Catching in his second game after month-long troubles with a bad back, Johnny Bench doubled in the 11th inning to pave the way for the run that gave the Reds an 8-7 victory over the Astros. After Bench's two-bagger, Rick Auerbach took over as a pinch-runner and scored the winning marker on a single by Junior Kennedy.

The Astros had a leadoff homer by Terry Puhl in taking a 2-0 lead, but George Foster hit for the circuit with two men on base in the Reds' half of the first inning. The Astros regained the lead with three runs in the third, but Dan Driessen tied the score with a two-run smash in the Reds' half. After the Reds took a 7-5 lead in the sixth, the Astros rallied to knot the count in the ninth. Puhl was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in one run and Wilbur Howard sent the game into overtime with a sacrifice fly. [The Sporting News]

Cincinnati Reds 8, Houston Astros 7

Game Played on Monday, July 3, 1978 (Night game) at Riverfront Stadium

Astros 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 - 7 10 1 Reds 3 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 - 8 15 0 Astros AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Reds AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Puhl cf 5 1 1 2 0 0 .319 Rose 3b 5 1 3 1 1 0 .296 Howard rf 5 1 1 1 0 2 .254 Griffey rf 6 0 2 1 0 1 .312 Cabell 3b 3 2 0 0 2 1 .294 Concepcion ss 6 1 1 0 0 0 .299 Watson 1b 5 0 2 1 0 0 .300 Foster lf 4 2 2 3 1 0 .304 Sambito p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Bench c 5 0 1 0 1 2 .229 Howe 2b 3 1 1 1 2 0 .280 Auerbach pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 .172 Alou lf 4 0 2 1 0 0 .329 Driessen 1b 6 1 2 2 0 1 .292 Pujols c 4 0 2 1 0 0 .250 Kennedy 2b 6 1 3 1 0 0 .227 Sexton pr,ss 1 1 0 0 0 0 .167 Geronimo cf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .238 Fischlin ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 .119 Henderson ph,cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 .190 Walling ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 .262 Norman p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .184 Baldwin c 1 0 0 0 0 0 .226 Collins ph 0 1 0 0 1 0 .220 Bannister p 2 0 0 0 0 1 .095 Sarmiento p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 McLaughlin p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Tomlin p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Bergman ph,1b 1 0 0 0 1 0 .130 Morgan ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .260 Bair p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 Totals 39 7 10 7 5 5 Totals 47 8 15 8 4 8 Time of Game: 3:23 Attendance: 31,840 Left on Base: Astros 7, Reds 12 DP: Astros 0, Reds 0 Errors: Fischlin Doubles: Howard (2), Watson (14), Rose (24), Foster (13), Bench (8) Home Runs: Puhl (3), Foster (18), Driessen (10) Stolen Bases: Concepcion (11), Griffey 2 (13), Kennedy (3) Caught Stealing: Griffey (3) Sacrifice Hits: Alou (4) Sacrifice Flies: Howard (1) Hit by Pitch: Puhl (2,by Tomlin), Foster (5,by McLaughlin) Astros IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Bannister 4 6 5 5 1 5 2 19 3.08 McLaughlin 4 5 2 1 3 1 0 22 4.15 Sambito L(3-5) 2.2 4 1 1 0 2 0 11 3.14 Totals 10.2 15 8 7 4 8 2 52 Reds IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Norman 6 8 5 5 3 4 1 27 3.16 Sarmiento 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 9 2.47 Tomlin 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4.72 Bair W(3-3) 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 1.91 Totals 11 10 7 7 5 5 1 47 Hit by Pitch: McLaughlin (1), Tomlin (2) Balks: McLaughlin (1) Umpires: HP - Eric Gregg, 1B - Bill Williams, 2B - Dick Stello, 3B - Bruce Froemming ASTROS 1ST: Puhl homered; Howard struck out; Cabell walked; Watson grounded out (third to first) [Cabell to second]; Howe singled to left [Cabell scored, Howe to second (on throw to home)]; Alou singled to second [Howe out at home (second to first to catcher)]; 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 0. REDS 1ST: Rose doubled; Griffey struck out; Concepcion singled to second [Rose to third]; Concepcion stole second; Foster homered [Rose scored, Concepcion scored]; Bench struck out; Driessen grounded out (second to first); 3 R, 3 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 3. ASTROS 2ND: Pujols flied out to center; Fischlin grounded out (shortstop to first); Bannister struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 3. REDS 2ND: Kennedy singled to center; Geronimo struck out; On a bunt Norman forced Kennedy (first to shortstop); Rose walked [Norman to second]; Griffey flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 2, Reds 3. ASTROS 3RD: Puhl grounded out (second to first); Howard doubled to left; Cabell