clock, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
and Friday night. for as long as the strike would
last. And this Saturday and Sunday, Joe and I
are scheduled to be in Wichita to broadcast a
couple of games involving our AAA Farm Club,
the Indianapolis Indians. We would be on the
air at 8 o 'clock on Saturday night with a pregame
show, game time at 8 .30 Cincinnati time, and
7 o 'clock on Saturday night with a pregame show.
Game time for that one would be 7 .30. Two men
on, two men out. Second inning. Griffey with
a hard smash to shortstop, but Baylor plays and
throws to Flynn for the force out, and Zachary
gets out of trouble for the second straight inning.
No runs, one hit, two left. The Reds have stranded
five in the first two innings, and after one
and a half, Cincinnati and New York no score.
Get set for some exciting baseball coming up
at Riverfront. The Reds will be back home next
Wednesday for the start of the biggest homestand
of the year, 13 games and a 12 -day stretch.
The Mets, the Phillies, the Cardinals, and the
Braves will all be in town. While we have them
in, let's take a closer look at that Philly series.
It starts Friday, June 19th with a 7 .35 game.
7 o 'clock game on Saturday the 20th, and then
the weekend winds up Sunday afternoon, June 21st.
It's going to be a fun weekend. The Phillies
are always a favorite opponent at Riverfront
Stadium with the likes of Pete Rose and Mike
Schmidt, Larry Boas, Steve Carlton. So make your
plans now to be on hand for all the action and
purchase your tickets in advance. Tom Seaver
standing behind the mound, waiting for Dave Kingman
to settle in. 13 home runs to lead the New York
Mets in the power department with 31 RBIs and
a 219 batting average. Kingman batting in the
series, two hits and eight times up, and both
hits came last night. He takes it low, ball one.
In fact, Kingman had two hits, and Mookie Wilson
had two. They were four of the six that the Mets
collected off of Mario Soto. Kingman takes ball
two. Two balls and no strikes. Been pretty consistent
in this series. Every time Kingman's been to
the play where the base is empty, which has been
often. Ronnie Oster goes to the third base side
of second along with Concepcion and Knight. 2
-0 pitch. Kingman with a high, deep drive to
left field. And Foster at the wall. It's gone.
The 14th of the season. And the New York Mets,
for the first time in this series lead, it's
1 -0. Beaver got behind 2 -0 and had to come
in on him, and Dingman took care of it. Homering
into the Cincinnati bullpen in the left field,
beyond the left field fence, and the Mets are
up 1 -0. Marty, that was a fastball right out
over the plate, and I think Cobb just more or
less challenging Kingman and didn't quite work.
Missed by about 10 feet. Here's Rusty Staub.
Staub takes a strike. The first time in this
series the Mets have led in the game. Staub hits
a hard smash, and Concepcion cannot get a base
at the center field. Now back -to -back hits
in the second for the Mets. A home run by Kingman,
a single by Staub, the batter. Third baseman
Mike Cubbett. Cubbett batting .233 with three
RBIs, up twice in the first two games with a
hit. Let's have the Astros in for a series scheduled
to begin here tomorrow night. And Houston is
already in town. They finished their series in
Philadelphia last night. And staying in the same
hotel the Reds are staying in in Manhattan. Saw
a lot of them around the hotel today. Pitches
in for a strike. Of course, the Phillies are
off tonight before meeting the Atlanta Braves
in Philadelphia tomorrow evening. If baseball
is continued, Pete Rose will have the shot going
into that game of becoming the all -time nationally
career hit leader after tying Stan Musial's record
last night with a first -inning single off Nolan
Ryan. One ball and one strike on the left -handed
batting coverage. One run is in. Rusty stopped.
Stationed down at first base. He had a ground
single at center. Nobody out. Number 41 to the
plate, and coverage takes it inside. Two balls
and a strike. Dave Kingman with home run number
14 of the season. That ties him for National
League leadership with Philadelphia's Mike Schmidt.
Coverage ahead on the count as Seaver kicks and
fires, and there's ball three. Alex Trevino on
deck. Danny Dreesen playing behind a runner's
stop at first base. Swung on and fouled away.
Straight back of the plate and back up into the
third deck here. Mario Soto joining Seaver last
night with a victory as six -game winners on
the Cincinnati pitching staff. Seaver after his
252nd career win. He and Bob Gibson are tied
for 30th place on the all -time victory list.
Runner going. But Cabbage fouls it out of play
down the left field line. Of course, Bob Gibson
here, he is now a member of the Mets coaching
staff. The man who Fieber is tied with. And Tom
two wins away from Carl Hubble, who is next in
line in 29th place with a career victory total
of 253. But the Mets are leading 1 -0. And a
three -ball, two -strike count on Mike Kovach.
Risa now is on the back. Stopped breaking. The
pitch is swung on. Ripped into right field. Collins
going back and now comes in a bit and moves off
to his left to make the catch. Back to first
goes Dodd. There's one away and here's the catcher
Trevino. Trevino batting 280. He's knocked in
eight runs. First time we've seen him in the
series. Fine -handed batter and a young man that
a lot of clubs have shown a lot of interest in
over the last couple of years. He's regarded
as a pretty good catcher and can swing that bat
reasonably well. He lines one for a hit in the
center. Griffey plays it on the bounce as Staub
moves to second base and Seaver having a relatively
unimpressive second inning. Home run by Kingman,
base hit by Staub, a well -hit ball to right.
The Collins caught off the bat of coverage and
now a first -pitch line drive single to center
field from Alex Trevino. Doug Flynn at the plate.
Flynn checking in at 243 with a home run and
11 runs batted in. 0 for 7 so far in the series.
Takes the ball low. Tom Zachary now emerging
from the New York dugout, moving to the on -deck
circle. That's a check swing strike. Doug came
out of the gate very hot when the season unfolded.
He was up among the hit leaders for quite a while,
but has of late simply been struggling at the
plate. His batting average has plummeted all
the way down to its current .243. Stopped the
lead runner at second with Trevino at first.
One away. Seaver to the plate, Flynn swings,
fly ball, right field. Collins almost in his
tracks, makes the catch. Staub loves to go to
third, and Concepcion cuts off the throw, tumbling
over Staub at second base and almost caught him
coming back into the bag. Maybe decoying Staub
pretty well until the last second, hoping to
maybe grab that throw from Collins and put the
tag on him before he got back to second. The
Zachary at the plate with two outs. Pat batting
.238 this season. He's had five hits all singles.
He's knocked in two runs. Ball to him. This club
now with three hits in the game. Pitcher against
pitcher in the second, and Zachary swings and
misses. One ball and one strike. Checking the
pitch. Strike two, swinging. Tell you, aside
from the time when Pete Rose was on his 44 -game
hitting streak, there probably are almost as
many media people right now in New York from
the sports world and from all over the country
as a result of the possible player strikes than
at any other time on the trips that we have made
in here over the last seven, eight years. Two
balls, two strikes. They were trying to get Zachary
at end of second for New York. He pitches, and
Zachary takes strike three, and that's the inning.
Tom's second strikeout, a scoring inning for
the Mets. One run, three hits. They leave a pair.
And after two complete, New York won the Reds
nothing. Dave Concepcion will lead off round
number three for Cincinnati as the Reds enter
their third inning, trailing New York one to
nothing. And here with a play -by -play, Joe
Nuttall. Thank you, Marty. Davey Singel off the
right side of Pat Zachary in the first inning.
Dave, a .308 batting average. Four all -runs
and 44 RBIs. Dave, second to George Foster in
the National League in RBIs. George leads the
league with 46. Right to that three -hit top,
Zachary, through the first two innings. And stranded
with five baserunners. Dave Concepcion leads
it off. At Montreal, the Expos leading the Braves
2 -0, third inning. The American League, Toronto
leading Kansas City 4 -2. Kansas City at bat
at the top of the fourth. Zachary ready to work
to Concepcion, and his breaking pitch misses
outside. Only one other game to be played tonight.
That's Los Angeles at St. Louis. 1 -0 pitch.
A half -swing foul by Concepcion, and it evens
it 1 -1. Fernando Valenzuela will go for the
Dodgers and Silvio Martinez for the Cardinals.
Zachary even to Concepcion, 1 -1. Foster on deck,
and that'll be Danny Dreesen. Zachary delivers
the 1 -1. Outside, two balls to strike. Pat has
walked 37 batters in 73 innings coming into tonight's
game, and then struck out 41. The 2 -1 delivery.
Swung on and a one bouncer to coverage at third.
And his throw on to stop. One away. On down and
George Foster steps in. George call out on strikes
in the first inning. Back for his last start.
He lost to the Houston Astros 6 -2. In Houston
when he allowed ten hits and six runs. In three
in the third inning. Walked four in that stretch.
Foster steps in. Base is empty in and out. The
pitch. George swings at a breaking ball and chops
it foul at the plate. Danny Dreesen. Schedule
a bat next. Outfield playing George about straight
away. Foster backs away from the plate. Back
in and Trevino. Bison's assigned. They all want
the foster. Fastball at the knees in the outside
corner. And Zachary in front. 0 -2 to George.
The 0 -2. Swung on and line fouled by third base
coach Russ Nixon. Russ having to turn to get
out of the way of it. Count holes. No balls.
Two strikes. Zachary has the sign. Again, the
0 -2. Change -up swung on and missed, and that's
strikeout number two for Zachary, and both times
it has been George Foster. So two away, and Danny
Drees in the batting. Danny walked in the first
inning to load the bases. Before Ray Knight hit
a fly ball to Valentine in right field to end
the inning. And batting average up to .210. He
looks at a strike from Zachary. Zachary delivers
the 0 -1. Harrison takes it high and outside.
