Fred Norman observed his 35th birthday by pitching the Reds to an 8-2 victory over the Mets. The Reds loaded the bases against Craig Swan in the first inning and scored three runs on a passed ball by Jerry Grote and double by Dan Driessen.

Two errors by the Mets, together with a double by George Foster and sacrifice fly by Johnny Bench, added a pair in the third. The Reds tacked on two more runs in the fifth on four hits, including RBI doubles by Driessen and Bench. Norman, who doled out five hits, gave up the Mets' runs on homers by Mike Vail and John Milner. [The Sporting News]



Cincinnati Reds 8, New York Mets 2
Game Played on Saturday, August    20, 1977 (Day game) at Shea Stadium
Reds         3  0  2    0  2  0    0  1  0  -   8 14  1
Mets         0  0  0    0  0  0    1  1  0  -   2  5  2


Reds                 AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Mets                 AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Rose 3b               4   0   0   0     0   0   .298      Mazzilli cf           3   0   0   0     1   0   .233
  Knight 3b           0   0   0   1     0   0   .295        Siebert p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
Morgan 2b             4   2   2   0     0   0   .300      Flynn ss              4   0   0   0     0   0   .233
  Auerbach 2b         1   0   0   0     0   0   .136      Henderson lf          2   0   1   0     1   1   .309
Griffey rf            4   3   3   0     1   0   .324        Valentine 3b        1   0   0   0     0   0   .152
Foster lf             4   2   2   1     1   1   .315      Milner 1b             4   1   1   1     0   2   .263
Driessen 1b           5   0   3   3     0   0   .295      Vail rf               4   1   1   1     0   1   .275
Bench c               4   0   2   2     0   1   .265      Youngblood 3b,lf,cf   4   0   0   0     0   1   .252
Geronimo cf           4   1   1   0     1   1   .260      Grote c               4   0   1   0     0   0   .265
Concepcion ss         4   0   1   0     0   0   .268      Foster 2b             4   0   1   0     0   1   .158
Norman p              4   0   0   0     0   4   .103      Swan p                1   0   0   0     0   0   .122
                                                            Baldwin p           1   0   0   0     0   1   .000
                                                            Boisclair ph,lf     1   0   0   0     0   0   .270

Totals               38   8  14   7     3   7             Totals               33   2   5   2     2   7

Time of Game: 2:36   Attendance: 26,124
Left on Base: Reds 8, Mets 6
DP: Reds 0, Mets 2
Errors: Driessen, Youngblood, Swan
Doubles: Driessen 2 (23), Foster (26), Bench (26), Geronimo (15)
Home Runs: Vail (7), Milner (10)
Stolen Bases: Morgan (38)
Sacrifice Flies: Bench (6), Knight (1)
GIDP: Concepcion (10), Foster (13)


Reds                   IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Norman W(11-10)         9     5   2   2   2   7   2  35   3.35
Totals                  9     5   2   2   2   7   2  35

Mets                   IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Swan L(8-8)             4.1   8   7   4   2   3   0  24   3.99
Baldwin                 2.2   2   0   0   1   1   0   9   4.78
Siebert                 2     4   1   1   0   3   0  10   3.43
Totals                  9    14   8   5   3   7   0  43

Passed Balls: Grote (1)

Umpires: HP - Bruce Froemming, 1B - Jim Quick, 3B - Bill Williams


REDS 1ST: Rose grounded out (second to first); Morgan singled to
center; Griffey walked [Morgan to second]; Foster walked [Morgan
to third, Griffey to second]; Grote allowed a passed ball
[Morgan scored, Griffey to third, Foster to second]; Driessen
doubled to right [Griffey scored, Foster scored (unearned)];
Bench struck out; Geronimo popped to shortstop; 3 R (2 ER), 2 H,
0 E, 1 LOB.  Reds 3, Mets 0.

METS 1ST: Mazzilli walked; Flynn forced Mazzilli (shortstop to
second); Henderson singled to shortstop [Flynn to second];
Milner forced Henderson (second to shortstop) [Flynn to third];
Vail struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Reds 3, Mets 0.

