1989 National League Championship Series

Game 1

Wednesday, October 4, 1989 at Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...

in Chicago, Illinois
The Giants entered the series as slight favorites due to the MVP

MLB Most Valuable Player Award

The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...

season of Kevin Mitchell, the solid play of Will Clark

Will Clark

William Nuschler Clark, Jr. is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the San Francisco Giants from to .Will was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill"...

, and the best ERA in baseball by pitcher Scott Garrelts

Scott Garrelts

Scott William Garrelts , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants from 1982 to 1991...

. The Cubs had won their second NL East title in six seasons behind the excellent rookie performances of Jerome Walton

Jerome Walton

Jerome O'Terrell Walton is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs , California Angels , Cincinnati Reds , Atlanta Braves , Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays...

and Dwight Smith, who finished one-two in the 1989 NL Rookie of the Year balloting. The Cubs also had three pitchers with sixteen or more victories, Rick Sutcliffe, Mike Bielecki

Mike Bielecki

Michael Joseph Bielecki was a professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1984–1997.-Pittsburgh Pirates:...

, and Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux

Gregory Alan Maddux , nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "The Professor", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years , a feat matched only by Randy Johnson...

, coming off his third full season in the majors. The opener pitted Maddux against Garrelts.

By the time the Cubs came to bat, the Giants led, 3–0. Brett Butler led off with a single and moved to third on Rick Wrona's passed ball. Clark drove in his first run of the series with a double. Clark moved to third on Mitchell's single and scored along with Mitchell on Matt Williams' double. Maddux had given up three runs and recorded only one out, but he retired Terry Kennedy

Terry Kennedy

Terrence Edward Kennedy is a former All-Star Major League Baseball catcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals , San Diego Padres , Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants . Kennedy batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He is the son of former major league player and manager Bob Kennedy...

and Pat Sheridan to end the first. The Cubs came right back in the bottom of the first. Ryne Sandberg

Ryne Sandberg

Ryne Dee Sandberg , nicknamed "Ryno" is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During a 16-year baseball career, he played from 1981–1994 and 1996–97, spending nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best...

doubled and Mark Grace drilled a two-out, two-run homer to cut the Giants lead to 3–2. Clark got a run back when he homered in the third, but Sandberg's solo homer cut the Giants lead back to one. With the score 4–3, the Giants came to bat against Maddux in the fourth.

Pat Sheridan

Pat Sheridan

Patrick Arthur Sheridan is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder from 1981, 1983–1989, and 1991....

and José Uribe

Jose Uribe

José Altagracia González Uribe was a Dominican Major League Baseball shortstop from until . Most of his ten-year career was spent with the San Francisco Giants...

singled, and Uribe's steal put runners at second and third. Garrelts struck out, and the Cubs walked Butler intentionally hoping for a double play. Robby Thompson

Robby Thompson

Robert Randall "Robby" Thompson is an American professional baseball coach and former college and professional player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as the second baseman for the San Francisco Giants from to . Thompson is the current bench coach for the Seattle Mariners...

popped to shortstop, and the infield fly rule

Infield Fly Rule

The infield fly rule is a baseball rule that is intended to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping pop-ups in order to turn double plays . Without this rule, a defense could easily turn a pop-up into a double play when there are runners at first and second base...

resulted in an automatic out. Bases loaded and two out with Clark batting. Having already driven in two runs, Clark tied the NLCS record for RBIs for an entire series in less than four innings when he drilled a grand slam to right that finished Maddux and the Cubs. The 8–3 lead ended in an 11–3 Giants victory when Mitchell nailed a three-run homer to close the scoring in the eighth. The Giants had drawn first blood and taken back home-field advantage.

Game 2

Thursday, October 5, 1989 at Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field

in Chicago, Illinois
Giving the Giants a dose of their own Game 1 medicine, the Cubs ended Game 2 early with a six-run first inning, five of the runs coming against Giants starter and loser Rick Reuschel

Rick Reuschel

Rickey Eugene Reuschel is a former professional baseball pitcher from the early 1970s into the early 1990s. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because of his portly physique...