Not even as a ball of strength. It's on the way.
It's on and foul down the left side. That will
settle back into the seat. Down holding of the
ball. Two strikes to Drees. Manning with five
all runs and 21 RBIs. Zachary again the one -two.
That's been the third change. Two balls, two
strikes. Knackery checking with Trevino. The
2 -2. Hung on and a fly ball hit into left center
field. Moving over Mookie Wilson. He's there
and makes the play. And for the first time in
the game, the Reds out in order. Middle of the
third. New York 1, Cincinnati nothing. For New
York in the bottom half of the third, the top
of the order, Wilson, Baylor, and Valentine to
face Don Seaver. New York getting around to the
second inning when Dave Kingman hit his 14th
ball of the year on a 2 -0 pitch. The ball just
dropping over the fence and left field into the
Cincinnati bullpen. A Mookie Wilson leads it
off. Wilson called out on strike, leading off
the game for New York. Deaver delivers. Wilson
takes. High and outside of ball. I'm back with
a 1 -0. Wilson swings and doesn't get it. 1 -1.
Kingman now tied with Mike Smith for the league
lead in all runs at 14. Low curve hangs high
to Wilson. Two and one to come. A wide pitch.
Wilson takes it inside. Three balls to strike.
Three -one delivery. Wilson takes strike two
call. A full count now to Mookie Wilson. Payoff
on the way. Wilson swings and fouls back to the
screen. Mike Lum, a good day yesterday for the
Cubs in that second game win, 7 -4 over the Giants.
Mike went 3 -3 with a home run. Pitch on the
way. Wilson swings and rounds it up the middle
right between Severs' legs and on into center
field. Bolton makes the wide turn, and that's
the fourth end of the game for New York. Bob
Severs. And I bring Bob Baylor to the plate.
Baylor in the first inning, a fly ball to Collins
in right field. Wilson has ten stolen bases.
He has been caught four times. The receiver throws
over to first. Again, the stretch and another
throw there, and Wilson again back. Ellis Valentine
on deck. Receiver has struck out two. Another
throw to first, and this one sounds like it hit
Wilson in the back. Mookie getting up and holding
his lower back. Actually, the ball hit him, or
Wilson would still be running. Tom sets again,
throws the first, and again, Wilson back safely.
Bob Baylor at the plate. Baylor a .250 batting
average. Stretching the pitch, Wilson goes. Here's
Nolan Stroh, and it's not near a time. Wilson
has his 11th stolen base for the year. The Mookie
had a good jump, and he got down there quickly.
The count to Bob Baylor, 0 -1. That's such a
called strike. Baylor's sticking his bat out
over the plate, trying to distract Joe Nolan.
Wilson now at second. Beaver has the sign from
Nolan to stretch the pitch. Baylor punts third
-base side. The ball rolling. Buff of the ball
to Beaver. It's going quickly to Ron Oster. And
Ron takes it on the long hop to retire Baylor.
Good play by Tom Beaver and Ron Oster. Treaded
Baylor with a sacrifice. He is out 1 -4. Milton
Wilson moves on to third base. The batter is
Ellis Valentine. Valentine grounded to Concepcion
in the first inning. Dave Kingman moves on deck.
Well, that is Joe Torre trying to put another
run on the scoreboard here tonight. Beaver works
for the windup, and Valentine swings and pops
it up. Shallow into center field. Griffey waiting
on it, and... And tanking as Wilson, he'll score
easily, and it's a two -to -nothing ballgame.
A very high pop into center field, and Wilson
scores easily. Valentine gets his 17th RBI of
the year, and the Mets lead it two to nothing.
Having Dave Kingman on the plate, Dave leading
off the second inning. Homered into the red bullpen,
his 14th of the year. He rewinds and delivers,
and Kingman takes high and inside a ball. Two
out, the Mets have scored a run here in the third,
lead it two to nothing. Tom delivers. England
swings and misses a pitch down, and the count
evens 1 -1. 1 -1 on the way. Aye. Two alls to
strike. That's Enfield. Ulster to the left of
second base. Outfield pulled around to the left.
2 -1 delivery. High and inside. Three balls to
strike. 3 -1 the count to Dave Kingman. Seaver
delivers the 3 -1, and Kingman takes it. On inside,
a ball, and that's the first walk issued by Tom
Seaver. Kingman moves on to first base, and the
batter is Rusty Stobbs. Stobbs single to center
in the second inning. York leading 2 -0. Kingman
at first base leads. This throw over to first,
and Dave steps back. Stretching the pitch, and
a slider misses inside the stop. Ball one. Mike
Cubbage, the on -deck batter. 1 -0 to stop. Let's
see. Tate's blowing inside again. And it's two
balls, no strike. Well, the Yankees score in
the first inning of Chicago. White Sox at bat
in the bottom half of the first. There goes Kingman.
The pitch is swung on and missed. The throw down,
not time. And Kingman has the stolen base. Dave
with a running jump. For Kingman, that is his
second stolen base of the year. On count two
and one, the rest is stopped. They were looking
to Nolan for the sign. He has it. The stretch
and the pitch. Stop takes strike two on the outside
corner. The count evens two and two. Kingman
the second lead. Dave Watson stole second. Seaver
to the plate. Stomp takes it inside. Full count.
Tom waiting on the side. Takes one off. Now the
stretch. And he steps back off the pitching rubber.
Tom ready. And delivers the payoff. Tom swings
and fouls it off to the left and back into the
seat. Tom holding. Three and two. Good crowd
here at Shea Stadium tonight. Last night we had
10 ,352, and Tuesday night, 13 ,331. Again, the
3 -2, swung on, ground ball, foul off the first
baseline. Ball not missing by much, but Dutch
runner at the first base on fire holding up his
hands right away. Tom holds the three balls,
two strikes to Rusty Stott. He were ready. And
again, the 3 -2. Stott swings, fouls this from
straight back. Ball hitting the glass behind
home plate and bounding all the way out to the
mound where Tom Seaver picks it up. On set and
delivered. Cobb swings and a fly ball in the
right field. Waiting on it, moving in is Collins,
and that's the inning. The Mets pick up another
run in the inning on one hit. But no errors,
and a runner left on at the end of three. New
York 2, Cincinnati nothing. Ray Knight will lead
it off as the Reds bat in the fourth inning.
Ray in the first. A fly ball to the right, but
the base is bloated. Ray hitting .246, five home
runs and 18 RBIs. Now Indianapolis at Oklahoma
City tonight after one inning no score. Charlie
Liebrand on the mound for the Indians. Charlie
has won one and lost five. Zachary delivers and
Knight takes a strike on the outside corner.
Meanwhile at St. Louis, George Hendrick, a two
-run homer in the first inning off Valenzuela.
The Cardinals 2 -0 after 1. Zachary delivers
the 0 -1. Knight swings and grounds it into deep
short. Cubbett's backhand drops the ball, and
Ray Knight will get a base hit out of that one.
Cubbett was there, had it in his glove, and ready
to throw. Make that Baylor, Bob Baylor, the shortstop.
Cubbett to the third base. On infield single
for Ray Knight, the fourth of the game for the
Reds, and that'll bring Ron Oster to the plate.
Ron grounded to Doug Flynn in the second inning,
leading off. Oster a .293 batting average with
a home run, 25 RBIs. Zachary sets and delivers,
and Oster swings and hits one well in the right
center field, and that's going to get to that
one. Knight around second, a bounce is off the
wall. Right to third. Knight being waved in.
He's going to score. Oster on his way to third
to throw. He's not in time, and it's a two -to
-one ball game. Fifth triple of the year for
Ron Oster. He is 26 by the eye, and Barretta
back in it just like that. Ray Knight scoring
all the way from first base, and Oster with a
headlong slide into third, and he represents
the tying run of Joe Dole of the batter. Five
hits now for the Reds in the game. Okay, Wilson
feeling the ball off the fence. Going to Bob
Baylor, but the throw a bit high. Ostrand safely
at third. A stretch by Zachary of the pitch.
And Nolan swings, sends at the center field.
A base hit. He's two for two, and it's a tie
ball game. Oh, three straight hits here in the
inning. Ties it up. That'll bring Tom Seaver
to the plate. Tom sacrificed in the second inning,
moving Nolan to second base. Joe Nolan gets his
tenth RBI of the year. Reds tie it up at 2 -2.
Right now, Rusty Stobb talking with Pat Zachary
at the mound. He heads back to first base. Cabbage,
the New York third baseman, already on the grass,
looking for the punt. Stretched by Zachary, and
the pitch. Steverer punts first base side, but
foul. Four -five, two -to -two. No one at first
base, nobody out. So over to first, Nolan steps
back. The Reds as a team with 24 or 33 sacrificed
buttons. Tom squares the button, swings away
as Stobb started toward all and then checked
when he saw Tom going back to swing. But count
0 and 2. Zachary to the belt. And delivers. And
Seaver again swings and misses. And he squares
the button. Came back to swing. Zachary has his
third strikeout. One away. And Dave Collins the
batter. Collins. 0 -1 officially in the first
inning. He put out a punt. The ball was just
a few feet in front of the plate where Savino
peeled it and threw him out, and then he walked
in the second inning. Reds scoring two here in
the inning so far, and have tied it up 2 -2.
Zachary ready. And delivers. Collins takes it
low and outside the ball. Rusty Stobb playing
off the bag and in front of Joe Nolan. Zachary.
