The fastball was as decisively final as an exclamation point.
Paul Derringer, who’d allowed 14 hits and just one earned run in the previous eight innings, struck out St. Louis Cardinals slugger Johnny Mize with what he said was the hardest fastball he’d ever thrown, clinching the Cincinnati Reds’ first National League pennant since 1919.
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First baseman Frank McCormick had two hits and drove in a run, center fielder Harry Craft homered and Derringer overcame two errors by shortstop Billy Myers to throw a complete game and earn his 25th win as Cincinnati beat the Cardinals, 5-3, before 17,421 fans at Crosley Field on Sept.