'64 Sox "Peter out" '63 Red birds in 5 to seal 1st Final 4 Slot

 

Game 1 - Comiskey
Gibson vs Pizarro
White Sox 3, Cardinals 0

News alert:  The great Bob Gibson (6IP / 3ER) was bested by unheralded Juan Pizarro (9IP / 0ER).  Pizarro fanned 7 and allowed just 4 hits in this nifty complete game shutout.  The Pale hose scored all their runs in the bottom of the 3rd.  Don Buford led off the inning with a single, then moved to second on a rare Curt Flood error.  Tommy McCraw singled him home, then scored himself on a Floyd Robinson two bagger.  Robinson himself scored on a Stephens squeeze bunt.  Those 3 runs looked like 30 with Pizarro on his A game.
White Sox lead series 1-0

Game 2
Broglio vs Peters
White Sox 5, Cardinals 3

Scoring 5 runs on 4 hits seems to be the White Sox way.  Pete Ward was responsible for 3 of those 4 hits.  Chicago's 3rd baseman scored 2 runs as well to supplement Gary Peters fine (7 2/3 IP / 2 ER) outing.  Chicago reliever Eddie Fisher had a bit of a hiccup finishing off the 8th for Peters, but knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm closed out the game with a perfect 9th to put the Chisox in a great position to sweep the series.
White Sox lead series 2-0

Game 3 - Sportsman's
Horlen vs C.Simmons
Cardinals 2, White Sox 1

Manager Holm handed the ball to Joel Horlen to close out the series.  Horlen (9IP / 1R) didn't disappoint, but his efforts were all for naught because after 9 innings of play the score was knotted at 1 apiece.  On the other side we have Curt Simmons, who looked like an iron man matching Horlen pitch for pitch and even going into the 10th.  Horlen ceded to Eddie Fisher, who had issues in game 2.  Leading off the home half of the tenth Kenny Boyer became a 1 pitch fate di acompli for Fisher by launching a 372 foot shot deep into the St. Louis night to end the game in grand style.
White Sox lead series 2-1

Game 4
Pizarro vs Sadecki
Cardinals 8, White Sox 7

Chisox went back to game 1 star Pizarro on short rest, and watched their hero take it on the

chin to the tune of 4 runs in a bit more than 4 innings of work, before being removed.  Pizarro's only solace was the fact that his opposing number (Ray Sadecki) was far worse.  St. Louis' lefty gave up 7 runs in 3 innings to the light hitting Pale Hose, before being chased from the hill.  Up 7-0 after 4 1/2 innings of play the Pale Hose looked to be in a cakewalk and a series clincher.  A 6 run bottom of the 5th, which chased Pizarro, put the Redbirds right back in the game.  Having stolen all the momentum back the Cards were now about to be the recipient of all the right bounces.  After Javier struck out to lead off the bottom of the 6th George Altman single and stole second.  He would eventually wind up on 3rd as Ron Hansen made an error on on the next batter's grounder.  That made it easy for Altman to score on Flood's ground out to tie the game.  In the bottom of the 8th the Redbirds manufactured the go ahead run in similar fashion with Javier scoring on James'sac fly to left.  The quorum of Ron Taylor, Lou Burdette, Ray Washburn and Bobby Shantz combined to pitch a scoreless final 6 innings.  Washburn, who threw 2 perfect frames got the win and Shantz would get the save.  The series would now head back to Chicago for a decisive game 5.
Series tied 2-2Game 5 - Comiskey
Gibson vs Peters
White Sox 5, Cardinals 0

The Cards now had all the momentum and what looked like money in the bank with Bob Gibson on the mound.  Unfortunately for St. Louis, this is 1963 and Gibby was one year shy of creating his aura and mystique.  At this point in his career he was a mean hard throwing righting, who tended to be wild in the strike zone.  The young / bad Gibby would make a brief 3 inning (3 ER) appearance today, before being lifted in the 4th for Ernie Broglio.  Conversely the Chisox sat back and watched Gary Peters cruise to an easy peasy 1 hit shutout.  Bill White's 2 out single in the 4th would turn out to be St. Louis' only hit of the day.  Peters dominated with his bat two by knocking in a run in the 2nd with an RBI double and with an RBI single in the 6th.  Chicago needed all 5 games for the first time in the tournament to progress to the Final 4 as they await the winner of the '65 Giants vs '73 Dodgers series.
White Sox win series 3-2