Game 1

Vic Wills vs. Dave Sanders

At Cincinnati, October 4^th, 1951

Philadelphia	7	Boxscore
Cincinnati	4

Win	Greg Edmondson
Loss	Eddie Guardado
Save	Rich Bowerman

In a wild, seesaw battle, The Red Legs chose not to send their ace against Dave Sanders, a 19 game winner with an ERA under 2.00. The Goat Herders struck first, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by MVP Bill Manning in the third. In the fourth, Philly pushed the lead to 3-0 on RBI hits from Greg Pfister and pitcher Dave Sanders. In the bottom of the inning, Bobby Tolan led-off with a double. Two batters later, John Robertson singled home Tolan, and then Pete Rose blasted a game-tying two-run homer. Philadelphia immediately took the lead back, as Bill Manning singled, stole second, and then scored on a Bill Eagan single in the top of the fifth. With two out in the seventh, and with Cincinnati still trailing 4-3, Tony Perez hit a home run to tie the game at four. Again, the Goat Herders took the lead back in the next inning, getting a two-run, two-out single from Dale Coleman. Philly added another run on a Wes Strincevich single in the 9^th, and Rich Bowerman shut down the Red Legs for the save.

Worse than the loss, Mike Cullop separated his shoulder during the game, making him unavailable for the remainder of the playoffs. He joined Wally Post on the disabled list—two huge losses for the Red Legs.

Game 2

Jim Maloney vs. Julio Baumholtz

At Cincinnati, October 5^th, 1951

Philadelphia Leads 1 game to 0

Philadelphia	4	Boxscore
Cincinnati	5

Win	Sal Marsans
Loss	Ted Howell
Save

Moe Spinks and Tony Perez exchanged home runs in the second, putting a run on the board for each team. In the third, Ed Bailey led off with a single, then scored two batters later on a double by Bobby Tolan. John White then doubled, scoring Tolan, and then scored himself on a Gus Bell single. The barrage put Cincinnati up 4-1.

Maloney was solid through seven, but started to get in trouble in the eighth. Sebring singled, and then Pfister walked to put two on. Moe Spinks grounded into a force play, and then Woody Peters relieved Maloney. Ace Bolger struck out, but then Smokey Burgess singled, scoring Sebring and cutting the lead to 4-2. Jim Midkiff then brought home Spinks with another single, making it 4-3. After that, Peters decided to stop throwing strikes. He walked Dale Coleman and Bill Manning to force in the game-tying run. Red Legs fans booed vociferously as Peters was relieved by Claude Osteen, who finally got Cincinnati out of the inning.

The bullpens held until the last of the tenth, when Ted Howell came on for Philadelphia. Gus Bell doubled with one out, and then with two out, Tony Perez drove a single back up the middle to earn Cincinnati a crucial Game 2 win.

Game 3

Cozy Malone vs. Ewell Blackwell

At Philadelphia, October 7^th, 1951

Series tied at 1

Cincinnati	0	Boxscore
Philadelphia	8

Win	Cozy Malone
Loss	Ewell Blackwell
Save

The Goat Herders smoked Ewell Blackwell for five first-inning runs, the big blow a three-run bomb by Jimmy Sebring. Cozy Malone was sensational, scattering five hits and a walk over nine innings, striking out seven. NL MVP and Triple Crown winner Bill Manning chipped in with a three-run fourth inning blast. Surprisingly, Blackwell stayed on for the full eight innings, striking out twelve despite giving up ten hits and eight runs.

Game 4

Larry Perconte vs. Lew Wilson

At Philadelphia, October 8^th, 1951

Philadelphia Leads 2 games to 1

Cincinnati	5	Boxscore
Philadelphia	3

Win	Lew Wilson
Loss	Darrell Jordan
Save

Lew Wilson might not be the kind of pitcher you’d think as capable of dueling 19 game winner Larry Perconte, but for five innings neither the Goat Herders or the Red Legs made much noise. Cincinnati finally jumped ahead in the sixth when, after back-to-back singles, Harmon Killibrew delivered a three-run bomb. However, that lead quickly slipped away in the bottom of the inning. After an RBI single from Bill Manning, Tony Perez tossed a Bill Eagan grounder into the stands, brining home two runs and tying the game. But not to be denied, the Red Legs turned right around and took the lead back, turning a Pick single, Tolan double, and Gus Bell single into two runs and a 5-3 lead. Philadelphia had a shot to come back in the eighth, when Smokey Burgess and Jim Midkiff reached with nobody out. But the meat of Goat Herder order choked, as Coleman flew out, Manning struck out, and Eagan struck out. Lew Wilson stayed on straight through the ninth, earning a rare complete-game victory and tying the series at two.

Game 5

Dave Sanders vs. Vic Willis

At Philadelphia, October 9^th, 1951

Series Tied at 2

Cincinnati	1	Boxscore
Philadelphia	4

Win	Dave Sanders
Loss	Vic Willis
Save	Rich Bowerman

In another game that started as a pitcher’s duel, Sanders and Willis battled in a scoreless tie through four and a half. Philadelphia missed a major opportunity in the third when Manning and Eagan both failed with the bases loaded and one out. But in the fifth, five straight Goat Herders reached base to open the inning. Sanders walked, Midkiff singled, and Coleman singled, scoring Sanders. Bill Manning doubled, scoring Midkiff, and then Eagan singled, scoring Coleman. The Red Legs picked up a run in the seventh on a home run by Killibrew, but that was all they managed. Greg Edmondson turned in two solid innings before Rich Bowerman picked up his second save of the series and pushed the Red Legs to the brink of elimination.

Game 6

Jim Maloney vs. Julio Baumholtz

At Cincinnati, October 11^th, 1951

Philadelphia leads 3 games to 2

Philadelphia	3	Boxscore
Cincinnati	5

Win	Jim Maloney
Loss	Julio Baumholtz
Save	Brickyard Kennedy

Philadelphia struck first against Maloney, getting a two-run single from Ace Bolger with one out in the second. John Robertson singled home a run for Cincinnati in the bottom half, and then John White tied it with a solo blast in the third. In the fifth, White went deep again, this time a two-run blast scoring Bobby Tolan. A Jimmy Sebring homer in the sixth cut the lead to 4-3, but in the seventh, John White struck again, adding another RBI double. Maloney retired the last six men he faced, striking out the side in the eighth, and then Brickyard Kennedy put down the side in order in the ninth, granting Cincinnati one more day of life.

Game 7

Ewell Blackwell vs. Cozy Malone

At Cincinnati, October 12^th, 1951

Series tied at 3

Philadelphia	5	Boxscore
Cincinnati	0

Win	Cozy Malone
Loss	Ewell Blackwell
Save

The decisive game of the series featured a rematch of Game 2, in which Ewell Blackwell was shelled and Cozy Malone was unhittable. The same scenario unfolded in game seven, as Philadelphia picked up five runs in the first three innings. In the first, Manning and Eagan brought home a pair of runs with a single and sac fly respectively. In the second, Ace Bolger singled with one out. Malone, after failing to lay down a one-out sacrifice, reached on another horrifyingly inopportune throwing error by Tony Perez. Bolger scored. In the third, a two-run bases-loaded single by Moe Spinks brought home the fourth and fifth runs.

With Mike Cullop and Wallly Post watching from the bench, Cincinnati struggled to find big hits. In the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, the Red Legs put at least two runners on base and stranded every one of them—eleven total for the game. Malone scattered 10 hits and two walks across nine innings in his second complete-game shutout win. Philadelphia advanced to their first World Series.