With the eyes of the sports world on him, Hank Aaron came up for his first time at bat this season and smashed the 714th homer of his career, tying Babe Ruth's record, but the Braves nevertheless lost to the Reds in 11 innings, 7-6, before a crowd of 52,154, largest opening-day turnout in Cincinnati history. Ralph Garr opened the game by drawing a pass and stopped at second on a single by Mike Lum. After Darrell Evans went out on a short fly, Aaron stepped to the plate. With a count of three balls and one strike, the Braves' superstar smashed the next pitch by Jack Billingham over the fence in left-center field. Aaron had three more times at bat, grounding out, walking and flying out, before leaving the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Braves leading, 6-2.

One of the Reds' runs came on a homer by Dave Concepcion in the fifth. Tony Perez then hit for the circuit with two men on base in the eighth and the Reds tied the score in the ninth when George Foster delivered a pinch-single and Pete Rose doubled. Rose doubled again in the 11th and raced home to score the winning run on a wild pitch by Buzz Capra. [The Sporting News]



Cincinnati Reds 7, Atlanta Braves 6
Game Played on Thursday, April     4, 1974 (Day game) at Riverfront Stadium
Braves       3  0  0    1  2  0    0  0  0    0  0  -   6  6  0
Reds         1  0  0    0  1  0    0  3  1    0  1  -   7 13  1


Braves               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Reds                 AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Garr rf,lf            4   1   0   0     1   0   .000      Rose lf               5   3   3   1     1   0   .600
Lum 1b,cf             5   2   3   0     0   1   .600      Morgan 2b             4   0   2   0     2   1   .500
Evans 3b              4   0   1   0     0   1   .250      Driessen 3b           4   1   2   0     0   1   .500
Aaron lf              3   2   1   3     1   0   .333        Gagliano ph         0   0   0   0     1   0   .000
  Office cf           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Hall p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Murrell ph          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        C. Carroll p        0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Tepedino ph,1b      0   0   0   0     1   0   .000        Geronimo ph         0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
Baker cf,rf           5   1   1   0     0   0   .200      Perez 1b              5   1   2   4     0   1   .400
Johnson 2b            3   0   0   0     2   0   .000      Bench c               5   0   0   0     0   2   .000
Oates c               4   0   0   0     0   1   .000      Griffey rf            4   0   0   0     1   3   .000
Robinson ss           5   0   0   0     0   1   .000      Rettenmund cf         5   0   1   0     0   2   .200
Morton p              3   0   0   0     0   2   .000      Concepcion ss         5   1   2   1     0   1   .400
  P. Niekro p         1   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Billingham p          1   0   0   0     0   1   .000
  House p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Kosco ph            1   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Aker p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Nelson p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Miller ph           1   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Crowley ph          1   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Capra p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Borbon p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            Foster ph           1   1   1   0     0   0  1.000
                                                            Chaney 3b           1   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               38   6   6   3     5   6             Totals               42   7  13   6     5  12

Time of Game: 3:09   Attendance: 52,154
Left on Base: Braves 6, Reds 8
DP: Braves 3, Reds 1
Errors: Driessen
Doubles: Driessen (1), Concepcion (1), Rose 2 (2)
Home Runs: Aaron (1), Concepcion (1), Perez (1)
Stolen Bases: Morgan (1)
Sacrifice Hits: Oates (1), Evans (1)
GIDP: Robinson (1), Concepcion (1), Bench (1), Rettenmund (1)


Braves                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Morton                  7     8   3   3   2   6   1  28   3.86
P. Niekro               1.2   4   3   3   1   2   1  10  16.20
House                   0     0   0   0   1   0   0   1   0.00
Aker                    1.1   0   0   0   0   3   0   4   0.00
Capra L(0-1)            0.2   1   1   1   1   1   0   4  13.50
Totals                 10.2  13   7   7   5  12   2  47

Reds                   IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Billingham              5     5   6   4   4   3   1  25   7.20
Nelson                  2     0   0   0   0   1   0   6   0.00
Borbon                  2     0   0   0   0   1   0   6   0.00
Hall                    0.1   1   0   0   0   0   0   2   0.00
C. Carroll W(1-0)       1.2   0   0   0   1   1   0   6   0.00
Totals                 11     6   6   4   5   6   1  45

Passed Balls: Bench (1)
Wild Pitches: Capra (1)

Umpires: HP - Ed Vargo, 1B - Bruce Froemming, 2B - John McSherry, 3B - Paul Runge


BRAVES 1ST: Garr walked; Lum singled to left [Garr to second];
Evans flied out to left; Aaron homered [Garr scored, Lum
scored]; Hank Aaron's career homer #714 to tie Babe Ruth;
Baker grounded out (pitcher to first); Johnson grounded out
(shortstop to first); 3 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3, Reds 0.

REDS 1ST: Rose singled to left; Morgan singled to right [Rose to
third]; Morgan stole second; Driessen grounded out (third to
first); Perez grounded out (second to first) [Rose scored,
Morgan to third]; Bench grounded out (shortstop to first); 1 R,
2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 3, Reds 1.