. After Mike Bielecki

Mike Bielecki

Michael Joseph Bielecki was a professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1984–1997.-Pittsburgh Pirates:...

picked Butler off first and retired the side, the Cubs went to work. Jerome Walton

Jerome Walton

singled and scored on Ryne Sandberg

Ryne Sandberg

's triple. After Dwight Smith lined out to first, Mark Grace doubled Sandberg home. Reuschel struck out Andre Dawson

Andre Dawson

Andre Nolan Dawson , nicknamed "The Hawk", is an American former center fielder and right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different teams, spending most of his career with the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs .An 8-time National League All-Star, he was named the...

, but Luis Salazar

Luis Salazar

Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia is a former third baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball, a right-handed batter who played from 1980 to 1992....

singled to score Grace and moved to second on a single by Shawon Dunston

Shawon Dunston

Shawon Donnell Dunston is a former shortstop and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball. He resides in Fremont, CA. He was the first overall pick in the 1982 MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs, and played for the Cubs , San Francisco Giants , Pittsburgh Pirates , Cleveland Indians , St...

. The Giants walked Joe Girardi

Joe Girardi

Joseph Elliott Girardi is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager of the New York Yankees. During a 15-year playing career, he played from 1989–2003 for the Chicago Cubs, the Colorado Rockies, the New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals...

to get to the pitcher's spot, and Bielecki responded with a single that scored Salazar and Dunston to make it 5–0. Walton again singled, scoring Girardi, and when Kelly Downs

Kelly Downs

Kelly Robert Downs is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues for the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics from 1986-1993...

retired Sandberg on a pop-up, the Cubs went back into the field with a 6–0 lead.

The game was essentially over after the first inning. The Giants cut the lead to 6–2 in the fourth when Will Clark

Will Clark

William Nuschler Clark, Jr. is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the San Francisco Giants from to .Will was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill"...

singled and Kevin Mitchell homered for the second time in the series. But the Cubs got those runs plus another back in the sixth when Grace doubled with the bases loaded, scoring all three runners and giving the Cubs a 9–2 lead. The Giants got three cosmetic runs when Williams homered in the eighth and Robby Thompson homered in the ninth. But the Cubs' early scoring made it one game apiece as the series headed to San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

for Game 3.

Game 3

Saturday, October 7, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

Tied at one apiece, the series converged on Candlestick Park for Game 3. The pitching match-up featured sixteen-game winner Rick Sutcliffe against Mike LaCoss

Mike LaCoss

Michael James LaCoss , is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.-Baseball career:LaCoss was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round of the 1974 amateur draft. He played for the Cincinnati Reds , Houston Astros , Kansas City Royals , and San Francisco Giants...

. Neither pitcher would be involved in the decision.

Following the trend of the first two games—five runs by the two teams combined in the first inning of Game 1 and six in the first inning of Game 2—the Cubs roared out of the gate with two first-inning runs courtesy of back-to-back singles by Walton and Smith, a wild pitch by LaCoss that put them on second and third, and a single by Andre Dawson

Andre Dawson

that scored both and put the Cubs in the lead, 2–0. The Giants answered with three in their half of the first. Butler and Thompson singled, and Will Clark

Will Clark

William Nuschler Clark, Jr. is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the San Francisco Giants from to .Will was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill"...

's fielder's choice ground out moved the runners to second and third. Kevin Mitchell was given an intentional pass, and Matt Williams grounded out to the pitcher to score Butler. Two more walks gave the Giants a second run when Thompson scored, and Jose Uribe's infield single scored Mitchell. The Giants now led, 3–2, but Sutcliffe avoided further damage by getting LaCoss to pop up.

