The first stop on the Phillies eight-game road trip was Cincinnati.

The Reds standouts included Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson, power-hitting Deron Johnson, and 1963 Rookie of the Year Pete Rose.

The Reds played their home games at Crosley Field.

Originally called Redland Field, the home of the Reds opened in 1912. When Cincinnati businessman Powell Crosley, Jr. bought the Reds in 1934, the name of the ballpark was changed to Crosley Field.

It was an interesting park, and I was there once to see it in person. It was during the summer of 1959. I was in high school and spending a week at the University of Cincinnati for some sort of science project.

The park’s trademark was a terrace that ran along the leftfield wall roughly from the leftfield line to dead center. The slope of the terrace was 15 degrees and its purpose was to make up the difference between the playing field and street-level outside the wall.

Players used it as a warning track.

It was Jim O’Toole (2-0) for the Reds versus Art Mahaffey (0-0).

Mahaffey was a 26-year-old right-hander in his fifth year with the Phillies. He was signed by the Phillies right out of Western Hills High School in Cincinnati in 1956 and spent four years working his way through the Phillies chain.

He went 19-14 in 1962 with the big club before slumping to 7-10 in 1963. The Phillies were hoping to a return to his 1962 form.

• In the Reds third, Pete Rose led off with a double and scored two outs later when Frank Robinson doubled to put the Reds on the scoreboard 1-0. Gordy Coleman followed with a double to make it 2-0.

• The Phillies cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the fourth on a single, two walks, and a sacrifice fly by Gus Triandos.

• Richie Allen tied the game 2-2 in the sixth with a leadoff home run ─ his fifth of the season.

• The Phils made it 4-2 in the seventh when Art Mahaffey doubled and scored on a Johnny Callison single, and Callison scored on Richie Allen’s triple.

Allen went 4-for-5 on the day to boost his average to .442.

Chris Short (0-0) relieved Mahaffey in the eighth and struck out five of the six hitters he faced in picking up his first save.

Art Mahaffey (1-0) picked up the win and Jim O’Toole (2-1) took his first loss.

The victory made it eight wins in the first ten games for the Phillies.

(Excerpted and condensed from 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant by Barry Bowe.)