June 22, 1977: Larry Bowa’s grand slam powers Phillies’ win over Reds

Larry Bowa and Joe Hoerner crossed paths for the first time as teammates on the 1970 Philadelphia Phillies. Bowa, signed and developed by the Phillies’ organization, was a 24-year-old rookie shortstop batting leadoff for a mainly veteran team. Hoerner, a 33-year-old lefty reliever, was acquired in an offseason trade with the St. Louis Cardinals to solidify the Phillies’ bullpen. Although born nine years apart in different parts of the country, the California native Bowa and Iowa native Hoerner developed an enduring friendship.

Bowa anchored Philadelphia’s infield over the coming years and, as top prospects Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, and Larry Christenson were called up, the Phillies ascended in the standings. When the 1977 season commenced, Philadelphia set its sights on a second consecutive National League East Division title after enduring three straight last-place finishes in the early years of the decade.

Hoerner went to the Atlanta Braves in 1972, then the Kansas City Royals, then back to the Phillies, then to the Texas Rangers. He was released by the Rangers in the spring of 1977. Desiring to continue his career, he signed a minor-league contract with the Cincinnati Reds as a player-coach for their Triple-A club in Indianapolis. When the Reds traded relievers Rawly Eastwick and Mike Caldwell at the June 15 trading deadline, Hoerner was recalled to fill a slot in Cincinnati’s bullpen.

Hoerner joined a Cincinnati team triumphant in back-to-back World Series in 1975 and 1976. While the 1977 Reds team had lineup continuity with its predecessors, the pitching staff was undergoing changes. Besides the June 15 trades sending Eastwick to the Cardinals and Caldwell to the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati’s transactions moved Gary Nolan, a member of the Reds staff since 1967, to the California Angels and, in a blockbuster deal, brought future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver from the New York Mets.1

The Phillies and Reds were concluding a three-game set when they met in Philadelphia on June 22. The teams had identical 35-29 records; the Phillies were second behind the fast-starting Chicago Cubs in the NL East, and the Reds trailed the resurgent Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

They had split the first two games, both high-scoring, power-hitting, and bullpen-taxing affairs. Outside of Jim Kaat’s complete game for the Phillies in the opener, no starting pitcher had survived five innings. The teams had combined for a total of seven home runs, including Bowa’s first-game homer against Fred Norman.

Philadelphia was looking to win the series after being swept in three one-run games in Cincinnati the prior week. A Wednesday crowd of 47,148,2 a weeknight record for seven-season-old Veterans Stadium, was on hand to witness the clash between the 1976 NL Championship Series participants.

Before the game, Reds second baseman Joe Morgan talked about the makeup of his club. “Our club is built on offense and defense, not around pitching,” he said. “Guys can’t get away with mistakes against us, because we’re a good hitting team.”3

Christenson, who had won an 11-5 slugfest in Atlanta five days earlier to push his record to 6-5, was selected to start the series finale for the Phillies. In the top of the first, the Reds sent nine batters to the plate and jumped to a 3-0 lead. Pete Rose led off with a single to right, and two outs later, cleanup hitter Dan Driessen walked.

George Foster stepped in and belted his 20th home run of the season over the right-center-field wall. The 28-year-old left fielder proceeded to hit 52 homers and lead the league in numerous offensive categories. After the season he was bestowed the NL Most Valuable Player Award. 

Johnny Bench walked, Dave Concepción doubled and César Gerónimo was intentionally walked to load the bases. Christenson escaped without any further damage by striking out opposing pitcher Jack Billingham.

Philadelphia went quietly in its half of the inning, then Cincinnati tacked on another run in the top of the second. Rose stroked a double to left-center, his second hit in as many innings, and scored on Driessen’s single.

In the bottom of the second, the Phillies began to chip away against the 34-year-old Billingham, who entered with an 8-3 record. First baseman Richie Hebner blasted a one-out home run to right field, his eighth of the season.

In the third, Philadelphia plated three more runs to tie the score.

Bowa, batting eighth in manager Danny Ozark’s lineup, started the rally with an opposite-field single to left. Christenson’s bunt advanced Bowa, and Garry Maddox was hit by a pitch. Bake McBride – who had joined the Phillies seven days earlier in a five-player deadline trade with the Cardinals – followed with a home run over the left-field wall, his fifth of the season and first with the Phillies.

Neither team scored in the fourth but over the next two innings both teams tallied five runs. In the top of the fifth, Driessen and Foster stroked back-to-back singles and Bench cleared the bases with a home run to left, his 14th of the season, putting the Reds on top 7-4.