The 1 -0 to Collins. Dave takes it under the
knees. It's two balls, no strikes. Well, Montreal
has picked up another lug on and now leaves the
Braves 3 -0. Atlanta's bat to fifth. Zachary
ready for 2 -0. Collins swings it, grounds it
hard in the right field. That's the main shift.
Dolan moves on to second. He'll hold right there.
And that's four hits now in the inning. And we
might see some activity down in the... New York
bullpen. It was first hit, and now Rube Walker,
the pitching coach for the Mets, will take a
walk to the mound. He'll have a word with Pat
Zachary. The inning started off with Knight singling
to, in the hole, a shortstop. Then the first
pitch delivered to Ron Oster. He tripled the
right center field, scoring Knight. Oster scored
when Nolan singled to center field. Seaver struck
out, and now the single by Dave Collins brought
Rube Walker out of the New York dugout. He's
still at the mound talking with Trevino and Pat
Zachary. No activity as yet down in the New York
bullpen. Walker back to the Mets dugout. Kenny
Griffey the batter. Kenny single the first to
right and then a hard ground ball to Baylor at
short to force Collins to end the second inning.
Kenny hitting .294. A home run, 16 RBI. Zachary
ready and delivered. Griff swings and hits one
into shallow center field. Coming on is Wilson.
He's there and he has it two away. Two down,
Dave Concepcion the batter. Dave one for two.
In the first inning, he had a hard one -bouncer
back to the mound. It struck Zachary on the right
side, bounced toward shortstop. Dave reaching
first, and then in the third inning, he bounced
to Cubbies at third base. Tied up two to two.
The Reds with Nolan in second, Collins at first,
and two away. Reds have had four hits here in
the inning. Zachary to the belt. Delivers to
Davian. It's swung on and missed. All in one.
I feel playing Concepcion straight away. He was
four home runs on the year. And 44 RBI. The 0
-1 delivery. Check swing and he goes too far.
Zachary in front 0 -2 now to Concepcion. Now
Davey goes beyond deck circle to get the pine
tar right. George Foster. Nolan is second lead.
Collins at first. Zachary has the sign from Trevino.
The stretch and the pitch. That's high. A fastball.
Not missing by much. And the count goes the ball
two strikes to Davis. Coverage deep and third.
Mailer deep and short. It's a one -two pitch.
Kane spun on and missed. And that's four strikeouts
for Zachary. But the Reds get two in the inning
on four hits. So there are no errors. Two runners
left on base. And it's the middle of the fourth.
The Reds two and the Mets two. Now we're tied
up two to two as the Mets bat in the bottom half
of fourth inning. It'll be Mike Covich, Alex
Trevino, and Doug Fled to face Tom Seaver. The
Mets scoring a run in the second on Kingman's
home run. They picked up a run in the third when
Wilson Singles stole second. Moved to third on
a sacrifice by Baylor, and he scored on Valentine's
sacrifice fly to center field. Covich in the
second inning, a fly ball to Collins in right
field. Mike hitting .233, three RBIs and two
doubles. Covey's a left -handed batter. Stever
waiting on Covey to settle in. End of the wide
and the pitch. Covey takes it down low of all.
2 -2 the score here in the fourth inning. Reds
trying to sweep the three games from the Mets
and extend their winning streak to seven straight.
Beavers 1 -0. Covey swings and hits it hard to
right field, but Collins moving forward the line
is able to make the play. A one -way, and Alex
Pervino at the batter. Pervino, single to center
in the second inning. Pervino, a right -handed
batter. Rear to the plate. Trevino takes low
on outside of ball. Come back for the 1 -0. Trevino
swings and misses. Tried to tacky swing on a
slider low on outside. Count evens 1 -1. On the
1 -1. Strike two called. An off -speed pitch.
Siever in front of all two strikes. Tom looks
to be picking up ahead of his team. He delivers
the one -two. That's strike three -four. Third
strikeout for Siever. Two away, and the batter
is Doug Flynn. Now the fly ball to Collins and
right in the second inning. Well, in a .243 batting
average, the home run, the 11 RBIs, Seaver winds
and the pitch. Check swing, ground ball, rolls
foul off the first baseline. Danny Dreesen fuels
the ball and returns it to Seaver. Seaver getting
Pravino on a changeup for a called third strike.
Tom Wines, the 0 -1. Bung on and looped into
shallow right center. Going out, Oster has room.
And Rod makes the play for the second time in
the game. Seaver has retired. The Mets in order.
And after four, Reds 2, New York 2. Morning show,
the Reds, two runs, seven hits, and no errors.
New York Mets, two runs, four hits, and no errors.
For the Reds. Thank you, Joe. You know, I wonder
how Johnny's doing. Yes, sir. Well, let's see.
9 -17. I would say that J .P. is sitting back,
very relaxed, enjoying this fine broadcast of
his favorite team. I'm sure he is. Yes. Thank
you. Here's Foster. It's been all Pat Zachary
against George in this game. Twice he has struck
him out, once looking in the first and swinging
in the third. Now the Reds come off the mat in
the fourth inning to score twice and tie the
score. Here comes Zach's pitch and Foster swings
and he misses. At the end of two in St. Louis,
Cardinals 2, Dodgers nothing. George Hendrick,
a two -run homer in the first, number 10 of the
year for the Cardinal outfielder. Foster now
steps away from the plate. Zachary's been touched
for seven home runs. And that equals the number
that Randy Jones has thrown up. Make that six
homers that Zachary has allowed. Jones gave up
his seventh last night to Foster. George swings
it again, misses. Quickly no balls and two strikes.
Danny Dreesen on deck to be followed by Ray Knight.
Foster's 46 RBIs lead the Major League, but boy,
Buddy Bell. You talk about coming in a hurry.
Over with the Texas Rangers. He has jumped up
over the 40 mark. Foster takes the pitch inside
for a ball. In fact, he had five RBIs last night
in the 12 -5 win over Milwaukee, including a
home run. He has 43 runs batted in this season.
One ball, two strikes. Foster strikes out swinging.
That's the third time Zachary has gotten him.
And for Pat overall, his fifth strikeout. Facing
Danny Dreesen, who walked in the first and flied
to center in the third. Funny, he's talking about
change -ups in our league, and I know we feel
that Mario Soto's got the best in the league,
but I tell you, Pat Zachary's right there with
him. Well, he, of course, came to the big leagues
with a reputation of having an awful good one,
and he's kept it with him all these years. There's
ball one. A 2 -2 tie, top half of the fifth.
Now Zachary goes to the windup and Dreesen calls
time with plate umpire Lee Weier. The Red Cedar
Rapids Club came up with a doubleheader victory
over Burlington last night, 6 -4 in 10 in game
1, 8 -2 in the second game. In the opener, outfielder
Ken Scarface from Western Michigan University
had a two -run homer to tie at the seventh, sending
the game to extra innings. And then catcher Dave
Miley won it with a bases -loaded single in the
10th inning. Two balls and no strike. Zachary
deals, Greeson takes, and that's over. Strike
one called. Greeson waving the bat around. Zachary
checks with Trevino. He pitches, and Danny takes
ball three. That's below the knees, a breaking
ball. Any American League at the end of five
in Toronto, the Blue Jays five, the Kansas City
Royals three, Martinez the homer for the Jays,
McCray home run number... Four for Kansas City.
Zachary behind and pitching to Dreesen, and Danny
takes ball four, and he's on. The second time
that Zachary has walked the Reds' first baseman,
and his third walk overall. The batter, Ray Knight,
got things going in the two -run fourth inning
with an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop.
and then scored all the way from first base on
Ron Oster's triple to deep right center. After
two and a half at Milwaukee, Brewers 1, Rangers
nothing. Gorman Thomas, home run number 15 in
the second. Pete Bukovic going after his eighth
win of the season for the Brewers against Ferguson
Jenkins. The Yankees and the White Sox are tied
up at 1 -1 after an inning and a half. Lou Piniella
homered in the first for New York as second.
Doug Bird, 5 -0 against Steve Trout. Streets
and running. Knight swinging and fouls it off
the end of the bat. In the bottom of the second
in Minnesota, Twins 2, Tigers nothing. Pete Redfern
against Dan Petrie. And two late games. We'll
have Baltimore, Seattle, and Boston in California.
Red's about to hit the net. 7 -4. Neither team
has committed an error, and we've got Dreesen
aboard for a one -odd walk. Zachary delivers,
and Knight bunts third base side. Fair ball,
fair ball, still fair, and now foul as it rolls
across the line. Maybe five or six feet short
of the third base bag. Knight will come back
with a count of no balls and two strikes on him.
Reds trying to extend their winning streak to
seven in a row. This is already the second -best
winning streak of the season. Last month, they
ran off eight straight. They won seven of their
last eight, 11 of their last 14, and 16 out of
their last 20. And being 13 over the 500 mark,
their best total of the season. Reds win tonight.
The Dodgers lost, and we're only a half a game
back. And the Cardinals have the early lead at
St. Louis over L .A., and Fernando Valenzuela
2 -0. Right back at the batter's box, and Zachary
ready to pitch again. But first, he'll throw
to first, driving Griesen back. Pitch. Just missed
with it, and Knight almost went too far. Was
able to hold up on the swing. Ronnie Oster coming
up next. This game in the top half of the fifth
inning. Another throw to first, but this one
just a lob throw onto Rusty Staub. This will
probably be the best crowd of the three Knights.
that the Reds have spent here in New York. And
I would imagine many of them here because of
Tom Seaver's presence on the mound for the Cincinnati
team. One and two and holding on Knight and another
throw to first. And this one had a purpose behind
it as Zachary really brought it over there to
stop. Pat Zachary waging a war on two fronts
with Dreesen at first with Knight at the plate.
