August 8 ... 30 Years Ago Today ... BRM Sweeps Rival Dodgers in LA

[LINEDRIVER]

30 Years Ago Today

AUGUST 8, 1976 … The Big Red Machine Cincinnati Reds complete a four game sweep of the rival Dodgers in Los Angeles. The Reds are cruising at the top the NL West with a record of 73-39, 13 games ahead of the second-place Dodgers.


20 Years Ago Today

AUGUST 8, 1986 … Reds’ pitchers Bill Gullickson and Chris Welsh limit the Los Angeles Dodgers to only one run in a doubleheader before nearly 36,000 fans at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium.

Gullickson and the Reds defeat Dodgers’ pitcher Orel Hershiser, 4-0, in the first game of the twinbill. Left-hander Chris Welsh defeats the Dodgers and pitcher Alejandro Pena as the Reds win the second game, 5-1.

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[Heath]

What's a scheduled doubleheader?

[cumberlandreds]

Originally Posted by Heath

What's a scheduled doubleheader?

Something from the prehistoric era of baseball.

Looks like the Reds should play the Dodgers on August 8th every season.

[KronoRed]

I think they really dropped the ball not moving on to a triple header.

[Heath]

Originally Posted by KronoRed

I think they really dropped the ball not moving on to a triple header.

I've been to a triple-header---it wasn't scheduled that way.

Back in the day, Toledo was playing in Ned Skeldon Stadium, which for some reason never drained very well, The Hens had the Indianapolis club in town for a series that actually was a Thursday-Friday- & a 2:00pm DH on Saturday and then Toledo was to go to Columbus for Sunday. Well, Friday it rained..and rained..and rained...I was under the overhang on the third base line and the PA announcer came on and said that they were calling the game and the first game would start at 11AM Saturday.

Ernie Banks was in heaven elite. They played three.

[macro]

Originally Posted by LINEDRIVER

The Reds are cruising at the top the NL West with a record of 73-39, 13 games ahead of the second-place Dodgers.

That team went only 29-21 the rest of the regular season, yet turned it on like flipping a switch and went 7-0 in the postseason.

What exactly led to the unimpressive record over the last fifty games? Did they rest the regulars a lot? I was too young to really notice things like that at the time.

[KronoRed]

Originally Posted by Heath

Ernie Banks was in heaven elite. They played three.

That's how real men play ball.

[cumberlandreds]

Originally Posted by macro

That team went only 29-21 the rest of the regular season, yet turned it on like flipping a switch and went 7-0 in the postseason.

What exactly led to the unimpressive record over the last fifty games? Did they rest the regulars a lot? I was too young to really notice things like that at the time.

IIRC they had some minor injuries and Sparky rested them. I know Bench was beat up most of the season but turned it on in the WS and I think Morgan and Foster had some nagging injuries near the end. Also,IIRC,the young starters Alcala and Zachary kinda ran out of gas too. My dad and I went to the next to last game of the regular season. The Reds came within two outs of being no hit by Phil Niekro and lost 2-0. I would hear years later the Braves announcers say that was the best knuckleball Niekro ever had in a single game. That would be the last game they lost the rest of the way. Won the last game of the regular season and swept the playoffs and WS.

[LINEDRIVER]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

IIRC they had some minor injuries and Sparky rested them. I know Bench was beat up most of the season but turned it on in the WS and I think Morgan and Foster had some nagging injuries near the end. Also,IIRC,the young starters Alcala and Zachary kinda ran out of gas too. My dad and I went to the next to last game of the regular season. The Reds came within two outs of being no hit by Phil Niekro and lost 2-0. I would hear years later the Braves announcers say that was the best knuckleball Niekro ever had in a single game. That would be the last game they lost the rest of the way. Won the last game of the regular season and swept the playoffs and WS.

Knucksie had the knuckler working during that Saturday day game on Oct 2, 1976. The Reds' lineup that day did not include Morgan & Foster. Reds' centerfielder Cesar Geronimo broke up Niekro's no-no with a double to LF with one out in the bottom of the ninth-inning. Reds rookie Pat Zachry, making his last regular season appearance, was tagged with the loss. This was Zachry's 7th loss of the year to go with his 14 wins.

As a side note, Zachry made 6 starts vs the Dodgers in '76. He defeated a very strong Los Angeles ballclub FIVE times with a 1.54 ERA over those 6 starts. Zachry would later be named as co-winner of the 1976 NL Rookie of the Year Award, an honor he shared with Padres' reliever Butch Metzger.

In the 1975 season, Niekro LOST EACH OF HIS 6 STARTS vs the Big Red Machine. Niekro finished the '75 season with 15 wins.
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