The Reds, who obtained Fred Norman from the Padres last June and acquired Clay Kirby from the same club during the winter, got sterling pitching performances from both of them in taking a doubleheader with the Astros, 5-0 and 4-2. Norman doled out five hits in the first-game shutout, while the Reds turned on the power with three homers. Dave Concepcion tagged Claude Osteen for a two-run drive in the fourth inning and Merv Rettenmund added a solo swat in the seventh. Johnny Bench homered in the eighth off Jerry Johnson, who relieved Osteen.

In the nightcap, Kirby allowed only two hits, but lost his bid for a shutout when Cesar Cedeno connected for the circuit with a man on base in the ninth inning. The Reds had an inside-the-park homer by Rettenmund in the fourth. Bob Watson crashed into the wall trying for the drive and was forced to leave the game. The Reds picked up two runs in the seventh on a single by Cesar Geronimo, triple by Pete Rose and sacrifice fly by Joe Morgan before calling it a day with a tally in the eighth on a single by Concepcion and double by Geronimo for his third hit of the game. [The Sporting News]



Cincinnati Reds 5, Houston Astros 0 (Game 1)
Game Played on Sunday, May       12, 1974 (Day game) at Riverfront Stadium
Astros       0  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  0  -   0  5  0
Reds         0  0  0    2  0  0    1  2  x  -   5  8  0


Astros               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Reds                 AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Kelleher ss           3   0   1   0     0   0   .125      Rose lf               3   0   0   0     1   0   .289
  C. Johnson ph,c     0   0   0   0     1   0   .267      Morgan 2b             3   0   0   0     1   1   .302
Helms 2b              4   0   1   0     0   0   .323      Bench 3b              3   1   1   1     1   0   .253
Cedeno cf             4   0   0   0     0   2   .279      Perez 1b              3   1   1   0     1   0   .302
Watson lf             4   0   1   0     0   2   .339        Driessen pr,1b      0   1   0   0     0   0   .264
L. May 1b             4   0   0   0     0   1   .304      Foster cf,rf          4   0   1   0     0   1   .250
Rader 3b              3   0   0   0     0   3   .259      Concepcion ss         4   1   2   2     0   0   .268
Brown rf              3   0   1   0     0   1   .209      Rettenmund rf         3   1   1   1     0   0   .250
M. May c              2   0   1   0     1   0   .278        Geronimo cf         0   0   0   1     0   0   .270
  Milbourne pr,ss     0   0   0   0     0   0   .294      Plummer c             3   0   2   0     0   0   .250
Osteen p              2   0   0   0     0   0   .111      Norman p              3   0   0   0     0   1   .000
  Gross ph            1   0   0   0     0   0   .376
  J. Johnson p        0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               30   0   5   0     2   9             Totals               29   5   8   5     4   3

Time of Game: 2:06
Left on Base: Astros 5, Reds 5
DP: Astros 2, Reds 1
Doubles: M. May (3), Plummer (1)
Home Runs: Concepcion (4), Rettenmund (3), Bench (5)
Stolen Bases: Driessen (3)
Sacrifice Flies: Geronimo (2)
GIDP: Gross (2), Perez (4)


Astros                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Osteen L(4-3)           7     6   3   3   3   2   2  29   3.31
J. Johnson              1     2   2   2   1   1   1   5   4.41
Totals                  8     8   5   5   4   3   3  34

Reds                   IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Norman W(2-3)           9     5   0   0   2   9   0  32   1.46
Totals                  9     5   0   0   2   9   0  32

Wild Pitches: Osteen (2)
Balks: Osteen (3)

Umpires: HP - Lee Weyer, 1B - Frank Pulli, 2B - Ed Sudol, 3B - Satch Davidson


ASTROS 1ST: Kelleher grounded out (shortstop to first); Helms
popped to first; Cedeno popped to first in foul territory; 0 R,
0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 0.

REDS 1ST: Rose lined to shortstop; Morgan walked; Osteen balked
[Morgan to second]; Osteen threw a wild pitch [Morgan to third];
Bench walked; Perez grounded into a double play (shortstop to
second to first) [Bench out at second]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Astros 0, Reds 0.

ASTROS 2ND: Watson struck out; L. May grounded out (shortstop to
first); Rader struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds
0.

REDS 2ND: Foster grounded out (third to first); Concepcion
grounded out (shortstop to first); Rettenmund grounded out
(third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 0.

ASTROS 3RD: Brown singled to shortstop; M. May flied out to
left; Osteen forced Brown (shortstop to second); Kelleher
grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0,
Reds 0.

REDS 3RD: Plummer singled to center; On a bunt Norman struck
out; Rose walked [Plummer to second]; Morgan forced Rose (first
to shortstop) [Plummer to third]; Bench forced Morgan (shortstop
to second); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 0.

ASTROS 4TH: Helms flied out to center; Cedeno struck out; Watson
singled to left; L. May flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
 Astros 0, Reds 0.

REDS 4TH: Perez singled to shortstop; Foster popped to second;
Concepcion homered [Perez scored]; Rettenmund flied out to
right; Plummer grounded out (shortstop to first); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 2.

ASTROS 5TH: Rader struck out; Brown grounded out (shortstop to
first); M. May doubled to right; Osteen grounded out (pitcher to
first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 2.

REDS 5TH: Norman grounded out (pitcher to first); Rose flied out
to right; Morgan struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0,
Reds 2.

ASTROS 6TH: Kelleher singled to right; Helms flied out to right;
Cedeno struck out; Watson forced Kelleher (shortstop to second);
0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 2.

REDS 6TH: Bench flied out to center; Perez grounded out
(shortstop to first); Foster singled to left; Concepcion flied
out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 2.

ASTROS 7TH: L. May popped to first; Rader struck out; Brown
struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 2.

REDS 7TH: Rettenmund homered; Plummer doubled to left; On a bunt
Norman made an out to first; Rose grounded out (third to first);
Morgan flied out to right; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds
3.

ASTROS 8TH: FOSTER CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING RF); GERONIMO
REPLACED RETTENMUND (PLAYING CF); M. May walked; MILBOURNE RAN
FOR M. MAY; GROSS BATTED FOR OSTEEN; Gross grounded into a
double play (second to first) [Milbourne out at second]; C.
JOHNSON BATTED FOR KELLEHER; C. Johnson walked; Helms singled to
center [C. Johnson out at third (center to second)]; 0 R, 1 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 3.

REDS 8TH: C. JOHNSON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING C ); MILBOURNE
STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING SS); J. JOHNSON REPLACED GROSS
(PITCHING); Bench homered; Perez walked; DRIESSEN RAN FOR PEREZ;
Driessen stole second; Foster struck out; Concepcion singled to
shortstop [Driessen to third]; Geronimo sacrifice flied into a
double play to left [Driessen scored, Concepcion out at second
(left to first)]; Dave Concepcion thought there were two outs
and kept running; 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 5.

ASTROS 9TH: DRIESSEN STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 1B); On a bunt
Cedeno made an out to pitcher; Watson struck out; L. May struck
out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Astros 0, Reds 5.