The Cubs tied it in the fourth, but they settled for one run with a chance to open up the game. They loaded the bases against LaCoss with nobody out, and Roger Craig

Roger Craig (baseball)

Roger Craig may refer to:*Roger Craig , former NFL running back*Roger Craig , former pitcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball...

summoned reliever Jeff Brantley. Brantley got Sutcliffe to hit into a double play, including a force on Salazar at the plate. With runners at second and third and two out, the Giants appeared they were going to escape, but a wild pitch from Brantley scored Dunston and tied the game. Walton flied out to end the inning.

The Cubs regained the lead in the seventh when Sutcliffe doubled and went to third on Walton's bunt. Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux

was sent in to pinch-run for Sutcliffe, and he scored on Ryne Sandberg

Ryne Sandberg

's fly to center. Dwight Smith popped out, but the Cubs led, 4–3.

The Giants, however, came back to put the game away in the bottom of the seventh. Les Lancaster

Les Lancaster

Lester Lancaster , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1987–1993 and is currently the manager of the Sioux City Explorers....

took the mound to face the Giants. He was the winning pitcher in Game 2, but he gave up a home run to Robby Thompson

Robby Thompson

. Lancaster inherited Brett Butler at first and his first hitter was Thompson. Moments later, Thompson had his second home run in his last two at-bats against Lancaster, and the Giants had a 5–4 lead they held the rest of the way. Don Robinson got the win in relief and Steve Bedrosian

Steve Bedrosian

Stephen Wayne Bedrosian, is an American former baseball player. Nicknamed "Bedrock", he played from 1981 to 1995 with the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins...

got the save. Lancaster got the loss, and the Giants had a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

Sunday, October 8, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

In keeping with the first three games, the scoring began early in Game 4 as the Cubs sought to tie the series and the Giants hoped to take a 3–1 lead in the series. The pitching match-up featured a rematch of first-game pitchers Scott Garrelts and Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux

. Garrelts had triumphed in round one, but neither pitcher would be involved in the decision in the rematch.

The Cubs opened the first playing small ball. A double by Sandberg followed by a short single by Smith and a line out to right by Mark Grace scored Sandberg to give the Cubs a 1–0 lead. The Giants mimicked the Cubs in the bottom of the first when Thompson walked, went to third on a Clark single, and scored on a Kevin Mitchell ground out. Luis Salazar

Luis Salazar

Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia is a former third baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball, a right-handed batter who played from 1980 to 1992....

then stunned the Giants faithful with a homer to give the Cubs a 2–1 lead in the second. But a bases-loaded single by Matt Williams in the bottom of the third scored two runs and put the Giants back in front. José Uribe

Jose Uribe

José Altagracia González Uribe was a Dominican Major League Baseball shortstop from until . Most of his ten-year career was spent with the San Francisco Giants...

doubled in the fourth. Maddux seemingly had him picked off, but a throwing error put Uribe at third, and he scored on Maddux's wild pitch to make it 4–2 Giants. In the top of the fifth, Walton singled and scored on Grace's triple. Grace then scored on Dawson's double and the score was tied at four. But in the bottom of the fifth, Clark doubled and Matt Williams (after fouling off seven pitches in a twelve-pitch at-bat) hit his second homer of the series to give the Giants a 6–4 lead that was the final score.

The Giants' win gave them a three games to one edge and a chance to finish the series the next day at home. Kelly Downs

Kelly Downs

Kelly Robert Downs is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues for the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics from 1986-1993...

was the winning pitcher, and Steve Wilson

Steve Wilson (baseball)

Stephen Douglas Wilson is a retired Canadian Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher...

was the loser. Steve Bedrosian

Steve Bedrosian

got his second save in as many days.

Game 5

Monday, October 9, 1989 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

The Giants made it to their first World Series

1989 World Series

†: Game 3 was originally slated for October 17 at 5:35 pm; however, it was postponed when an earthquake occurred at 5:04 pm.-Game 1:Saturday, October 14, 1989 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California...

since 1962

1962 World Series

The 1962 World Series matched the defending American League and World Series champions New York Yankees against the National League champion San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since 1954 and first since moving from New York in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a...

with a 3–2 win over the Cubs to win the 1989 National League pennant, four games to one. The final game pitted Mike Bielecki

Mike Bielecki

Michael Joseph Bielecki was a professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1984–1997.-Pittsburgh Pirates:...

against a well-rested (due to his quick exit from Game 2) Rick Reuschel

Rick Reuschel

Rickey Eugene Reuschel is a former professional baseball pitcher from the early 1970s into the early 1990s. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because of his portly physique...

