After nearly not making the postseason party at all, the Cincinnatis took on the team that beat them in the Cup Final just two years earlier, and got their revenge by beat Fort Wayne in two straight. Bob Black tossed a four-hitter in the Reds' 6-1 win in Game 1, and Dan Brouthers had three hits, including a double and a homer, in a 11-3 victory. In the other quarterfinal, the Nationals' Bob Ehret tossed a seven-hit shutout at Altoona in Game 1, but Mountain City solved Washington pitching in the next two games -- and how! In the second game, Altoona had a pair of six-run frames in a 14-2 victory, then mashed out a dozen hits in Game 3, giving Mountain City a 12-3 and a spot in the semifinal.
In the semifinal, Red Stockings batters were firing on all cylinders. In the opener, pitcher Bob Black was placed on both the mound and the clean-up spot, and although Altoona touched him for seven runs on ten hits, he made up for it with a home run and three RBI (his battery-mate Jim O'Rourke drove in four) as the Reds won, 14-10. In Game 2, the Red Stox spotted Altoona a pair of runs before roaring back with three in the third and four more in the fifth. Mountain City scored three in the ninth to cut the deficit to 8-6, but Marty Sullivan flew out to right, leaving the bases loaded
Game 3 in Altoona, Black made things bright for the Reds, allowing only one earned run in a 9-3 victory, sending the Red Stockings to their tenth Centennial Cup Final.
