But Seaver was perfect the next six innings, retiring 18 St. Louis batters in a row from the third through the eighth. Jerry Mumphrey walked to lead off the ninth, but Seaver quickly set down Lou Brock, Garry Templeton and George Hendrick to end the game.
For Seaver, it was no-hitter redemption following several near-misses, including the infamous July 9, 1969, game where the Cubs’ Jimmy Qualls broke up Seaver’s perfect game after 25 outs.
“My wife, Nancy, came on the field after that game in 1969 and said: ‘You lost your perfect game,’” Seaver said. “But I said: ‘Hey, I just threw a one-hitter and we won the game 4-0.
“I think I had better stuff in the one-hitter than in the no-hitter.”
Still, Seaver’s performance against the Cardinals that night at Riverfront Stadium was stunningly efficient. He struck out just three batters, but retired the side in order in seven of the nine innings. He recorded 15 ground-ball outs and nine fly outs to go along with his three strikeouts, and the Reds’ only error came when catcher Don Werner was charged with a bad throw on Keith Hernandez’s steal of second base in the second inning.