Reds take 3 of 4 from Jints

Aug 14, 1981  1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9   10 11   R  H  E
   SFG 1-3    1 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 0    0  2   3  7  0
   CIN 0-4    0 0 0   0 1 0   0 0 0    0  0   1  3  2

GAME 1 (DH) - Riverfront

Vida Blue vs Bruce Berenyi

Awesome pitchers duel between the veteran Blue and the young Berenyi.  Darrell Evans' 1st inning ground out scored Bill North after a Ron Oester error to give SF an 1-0 lead on an unearned run.  Johnny Bench's solo blast to lead off the 5th tied the game at 1-1, which is how it stayed all the way until the top of the 11th.  Red reliever Tom Hume was starting his 3rd inning of action in relief of Berenyi.  Back to back jacks from Milt May and Jack Clark would be Hume's undoing.  Cincy could only manage a lone Dave Collins single in the bottom of the 11th as Greg Minto was able to close the door and notch the save with Gary Lavelle gaining the win.

Aug 14, 1981     1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SFG 1-4     0 0 0   0 0 1   0 0 0      1  5  0
1981 CIN 1-4     2 0 3   0 0 0   0 0 -      5 10  1

GAME 2 (DH)

Alan Hargesheimer vs Mike LaCoss

Cincy continued to get great pitching.  Mik LaCoss would go 8 innings with only one blemish on his record, a solo shot by Larry Herndon in the 6th.  LaCoss had an easy day thanks to the 5 runs his offense posted in the first 3 innings.  George Foster had a 2 run single in the first to score Dave Concepcion and Ken Griffey.  Ron Oester's bases clearing triple plated Concepcion, Foster and Joe Nolan.  All 3 baserunners reach via the walk..."Oh, those bases on balls, will get you everytime".  Doug Bair pitched an uneventful 9th to lock the door.

Aug 15, 1981      1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SFG 1-4      0 0 0   0 0 0   1 0 0      1  4  0
1981 CIN 1-4      1 3 0   0 0 0   0 0 -      4  9  1

Game 3

Alan Ripley vs Mario Soto

Mario Soto fanned 7, while walking just 2 and allowing only 1 run in 7 2/3 innings of stellar work.  Cincy for the second game in a row handed their starter a nice early lead (4-0 after 2 innings).  George Foster's RBI double score Ken Griffey all the way from first with 2 outs to make it 1-0.  Ray Knight's RBI single in the bottom of the second scored Dan Driessen to make it 2-0.  Soto dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Oester to make it 3-0 and Dave Collins' infield single scored Knight to give Soto a 4-0 lead.  Jack Clark's solo shot in the 7th broke the shutout up, but San Fran never really threatened the Reds today.

Aug 16, 1981      1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SFG 1-5      0 0 0   0 0 1   0 0 0      1  2  0
1981 CIN 2-4      3 0 2   0 0 2   1 1 -      9 12  2

Game 4

Doyle Alexander vs Tom Seaver

Tom Terrific gave up just 2 hits, while going the distance.  Seaver missed a shutout thanks to a wild pitch and a RBI single by Milt May in the top of the 6th.  By that point he had a 5-0 lead, as Cincy for the 3rd straight day jumped out to a big early lead.  The Big Red Machine lit up Doyle Alexander for 7 runs in just under 6 innings.  George Foster had a huge day at the plate by going 3 for 5 with 2 homers and 5 RBI.  Concepcion, Griffey and Driessen had 2 hits apiece to surround Foster with lots of ducks on the pond.  Seaver even got involved in the offense with a hit and a run scored.