Phillies Magic number

[Cedrique]

For postseason

12

 

[Cedrique]

11

 

[Cedrique]

Brewers lose, Magic number at 9.

 

[Cedrique]

Down to 8, thanks to the Brew Crew's recent slide.

 

[TheSnowdog]

with the slide the Phillies are on shouldn't the title to this thread be "Brewers Magic number" ?

 

[Cedrique]

with the slide the Phillies are on shouldn't the title to this thread be "Brewers Magic number" ?

that's too real

The "Phold"​

Beginnings​

On September 1 the Phillies held a 5+1⁄2-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds and it seemed were in cruise mode to clinching the pennant.[11] TV Guide went to press with a World Series preview that featured a photo of Connie Mack Stadium. (Through the 1968 season, both first-place teams automatically went to the World Series, the only postseason play at the time.) On September 7, Labor Day, the Phillies split a doubleheader with the Dodgers while the Reds lost 2 games to the St. Louis Cardinals. That increased the Phillies' lead to 6+1⁄2 games with 25 left to play. Then things started to go wrong, first with a string of injuries. The next game, Frank Thomas broke his right thumb sliding into second base against Maury Wills, the Dodger shortstop. The number four starter, Ray Culp, started to have problems with his right elbow; Dennis Bennett began having a sore arm. Art Mahaffey began to have control problems, being taken out in the first inning on September 8th; in his next start, against the San Francisco Giants, he was taken out in the third inning.[5]

Things appeared to settle down on September 13 when Bunning beat the Giants for his 17th win, and Short and Bennett followed up with wins over the Houston Colt .45s. However, Bunning replaced Culp for the start on the 16th for the last game against Houston and, pitching on two days' rest, gave up a two-run home run by Rusty Staub and lasted only 4+1⁄3 innings (charged with 4 more runs).[12] On September 20, Bunning beat the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 3–2, throwing a five-hitter. Bunning remembered that the club had been shaky; the Phillies almost blew the game in the ninth when Vic Power made an error, leading to two unearned runs. Then Bunning finished the game by striking out the Dodger catcher, Johnny Roseboro. After the game, a reporter from Sports Illustrated photographed Bunning. It was to be on the cover of the magazine for its World Series edition in October.[5]

During the month, the club had gone 12–9[7] and the lead over the Reds remained at 6+1⁄2 games with 12 games to play.[13] However, the win over the Dodgers on the 20th would be the last win by the Phillies in September.

"The Curse of Chico Ruiz"​

On September 21, the team returned to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series (a sweep of that series would have clinched the pennant for the Phils) against the Reds as part of a seven-game homestand, which included four against the Milwaukee Braves. Then the Phillies would go on the road, play three games in St. Louis, and end the season with 2 games in Cincinnati.[7]

Art Mahaffey began his first start since a 9–1 loss to the Giants on the 12th, pitching against John Tsitouris in the first game against the Reds. It was a pitchers' duel until the 6th inning when Chico Ruiz hit a single which was followed up by Vada Pinson hitting a line drive through the pitcher's box and past second base until Johnny Callison got the ball and threw out Pinson as he tried to reach 2nd base. Ruiz made it over to third on the play. Frank Robinson then came up to bat, and swung and missed for strike one. Ruiz, on third, noted that Mahaffey had not checked him before pitching. On the next pitch, Ruiz broke for home plate. Surprised, Mahaffey pitched high and wild and the Phillies' catcher, Clay Dalrymple, jumped high but missed the ball, which went back to the screen. Ruiz successfully stole home plate, giving the Reds the lead and the game's only run.[5] Richie (later Dick) Allen said of the play: "The play broke our humps."[14]

Chico Ruiz's steal of home has evolved into a popular culture legend. Some Philadelphia sports fans still refer to the "Curse of Chico Ruiz" as the reason for many of their teams' misfortunes.[15]

The Collapse​

In the next game, manager Gene Mauch rode Robinson, Ruiz and the rest of the Reds hard from the dugout, yelling over at them constantly about Ruiz and his stealing home the night before. The Reds responded with Frank Robinson hitting a two-run homer off Chris Short, who had to be taken out in the fifth inning. The Phillies lost and their lead was down to 4+1⁄2 games. In the third game of the series with the Reds, things went from bad to worse, when Dennis Bennett lasted six innings with a sore arm as the Phillies lost again, 6–4, with Pinson and Ruiz hitting home runs. The lead was now down to 3+1⁄2 games.[5]

Milwaukee came in next and Bunning was the starter in game one. Joe Torre drove in three runs with two triples due to misplays in the outfield in a 5–3 loss, the fourth in a row. Then Chris Short pitched on two days' rest in the next game, the Phillies lost, and the losing streak was at five, with the lead now down to a game-and-a-half. The Braves then beat the Phillies, 6–4 (Art Mahaffey starting for the Phillies), and the lead dropped to a half-game over the Reds. Bunning then came in for game four, also pitching on two days' rest, and lasted three innings in a 14–8 loss. With the fourth loss against the Braves and the 7th loss in a row, the Phillies dropped to second and the Reds, having swept a doubleheader, took first place by 1 game. The Cardinals were right behind, a game-and-a-half out of first place. The Phillies had lost every game of their last homestand of the season.[5]

The crucial series came when the now second-place Phillies traveled to St. Louis to play the Cardinals after their losing home stand. They dropped the first game of the series to Bob Gibson by a 5–1 score, their eighth loss in a row, dropping them to third place. The Cardinals would sweep the three-game set and assume first place for good.[16][17][18]

The losing streak ended in Cincinnati during the last two games of the season with wins of 4–3 and 10–0 over the Reds. However, there were no playoffs in 1964 and the second-place Phillies ended the season at 92–70, tied with the Reds. It was the best season by the Phillies since the 1950 pennant-winning Whiz Kids, but there was no joy in the City of Brotherly Love. The "Phold", as the ten-game loss streak is known, is one of the most notable collapses in sports history.

 

[Cedrique]

Brew Crew comes threw again, magic number 7

 

[Cedrique]

Magic Number 1

 

[TheSnowdog]

Phillies magic number: 162