1995 National League Division Series

Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Game 1, October 3

Coors Field, located in Denver, Colorado, is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. It is named for the Coors Brewing Company of Golden, Colorado, which purchased the naming rights to the park prior to its completion in 1995...

in Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

Game 1 was a match-up between aces: 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...

for the Atlanta Braves and Kevin Ritz

Kevin Ritz

Kevin D. Ritz is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Ritz grew up in Bloomfield, Iowa. He is an alumnus of William Penn University and Indian Hills Community College....

for the Colorado Rockies. Ritz and Maddux worked their way out of minor trouble early on, but, in the top of the third, Marquis Grissom

Marquis Grissom

Marquis Deon Grissom is a former Major League Baseball player. He excelled in baseball at Lakeshore High School, under the tutelage of baseball coach Mike Juenger. He currently resides in College Park, Georgia...

broke the scoreless tie with a solo shot to make it 1–0. However, the Rockies soon answered in the bottom of the fourth. After Maddux got Dante Bichette

Dante Bichette

Alphonse Dante Bichette, Sr. is a former Italian-American Major League Baseball player. Bichette was a four-time All-Star as a member of the Colorado Rockies.-Career:...

to ground out, he walked Larry Walker

Larry Walker

Larry Kenneth Robert Walker is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1989 through 2005, Walker played for the Montreal Expos , Colorado Rockies , and St. Louis Cardinals...

. Then a single by Andrés Galarraga

Andrés Galarraga

Andrés José Padovani Galarraga is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Montreal Expos , St. Louis Cardinals , Colorado Rockies , Atlanta Braves , Texas Rangers , San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels...

moved Walker to third. Ellis Burks

Ellis Burks

Ellis Rena Burks is a former outfielder and designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball for 18 seasons...

's sac fly brought Walker home. The next batter, Vinny Castilla

Vinny Castilla

Vinicio "Vinny" Castilla Soria is a former Major League Baseball third baseman who played his best years with the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves...

would hit a two-run homer to give Colorado its first lead of the night. But the Braves weren't about to give in to the 3–1 deficit. In the top of the sixth, Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones

Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones, Jr. is a Major League baseball player for the National League's Atlanta Braves. Although initially a shortstop, he has spent most of his career as the starting third baseman for the Braves...

led off with a solo home run to make it a one run game. David Justice

David Justice

David Christopher Justice is a former outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , and Oakland Athletics .-Early life:David was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Robert and Nettie Justice...

then walked just before a single by Ryan Klesko

Ryan Klesko

Ryan Anthony Klesko , is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and corner outfielder, who played for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants...

. An error during the play by Burks moved Justice to third. Luis Polonia

Luis Polonia

Luis Andrew Polonia Almonte was a Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter....

would then reach on a fielder's choice, bringing Justice home to tie the game. The Braves would load the bases, but Maddux struck out to end the inning. In the top of the eighth, Mike Munoz

Mike Munoz (baseball)

Michael Anthony Munoz , is a retired professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1989-2000.-External links:...

took the mound for Colorado. He got two quick outs, but surrendered a single to Klesko. Darren Holmes came in to try to end the inning, but then gave up a single to Javy López

Javy López

Javier López Torres is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the Atlanta Braves , Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox . He batted and threw right-handed...

. Dwight Smith followed with a pinch-hit RBI single to center to give the Braves a 4–3 lead. With time running out, the Rockies staged a rally in the bottom half of the inning. Bichette walked, then moved to third on a single by Walker and an error by Justice on the play. Galarraga would then reach on a fielder's choice, with Walker out at second. Alejandro Pena

Alejandro Peña

Alejandro Peña Vásquez [PEH-nya] in Cambiaso, Dominican Republic, is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Peña batted and threw right-handed...

came on to face Burks with one out. Burks would double to tie the game at four apiece, but Pena got the next two outs. Curt Leskanic

Curt Leskanic

Curtis John Leskanic is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched from 1993-2004 for the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals...

came on in the top of the ninth to preserve the tie. He got two outs, but gave up a solo home run to Chipper Jones. The Braves now had a 5–4 lead. But the Rockies were able to rally in the bottom half. With one out, Mike Kingery

Mike Kingery

Michael Scott Kingery , is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues, primarily as an outfielder, from 1986–1992 and 1994-1996. Kingery's career high for home runs in a season was 9, set in 1987 while playing limited time with the Seattle Mariners...

singled and was followed by another single by Bichette. Walker was then walked, loading the bases with only one out. That put the winning run in scoring position. Wohlers, however, was able to get Galarraga and Lance Painter

Lance Painter

Lance Telford Painter is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played for the Colorado Rockies , St. Louis Cardinals , Toronto Blue Jays , and Milwaukee Brewers . Although he started 28 games, Painter is most known as a reliever.-Professional career:Painter played college baseball...

to strike out to end the game and give the Braves a well-earned victory.

Game 2, October 4

Coors Field

in Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado

Game 2 matched Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine

Tom Glavine

Thomas Michael Glavine is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine was the second winningest pitcher in the National League, second only to teammate Greg Maddux's 176...

against the man who made the final out in Game 1, Lance Painter

Lance Painter

. Marquis Grissom

Marquis Grissom

gave the Braves an early lead with a lead off home run in the top of the first. Glavine then held the Rockies to one hit in the first two innings. In the top of the third, the Braves struck again when Mark Lemke

Mark Lemke

Mark Alan Lemke is a former Major League Baseball player. Nicknamed "The Lemmer", he was a popular second baseman for the Atlanta Braves from to .-Biography:...

singled and Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones

had a bunt single. After Fred McGriff

Fred McGriff

Frederick Stanley McGriff is a left-handed former Major League Baseball player who starred for several teams from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s. A power-hitting first baseman with a tall, lanky build, the five-time All-Star became, in , the first player since the dead-ball era to lead both...

struck out, David Justice

David Justice

walked to load the bases with only one out. Javy López

Javy López

Javier López Torres is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the Atlanta Braves , Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox . He batted and threw right-handed...

's sac fly made it 2–0, but the Braves could muster no more runs as Ryan Klesko

Ryan Klesko

Ryan Anthony Klesko , is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and corner outfielder, who played for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants...

struck out to end the inning. In the top of the fourth, Grissom again went deep with two outs to make it 3–0 Braves. All was silent until the bottom of the sixth. With one man out, Ellis Burks

Ellis Burks

Ellis Rena Burks is a former outfielder and designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball for 18 seasons...

reached on an error by Jeff Blauser

Jeff Blauser

Jeffrey Michael Blauser is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He played for the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs from 1987 to 1999.-Career:...

. Dante Bichette

Dante Bichette

Alphonse Dante Bichette, Sr. is a former Italian-American Major League Baseball player. