FRIDAY APRIL 12, 1974
Braves fans are happy to see Los Angeles leave town after the Dodgers swept 4 games, outscoring Atlanta 32-12 in the process. It does not get much easier for the 1-6 Braves as Cincinnati comes to town for a 2 game series beginning tonight. Clay Kirby takes the mound for the Reds. Kirby and a pair of relievers had Aaron go 0-for-5 against them in a 4-3 Reds win in extra innings last Sunday. Ron Reed, who took the loss against Los Angeles on Monday, gets the start for the Braves.
The game is scoreless when Aaron gets his first at bat, leading off the second inning. The first pitch is grooved down the middle and Aaron gives it a ride to the opposite field. Ken Griffey goes back, back and hauls the ball in at the wall. Aaron gave it a ride but it was about 3 feet short of making history. Instead it is just a loud fly ball out but it certainly got the crowd into the game.
It is still scoreless when Aaron bats again to lead off the 5th inning. Atlanta is still searching for its first baserunner as Kirby has retired the first 12 batters in order, including 7 strikeouts. Aaron breaks up the perfect game with a single up the middle on a 2-2 pitch. Dusty Baker follows with a 407 foot homerun to centerfield giving the Braves a 2-0 lead.
Ron Reed is doing a great job for Atlanta, holding the Reds scoreless on 5 hits as we head to the bottom of the 7th. The Braves only have two hits of their own including one by Aaron, who leads off the home half of the 7th inning. Kirby falls behind in the count 3-and-0 and, after Aaron takes a pitch for a strike, he is walked on a high and outside pitch. A double play helps the Reds get out of the inning and we go to the 8th with Atlanta still up 2-0.
After a 1-2-3 8th inning, Reed is just 3 outs away from a complete game victory. Pete Rose leads off the ninth with a single and Joe Morgan slaps a double down the left field line. Suddenly the tying run is on second base and Dan Driessen steps to the plate. Driessen grounds out to Evans, forcing Morgan and Rose to remain at second and third respectively. Looks like the game is Reed's to win or lose as the Braves leave him in to face Tony Perez. And it turns out to be a mistake as Perez hits a single to right scoring both runners and tying the game at 2. Tom House takes over and gets the Braves out of the jam but House clearly came in at least 1 batter too late.
The only good news is Aaron will get another at bat. He is slated to hit second and comes up after Evans grounds out to Concepcion. Clay Kirby is still pitching for Cincinnati and Aaron watches as he throws two quick strikes. After a ball in the dirt, Aaron swings and misses, becoming Kirby's 9th strikeout victim on the night.
House loads the bases in the top of the 10th on singles by Griffey and Rose along with a walk. He then issues a free pass to Perez, which brings in the go-ahead run before Johnny Bench flies out to end the inning. The Braves come up in the bottom of the 10th trailing 3-2 and in danger of blowing another game they were so close to winning.
The Braves have hope when Johnny Oates gets a 1-out single off of reliever Pedro Borbon. The next batter, pinch-hitter Marty Perez looks like he may have tied the game with a sinking liner headed for the gap but Pete Rose comes out of nowhere and saves the day with a diving catch. One batter later Borbon and the Reds are celebrating another win and the Braves are left to wonder what happened, going from up 2-0 heading into the ninth to suffering a 3-2 loss.
Aaron did get a hit, going 1-for-3 to raise his average to .115 on the season.
In other National League play Sonny Siebert and the St Louis Cardinals blanked Pittsburgh 3-0 while the Houston Astros handed Los Angeles their first loss on the season. The 6-1 Astros thumped the Dodgers 9-1. The other game saw San Francisco beat winless San Diego 4-3 in 11 innings.
In the American League the Detroit Tigers trimmed Boston 3-2 despite Red Sox homers from Cecil Cooper and Bernie Carbo. Al Kaline went 0-for-3 in the contest. Baltimore clobbered Milwaukee 11-3. The Indians fell to 0-6 after losing 3-2 in 10 innings to the New York Yankees. Roy White got his major league leading 5th homerun in the victory. Nolan Ryan fanned 9 over 5 innings to help California edge the Chicago White Sox by a score of 6-5.