Frank Robby and Big Klu hit back to back jacks to break a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 3rd. Milwaukee made it 2-1 in the 4th when Larry Hisle doubled home Cecil Cooper with nobody out. The Brew Crew failed to plate Hisle and tie the game thanks to Joe Nuxhall's stingy ways. "Nuxie" would stay stingy the rest of the way to close out the series in 6. Along the way the Reds offense shifted into high gear with 4 runs in the 6th and 3 in the 8th to make this a laugher. Brewer starter Lary Sorensen was victimized by his defense (2 errors) and then by the potent Red lineup. Sorensen gave up 6 runs (3 earned) on 12 hits in 7 innings. Bob McClure was the victim for the final 3 Red runs in the 8th that put the game totally out of reach and set off a love fest in Crosley field to the likes that the Queen City had not seen in decades. Gus Bell (4-5)
scored 2 runs and had 2 doubles. Frank Robinson (2-4) also scored 2
runs and had a solo blast, but the true hero this day was Big Klu, Ted
Kluszewski. The master ofthe sleeveless shirt was 3 for 4 with 4 RBI's, 2 runs scored and 2 tape measure homers.
For the first 4 games of the series went to the road team and game 5 would continue that trend. Milwaukee was a friendly host making 3 huge errors and spotting the Reds to a 3-0 lead after one half inning of play. With 2 in the 2nd and 1 in the 3rd the Brew Crew battled back to tie the game at 3-3. An error by catcher Buck Martinez put Gus Bell on second with nobody out. A 1 out RBI single by Ray Jablonski scored Bell to make it 4-3. Jablonski's solo blast in the 6th made it a 2 run game. A Robin Yount triple and a run scoring ground out by Cooper in the bottom of the 8th made it a 1 run game again, but a perfect 9th inning by closer Hersh Freeman locked the door on the Brew Crew as Cincy won it's 3rd straight in the series.
In what might turnout to be a colossal mistake in judgement Milwaukee's manager decided to bring Mike Caldwell back on short rest so that he might be available 3 times (if needed) in the series. After being staked to a 2-0 lead Caldwell was battered to the tune of 6 runs in the top of the 2nd and had to be replaced before the frame ended. The Brewer pen did a masterful job allowing just 1 run the rest of the way, but the 6-2 deficit was awful hard to come back from. The Brewers posted solo runs in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings but failed to get that crooked number on the board when they needed it the most. Smoky Burgess' 2 run blast in the 2nd wound up being the difference maker. Milwaukee put a scare into the Reds by putting runners on the corner against Jim Acker in the 9th, but Ben Oglivie lined out to third to end it.
A must win for the Redlegs if they were going to stay in the series. Cincy jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Jerry Augustine, who eventually go real stingy. The Brew crew chipped away and finally tied it up with a solo run in the 8th when Larry Hisle doubled home Cooper. On a 1 out single by Gorman Thomas, Hisle attempted to score from second. In what was surely the turning point of the game and quite possibly the series Frank Robinson pegged Hisle at the plate to prevent the go ahead run. In the top of the 10th the Reds victimized reliever Bill Castro for 3 singles in a row, with Ed Bailey providing the go ahead RBI. Acker set the Brew Crew down in the bottom of the 10th to protect the much needed win for the Reds.
Lary Sorensen continued to sparkle this post season with another economical yet dominant performance. Milwaukee's #2 guy left the game with a 2 hit shutout going after 7 innings because his team was up 11-0 and his manager wanted to save his arm. That strategy almost backfired when mop up man Andy Replogle gave up 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th. Cincy went quietly in the 9th so the scare was premature. MVP candidate Gorman Thomas was 4 for 5 with 3 RBI. Thomas had a double and hit his 27th homer of the season. Yount (3-6) and Cecil Cooper (2-6) each had 3 RBI's of their own. Milwaukee hit 4 long balls on the day to Cincy's 2.
Both Mike Caldwell and Joe Nuxhall locked up in a classic pitcher's duel until the Brew Crew erupted for 4 unanswered runs in the top of the 9th off reliever Jim Acker. Catcher Charlie Moore and secondbaseman Paul Molitor each knocked in 2 runs with RBI singles to provide Bill Castro and Eduardo Rodriguez with more than enough cushion to protect. Mike Caldwell got the win allowing just 1 run on 5 hits in 7 innings of work. Castro and Rodriguez each pitched scoreless innings in relief. Nuxhall tired in the 9th and couldn't get help from Acker to put the fire out. Molitor and Robin Yount were both 2 for 5.