walked; Watson doubled to left [Howard scored, Cabell to third]; Howe was walked intentionally; Alou forced Watson (shortstop to third) [Cabell scored, Howe to second]; Pujols singled to left [Howe scored, Alou to second]; Fischlin flied out to center; 3 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 3. REDS 3RD: Concepcion flied out to left; Foster doubled to left; Bench grounded out (third to first); Driessen homered [Foster scored]; Kennedy grounded out (third to first); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 5. ASTROS 4TH: Bannister flied out to center; Puhl flied out to right; Howard struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 5. REDS 4TH: Geronimo struck out; Norman struck out; Rose lined to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 5. ASTROS 5TH: Cabell lined to shortstop; Watson singled to center; Howe flied out to right; Alou singled [Watson to second]; Watson was picked off second (catcher to second); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 5. REDS 5TH: MCLAUGHLIN REPLACED BANNISTER (PITCHING); Griffey flied out to center; Concepcion grounded out (third to first); Foster was hit by a pitch; Bench walked [Foster to second]; Driessen popped to shortstop; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 5. ASTROS 6TH: Pujols grounded out (third to first); Fischlin grounded out (second to first); McLaughlin struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 5. REDS 6TH: Kennedy reached on an error by Fischlin [Kennedy to first]; Geronimo flied out to left; COLLINS BATTED FOR NORMAN; McLaughlin balked [Kennedy to second]; Collins walked; Rose singled to left [Kennedy scored (unearned), Collins to second]; Griffey singled to center [Collins scored, Rose to third]; Griffey stole second; Concepcion popped to shortstop; Foster grounded out (third to first); 2 R (1 ER), 2 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 7. ASTROS 7TH: SARMIENTO REPLACED COLLINS (PITCHING); Puhl grounded out (second to first); Howard grounded out (shortstop to first); Cabell struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 7. REDS 7TH: Bench flied out to center; Driessen flied out to center; Kennedy singled to center; Geronimo singled to right [Kennedy to third]; Sarmiento grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 7. ASTROS 8TH: Watson flied out to left; Howe lined to left; Alou grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 7. REDS 8TH: Rose singled to center; Griffey forced Rose (pitcher to shortstop); Griffey stole second; Concepcion popped to shortstop; Foster was walked intentionally; Bench struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 5, Reds 7. ASTROS 9TH: Pujols singled to center; SEXTON RAN FOR PUJOLS; WALLING BATTED FOR FISCHLIN; Walling singled to right [Sexton to second]; BERGMAN BATTED FOR MCLAUGHLIN; Bergman walked [Sexton to third, Walling to second]; TOMLIN REPLACED SARMIENTO (PITCHING); Puhl was hit by a pitch [Sexton scored, Walling to third, Bergman to second]; Howard hit a sacrifice fly to right [Walling scored]; Cabell popped to right; Watson grounded out (first to pitcher); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Astros 7, Reds 7. REDS 9TH: SAMBITO REPLACED WATSON (PITCHING); SEXTON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING SS); BALDWIN REPLACED WALLING (PLAYING C ); BERGMAN STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING 1B); Driessen singled to right; Kennedy forced Driessen (pitcher to shortstop); HENDERSON BATTED FOR GERONIMO; Kennedy stole second; Henderson struck out; MORGAN BATTED FOR TOMLIN; Morgan flied out to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 7, Reds 7. ASTROS 10TH: BAIR REPLACED MORGAN (PITCHING); HENDERSON STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING CF); Howe walked; Alou out on a sacrifice bunt (first unassisted) [Howe to second]; Sexton reached on a fielder's choice [Howe out at third (shortstop to third)]; Baldwin flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 7, Reds 7. REDS 10TH: Rose grounded out (second to first); Griffey singled to center; Griffey was caught stealing second (catcher to second); Concepcion flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 7, Reds 7. ASTROS 11TH: Bergman grounded out (first to pitcher); Puhl popped to shortstop; Howard grounded out (shortstop to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Astros 7, Reds 7. REDS 11TH: Foster grounded out (third to first); Bench doubled to left; AUERBACH RAN FOR BENCH; Driessen struck out; Kennedy singled [Auerbach scored]; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Astros 7, Reds 8.

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