In a 2 -2 game in the fifth inning. One man out,
the infield at double play depth. Zachary stretches
and steps off the pitching rubber. Danny meanwhile
edging a little bit farther off the bag against
the holding stop. And a throw to first again
and safe again. That's a 5 -win -6 loss and a
432 -run average. He's been healthy this season,
which is a departure from the way much of his
career has gone since leaving Cincinnati and
coming to New York. He's had a number of injuries
that have kept him out of a lot of starts. Knight
strikes out swinging on a changeup, and that's
the number six of the night for Mr. Zachary.
He struck out Foster, he walked Reese, and he
fans Knight. And Ronnie Oster, one for two, his
first hit in this series, a big one, a fourth
-inning triple to deep right center field that
knocked in a run his 26th of the year, and he
later scored the tying run when Nolan Singleton
hit the center field. Three years ago, Pat suffered
a fracture of his left foot when he kicked the
dugout step after being taken out of the game
here with a red. And was on the disabled list
the rest of the season. There's a throw to first
again to stop. Prior to that, he was on the way
to what possibly would have been his best year
in the big leagues. He had already picked up
ten victories at the time of the injury. He's
working to Oster, and Ronnie takes it high and
away for a ball. 1979, his season was again curtailed
by injury. Before he went out with elbow problems,
he had a couple of victories against the Cubs
and the Phillies, but then developed a tingling
sensation in his right elbow and was on the disabled
list with an irritation of the ulnar nerve. So
Pat Zachary has had more than his share of physical
problems. Two and 0 to count. Another throw to
first base as Zachary continues to pay attention
to Danny Dreesen who drew the one -out walk.
Oster batting 295 after his fifth triple of the
season last inning. That's right, Andrew, with
a motion. He kicks fire. Oster takes a high fastball,
3 -0. Zachary has struck out six. He's walked
three. Ronnie Oster looking at a straightaway
New York outfield as he bids to get on with the
second walk of the inning. Indianapolis trailing
Oklahoma City 1 -0 at the end of two. Oklahoma
City with a run in the second inning. Dreeson
running, pitch is taken high, ball four. So two
men on with two men out as we pause for station
identification on the Cincinnati Reds baseball
network. Country music fans, you'll not want
to miss the K95 Country Countdown each and every
Sunday morning from 9 a .m. until noon. Your
host, Greg Shepard, countdown the top 30 tunes
here in K95 Country. K95 Country Countdown, WHOK
-FM, Lancaster. Here's Joe Nolan who delivered
the tying run home in the fourth inning with
a single, and Joe's two for two tonight. His
batting average has jumped back over 300. It
stands at 301. Takes it down on him for a ball.
Exactly looking out into the on -deck circle
where he sees Tom Sieber, and now he's going
to receive a visit to the mound from pitching
coach Rube Walker. Forest Park's annual community
night with the Reds. That's coming up on Thursday,
June the 25th, when the Reds meet the Cardinals.
We'll look forward to seeing all the folks from
Forest Park at the stadium that night. Zachary,
after picking up a strikeout, walked Dreesen,
and after another strikeout, has walked Ron Oster.
Two men on, two men out in a 2 -2 game, and Nolan
looking for his third straight hit. That RBI
in the fourth is tenth of the season. Here's
the right -hander with a 1 -0 to the plate. Swung
on, ground ball to second. Doug Flynn kicks it
around, recovers, and throws the first in plenty
of time. No runs in the inning, no base hits.
Two men left on. After four and a half, the Reds
and the Mets all locked in at two runs apiece.
Get to meet that time of the year again, Summer
Fair in Cincinnati. It happens just one weekend
every summer on our beautiful Cincinnati riverfront.
This year, it's June 13th and 14th. And again
this year, Kahn's Wieners and Franks are the
official hot dog of Summer Fair. Now, why was
Kahn's selected as the official hot dog? Well,
for the very same reason that Kahn's is the only
hot dog served at Riverfront Stadium. Because
at Kahn's, great meat makes great wieners. And
you know, Kahn's is not only the hot dog of the
Cincinnati Reds. Kahn's hot dogs are also featured
at Riverfront Coliseum, at the Convention Center,
the Cincinnati Zoo, Shea Stadium in New York,
Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, and Ruff
Arena in Lexington. Kahn's Hot Dogs are featured
at so many quality places because they are a
quality product. And naturally, they're the official
hot dog of Cincinnati Summer Fair featuring quality
entertainment. So plan the weekend, June 13th
and 14th, for fun at Cincinnati Summer Fair on
the riverfront. Enjoy arts and crafts, music
and sunshine, and Kahn's Hot Dogs at Summer Fair.
Park free at the stadium. Have you made your
vacation plans this year? Maybe you're thinking
about staying a little closer to home, maybe
driving less, watching your dollars a little
more carefully. If so, may we suggest a trip
to Cincinnati to see some Reds baseball at Riverfront
Stadium and to enjoy all the other fine attractions
and things to do in the Queen City. To get a
schedule and ticket mail or information, just
give a call to the Reds office. And if you'd
like some other information about... Things like
hotels, motels, restaurants, and all the things
to see and do in Cincinnati. Just tell the Reds
and they'll be happy to see that information
and send it your way. Give a call or drop a note
to Cincinnati Reds, Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati,
Ohio. Matt Zachary will be first up for the Mets
in the home half of the fifth inning. Zebri got
him on a strikeout in the second, won a three
strikeout. The time is recorded tonight. Went
into this dart, six on the all -time strikeout
list, and now has a total of 3 ,036. Pitches
in for a strike. Well, we've got a correction
on that Indy Oklahoma City score. Indianapolis
is leading 1 -0 with a run on the second, and
that game now is in the top half of the fourth
inning at Oklahoma City. That team, the Philadelphia
Philly Triple -A Farm Club. Zachary takes it
high, a fastball, 1 -1. They're through three
in St. Louis, cards two, Dodgers nothing. Zachary
taking strike two. With a complete game by Mario
Soto last night, that gives the Reds five in
the last six games, and it's interesting to note,
pitches outside for a ball, that the Reds now
have a total of 15 complete games this season.
And that is second best in the National League,
two behind the leading Dodgers. Two balls, two
strikes. They make that three and two on Zachary.
And the Dodgers, as the pitching staff, have
17 complete games. The Reds are second with 15.
And Zachary hits one into right center field,
and Grifty will get there to make the catch.
For the third time tonight, it'll be center fielder
Mookie Wilson at the plate, and the first he
struck out and the third he single stole a base
and came in to score. So one for two tonight
and three for nine so far in the series. Wilson's
batting .285 with a home run and seven RBIs.
He bunched at it, lost the bat, made contact.
Nolan hung on to it, strike one. This is a young
man whose reputation preceded him to the major
leagues. He had some fine numbers in the Mets
minor league organization. Ground ball, and that's
a fair ball by first. Down the right field line,
Wilson can motor. He's coming to second. He's
going to take the turn and haul right there as
the ball bounced into the seats apparently. So
Mookie Wilson, who had designs on third base,
and he can flat fly now, I'll tell you. Being
forced to stop at second as Dave Collins pointed
into the seats as if to indicate that either
somebody reached over and picked the ball off
or the ball bounced in there. It's out of our
line of vision where we're located. On the press
level here at Shea, Joe Torre is out saying something
to first base umpire Dutch Rennert, who in turn
goes to plate umpire Lee Rennert, Lee Weier.
And now Dutch has gone back to Joe Torre. I don't
know what Joe is saying other than he's saying
that... Mookie would have been a third, but that's
an absolute ground rule double. Anytime the fan
interferes with the ball like that, it's a ground
rule double. It could be all the way to home,
but I think that I might be wrong in this, but
as far as I know, it's an out -and -out ground
rule. Just when you're playing in your home park.
Joe Torre knows that as well as anybody. I guess
he figures, what the heck, I'll take a shot.
You never know what might happen. Oh, true. So
the go -ahead runs at second. One away in the
inning. Bob Baylor is 0 for 1 with a sacrifice
punt. Seaver with a look to second, the pitch
to the plate, and Baylor is down a strike. Check,
swing, foul, ball. A little bounce pass and that's
dugout. I'll tell you, there's some fellas in
this league that can really air it out on those
bases. First time we've really gotten a chance
to watch Mookie Wilson do his thing. Think about
him and Tim Raines up at Montreal. Gary Templeton,
who's no slouch in that department. Davey Lopes,
who's been doing it for years in the league.
Dave Collins. This one fouled out of play. The
National League certainly has... its share of
young men who can motor on the bases. Of course,
Rain's just walking away with the stolen base
race in the National League. He's now swiped
48. Billy North, who can pick him up and lay
him down, is second with 25. And Rodney Scott
of Montreal, 22. Here comes Wilson, the third.
Ball is popped up. Now Wilson has to right himself.
Ronnie Oster will make the catch. Wilson had
time to straighten himself out and get back to
second base, but he was on his way toward trying
to steal third base and was on his way with a
pretty good shot at it. I would say he was there.