. Reuschel made amends for his poor start in Game 2 by giving up only one run over eight innings. The one run Reuschel gave up was an unearned run the Cubs scored when Walton reached on an error by Mitchell and then scored on Sandberg's double. The Cubs held the 1–0 lead until the seventh inning when Will Clark

Will Clark

William Nuschler Clark, Jr. is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the San Francisco Giants from to .Will was known by the nickname of "Will the Thrill"...

tripled and scored on Mitchell's sacrifice fly.

With two outs in the eighth, the Cubs appeared ready to perhaps send the series back to Chicago. But Candy Maldonado

Candy Maldonado

Candido Maldonado Guadarrama is a former Major League Baseball outfielder from to for the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. Chris Berman, a fellow ESPN analyst, called him the "Candyman"...

pinch-hit for Reuschel and walked. Bielcki then proceeded to load the bases by walking both Butler and Thompson. Don Zimmer

Don Zimmer

Donald William "Popeye" Zimmer is a former infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball, currently serving as a senior advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball organization...

sent for Mitch Williams to end the jam, but Clark drove home the pennant winning runs with a single to center that gave the Giants a 3–1 lead. Les Lancaster

Les Lancaster

Lester Lancaster , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1987–1993 and is currently the manager of the Sioux City Explorers....

got Matt Williams out to end the inning but the Cubs were finished.

They did rally, however, in the ninth with three straight singles that made it 3–2. But Sandberg grounded out and the Giants were in their first World Series

1989 World Series

since 1962

1962 World Series

. Clark's stellar performance earned him Most Valuable Player

Most Valuable Player

In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...

honors for the Giants. Clark hit .650 with eight RBIs.

Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky

Dave Dravecky

David Francis Dravecky is a Christian motivational speaker, author, and former Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants...

, who would ultimately have his pitching arm amputated due to cancer, broke his arm during the Giants' on-field celebration following Game 5.

Composite box

1989 NLCS (4–1): San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

over Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

Television coverage

NBC play-by-play man Vin Scully

Vin Scully

Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...

was unable to call Game 2 (on Wednesday, October 4) because he had come down with laryngitis

Laryngitis

Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds . Dysphonia is the medical term for a vocal disorder, of which laryngitis is one cause....

. Thus, number two play-by-play man, Bob Costas

Bob Costas

Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...

filled-in for him. Interestingly, around the same time, Costas was assigned to call the American League Championship Series

1989 American League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 3, 1989 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CaliforniaThe A's went off as heavy favorites largely due to their status as defending American League champions. The Blue Jays had been in second place much of the year before catching and passing the Baltimore Orioles...

between Oakland

1989 Oakland Athletics season

The Oakland Athletics season saw the A's finish in first place in the American League West division, with a record of 99 wins and 63 losses, seven games in front of the Kansas City Royals. It was their second consecutive AL West title, as well as the second straight year in which they finished...

and Toronto

1989 Toronto Blue Jays season

The Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses...

. Game 2 of the NLCS occurred on Thursday, October 5, which was an off day for the ALCS. NBC then decided to fly Costas from Toronto to Chicago to substitute for Scully on Thursday night. Afterwards, Costas flew back to Toronto, where he resumed work on the ALCS the next night.

Game 5 of the 1989 NLCS (October 9, 1989) was the last Major League Baseball game that NBC, who had broadcast baseball games in some shape or form since , would televise for five years. NBC would next televise a Major League Baseball game on July 12, 1994 (the All-Star Game

1994 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The 1994 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 65th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball...

from Pittsburgh

Three Rivers Stadium

Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...

External links

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