April 5, 1973 - Opening Day, Part One - What a way to begin!

A crowd of 51,579 packed into Riverfront Stadium as the Cincinnati Reds hosted the first game of the 1973 season against the San Francisco Giants on April 5, 1973. The Reds sent Don Gullett (9-10, 3.94 in '72) to the mound, while the Giants countered with Juan Marichal (6-16, 3.71 in '72).

Cincinnati began 1973 as the defending National League Champion, having lost the World Series in seven games to the Oakland A's. The Reds compiled a 95-59 record in 1972 and featured the reigning N.L. Most Valuable Player in catcher Johnny Bench, whose 40 home runs and 125 RBIs led the league and captured two-thirds of the batting triple crown.

San Francisco finished twenty-six and a half games behind Cincinnati, posting a 69-86 record. They had traded a declining Willie Mays to the Mets in May, and their roster, featuring young talent in Bobby Bonds, Garry Maddox, Chris Speier, and pitcher Ron Bryant alongside veterans like Marichal and Willie McCovey, didn't come together in a way that produced wins over talented clubs like the Reds, Astros, and Dodgers.

The visiting Giants managed just four hits off Gullett through the first eight frames, but Marichal held the Reds to six base knocks of their own. Both starters gave way to pinch hitters after eight.

Pedro Borbon came on in relief in the top of the ninth and, after loading the bases, struck out Bobby Bonds to get out of a jam. San Francisco hurler Joe Moffitt set down Tolan, Bench, and Perez in order to send the game scoreless to extra innings.

Borbon allowed a one out single to Speier in the 10th, but got McCovey to fly out and Maddox to ground out to end the threat.

Moffit got in trouble right away in the bottom half of the inning. He walked Geronimo and gave up a hit-and-run single to Chaney to put the tying run ninety feet away. Moffit struck out number eight hitter Menke for the first out, and Sparky Anderson sent up Joe Hague to pinch hit for Borbon. Hague drove an 0-1 pitch to deep right field, and the speedy Geronimo tagged up and scored well ahead Bonds' throw to give the Reds a 1-0 victory on a walk-off sacrifice fly!

Hague took home Player of the Game honors as the Reds begin their quest for a repeat trip to the World Series.

Note: I'm playing the games of 1973 with Joe Bryan's excellent Payoff Pitch Baseball game, and scoring the games using Mark Cohen's wonderful Digital Diamond Baseball. Lineups and starting pitchers are as-played, while substitutions and management gaffs are entirely my own. Boxscore from DDB below.

4-5-1973 (Day Game): 1973-SFN (0-1) vs. 1973-CIN (1-0) 

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10   R  H  E
1973-SFN              0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   0  6  0
1973-CIN              0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1   1  7  0

1973-SFN                     AB   R   H RBI  BB  SO   AVE
B. Bonds (RF)                 4   0   0   0   1   1  .000
T. Fuentes (2B)               4   0   1   0   1   0  .250
C. Speier (SS)                5   0   2   0   0   0  .400
W. McCovey (1B)               5   0   0   0   0   1  .000
G. Maddox (CF)                5   0   1   0   0   1  .200
A. Gallagher (3B)             3   0   1   0   0   0  .333
 E. Goodson (PH9)(3B9)        1   0   0   0   0   0  .000
G. Matthews (LF)              2   0   0   0   2   0  .000
D. Rader (C)                  4   0   0   0   0   0  .000
J. Marichal (P)               3   0   1   0   0   1  .333
 G. Thomasson (PH9)           0   0   0   0   1   0  .000
 R. Moffitt (P9)              0   0   0   0   0   0  .000
                             36   0   6   0   5   4  .167
0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

LOB: 11

1973-CIN                     AB   R   H RBI  BB  SO   AVE
P. Rose (LF)                  4   0   1   0   0   0  .250
J. Morgan (2B)                4   0   0   0   0   0  .000
B. Tolan (RF)                 4   0   0   0   0   0  .000
J. Bench (C)                  4   0   1   0   0   0  .250
T. Perez (1B)                 4   0   1   0   0   0  .250
C. Geronimo (CF)              3   1   1   0   1   0  .333
D. Chaney (SS)                4   0   2   0   0   0  .500
D. Menke (3B)                 4   0   0   0   0   1  .000
D. Gullett (P)                2   0   0   0   0   1  .000
 G. Locklear (PH8)            1   0   1   0   0   0 1.000
 P. Borbon (P9)               0   0   0   0   0   0  .000
 J. Hague (PH10)              0   0   0   1   0   0  .000
                             34   1   7   1   1   2  .206
0 for 2 with runners in scoring position.

2B: D. Chaney[1]
RBI: J. Hague[1]
SF: J. Hague[1]
LOB: 5

1973-SFN                      IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR   ERA
J. Marichal                  8.0   6   0   0   0   1   0  0.00
R. Moffitt (L, 0-1)          1.2   1   1   1   1   1   0  5.40
                             9.2   7   1   1   1   2   0  0.93
Game Score: J. Marichal (77)
Pitches Thrown: J. Marichal (94)

1973-CIN                      IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR   ERA
D. Gullett                   8.0   4   0   0   3   3   0  0.00
P. Borbon (W, 1-0)           2.0   2   0   0   2   1   0  0.00
                            10.0   6   0   0   5   4   0  0.00
Game Score: D. Gullett (77)
Pitches Thrown: D. Gullett (104)

DDBB Player of the Game: J. Hague
Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati