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.

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