Crosley Field was known as a great hitter's park and the first two games of the series certainly gave credence to that reputation.
Game 1; '54 Braves 14 '56 Reds 10
Game one featured a slugfest as Eddie Mathews and Joe Adcock hit back-to-back homers in the second and third innings to overcome a four run first inning outburst by the Reds to take an early 4 - 0 lead. Adcock homered again in the 7th, his third of the game as the '54 Braves won the first game of the series 14 - 10.
Chet Nichols got the win in relief to even his record at 4 - 4 and Tom Acker took the loss in relief to go 2 - 2. Dave Jolly threw a perfect inning in relief to get the save.
Ed Bailey, Wally Post, Ted Kluszewski and Frank Robinson homered for the Reds but it was not enough to overcome the 18 hit attack by the Braves. For Post it was his league-leading 19th blast of the season.
Game 2: '56 Reds 15 '54 Braves 7
The bats continued hot in the second game of the series as the '56 Reds evened the series with a 15 - 7 win. The Reds tallied 8 runs in the second and struck for four more runs in the fourth. Braves starter Gene Conley was the victim of the 12 run shellacking and Joe Nuxhall was cruising along until a three run blast by Eddie Mathews capped off a 6 run inning which brought the score to 12 - 7. However Ed Bailey hit a three run shot in the bottom of the 6th to stretch the lead to 15 - 7, Hal, Jeffcoat, the only effective pitcher in the game threw two scoreless innings to put the game away for the Reds. Joe Nuxhall picked up the win despite yielding 7 runs in 7 innings to improve his record to 4 - 2. In addition to the two Ed Bailey blasts, Gus Bell, ,
Ted Kluszewski and Wally Post homered for the Reds. For Post it was his 20th of the season.
Game 3: '56 Reds 8, '54 Braves 6
The series moved to Milwaukee's County Stadium fir the next three games with both staffs looking for a respite from the shelling dished out at Crosley. Milwaukee ace Warren Spahn took the mound against Art Fowler.
After a scoreless first inning light-hitting shortstop Roy McMillan drove in two runs to give the Reds a 2 - 0 lead, which lasted until the fourth when Eddie Mathews hit a solo shot to bring the Braves to within one run.
But in the top of the fifth Fowler led off the inning with a single and Johnny Temple banged his second hit of the game. Smoky Burgess followed with a three-run blast to give the Reds a 5 - 1 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth the Braves got to Fowler for 5 runs to take a 6 - 5 lead. Pafko leadoff the inning with a double and Johnny Logan and Del Crandall singled to make the score 5 - 2. After a Spahn sacrifice Bruton and O'Connell singled and with two outs Mathews and Adcock singled and the Braves took a 6 - 5 lead.
Hal Jeffcoat came on to start the sixth and held the Braves scoreless for three innings and Gus Bell hit a solo homer to tie the score at 6 all.
The game remained tied until the top of the 11th when pitcher Tom Acker led off the inning with a strikeout (the Reds had no bench players left). Johnny Temple then doubled for his 5th hit of the game. After a Burgess lineout Frank Robinson was intentionally walked and the Milwaukee manager brought in left hander Koslo to face Ted Kluszewski who then doubled to drive in two and give the Reds an 8 - 6 win.
Tom Acker shut out the Braves in the bottom of the inning and the Reds took s 2 - 1 lead in the series.
Game 4; '56 Reds 5 '54 Braves 3
Braves fans hoped to tie the series as Lew Burdette took the mound against Johnny Klippstein who had an ERA entering the game over 6 runs and had been ineffective all season.
It did not take long for hope to turn to consternation as Temple walked to lead off the game and with one out Frank Robinson got an infield single followed by a Kluszewski single and a Bailey sac fly to give the Reds a 2 - 0 lead.
The Reds added to their lead in the third when with two out Robinson walked and went to second on a passed ball. After an intentional walk to Kluszewski Bailey singled to give the Reds a 3 - 0 lead.
Milwaukee tallied single runs in the fourth and fifth to bring the score to 3 - 2 . The first run scored on a single by Crandall driving in Logan who had singled earlier and in the fifth a two out Triple by Mathews plated O'Connell.
Ed Bailey homered in the sixth to extend the lead to 4 - 2. In the seventh the Reds added another run as Thurman singled pinch hitting for Klippstein and scored on a Frank Robinson two out single. Don Gross with an ERA of 7.05 entered the game and held the Braves scoreless in the 7th and 8th.
In the ninth Logan lead off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Crandall. Pendleton then pinch hitting for the pitcher doubled but Gross settled down and retired the next two hitters on fly balls to nail down the win for the Reds.
Game 5; '56 Reds 7 '54 Braves 4
Facing elimination the Braves the Braves sent Gene Conley to the mound to face the Red's ace, Brooks Lawrence ( 8 - 1).
Conley suffered the jitters and walked three batters and hit another leading to an early 3 - 0 lead for the Reds. The Braves countered with a single run on a leadoff double by Bruton and a two out single by Joe Adcock.
The Reds responded in the top of the second with a solo home run from Gus Bell to again give Cincinnati a three run lead, but Milwaukee fought back in the bottom of the frame with a triple by Pendleton and a single by Bruton to cut the lead to 4 - 2.
Milwaukee tied the game in the bottom of the third on a Pafko triple following a walk to Aaron and single by Adcock but Lawrence induced Charlie White to hit into a double play with runners on first and third.
The game remained tied at four all until Ray Jablonski homered with two out in the sixth to give the Reds the lead, 5 - 4.
Don Gross held the Braves scoreless for the rest of the game and the Reds put the game away with a two-run ninth featuring Kluszewski and Bailey singles and Gross set the Braves down in the ninth. Lawrence picked up the win with great relief help from Gross and Wilson in relief of Conley took the loss.
The MVP of the series was Ed Bailey who delivered timely hits throughout the series. In the five games he batted .500, scored 7 runs, knocked in 11 and hit 5 homers.
--submitted by Jim Clouser--
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.