I would agree with you. Two down, Ellis Valentine
at the plate, and he has driven in a New York
run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
He's knocked in 17. Now Sabre trying to keep
the 2 -2 tie intact. Valentine rips it down back
upstairs. Well, we've had two pretty good ballgames
here at Shea Stadium. The 8 -4 Reds win Tuesday
night would not reflect that fact unless you
knew the facts, but it was a 4 -4 game until
the Reds broke the tie with four in the ninth
inning. Check swing, low and away. And of course,
last night, Randy Jones was outstanding in a
losing effort. In fact, the Mets out hit the
Reds 6 -5, but Cincinnati got the home run from
Foster. And the run -producing single by Concepcion
to win it behind Soto. Strike two called a valentine.
Tonight, we're tied up at two. Mets got runs
in the second and the third. The Reds tied it
up in the fourth. And about hit New York 7 -5.
One ball, two strikes, Ballantyne. And the pitch,
and he strikes out swinging. Sabre gets number
four. And the Met numbers in the fifth, no runs
a hit. Wilson left at second through five complete.
The Reds two, the Mets likewise. I'm waiting
for you. Joe Nutsall, yours truly, Marty Brenneman,
back at Shea Stadium in New York City as we move
on to the sixth inning. Don Seaver coming out
of the dugout and heading toward the plate to
start things off against Pat Zachary, who...
has been in trouble more often than not tonight.
The Reds have stranded nine runners, left the
bases loaded in the first inning, stranded two
in the second. The only easy inning that he's
had, Zachary was in the third when he retired
the side in 1 -2 -3 fashion, gave up two runs
on four hits with two left in the fourth. There's
a ball to Seaver and then walked two, but got
out of that jam in the fifth inning by getting
Nolan to ground out the second. So it's not been
an easy night for Pat Zachary. Sabre is sacrificed
and is struck out. 1 -0 pitch. High ball two.
Sabre wanted two red pitchers to have clouded
home runs this season. He pops this one up behind
the plate. Coming back is Trevino, and reaching
into the seat has no play at all. It's about
four rows back. Tom Holmert against the Houston
Astros while pitching a shutout that particular
game at Riverfront Stadium, and then Doug Baer
had that big three -run home run at Wrigley Field
a few weeks ago. Two balls and a strike as Pitcher
faces Pitcher in the sixth inning. Seaver with
a pop -up that'll be playable. The third baseman
coverage calling. Waiting for that one to come
down. One out. Now Dave Collins, who's one for
two, has been on twice. He's walked and he's
singled. Thrown out trying to bunt his way on
in the first inning. I'd like to send along our
best tonight to Reds fans listening on WLAP in
Lexington, Kentucky, WHIO in Dayton, Ohio, WAVE
in Louisville, Kentucky, and WIFP in Indianapolis,
Indiana. Collins takes a one -bouncer that gets
away from Trevino. Art Howe continues to lead
the National League in batting with a .344 average,
and Pete Rose... His second now at .330 along
with Pedro Guerrero of the Dodgers. He's continued
to hit all season. Billy Madlock up there. Collins
has dropped out of the top ten. He's hitting
a .311. He swings and pops it up back of third.
Foul territory. Racing over is Kingman. Baylor.
And the ball falls out of play. One ball and
one strike. Zachary coming in off the mound now
to get a new baseball and also have a word or
two with Lee Weier. In the seventh inning at
Montreal, the Expos are trying to route the Braves
for the third straight night, leading 7 -0. Expos
have been in double figures the first two games
of that series and got four runs in the sixth
inning tonight to, in all likelihood, blow that
game wide open. Pitches high and outside a ball
to the Expos, and going home, they've gotten
well all of a sudden. Red swept them over the
weekend at Riverfront Stadium, but now they go
back home and are on their way to a third consecutive
victory over Atlanta. Two balls and a strike
on Collins. Checks his swing. It's high. 3 -1.
Ken Griffey on deck with one out in the sixth.
Zachary kicks and he fires. Collins swings and
bounces towards second. Flynn charges, plays,
throws, out. Two away. The batter, Ken Griffey,
had a base hit in the first inning, but since
has hit into a force out and fly to center. And
now the center fielder, Ken Griffey. Zachary,
once earlier tonight, has retired the Reds in
order. Trying to do it for the second time as
he's up with his pitcher ball to Griffey. That's
low and inside. Two balls and no strike. Griffey
rips one by Doug Flynn. That's in the center
field for a base hit. Hit number eight tonight
for Cincinnati and the second for Griffey as
the inning continues for shortstop Dave Concepcion.
Davey has got an infield hit, bounced out third
to first and struck out. It's not hard to see
why the Reds... have the team batting average
that they have this season, a batting average
of 271. You look at those leading the National
League in total base hits. Rose was 73, but then
Collins and Concepcion were tied for second.
Going into play tonight was 66. Foster was tied
for third with 65. And the two hits that Griffey
has had in the game now give him 66. Four players
off the Cincinnati Ball Club. There's a ball
to Concepcion. Collins, Concepcion, Foster, and
Griffey. Kenny at first, two out. Throw by Zachary
to first base. Zachary brings his hands down
to the belt, throws to first, safe again. Now
we're 14 minutes to 10 o 'clock in New York as
you are in Cincinnati. I've heard nothing in
so far as what might be happening at the negotiating
session in downtown Manhattan. That's up high
for a ball, 2 -0. Zachary has started to fall
behind quite a bit now on the hitters. Mike Covage
was playing in a bit of third base, but he is
now backed up to play a deep position there.
Two balls, no strikes. On the stop, Griffey safe.
The call from Dutch Renner. Reds and the Mets
are tied up at 2 -2. Cincinnati bats in the sixth
inning. Zachary retired the first two before
Griffey singled the center. And he throws to
first again. Zach apparently feeling that Griffey
may well be running on the next pitch with Concepcion
out ahead 2 -0. Trevino hangs a sign. Here comes
the pitch. Swing and a miss. I'll tell you, the
way the Cubs have been playing of late, they
are slowly but surely creeping up on the fifth
-place New York team. The victory today by Chicago
over the Giants gives them a record of 15 -37.
New York is 17 -33. Hard smash, but third baseman
Kovic bobbles the ball and will not have a play.
Ball was hit hard, but at him. He booted it away
toward the foul line behind third. And everybody
is safe, and Foster comes to the plate as Rube
Walker heads back toward the mound. Ball was
hit very hard by Davies, but did not appear to
be a difficult ball for coverage to play, and
he's going to be charged with an error. So the
Reds posing a two -out threat on a single by
Griffey. Concepcion's on through the error by
Mike Kovic. Rube Walker, who's been to the mound
a couple of times previous to this one, goes
back to the dugout, and we may see some activity
up in the New York bullpen. George Foster has
struck out three straight times. Looks like right
-hander Dyer Miller has started to throw now
in the New York bullpen. Runners leading at first
and second, two outs. Foster takes the pitch
wide of the play. Ball one. George trying to
get the go -ahead runs in. And swings and misses.
Zachary has pitched George about as well as you
can pitch him. He's kept the ball pretty effectively
away from him. That pitch was out away from the
right -handed batter and it's a ball and a strike.
Griffey second, Concepcion first. Pitch, Zachary,
swung on, fly ball, hit back into left field.
Kingman going back, got a chance, goal! Foster
drills a 1 -1 pitch on a line into the Cincinnati
bullpen. Home run number 14, and the Reds lead
it 5 -2. That one got out of here right now.
It was hard to say if it was going to be high
enough. I knew he got it. It was right there
flooring, but whether it was going to be high
enough, it was. He has now knocked in 49 runs
with that three -run blast to left field, and
the Reds lead by three. So Foster more than makes
up for those three strikeouts with a blast that
breaks the tie. Danny Dreesen takes ball once.
Well, you've got a three -way tie for home run
leadership in the league now. Two balls and no
strikes. Foster, Kingman, and Schmidt have all
hit 14 home runs. Zachary delivers, and Dreesen
takes a strike. Two and one. All of it coming
after the first two men have been retired. Zachary
was looking for an easy six, but it is certainly
not turned out that way. Danny fouls this one
onto the screen. Two and two. Top half of the
sixth inning from St. Louis. Cardinals two, Dodgers
nothing. Treason fouls this one off the left
field line and well back into the seat. Second
home run that Foster's hit in as many nights.
Here's a high fly ball. Headed back in the deep
right, but on the warning track and waiting is
Valentine. That ends the inning. The out came
one, two, one batter too late as far as Zachary
and company are concerned. Three runs, two hits,
one error. And after five and a half, the Reds
over the Mets 5 -2. That's where my heart is
always in. Baseball is like an old friend. The
longer it's part of your life, the more you like
it. That's why so many people come out to see
the Cincinnati Reds play. It feels good. The
Marathon Oil Company loves baseball just like
you do. And the Marathon Oil Company is proud
to be here with the Cincinnati Reds. It's good
to be back here again. Oh, you know it is. This
is the Cincinnati Reds playing baseball. We got
together to do it better. And we did. Hope you're
looking forward to being at Riverfront for a
fun -filled special day coming up next Thursday
night. That'll be cost -cutter night when the
Reds meet the Mets. The Reds and Kroger are teaming
up to give away more than $12 ,000 in groceries.
50 lucky fans will win $100 worth of groceries.
Another 50 winners will take home $50, and 125
fans will be $20 winners. And don't forget those
delicious Kahn's hot dogs. Just a quarter that
night at stadium concessions, fans. We'll be
telling you about lots of other things, too,
in the days leading up to Costco tonight when
the Reds meet the Mets next Thursday. Dave Kingman
to lead off the bottom half of the sixth inning
for New York. He hit his 14th home run of the
year, leading off the second and then walked
in the third. The Mets looking at a three -run
deficit. Here comes Sieber's pitch to him, and
Kingman takes it low and in on him, ball one.
That's over with the knees, the call strike.