Bowa led off the bottom of the fifth with a double to right. Tim McCarver was summoned to pinch-hit, ending Christenson’s day. McCarver flied out to center, but Maddox’s single plated Bowa. Maddox advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw and McBride walked.

Reds manager Sparky Anderson pulled Billingham, whose 4⅓-inning outing followed Norman’s three-inning start in the series opener and Paul Moskau’s 4⅔-inning big-league debut in the second game. In came righty Dale Murray. Schmidt greeted Murray with a long home run, vaulting the Phillies to an 8-7 lead.

In the sixth, Ken Griffey hit a home run off reliever Ron Reed to tie the score, then Driessen’s single and Foster’s double put the Reds on top 9-8.

With Murray still pitching, the Phillies countered in the bottom of the sixth. Bowa slapped a single to center and scored on Maddox’s single. “It was like two heavyweights out there,” Bowa said later, “knocking hell out of each other and getting up off the canvas.”4

With the score deadlocked, 9-9, entering the seventh, Ozark turned to veteran reliever Tug McGraw, who retired the Reds on two grounders and a fly out. Anderson chose rookie reliever Tom Hume to face the Phillies in the bottom half of the inning. Schmidt hit a foul pop, but the next three batters reached on a walk, single, and walk. Hume was pulled and the 40-year-old Hoerner took the mound for the first time in a Cincinnati uniform.

His first pitch sailed past Bench, allowing Luzinski to come home with the go-ahead run. The other runners moved up and, with first base open, Ted Sizemore was walked intentionally to get to Bowa.

“I don’t blame Sparky,” Bowa said. “Ted’s a little stronger than I am.”5

Hoerner’s next pitch was a fastball down the middle. The switch-hitting Bowa pulled it over the left-field wall for a grand slam. It was Bowa’s fourth homer of the season and first career slam.

As he rounded first and saw the ball land in the stands, Bowa leaped into the air and clapped his hands. “Joe is an old buddy and I didn’t want to embarrass him, but I just had to raise my hands,” Bowa said.6

Bowa circled the bases to a thunderous ovation, and the fans kept cheering until he emerged from the dugout for a curtain call. Recalling the moment after the game, Bowa said, “I just can’t describe the feeling that was going through my body at the time.”7

Hoerner struck out the next two batters, but the Phillies’ lead was now 14-9. Doug Capilla – acquired from St. Louis in the Eastwick deal – replaced Hoerner in the eighth and Schmidt blasted his second home run of the game and 18th of the season, giving the Phillies a five-homer day. McGraw tossed a scoreless eighth and ninth to close out his second win of the season.

The Phillies won the game, 15-9, and the series two games to one. They went on to win 101 games and capture their second consecutive NL East title. Cincinnati fell short in its quest to win a third championship, finishing second, 10 games behind the Dodgers.

Bowa went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and four runs batted in. His grand slam in the seventh was the only one of his 16-season, 15-homer career. “This is my biggest thrill in baseball, besides getting to the big leagues,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a perfect night before. And a grand slam to beat the Reds …”8

In the losing locker room, Hoerner lamented his pitch to Bowa. “It was the first grand slam hit off me in my 21-year career,” he said sadly.9 Five days later he surrendered another one, to San Francisco Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. Hoerner never faced Bowa again. He pitched his last game in Cincinnati on August 5 and retired at the end of the season.10

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Mike Huber and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Larry Bowa, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for information including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI197706220.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1977/B06220PHI1977.htm

Notes

1 On June 15, 1977, Seaver was acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman.

2 Veterans Stadium’s capacity in 1977 was 56,371.

3 Stan Hochman, “Phillies-Reds Slug It Out in ‘Grand’ Fashion,” Philadelphia Daily News, June 23, 1977: 76.

4 Bruce Keidan, Bowa’s Slam Rocks Reds,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 23, 1977: C-1.

5 “Bowa’s Slam Rocks Reds.”

6 Ralph Bernstein (Associated Press), “Bowa’s Grand Slam Highlights Phillies Home Run Barrage,” Lancaster (Pennsylvania) New Era, June 23, 1977: 45.

7 Bill Conlin, “Bowa: The Mouse That Roared,” Philadelphia Daily News, June 23, 1977: 76.

8 Bruce Keidan, “Bowa’s Slam Rocks Reds.”

9 Bernstein, “Bowa’s Grand Slam Highlights Phillies Home Run Barrage.”

10 Hoerner’s final major-league pitch, thrown while he was mopping up the ninth inning of a 12-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit Pittsburgh’s Frank Taveras, resulting in a bench-clearing brawl and ejections for both Hoerner and Taveras. Bob Hertzel, “Pirates Hang Double Defeat on Reds,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 6, 1977: D-1.