REDS 2ND: Concepcion grounded out (third to first); Norman was
called out on strikes; Rose grounded out (shortstop to first); 0
R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Reds 3, Mets 0.

METS 2ND: Youngblood grounded out (third to first); Grote
singled to right; Foster popped to first in foul territory; Swan
flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Reds 3, Mets 0.

REDS 3RD: Youngblood dropped a foul fly hit by Morgan for an
error; Morgan singled to center; Morgan stole second; Griffey
reached on an error by Swan [Morgan to third, Griffey to first];
Foster doubled [Morgan scored (unearned), Griffey to third];
Driessen flied out to center; Bench hit a sacrifice fly to
center [Griffey scored (unearned)]; Geronimo popped to
shortstop; 2 R (0 ER), 2 H, 2 E, 1 LOB.  Reds 5, Mets 0.

METS 3RD: Mazzilli grounded out (second to first); Flynn flied
out to center; Henderson struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Reds
5, Mets 0.

REDS 4TH: Concepcion flied out to right; Norman was called out
on strikes; Rose flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Reds 5, Mets 0.

METS 4TH: Milner struck out; Vail flied out to center;
Youngblood popped to second; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Reds 5, Mets
0.

REDS 5TH: Morgan flied out to left; Griffey singled to center;
Foster singled to center [Griffey to second]; Driessen doubled
to right [Griffey scored, Foster to third]; Bench doubled
[Foster scored, Driessen to third]; BALDWIN REPLACED SWAN
(PITCHING); Geronimo was walked intentionally; Concepcion
grounded into a double play (third to first) [Bench out at
third]; 2 R, 4 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Reds 7, Mets 0.

METS 5TH: Grote grounded out (third to first); Foster was called
out on strikes; Baldwin struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Reds
7, Mets 0.

REDS 6TH: Norman was called out on strikes; Rose grounded out
(second to first); Morgan flied out to left; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0
LOB.  Reds 7, Mets 0.

METS 6TH: KNIGHT REPLACED ROSE (PLAYING 3B); Mazzilli grounded
out (shortstop to first); Flynn grounded out (shortstop to
first); Henderson walked; Milner struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1
LOB.  Reds 7, Mets 0.

REDS 7TH: VALENTINE REPLACED HENDERSON (PLAYING 3B); YOUNGBLOOD
CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); Griffey singled to center;
Foster grounded into a double play (third to second to first)
[Griffey out at second]; Driessen singled to center; Bench flied
out to right; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Reds 7, Mets 0.

METS 7TH: AUERBACH REPLACED MORGAN (PLAYING 2B); Vail homered;
Youngblood was called out on strikes; Grote popped to first in
foul territory; Foster singled to left; BOISCLAIR BATTED FOR
BALDWIN; Boisclair reached on an error by Driessen [Foster to
second, Boisclair to first]; Mazzilli flied out to left; 1 R, 2
H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Reds 7, Mets 1.

REDS 8TH: BOISCLAIR STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING LF); YOUNGBLOOD
CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING CF); SIEBERT REPLACED MAZZILLI
(PITCHING); Geronimo doubled to left; Concepcion singled to left
[Geronimo to third]; Norman was called out on strikes; Knight
hit a sacrifice fly to right [Geronimo scored]; Auerbach popped
to third; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Reds 8, Mets 1.

METS 8TH: Flynn flied out to right; Valentine grounded out
(shortstop to first); Milner homered; Vail flied out to left; 1
R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Reds 8, Mets 2.

REDS 9TH: Griffey singled to left; Foster struck out; Driessen
forced Griffey (second to shortstop); Bench singled to center
[Driessen to second]; Geronimo was called out on strikes; 0 R, 2
H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Reds 8, Mets 2.

METS 9TH: Youngblood flied out to center; Grote flied out to
left; Foster popped to third; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Reds 8,
Mets 2.