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Philadelphia was the defending National League Championship Series winner, but they were the underdog in 1895 to 101-win Cincinnati. The Reds were making their second trip, having lost to Buffalo in 1893. They were only separated by six wins in the regular season, but Cincinnati dominated the season series 5-1 over the Phillies.

Cincinnati outlasted Philadelphia in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel to start the series. Likely MVP Kip Selbach had the lone RBI on a single in the third inning. Frank Knauss gave up four hits over seven innings with Bill Hawke getting the save after him. The losing pitcher Jack Jones gave up the lone run in six innings.



Game two was a very different affair with the Phillies taking a 12-9 road win to even the series. The Reds were up 5-1 after the third inning, but it was tied 8-8 after the sixth. Philadelphia pulled away with a four-run eighth inning. Joe Kelley had three hits and two runs, Ed Herr had three runs and two hits, and Fred Pfeffer had two hits and three RBI. Jim Fogarty led Cincinnati with four hits, three runs, and two RBI.



Cincinnati took a 5-4 road win in game three to reclaim the series advantage. The big go-ahead swing was a two-run Frank Knauss homer in the eighth.



Philadelphia evened the series up on a 9-3 home win in game four. Charlie Duffee was 4-5 from the leadoff spot with a homer and three runs. Gus Krock tossed a complete game, giving up five hits, three runs, and two walks with three strikeouts.



The Phillies rolled 7-1 in game five, giving them the 3-2 series lead with the NLCS concluding in Cincinnati. Four pitchers scattered seven hits with one run allowed for Philadelphia as starter Jack Jones got hurt in the sixth inning. The Phillies bats were able to get to Reds ace Frank Knauss with Joe Kelley getting a two run homer. He scored thrice in the game having also drawn two walks.



Cincinnati won 6-1 in game six, forcing a game seven for the third time in NLCS history and the first time since 1891. The Reds lost starting pitcher Amos Rusie to injury in the first inning, but three relievers combined to give up only four hits. John Ryan, who tossed only 36 innings in the regular season, pitched 4.1 innings clean. Cincy’s bats meanwhile got to Phillies ace Silver King.



Game seven was a beautiful clear 61 degree Tuesday afternoon in Cincinnati. They traded runs early on with Philadelphia up 3-2 after the seventh inning. The Phillies then had a three-run eighth inning, including a two RBI double by Bug Holliday. Cincinnati got three hits and two runs back in the bottom of the ninth, but left two stranded as the Phillies held on for the 6-4 road win, repeating as NL champs.



Clark Griffith was the winning pitcher, giving up two runs over eight innings with five hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Holliday was the series MVP, going 10-30 with two homers and ten RBI. He will play in his third consecutive World Series, having won in 1893 with Baltimore before signing with the Phillies in 1894.