Our Blog: 1964 NL Pennant Race

Having blogged about the 1951 NL Pennant Race and the 1967 AL Pennant Race, we now turn to one of the other great races, unless you were a Philadelphia Phillies fan at the time.The Phillies lead by 6 1/2 games over the Reds and Cardinals and 7 games over the Giants with 12 games to go in the 1964 season. The Phillies haven't won the pennant since 1950 and look assured of finally winning it this year. We will relive each of the 12 games for the Phillies, Cardinals, and Reds. Each day we will cover one day's worth of games, beginning with September 21st. See first day of blog. Here are the standings as play begins on October 1st.

Team	W	L	W-L%	GB
Cardinals	92	67	.579	--
Reds	91	68	.572	1.0
Phillies	90	70	.563	2.5
Giants	88	70	.557	3.5

Reds 5, Pirates 4.

The Reds break their scoreless streak at 26 innings by scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning and go on to win before 7,081 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Bob Purkey starts for Cincinnati and lasts 4 2/3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. Joe Nuxhall comes on in relief and gets his 9th win against 8 losses, giving up 1 run on 2 hits in 2 1/3 innings. Sammy Ellis earns his 14th save of the year, pitching 2 hitless and scoreless innings. Joe Gibbon starts for Pittsburgh and gives up 3 runs, 2 earned, on 4 hits over 4 innings. Steve Blass comes on in relief of Gibbon and suffers his 8th loss against 5 victories. He gives up 1 run on 1 hit over 2 innings. Tommie Sisk comes on in the 7th and yields a triple and double before being relieved by Roy Face. Sisk is charged with 1 run on 2 hits. Face works 2 innings and gives up 0 runs on 1 hit. Jimmie Coker has 3 hits for the Reds, including his 2nd double and 1st homer of the year, in the 6th inning with the bases empty. Also for Cincinnati, Frank Robinson (37th) and Chico Ruiz (13th) double, and Vada Pinson triples, his 11th. Dick Schofield has 2 doubles for PIttsburgh, his 21st and 22nd of the year. The Reds have 8 hits, 0 errors, and leave 9 on base. The Pirates have 8 hits, 1 error, and leave 3. See Game

With their win, the Reds move to within 1/2 game of the idle Cardinals. The idle Phillies stay 2.5 games back. The Giants win See Game, moving them to 3 games back. The Phillies and Reds have 2 games remaining. The Cardinals and Giants have 3 left.