BRAVES 2ND: Oates grounded out (pitcher unassisted); Robinson
flied out to right; Morton struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Braves 3, Reds 1.

REDS 2ND: Griffey struck out; Rettenmund singled to center;
Concepcion grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to
first) [Rettenmund out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves
3, Reds 1.

BRAVES 3RD: Garr grounded out (shortstop to first); Lum struck
out; Evans singled to center; Aaron grounded out (third to
first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 3, Reds 1.

REDS 3RD: Billingham struck out; Rose flied out to left; Morgan
struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 3, Reds 1.

BRAVES 4TH: Baker singled to shortstop; Bench allowed a passed
ball [Baker to second]; Johnson walked; Oates reached on a
fielder's choice on a sacrifice bunt [Baker to third, Johnson to
second]; Robinson grounded into a double play (shortstop to
second to first) [Baker scored, Johnson to third, Oates out at
second]; Morton grounded out (shortstop to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0
E, 1 LOB.  Braves 4, Reds 1.

REDS 4TH: Driessen struck out; Perez singled to left; Bench
grounded into a double play (third to second to first) [Perez
out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 4, Reds 1.

BRAVES 5TH: Garr grounded out (shortstop to first); Lum singled
to right; Evans struck out; Aaron walked [Lum to second]; Baker
reached on an error by Driessen [Lum scored (unearned), Aaron
scored (unearned)]; Johnson walked [Baker to second]; Oates
lined to pitcher; 2 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 1.

REDS 5TH: Griffey walked; Rettenmund grounded into a double play
(shortstop to first) [Griffey out at second]; Concepcion
homered; KOSCO BATTED FOR BILLINGHAM; Kosco grounded out (third
to first); 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 2.

BRAVES 6TH: NELSON REPLACED KOSCO (PITCHING); Robinson flied out
to center; Morton struck out; Garr grounded out (second to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 2.

REDS 6TH: Rose grounded out (second to first); Morgan singled to
right; Driessen doubled to left [Morgan to third]; Perez struck
out; Bench grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2
LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 2.

BRAVES 7TH: Lum grounded out (catcher to first); Evans flied out
to center; Aaron flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Braves 6, Reds 2.

REDS 7TH: OFFICE REPLACED AARON (PLAYING CF); GARR CHANGED
POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); BAKER CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING RF);
Griffey flied out to left; Rettenmund struck out; Concepcion
doubled to left; CROWLEY BATTED FOR NELSON; Crowley grounded out
(second to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 2.

BRAVES 8TH: BORBON REPLACED CROWLEY (PITCHING); Baker grounded
out (shortstop to first); Johnson grounded out (shortstop to
first); Oates struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds
2.

REDS 8TH: Rose walked; P. NIEKRO REPLACED MORTON (PITCHING);
Morgan popped to second; Driessen singled to right [Rose to
third]; Perez homered [Rose scored, Driessen scored]; Bench
struck out; Griffey struck out (catcher to first); 3 R, 2 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 5.

BRAVES 9TH: Robinson grounded out (second to first); P. Niekro
grounded out (second to first); Garr flied out to center; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 5.

REDS 9TH: Rettenmund grounded out (shortstop to first);
Concepcion grounded out (third to first); FOSTER BATTED FOR
BORBON; Foster singled to left; Rose doubled to center [Foster
scored]; Morgan was walked intentionally; HOUSE REPLACED P.
NIEKRO (PITCHING); GAGLIANO BATTED FOR DRIESSEN; Gagliano walked
[Rose to third, Morgan to second]; AKER REPLACED HOUSE
(PITCHING); Perez popped to catcher in foul territory; 1 R, 2 H,
0 E, 3 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 6.

BRAVES 10TH: HALL REPLACED GAGLIANO (PITCHING); CHANEY REPLACED
FOSTER (PLAYING 3B); Lum singled to right; Evans out on a
sacrifice bunt (pitcher to second) [Lum to second]; MURRELL
BATTED FOR OFFICE; C. CARROLL REPLACED HALL (PITCHING); TEPEDINO
BATTED FOR MURRELL; Tepedino was walked intentionally; Baker
flied out to center; Johnson grounded out (third to first); 0 R,
1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 6.

REDS 10TH: LUM CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING CF); TEPEDINO STAYED
IN GAME (PLAYING 1B); Bench struck out; Griffey struck out;
Rettenmund struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 6.

BRAVES 11TH: Oates popped to catcher in foul territory; Robinson
struck out; MILLER BATTED FOR AKER; Miller grounded out (second
to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Braves 6, Reds 6.

REDS 11TH: CAPRA REPLACED MILLER (PITCHING); Concepcion struck
out; Chaney flied out to right; Rose doubled to left; Morgan was
walked intentionally; GERONIMO BATTED FOR C. CARROLL; Capra
threw a wild pitch [Rose scored]; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Braves
6, Reds 7.