September 1, 1908: Cubs collapse in the 9th inning, have their winning streak snapped, and tumble o

Well that was fast. Just yesterday the Cubs were riding high, tied for first place and on a nine game winning streak. Today, they fall apart in the 9th inning, lose the game, and tumble all the way to THIRD place in the blink of an eye. Yikes!

Unfortunately for the Cubs, in addition to losing to the last place Cardinals, the Giants and Pirates both swept doubleheaders on the day, allowing them both to pick up a game and a half on Chicago and sending them from first place to third in a matter of minutes.

It looked like the Cubs were well on their way to their 10th win in a row, leading the Cardinals 4-0 in the 7th and Big Ed Reulbach cruising on the mound. St. Louis scratched out a run in the 8th to make it 4-1, but there was still very little concern about the fate of this game. Then came the 9th.

But things were going so well!

The Cardinals led off the inning with three straight hits from Ed Konetchy, Joe Delahanty, and Bobby Byrne to make it 4-2. Add in a sac bunt, a passed pall, and a Wilbur Murdock single and all of a sudden the game was all tied up 4-4.

On to the 10th where the Cardinals continued to stay hot on offense as Red Murray ripped a one out triple, and was then plated by a liner to center from left fielder Joe Delahanty. The stunned Cubs went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 10th, and just like that they were a third place team.

I crushed your soul today

Reulbach had pitched well for the Cubs seven innings, scattering just four hits, but the wheels came off in the 8th and Big Ed gave up 8 more hits and four runs in the next three innings for the loss. Add in the double victories for both the Giants and Pirates and you pretty much have a disaster of a day.

In summary, the Cubs are now 71-48 on the year and sit in third place a game and a half behind the Giants. The Cubs look to rebound tomorrow, as game three of five with the Cardinals goes down.