Kingman, despite his .222 batting average, has
one of the better slugging percentages in the
National League at .482. He swings and he misses.
George Foster, fourth in the league in that department
with a slugging percentage of .558. Andre Dawson
of Montreal leads the league .592. One ball,
two strikes. Sieber strikes him out, swinging
the ball, gets away from Nolan. He recovers.
And throws on to Greeson to complete the strikeout.
Tom Sieber gets his fifth. As he disposes of
Dave Kingman and will go to work on first baseman
Rusty Staub. Staub is single. He's fly to right
field. Well, the Reds have just announced they've
signed their number four pick in the free agent
draft, Paul O 'Neill, an outfielder, first baseman,
6 '4", 195 -pounder from Brookhaven High School
in Columbus, Ohio. Oh, another youngster in the
fold, so to speak. Stobb takes a slow breaking
ball for strike one. Prior to that, they signed
a number 12 selection. Charles Colclaw, a first
baseman outfielder from Lydia, South Carolina.
And their number 28 pick, Thomas Piller, a third
baseman from Greeley, Colorado. High ball, 1
-1 to Stobb. Reds 5, Mets 2. Home sixth inning,
one out. Stobb with a big bouncing ball to first
reach and backhands it. Takes a left turn. Gets
a put out. Two away. That's another fine play
by Dreesen. We talked, as Joe mentioned with
Danny the other night on the post -game show,
about his defensive ability at first base, and
sometimes you almost have to wonder if the fact
that he makes it look so easy doesn't work against
him. Something's working against him. I think
Danny said the best, though, and he said it's
a popularity contest. I don't think there's any
question about that. There's ball one to coverage.
Fly to right field twice, and both times he's
hit the ball hard. Two balls, no strikes. Tom
Seaver working toward what he hopes to be win
number seven of the season, and he's had some
touch -and -go innings tonight. Covage takes
a strike at the knees. Nobody currently throwing
in the Mets' bullpen, so you figure Zachary's
going to be out there for at least one more.
Covage fouls. Out of play. Behind the plate.
Good catch by a fan down to our left. Two balls,
two strikes. Two outs. The bases are empty. No
sooner do we say the lack of activity in the
Mets' bullpen than they are now going to get
some with left -hander Ray Sirich. Ball three.
Sharp breaking ball down and in. Full count.
Receiver ready to bring the payoff pitch up there.
Cubbage lines to Dreesen right at him. That's
three times in a row Mike Cubbage has hit the
ball hard and has nothing to show for it. The
Mets are out on order and through six. The Reds
five, New York two. How do you make a good thing
better? Visit Beverly Ames with great news for
all you Reds fans. It's new made. 16 -ounce Red
Stadium tumbler, and it's packed full of new
-made soft margarine. That's right, one full
pound of fresh dairy flavor in your choice of
two Reds tumblers. You can't miss them. Each
has the official Reds emblem, Riverfront Stadium,
and good old Mr. Red. The Red Stadium tumbler
is unbreakable, great for the kids, reusable,
and it's dishwasher safe. Take it on a picnic
or take it to the game. New -made soft margarine
in the Red Stadium Tumbler. It's an unbeatable
combination. Fresh, fresh, fresh, fresh dairy
flavor from New -Made. Fresh dairy flavor in
the Red Tumbler. Another not -so -secret from
New -Made Margarine. Spread it around at your
house. We'll pause again for station identification
on the Cincinnati Red Baseball Network. It's
good times each weekday between 2 and 6 here
at K95. It's the MD Show. Two until six each
weekday afternoon, MD plays great kickin' country
music and passes along the daily dumb rhetorical
question at K95, WHOK -FM, Lancaster. Seventh
inning with Ray Knight deleted off, five to two,
the Reds lead, and back with a play -by -play.
Here's Joe. Thank you, Marty. Ray Knight deleted
off here in the seventh inning, the Reds leading
five to two. Pat Zachary delivers, and Knight
looks at a strike. Ray one for three tonight,
and an infield single in the fourth scored the
first run of the game for the Reds. The Reds
get a little help from the Mets in the sixth
inning when Cubbage bobbled the ground ball off
the bat of Concepcion, and then the final out.
Knight looks at strike two, and then Foster hit
a line drive over the .358 sign and left field
into the Reds' bullpen. For a three -run homer
and a three -run lead for the Reds. Zachary in
front, 0 -2 to Ray Knight. Ron Oster on deck.
Now Knight backs away from the plate. Still out
of the batter's box. Now steps back in. Zachary
delivers the 0 -2. High and inside as Knight
backs away. One ball, two strikes. Dyer Miller
going down in a New York bullpen. Outfield straightaway
tonight. Zachary delivers the 1 -2. And Knight
swings and fouls off to the right. Back into
the seat. Now, Cal holds the ball two strikes
to Ray Knight. Reds have out -hit the Mets 9
-5. Back where he delivers the 1 -2, and Knight
swings the ground ball. Baylor, it's short, plays
it, going on to stop. One away. One out, and
Ron Oster the batter. Ron won for two in a walk.
He tripled in the fourth inning to right center
to drive in ninth, and then scored on Dolan,
single to center. Ron walked in the fifth inning.
Dodgers score a run, swinging a foul by Oster,
and the Cardinals bat the bottom of the half
to six. St. Louis leading the Dodgers 2 -1. Zachary
shakes off the sign, and the 0 -1. Inside. A
ball a strike. On out, base is empty. Zachary
back for the 1 -1. That's down low, and it's
two balls to strike to Oster. Ron hitting .295.
Now has five triples and 26 RBIs. Ackrey delivers
the 2 -1, and Oster swings and sends it down
the left field line. Moving over is Dave Kingman,
and in fair territory, he makes a play. Two out,
and Joe Nolan the batter. Joe, two for three,
single in the second, and single in the fourth,
as we said, to drive in Oster in the fifth inning.
He grabbed it to Flynn in second. Now the catcher,
Joe Nolan. Zachary winds and delivers. Nolan
takes it inside the ball. Foster has driven in
three runs tonight. Oster won and Nolan won.
Zachary to the plate. Nolan swings and winds
it in the right center field. That's extra bases.
Chasing at the wall is Valentine. He's up for
the ball and Nolan enters second base with his
third base hit of the game. For Joe, his ninth
double of the year. Oh, a two out, Nolan at second,
Tom Seaver the batter. That's the tenth hit of
the game for the Reds. Seaver 0 for 2 on a sacrifice
bunt. He had a sacrifice bunt the second inning.
Struck out in the fourth, and in the sixth inning,
pop out to coverage at third base. Tom with a
chance to help himself right here. Zachary sets
and delivers, and Seaver takes a breaking pitch
low and away. Nolan at second lead. Zachary to
the belt. Pitch to Seaver, missing outside, 2
-0 the count. Reds trying to make it three straight
over the Mets and seven overall. And the last
game in San Francisco, the 2 -0 pitch. That's
in at the knees. It's a false strike, 2 -1. After
four innings now at Okie City, the Indians leading
Oklahoma City 1 -0 behind Charlie Lee Brandt.
2 -1 delivery. Seaver swings and a broken bat
bouncer to Baylor at short. Going on to Seaver
and Tom hustling down the line and they just
do get him. A barrel of bat flying all the way
to third base and Baylor came up throwing and
Seaver hustling down the line and I'll tell you,
pretty close play. In the inning for the Reds,
no runs, no errors. One runner left on base in
the middle of the seventh. 695, New York 2. There's
poetry in the West. You can hear it in the way
people talk about everyday things. Like fences.
There's a lot of sorry things can happen to a
fence. Or children. She's cuter than a speckled
pup under a red wagon. The cow hands bunkhouse.
I hung my clothes on the floor so they wouldn't
fall down and get lost. Even personal finances.
I'm so broke I can't even pay attention. Here
then is a Bush beer to the best of the West.
The everyday poetry of its people. Bush. Head
for the beer that always goes down smooth as
a mountain stream. Bush. Brewed just one way.
The natural way. For a taste that's always as
smooth as its name. Bush. Head for Bush. Head
for Bush. New York in the bottom half of seventh
will send up Alex Trevino, Doug Flynn, and a
pinch hitter for Pat Zachary. The Reds leading
five to two. Trevino one for two. He singled
the center in the second inning and was called
out on strikes in the fourth. Trevino overall
hitting 280. With eight RBIs and a double. Tom
Seaver looking for his seventh win of the year
in his fifth complete game in 12 starts. I think
George Foster is swinging the bat. The Reds win
this one tonight. That'll be the fourth game
winning RBI for Foster in the last seven games.
Trevino to lead it off. Seaver ready to go to
work. And his first pitch on the way. Trevino
looks at a curveball that's in for a false strike.
Well, the Indians pick up another run and now
lead Oklahoma City 2 -0 after five innings. Trevino
looks at a slider high and it's even at 1 -1.
The receiver is 1 -1. Trevino swings and misses
a high pass ball. Tom in front of all two strikes.
Well, a win for the Reds tonight and a loss for
the Dodgers, and they're just a half a game out
of first place. Trevino takes low and outside.
And the count evens 2 -2. Tom has struck out
five, has walked one. A stretch to the pitch.
That's inside. Full count. Thomas had strikeouts
in every inning excepting the third. They hop
on the way. Covino swings and a fly ball to right
field. Dave Collins waiting on it. He has it.
