9/26-9/27 - Three Rivers Stadium
GAME 1 - Reds 11, Pirates 3
The Bucs came into the series needing a sweep to have any chance at winning the division. The Reds, in their heart of hearts knew they would need a minimum of 3 wins to keep pace with the surging Cardinals. The Big Red Machine vs the Lumber Company. You don't find a more classic battle of NL teams from the 1970's known for their offense. During that great decade both teams would win two World Championships. They would face each other 4 times in the LCS during that incredible stretch. To say that this series finale was more than just a rivalry would be an understatement. With no score in the game the Big Red Machine posted 3 big runs off of Pirate starter Bob Johnson (1-2, 4.91) in the top of the 4th as Johnny Bench had a huge 2 run double. A Richie Hebner leadoff homer in the bottom of the 5th off of Jack Billingham (4-2, 3.27) cut Cincy's lead to 2. After Joe Morgan narrowly missed a homer to lead off the 6th George Foster did not miss and recorded his 11th of the season to make it 4-1. Cincy would score another run in the inning as Cesar Geronimo would single home Dan Driessen. Cincy would score 4 more in the 7th to put the game away and end Pittsburgh's post season hopes. All this win would do is help the Reds keep pace with the Cards, who already defeated the Dodgers.
GAME 2 - Pirates 8, Reds 7
Playing the role of spoiler the Bucs scored 2 runs in the bottom of
the 11th to defeat the Reds and put them on the brink of elimination thanks to the Cards beating the Dodgers earlier in the day. Cincy scored a solo run in the top of the 11th and looked to have won the game, but Pedro Borbon could not hold the lead that Dan Driessen's RBI double afforded him. Gene Clines’ pinch hit RBI triple tied it in the bottom of the frame and banjo hitting Jackie Hernandez' pinch single would win it.
9/28-9/29 - Riverfront Stadium
GAME 3 - Reds 6, Pirates 4
Down 4-1 and heading into the bottom of the 7th the Reds looked up at the scoreboard to see that St. Louis had just defeated the Cardinals 2-1 in extra innings. With time running short on their season the Reds knew they needed to do something big and do it fast. The challenge they faced was young Bruce Kison was busy tossing a dandy. Their glimmer of hope occurred the previous inning when Joe Morgan singled home Ken Griffey to finally put the Reds on the board. Down 4-1 the Reds would enter into the magical 7th inning needing 3 runs to tie, instead Cincy would post 5 to take the lead. Driessen would lead off with a clean single and Johnny Bench, who had been suffering through a .231 campaign, would show his greatness by hitting a clutch 2 run homer to cut Kison's lead to 1. Geronimo and Concepcion would follow with walks as the 21 year old Kison was about to crack. Santo Alcala, who would pitch almost 3 scoreless innings in relief of the terrible Don Gullet (4 runs in 6 innings) would bat for himself and bunt the runners up into scoring position. Pete Rose was then given an intentional pass to load the bases and Dock Ellis would be summoned from the pen to save Kison's lead. Ellis, who is know as a counter culture starter surely did not expect to be used in relief. From the outset he was shaky and back to back singles by Ken Griffey and Joe Morgan put the Reds up for good. A
bullet throw from Roberto Clemente in right field gunned down one runner at the plate and a great peg by Manny Sanguillen would catch Griffey stealing to record the final 2 outs of the inning. Alcala would pitch until the 9th when the Bucs would have runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out. Manny Sarmiento would trot in from the pen to challenge Richie Hebner and notch the final out of the game. Fans' in the Queen City were breathing a collective sigh of relief as the Reds authored a classic comeback to stay alive in the race.
GAME 4 - Reds 6, Pirates 2
Having gotten the good news that the Dodgers played spoiler and just defeated the Cards, Cincy knew that this game was huge. A win here would force a 1 game play in game for the division crown. Pat Zachry would find the ball in his shoe and some shaving cream on his stool. Cincy would be pinning their pennant hopes on the right arm of this fearsome rookie. The Reds would break the ice in the bottom of the 2nd when George Foster scored on a ground out by Doug Flynn to short. Cincy would make it 2-0 in the 5th when Griffey would single home Ed Armbrister. The Reds looked well on their way to winning when Mother Nature threw a huge wrench into the works. In the blink of an eye a cloudy / overcast day turned into a soggy deluge. For almost an hour the heavens opened up in a huge downpour. Finally when it all cleared and the Zamboni machine squeegeed off the Polyturf the Pirates found themselves with some help. While their bats couldn't solve the Pat Zachry mystery, mother nature could. Zach was gone after 6 scoreless innings and Fred Norman was tasked to replace him.
Norman was greeted rudely by Richie Hebner gapper that turned into a stand up triple. Bob Robertson, who eats lefties alive, launched a line shot homer down the left field line to tie it a 2. You could have heard a pin drop in Riverfront at this point. With one swing of the bat the Bucs undid all the good work Zachry had done. Would the Reds have any resolve left to comeback once more and keep their post season chances alive ? In a matter of one word, the answer would be YES. The Big Red Machine would victimize Buc reliever Frank Brosseau for 4 runs. Red reliever Rawly Eastwick would hit for himself and single to lead off the inning. Griffey and Concepcion would follow with singles of their own to load the bases. Eastwick would score on Joe Morgan's 
ground out to give the Reds a 3-2 lead with one out. Foster would be given an intentional pass to load them up and put a force everywhere. Tony Perez would work out a walk to make it 4-2 and pinch hitter Pete Rose would line a single to right center to make it 6-2 and ensure Cincy's date with destiny in St. Louis tomorrow.
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