Warren Spahn went the distance an amazingly allowed just 3 runs on 13 hits. With the score tied 2-2 heading into the 8th the Braves exploded for 6 runs over the final 2 innings to victimize a tiring Don Cardwell and a weak Al McBean. 4 RBI's by second year man Hank Aaron paced the offense.
The Deacon, Vern Law evened the series with a 5 hit shutout that took just 83 economical pitches. Future HOF'ers Stargell and Clemente each had 2 hits as the Bucs offense blasted Burnette for 6 runs in 3 1/3 innings. Law's bat was equally as potent as his right arm. The Deacon went 2 for 3 with a homer and 3 RBI's.
Big Gene Conley was the poster boy for "bend don't break" today. Typically when a pitcher allows 10 hits his day on the hill is short and his ERA jumps up considerably. Conley somehow allowed the 10 hits, but also fanned 10 batters and amazingly did not yield a single run. The Bucs left 10 on base in this mega frustrating event.
a decisive 5th game. Five Buc batters had 2 hits. Shortstop Gene Alley knocked in two. Bob Bailey scored two as the series headed back to Steeltown tied at two games apiece.
On paper the pitching matchup decisively favored Milwaukee. With Warren Spahn (12-2, 2.38) on the hill the Braves felt that Pittsburgh's home field advantage was more than negated. That thought process was proven correct as Spahnie gave up just 2 runs in a complete game effort, while Don Cardwell pitched 6 sloppy innings and left the game down 6-2. Milwaukee scored 3 unearned runs off of Al McBean in the top of the 9th to make it a romp. Eddie Mathews's bat came alive with a 2 for 5 day that plated 5 runs. Mathews hit a 2 runs shot in the first to start off the scoring and a 3 run shot in the 9th to put the game out of reach.
A pitcher's duel between Jack Sanford and Joe Nuxhall led to extra innings thanks to the hometown Reds scoring the tying run in the bottom of the 8th of Sam Jones on an RBI single by light hitting shortstop Roy McMillian. Fast forward two innings to the bottom of the 10 to see Frank Robinson line a single to score George Crow to win the game in walk off fashion.
With the finality of a game 5 hanging over the heads of both teams the expectations for this game were huge. Typically these "all or nothing" matchups tend to disappoint with a lopsided score. This game delivered. Faced with the option of going with one of their lesser arms the Brewers decided to follow their game 4 pattern and go with one of their aces on short rest by tapping game 2 winner Lary Sorensen. Seattle went with their game 1 winner Joel Pineiro, who was on full rest. Advantage M's. Both starters matched each other by posting goose eggs for the first four innings. Then in the top of the 5th Milwaukee got back to back to back singles from Dick Davis, Buck Martinez, and Robin Yount (RBI) to make it 1-0. Paul Molitor lined one in the gap that Cameron made a sensational diving grab on, but on the play Martinez easily trotted home to make it 2-0. With a 2-0 lead Sorensen had to fight both fatigue and the M's bats. He masterfully worked out of a bases loaded jam in the 6th, then cruised the rest of the way finishing with a tidy 5 hit complete game shutout and the series MVP. Pineiro was excellent, allowing just 2 runs, but he found himself the hard luck loser in the final game of a well contested series.
With their season on the line the Brew Crew went to ace Mike Caldwell on short rest, and the crafty lefty delivered big time as did Milwaukee's offense. Caldwell gave up just 1 run on 6 hits while going the distance. It was great to get such a masterful performance from a pitcher who seemed to limp to the finsh line during the regular season. With the score 2-0 the Brewers put up a 6 spot, off of M's starer Ryan Franklin, in the bottom of theh 6th. In total the Brew Crew scored 10 runs on 15 hits. Everyone in Milwaukee's lineup joined the hit parade. RBI machine Gorman Thomas knocked in 3. .187 hitting Sixto Lezcano even joined the action with a 2 run blas. Don Money chipped in a long ball as well as the Brewers tied the series up and take the plane ride back to the city where their franchise started 9 years earlier.
The pivotal game 3 went to the visting M's thanks to a 4 run blow up inning by 3rd starer Jerry Augustine. With 2 outs Ichiro singled home Crillo to tie the game at 1-1. McLemore, who has issues with lefties worked out a walk to load the bases for John Olerud, who kills the Brewers (3 HR's vs them in the regular season). Augustine looked to have the lefty / lefty matchup in his favor, but the man who wears the batting helmet in the field lined a bases clearing double to make it 4-3. Milwaukee threw as scare into the M's when Cecil Cooper hit a solo shot int he 8th and Dick Davis hit one in the 9th. With one out in the 9th pinch hitter Jim Gantner singled of closer Sasaki, who go Yount to fly out to center and Money to line out to Ichiro in right. Freddy Garcia won his 9th game of the season with a sensational 8 inning 1 run performance. Milwaukee is now on the brink of elimination.
