Chicago Cubs (92-62) v Philadelphia Athletics (92-62)
Back to best-of-seven, Cubs with the home-field advantage.
Huge news on the eve of Game 1, as Nap Lajoie is ruled out of the Series with a torn hip flexor tendon he suffered in the very last game of the regular season. Baseball, as I’ve said before and will undoubtedly say many times more, is a cruel, cruel mistress.
CHICAGO CUBS S+ PAGE
PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS S+ PAGE
Game 1 in Chicago, October 13th 1904
Rube Waddell (30-15, 1.83) v Eddie Plank (23-15, 2.79)
A run-scoring double in the 4th by Cy Seymour is all the help Waddell gets, and all he needs, as he carries over his regular season form into the Series with a five-hit shutout win.
Chicago 1, Philadelphia 0
Game 2 in Chicago, October 14th 1904
Dummy Taylor (24-15, 1.94) v Charles Bender (23-19, 2.09)
Chicago leads series 1-0
The absence of their chief offensive weapon leaves the A’s all but impotent as they muster just two hits against Dummy Taylor and fall behind 2-0. Taylor helps his own cause with a bases-loaded walk in the 3rd to open the scoring and a solo shot by Joe Tinker in the next doubles the hosts’ lead. The A’s finally get their first run of the series in the 7th thanks to a passed ball, but the Cubs grab back the vital insurance run in the 8th on a Duff Cooley single and Taylor closes it out with a 1-2-3 9th.
Chicago 3, Philadelphia 1
Game 3 in Philadelphia, October 16th 1904
Willie Sudhoff (25-11, 1.97) v Mordecai Brown (23-13, 2.42)
Chicago leads series 2-0
Philadelphia’s offence finally comes to life with 11 hits, scoring all of their runs in the 5th, and Willie Sudhoff’s playoff experience plays its part as the A’s get their first win. Mordecai Brown puts the Cubs ahead with an RBI double in the top 5th, but the A’s hit back with interest in the home half, scoring 4 on 5 hits to take control. Sudhoff has his moments, giving up a run in the 7th on back-to-back doubles by Hartsel and Seymour, but regathers and ends up pitching all 9.
Philadelphia 4, Chicago 1
Game 4 in Philadelphia, October 17th 1904
Eddie Plank (0-1, 1.12) v Rube Waddell (1-0, 0.00)
Chicago leads series 2-1
More runs than in Game 1 but, ultimately, the same result as Chicago takes a stranglehold on the series with a gripping win. The two swap a run apiece in the 2nd and are tied 2-2 after 4, but a solo shot in the 6th by Chicago RF Danny Green proves the decisive blow, with Waddell using all of his guile and power to pitch his way out of a couple of jams and get them home.
Chicago 3, Philadelphia 2
Game 5 in Philadelphia, October 18th 1904
Charles Bender (0-1, 3.38) v Dummy Taylor (1-0, 0.00)
Chicago leads series 3-1
As we saw last year, it ain’t over til it’s over, but I’d be shocked if the A’s can make it all the way back from here.
As it turns out, they don’t even make it back to Chicago, as the Cubs wrap it up with a 5-2 win that is tighter than it might look at first glance. The game is tied 2-2 again into the latter stages after the A’s fight back from 2-0 down with runs in both the 5th and 6th. But once more, Chicago has all the answers as a rampaging Cy Seymour clears the bases with a double in the 7th and that’s all she wrote. A brave effort from the A’s without Lajoie but in the end the Cubs are just too good.
Chicago 5, Philadelphia 2
CHICAGO WINS SERIES 4-1
SERIES MVP: Rube Waddell (Chicago)
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