NL Race
April
Cubs record: 6-3
Place: Third, 0.5 games behind the Phillies and 3.5 behind the Giants.
The Cubs were jolted, just before the start of the season, by news that pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander had been drafted into the army. Alexander was able to pitch Opening Day, but lost, 4-2 to the Cardinals on a rainy day in St. Louis. He did win two starts before heading to training at 
John McGraw’s Giants got off to an 18-1 start, but a sweep of a key series in Chicago in late May gave the Cubs enough momentum to win the N.L. (Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.) Camp Funston on April 30. Rain would continue to be an issue for the Cubs throughout April, keeping the team from building momentum—they played just nine games in 15 days. But there was some good news. Rookie shortstop Charley Hollocher, who was being heavily counted on by the team, started off brilliantly, hitting over .300 in the first month and showing fine glovework in the field. The Cubs’ big problem, though, was the Giants, who opened the season on a nine-game winning streak and would win 18 of their first 19 games, threatening to run away with the pennant by the midway point.
May
Cubs record: 17-9 | Overall: 23-12
Place: Second, 1.0 behind the Giants.
The Giants were 18-1 when they left New York for a long road trip to the West, where things started to go awry. They lost two of three to Pittsburgh, then four of five to Cincinnati before bouncing back with a sweep of St. Louis. The Cubs, though, were able to make up precious little ground, and still trailed the Giants by 4.0 games when New York came rolling into Weeghman Park for a late-May showdown between the N.L.’s top two teams. First, though, the war department issued an edict declaring that all men of draft age must either work in an occupation related to the war effort or be drafted into the army—a decision that could wipe out the rosters of baseball teams, which were almost exclusively made up of players within draft age. Still, though, the final decision on baseball’s status in war would not be made until July and the games went on. This Giants-Cubs matchup, which drew a packed house all weekend to Weeghman Park, harkened back to the classic 1908 pennant race between the teams. It would prove to be a turning point in the N.L. race. The Cubs battered Giants pitching, scoring 19 runs in a three-game sweep, moving them just one game back in the standings and legitimizing the North Siders as a genuine pennant threat.
June
Cubs record: 19-6 | Overall: 42-18
Place: First, 1.5 ahead of the Giants.
The Cubs headed to the East on a long, hot train trip, but the travel did not affect their winning ways. They had hot hitters. As of June 6, first baseman Fred Merkle was batting .374, second-best in the league, and three other Cubs—Hollocher and outfielders Les Mann and Dode Paskert—were hitting over .320. The Cubs opened by sweeping Boston in four games, taking over first place in the process. There was some added good news. Starter Phil Douglas was on the mend from his February appendectomy and tossed four innings of no-hit ball in an exhibition, which would solidify Chicago’s already robust rotation. Ace Hippo Vaughn had filled in nicely for Alexander, starting 10-3 with a league-best 71 strikeouts. Lefty Tyler was 8-3 by mid-June, and Claude Hendrix was 7-1. Douglas would complete the rotation. Chicago went on to sweep three more from the Phillies, outscoring Pat Moran’s outfit, 15-1—including a shutout win for Douglas. That gave the Cubs a 1.5-game lead over New York when they traveled to the Polo Grounds for a four-game series. The Cubs and Giants split, and, after taking two of three from Brooklyn, the Cubs closed the trip with a split in Pittsburgh. They returned home ahead in the pennant race by 1.5 games and got rolling again with a four-game sweep over the Cardinals at Weeghman Park. By the end of the month, the Cubs were on a winning streak and holding fast to a lead slim lead over the Giants.
July
Cubs record: 18-14 | Overall: 60-32
Place: First, 3.5 ahead of the Giants.
The Cubs started July with a 13-5 stretch that advanced their lead over the Giants to a whopping 7.5 games. But the team had been playing above its talent, and that began to show in the second half of the month. On July 16, the Cubs had a disastrous doubleheader against Philadelphia, blowing a 5-1 lead in the first game (to lose 7-5) and a 3-2 lead in the second (to lose 4-3). The next day, Tyler took the mound against the Phillies and stayed there for hours—he pitched all 21 innings of a 2-1 win. That was followed by a 16-inning loss to Brooklyn in which Vaughn also went the distance. In all, the Cubs played 55 innings in a three-day stretch, and, the Tribune noted that the Cubs were, “worn and weary from lack of sleep between battles.” They would lose three more to Brooklyn, and the Giants began chipping away at the Cub lead. Finally, there was some rest when the war department ruled baseball a nonessential occupation. Some thought the game would shut down immediately. Catcher Bill Killefer, in fact, packed up and went fishing in Michigan. Tyler went back to his Massachusetts farm. But, on appeal, baseball was granted a reprieve until September 1, and on July 24, the Cubs opened a road trip in the East.
August
Cubs record: 22-12 | Overall: 82-44
Place: First, 10.0 games ahead of the Giants.
The Cubs’ lead was down to just 3.5 games when the team took the field against the Giants on a brutally hot weekend at the Polo Grounds. A one-hitter from Vaughn in a 5-0 win in the opener pushed the lead to 4.5 games. Tyler won easily in the second game, and the teams split a Saturday doubleheader. In the finale on Monday, temperatures hit 91 with intense humidity. Manager Fred Mitchell, knowing that Giants starter Fred Toney struggled at fielding bunts, had his hitter lay down bunt after bunt in the first few innings. They didn’t score, but they wore Toney down. The Cubs exploded for five runs in the eighth and won, 5-3, giving them an insurmountable 6.5-game lead. The pitching was crucial to the Cubs’ success, but Hollocher, too, was a big factor. He built up a 20-game hitting streak in August, and carried the worn-out defense. Because the game was to be shut down early, teams scheduled a slew of doubleheaders to boost gate receipts. From August 10-29, the Cubs played eight doubleheaders, and most of the veterans required frequent rest. Hollocher, though, played every game and by August 25, the Cubs had secured the N.L. pennant.
September
Cubs record: 2-1 | Overall: 84-45
Place: First, 10.5 games ahead of the Giants.
The Cubs, with the pennant secured, used a game against the Pirates to tune up their pitching staff, sending out Vaughn for four innings and Tyler for five in a 4-0 win. The Cubs then closed on September 2 with a doubleheader in Pittsburgh, but neither Tyler nor Vaughn made the trip. With three Red Sox players—pitchers Joe Bush and Carly Mays, along with catcher Sam Agnew—scouting, the Cubs won the opener behind late pickup Speed Martin, and lost the second in a rough outing for Hendrix. Then it was back to Chicago to prepare for the World Series.