A must win for the Brew Crew who rely on 2 pitchers to carry them to victory. With their 1a guy Caldwell losing the opener they series rested firmly on the shoulder of Lary Sorensen to get the much needed win. Sorensen got to within 1 out of going the distance, but needed a little help from lefty Bob McClure to get pinch hitter Bloomquist to line out to 3rd to end the game. Milwaukee was up 5-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th, but trouble stared when Sorensen gave up 4 consecutive one out singles and a warning track sac fly. The Brew crew held on to even the series up. Brewer catcher Charlie Moore was a perfect 3 for 3 before being lifted for a pinch hitter, Buck Martinez, who also got a hit. The Brew Crew relied on the long ball with Gorman Thomas, Cecil Cooper and Ben Oglivie all going deep. Jamie Moyer gave up 5 runs in 7 innings on 10 hits and was tagged with the loss.
Joel Pineiro fanned 7 and gave up just 1 unearned run in the 5th, yet he needed to rely of a big 3 run 7th to get to the long side of the ledger. With Brewer ace Mike Caldwell throwing up goose eggs for the first 6 innings Pineiro looked to be the victim of lack of run support. After Bret Boone struck out to lead off the inning Edgar Martinez singled. Cameron reached base on what would be a costly error by Brewer 3rd baseman Sal Bando.Cirillo singled home Edgar to tie it. A wild pitch score Cammy to put the M's up 2-1 and a 2 out single by Guillen made it 3-1. Rhodes and Sasaki combined to get the final 4 outs and hand Pineiro a much deserved victory in the series opener.
More innings passed, 13 down with the deadlock in place. Mack was worried, each batter faced could spell doom for his team. Mack and Jing Johnson had no idea that Johnson would pitch his best game of the season, facing 20 Tampa Bay batters, allowing 2 hits and 1 walk in nearly 6 innings of play. Defensive help arrived from Cochrane, who saved the day as a defensive replacement in the 12th when he gunned down Fuld (the potential winning run) on 3rd base to end the inning. Collins joined the action to cover 2nd base during the 13th with the knowledge that he would lead off the 14th. During the top of the 14th, Collins smacked a double, with French's sacrifice bunt moving Collins to 3rd. Philadelphia brought in the lead run and Tampa Bay's hopes were down to the bottom of the 14th.
Having just concluded our interview with Mr. Mack, we have now returned to the radio press box. We are happy to announce that Lefty Grove has been selected as game MVP. At the close of our coverage tonight, we salute both teams for an epic duel that utilized 34 players including 9 pitchers. We’re still perplexed by Mr. Mack’s sitting out two of his star players in such a high-powered game, but his gamble obviously worked. 
At the conclusion of the regular season the NL East featured a 3 way tie that was hopelessly deadlocked thanks to the Dodgers taking 3 of 4 from the Cardinals and the Marlins and Pirates splitting. With 3 teams tied the play in structure becomes a step ladder with the team with the best record in the division getting a bye. That left the Marlins hosting the Dodgers with the winner having the right to host the Pirates in order to crown a champ. To quote Marlins manager Justin Ryan, "Its a real cluster &%$#".
Geno Cimoli, who would score when Duke Snider tripled him home 3 pitches later. Next up was Gil Hodges, who lined a single through the hole to tie the game up at 2-2. There was life in Brooklyn. Dem Bums still had something left. With all the air let out of the mulit purpose venue in South Florida the game went to extra innings. Neither team did a thing in the 10th. Brooklyn went to 42 year old Sal "the Barber" Maglie in long relief. Maglie, who left his last start with a sore shoulder was running on fumes. His fabled overhand curve barely had any bite in it, but he was the best man left in Brooklyn's pen since the Dodgers had already burned through Clem Labine and Ed Roebuck. The top of the 11th saw the Marlins go to Moehler, who easily got Cimoli to ground out to short. Snider followed by launching a majestic shot that hit the top of the wall and wound up as a stand up double. Hodges was then given and intentional pass and Perisho was brought in to face Neal, who he promptly walked to load the bases. He then walked Campy to force in the go 
ahead run. Captain Pee Wee Reese lifted a fly to deep right center to score Hodges and give Brooklyn a 4-2 lead. Maglie went back out to the mound and struck out Lenny Harris, then got Lo Duca to fly to deep center. After he walked Willingham he got Easley to ground to short for the final out. Brooklyn's return from the abyss meant the elimination of the Marlins and a second one game play the following night vs the Pirates at the little ballpark on Bedford Ave.
