The Pirates struck first in the second off of Don Gullett when he hit Dave Parker with a pitch with two outs before Richie Hebner's double and Frank Taveras's single scored a run each, but in the bottom half, Gullett's RBI single off of Jerry Reuss with two on cut the Pirates' lead to 2–1.
In the fifth, the Reds loaded the bases with no outs off of Larry Demery on a walk and two singles before Griffey's sacrifice fly and Cesar Geronimo's groundout scored a run each.
Tony Pérez's two-run home run in the first off of Jim Rooker gave the Reds a lead they never relinquished.
The home team sent left-hander John Candelaria to the hill to try to stem the Red tide and the 21-year-old rookie responded magnificently.
Ken Griffey hit leadoff single, moved to second on a balk, then to third on a groundout before scoring on Ed Armbrister's sacrifice fly.
Pedro Borbon retired the Pirates in order in the bottom of the inning as the Reds clinched their third pennant of the decade.