One out. One away, and that'll bring Doug Gwynne
to the plate. Doug Gwynne goes for two, a fly
ball to the right, and has popped to Oster at
second in his two times up. Ron Hodges moves
on deck to hit for Pat Zachary. That's with a
three -run lead, five to two. Flynn pushes the
bunt. First base side. Dreesen has it, but that'll
be a foul ball. But Danny reaching across the
first base foul line, trying to keep it fair.
And now Dutch Renner smilingly talking with Dreesen
and Seaver. Thankfully, Dreesen... In fair territory,
feeling the ball, but drag it back across the
foul line. Always wanted to count to Doug Flynn.
Fever back to the plate. Flynn swings and fouls.
Straight back and top and front on two. I'm the
0 -2. And that's in the dirt. Bouncing a couple
of feet in front of the plate. 1 -2 to Flynn.
1 -2 pitch. Flynn swings and misses. A pitch
down and away. And that's 6 -4. Receiver two
away and Ron Hodges with it for Pat Zachary.
Hodges hitting .412. That'll hold on three RBIs.
As the pinch hitter, he's one for four. Hodges,
a left -handed batter, steps in. DeLotte base
is empty. Tom Sheets off the sign and now delivers
to Hodges. Looks at a slow curve, but calls strike.
Hodges away from the plate, now steps back in.
The receiver lines and his 0 -1 delivery. Another
slow curve. That's just under the knees. And
that hodge is double hitching on that one. Down
evens 1 -1. The receiver delivers the 1 -1. That's
swung on and lined right at Dave Concepcion.
Reaching above his head to pick it up. That's
the inning, and Tom has now retired eight straight
batters. And after seven, Reds five, Mets two.
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Life Insurance. The State Farmway. It's designed
for your way of living. For a family. Today's
homeowner. The modern woman. Students. Young
adults. Whatever your way of living, your State
Farm agent can help you protect it. In Lancaster,
see State Farm Agent Earl Oatney at 422 North
Broad Street or Bill Banfield at 634 North Columbus
Street. Now the seven -inning totals show the
Reds five runs, ten hits, and no errors. The
Mets two runs, five hits, and one error. For
the Reds, as they bat in the eighth inning, it'll
be Dave Collins to lead it off. We have a new
pitcher on the mound. for the New York Mets.
And to tell you about him, here's Marty. Well,
Joe, it's a young man making his first appearance.
He's being called up on Monday from the Mets
AAA Farm Club in Norfolk, Virginia, the Tidewater
team. And at the left -hander, his name is Ray
Searidge. This is going to be Searidge's Major
League debut. He is a young man that... The Mets
acquired by their Tidewater Farm Club from St.
Louis for Jody Davis back on the 10th of December
two years ago. So he originally started in the
Cardinals organization and came to the Mets in
1979 and was just called up from Tidewater on
Monday. Ray Searage, spell S -E -A -R -A -G -E,
a left -hander, 6 '1", 180 -pounder from Freeport,
New York. Now makes his home in St. Petersburg,
Florida, and he's on to face the Reds here in
the top half of the eighth inning. It'll be the
top of the order up. Dave Collins, Ken Griffey,
Dave Concepcion, the pitching line on Pat Zachary.
He went seven, allowing ten base hits and five
runs, only two of which were earned. Striking
out six, walking four, and if the Reds' lead
holds up, he would lose his seventh game of the
season. The Reds fell behind 2 -0 tonight, but
then tied it in the fourth inning on a single
by Knight, a triple by Oster, and a single by
Nolan. And then went out in front of the sixth
inning with two down, Griffey singled the setter.
Dave Concepcion reached on an error by third
baseman Mike Cubbage, and Foster exploded a home
run into the Reds' bullpen in left field to bring
the score to its present 5 -2 count. They're
in the last of the seventh at St. Louis. The
Cardinals continuing to lead the Dodgers by a
run at 2 -1. So Joe Torre figuring now is as
good a time as any in terms of letting young
Mr. Surge get his feet wet, Major League Baseball
style. Collins is one for three, a single in
the fourth inning. He was on a little second
through a base on balls. Turning around to hit
as a right -handed batter for the first time
tonight. Here's Searidge's pitch, and Collins
swings and hits it in the air to center field.
Mookie Wilson drifting back, and he'll haul it
in. One out. Again, we remind you in the event
that a strike does come about tomorrow, that
Joe and I will be... On the air at 8 .05 tomorrow
night on our flagship station, WLW Radio in Cincinnati,
as well as our network stations for a one -hour
talk show beginning at 8 .05 Cincinnati time
tomorrow night. And then we will be in Wichita
Saturday night and Sunday night to bring you
play -by -play coverage of the Reds' AAA Farm
Club Indianapolis as they take on the Wichita
team. That'll be Saturday night and Sunday night.
The pitch is in for a call strike. Now the pregame
show Saturday night at 8 o 'clock Cincinnati
time and 7 o 'clock Cincinnati time on Sunday
night. Otherwise, we would hope to be at Olympic
Stadium in Montreal tomorrow night to begin that
pregame weekend against the Expos. Line drive,
base hit, left center field. Ken Griffey enjoys
for himself a three -hit night. That's the 11th
Cincinnati base hit. And it brings up Concepcion.
Davey is one for four. He has scored a run. So
Ken Griffey at first base with three hits and
four times up. I'll make that three for five
on the night. Sears looks for the sign, looks
to first, delivers to the plate, and the fastball
is over for a call strike. That single by Griffey
puts his batting average at an even 300. Kenny
adding some six points to his average tonight.
He came in batting 294. That single puts him
at 300, joining the likes of Dave Collins and
George Foster and Dave Concepcion. 300 hitters,
not to mention Joe Nolan, who also gets there
tonight on the strength of a three -hit performance.
There's a throw to first base. Five to two, the
Reds lead the Mets in the eighth inning. Sears
looking down for the side again from Trevino,
and the one -strike pitch to Dave Concepcion
after the long look at first is on the way. And
that's a breaking ball on inside, 1 -1. Joe Nolan
has jumped his batting average up to 3 -0 -4.
One ball, one strike, one out, and one on, eighth
inning action. And the throw to first base by
the rookie left -hander. Montreal has shut out
Atlanta 7 -0. Steve Rogers picks up his seventh
victory of the season. Tommy Boggs is now 1 -10
with the Atlanta Braves lost. Low and inside,
two balls and a strike. Mike Lacoste scheduled
to go for the Reds in the series opener in Montreal
tomorrow night against right -hander Charlie
Lee. Mike Lacoste, Ray Burris, Saturday, Sunday
afternoon, Frank Pastore and Scott Chanderson.
We hope we're playing. And a throw to first again,
and Surage almost threw that one away. Rusty
Stobb had to reach down and off his left. Hey,
18 ,612. Attendance here tonight, 19 ,712. 19
,712. That is far and away the best of the three
nights we've spent here at Shea Stadium. Swing
and a miss on a high fastball. Davey was looking
for a heater, and that's what Searidge gave him.
And he was spinning on it, but did not get it.
2 -2. Coming up next, George Foster. That's infield,
a double play depth. The outfield about straight
away for the right -handed batter. He strikes
out swinging. Serge got him with a fastball away.
Foster at the plate with two outs. Foster at
the plate with two outs. George struck out in
the first, did it again in the third, did it
a third time in the fifth, but then turned things
around with a line drive home run to left field
with two on in the sixth inning to break the
tie. Talk about a man that has really been cranking
it up of late. He has now driven in 22 runs in
his last 15 games, counting this one. Five doubles,
a triple, six home runs, and 15 runs scored.
And the home run extended his batting streak
to nine games. During the nine -game batting
streak, he's been hitting at a 4 -12 clip. Trevino
sends out the sign. Foster waiting at the plate
as the left -hander straightens up out of the
stretch position and pours it plateward. It's
a ball low. We certainly don't want to overlook
the fact in talking about Ken Griffey and his
3 -for -5 performance tonight that Kenny is playing
in his 1 ,000th Major League game. This one here.
And has hit safely in 22 now out of his last
27 games. So a milestone for Ken Griffey, Major
League Game number 1 ,000, and he's had a good
night. Foster is ahead two balls and no strikes.
Reds are seeking their seventh consecutive win
and hoping for another Cardinal victory over
the Dodgers. It would allow the Reds to move
to within a half a game of firsts. 2 -0 pitch
with Griffey at first and two men out. Ground
ball hit hard, but that's Doug Flynn. He, from
a kneeling position, throws on to Bob Baylor
at second for the fourth out. And in the Cincinnati
eighth inning, no runs, one hit and one left.
After seven and a half, the Reds lead the Mets
5 -2. You can win more when you pick four. The
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6th Avenue in Lancaster. Top third of the New
York batting order as we move to the home half
of the eighth inning. Sam Mahias has replaced
Dave Collins down in the right field position.
And Tom Seaver, right now on a roll. He's retired
eight batters in a row. He has limited the Mets
to only one hit over the last four innings. They've
had a total of five hits on the night, and three
of them came in the second when they scored one
of their two runs. Only hit over the last four.
A double in the fifth inning by the man leading
off the eighth, Mookie Wilson. He's the last
man to reach base for New York. Receiver climbs
back on top of the mound. Turning around, taking
a look at his defensive alignment as he is wont
to do on occasion. Delivers to Wilson, pass ball
up. Ball one. The winningest pitchers in the
National League right now are Valenzuela and
Carlton. There's a swing and a miss. Carlton
picked up his ninth win last night against only
one defeat when the Phillies came up with five
eighth inning runs to beat Houston. And Valenzuela
with nine wins, shooting for his tenth tonight,
but trailing by a run in the seventh inning at
St. Louis. The only eight -game winner is Dick
Ruthen of the Phillies. He's lost three times,
and Seaver with a win tonight would join Bert
Hoop to the Dodgers as a seven -game winner.
