April 12 Highlights

Tony Perez hit two home runs today to bring his season total to seven in only eight games. He hit one on each of the Red’s twin-bill against the San Francisco Giants. Perez had seven RBI in the two games; the Reds winning both ends by scores of 17-3 and 7-6. Tommy Helms had five hits in the first game, and Johnny Bench broke out of his early season slump, going 3-4 in the night cap with a triple and a homer. The sweep allowed Cincinnati to leave San Francisco with a split of their four game series with the Giants.

Larry Dierker of the Houston Astros was cruising today against the Atlanta Braves, allowing only one hit through the first eight innings, and had two outs in the ninth with Atlanta’s Sonny Jackson on second, when Joe Morgan booted a ground ball off the bat of Henry Aaron. Rico Carty then the first pitch from Dierker deep to left center for a two-base hit that scored the tying runs. Dierker was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the ninth and Fred Gladding came in in relief. With one-out Atlanata thirdbaseman Ken Boyer took a Gladding fastball over the wall in left for what proved to be the winning run, and the Braves took the finale of their three game series.