Two balls and one strike on Speedy Wilson. Ray
Knight, shallow on the grass at third. Seaver
continues to work quickly, and Wilson with a
bad handle foul back, squares the count at two.
In the eighth at Toronto, Royals seven, Blue
Jays five. New York down a run to the White Sox,
three to two after five innings at Comiskey Park.
The Rangers and the Brewers are tied up at three
-three after six and a half. Tigers are being
shut out two to nothing by Minnesota. That pitch
is high for a ball, three and two, and they're
getting rain up at Bloomington. Seaver with a
3 -2 pitch. And Wilson hanging top of the foul
butt. At the present time, both bullpens are
quiet. Again, the payoff pitch. And Wilson slings,
and he misses. He got him. That is 7 for Seaver.
And that is nine in a row that have come and
gone. He'll work to Bob Baylor. Baylor has flied
to right, sacrificed, and popped up to second
base. Baylor grounds one to the left side. A
base hit. Now the ball momentarily bobbled by
Foster, but he recovers in time. Baylor down
three in the late innings. He's not going to
chance being thrown out at second. We'll pause
for station identification once again. This is
the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Network. Make Mark
Clark a regular part of your day. Mark Clark,
10 to 2 here at K95. Mark passes along great
information, makes way for the midday report
of news service at noon, and plays great kick
and country music. Mark Clark at K95. W -H -O
-K -F -M. Lancaster. Ellis Valentine with Bob
Baylor at first and then out. Gentless in two
official trips. He's had a sacrifice fly. He
takes the ball. Bottom of the eighth inning.
Cardinals 2, Dodgers 1. Valenzuela is out. Left
-hander Steve Howe is now pitching in relief
for Los Angeles. This Mets crowd starved for
something to get excited about. Trying to get
their ball club going. Valentine pops it up.
He slings the bat away as the ball nestles into
the net of third baseman Ray Knight. Two away.
Here's Kingman. As Homer walked and struck out.
Well, now with a runner at first base, they'll
still put the shift on to Kingman. Checks his
swing. It's a ball just off the outside edge.
Now Lee Weier going out toward the mound to take
a look at the baseball. Kingman might have said
something to the plate on fire, and he checks
it out and gives it back to Seaver. Cincinnati
bullpen is busy. Tommy Hume, Joe Price. Baylor
leading at first and a 1 -0 pitch to Dave Kingman
is swung on and grounded to third. Ray Knight
has it, looks to second, instead goes to Dreesen.
And the inning is over. No runs, one hit, one
left. We've played eight, and the Reds lead the
Mets 5 -2. The names of the places suit the straightforward
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Bush. Here we go to the top half of the ninth
inning. Second inning of work for young left
-hander Ray Sirich, who was touched for a one
-out hit in the eighth inning by Ken Griffey,
but then picked up his first Major League strikeout,
retiring Dave Concepcion and getting George Foster
to bounce into a forced play at second base.
Danny Greeson will lead it off. He's walked twice,
flied out to center, and then flied out to deep
right field. That was at his last plate appearance
in the sixth inning. And Seaver would go 7 -1
with a win. Zachary would go 5 -7 with a loss.
And the Reds would have seven consecutive victories.
But we've still got an inning more of baseball
to play here. Danny Dreesen heading toward the
plate. Well, we've had good weather conditions
here in New York, although the first day in here,
and probably more so yesterday when it rained
off and on all day, but then around 6 o 'clock
last night or a little bit later, it started
to lighten up, and by game time, we had nothing
but blue skies. Today was a beautiful day here.
The pitch to Dreesen is taken high of all. Five
runs, 11 hits for Cincinnati. Two runs, six hits,
and a big error for New York, and a big one it
was by Mike Kovic. Dreesen moves away from the
pitch in on him, 2 -0. Danny Dreesen batting
at even 300 against left -handed pitching. 30
at -bats against left -handers and nine base
hits. Swung on and popped up into shallow left
field. Going out Baylor, coming in Kingman. Kingman
calls and makes the catch. One up. Ray Knight
up for the fifth time. He's had one hit. That
was an infield single deep and shortstop to lead
off the fourth inning. If you're looking ahead
to the bottom of the ninth inning for New York,
it's going to be Rusty Staub, Mike Cubbage, and
Alex Trevino. Night grounds one, and to left
field, a base hit by Cubbage, by Bob Baylor.
Second hit off Ray Searidge. And now Ronnie Oster
with a triple and three times on the plate, an
RBI, and a run scored. 2 .95 average for the
Cincinnati second baseman with 25 RBIs and a
home run. That was just a step off the grass
at third as Sherrod looks to first, delivers,
Oster swings and misses. Ronnie, a switch hitter,
up there batting right -handed. Getting .268
from the right side of the plate and .304 from
the left side. Swing and a miss, strike two.
Searidge with a good pitch down and Oster quickly
falling behind 0 -2. We've got a good promotional
idea here at Shea Stadium. Collectors cards and
series. 62 Mets teams, 69 world champions, 73
National League champs, and Mets managers. That
pitch is inside for a ball. Four different days
they'll be giving the memory series, the magic
memory series, as they call them, away throughout
the course of the season. Imagine the baseball
card collectors would probably be more than a
little bit interested in that four different
series of cards. One ball and two strikes to
count on Oster. Ronnie got around on a breaking
ball, and Searidge has his second strikeout.
So with two out, Ray, our Joe Nolan will be looking
for his fourth hit of the night. Single to the
right center in the second. Knocked in a run
with a base hit to center in the fourth. Grounded
out in the fifth and double to right center in
the seventh inning. Ray Knight aboard with a
one -out hit to left. They're two away now in
the top half of the ninth inning. Nolan with
a smash. Base hit right field. His fourth hit.
Going to second and holding there is Ray Knight.
We've talked so much during the night or certainly
earlier in the early innings about Tom Sieber
starting here against his former club. Not really
by any means overlooking the fact that Tom gets
another big hand from the Shea Stadium crowd
that Joe Nolan started his career in the New
York Mets organization and appeared briefly.
on a number of years with a mess back in the
70s. So you might say that he has come home,
so to speak, tonight and come home in a big way.
Four hits and five trips. Seavers 0 for 3. 9th
to lead runner. He's stationed at 2nd. Nolan
with a hit to right at 1st. The pitch from Sears
to Severs, swung on, fly ball, hit to Wells,
center field, but Wilson gets back on it and
makes the catch. No runs in the ninth, two hits,
two left. Home ninth inning coming up, and the
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New York needing three runs to get even as we
go to the home ninth inning. Tom Seaver three
outs away from his fifth complete game of the
season. And his seventh win overall, Tommy Hume
and Joe Price, as we look into the bullpen, are
back up and getting ready just in the event that
Tom might need some ninth inning help. Rusty
Staub owns one of the six New York kids. That
was a single in the second. Since that time,
he's flied to right and in the sixth inning bounced
out to Danny Dreesen. All around the Reds infield,
and now Sieber gets it back for Murray Knight.
Sieber back behind the mound, hands on hips.
Got off to a somewhat rocky start, but has really
settled down since the fourth inning. The pitch
is in for a strike. From the fourth inning on,
he's given them no runs on two base hits. And
jumps out in front on Staub. No balls and a strike.
That's Lowe. And it's inside. 1 -1. All right,
he underwinds, he kicks and he fires, and Staub
swings and fouls it back. That one got off the
end of Joe Nolan's mitt and then carried on back
to the screen. Ball two strikes. Seavers walked
only one batter, and that was Kingman in the
third inning while striking out seven. Giving
him a seasonal total of 52 strikeouts. And he's
popped Rusty Staub up. Ronnie Oster looking skyward,
backing on the outfield grass one out. Now Mike
Covage will take his shot. It's 0 for 3, but
three straight times he's hit it on the button.
And getting on Covage a little bit, remembering
the error that he committed back in the sixth
inning that paved the way for George Foster's
three -run home run that fractured the 2 -2 tie.
Covage looks at a strike. Mike getting 219, three
RBIs, homerless on the year. Pitch. Slow curve
and just missed for a ball. One ball, one strike.
On deck, Alex Trevino. Seaver bringing it up
there, and this one is popped up. Going out in
shallow center is Dave Concepcion. Griffey calls
him off the ball, and Kenny hauls it in, and
they're two out. Well, now Trevino, as Seaver,
seeks to get the match out in order for the fifth
time tonight. Did it in the first, in the fourth,
in the sixth, in the seventh. And it's an out
away from doing it in the ninth inning to nail
it down. Tom Seitz assigned the line to pitch,
and Trevino checking. It's low at the ball. Almost
went too far, but held up in time. Swing and
a miss. The 35th victory on the year against
21 losses for Cincinnati. In the sweep of this
three -game series against New York. Foul ball
back to the plate by Trevino. A ball, two strikes.
Receiver, a strike away. Now they start to applaud
his efforts here at Shea Stadium. Covino puts
the head of the bat on the plate, cocks it. Seaver
double pumps on the mound, and here it comes.
And he's up high and inside with a curveball.
Two and two. Now they start to stand at Shea
Stadium as he brings it back to the plate. And
a ground ball to shortstop. Concepcion to Danny
Dreesen. And this one belongs to the Reds. Tom
Seaver with another outstanding pitching performance.
As he comes into Shea Stadium and goes the distance
in beating the Mets 5 -2, a sweep for the Reds
in their seventh consecutive victory. We'll be
back in just a moment.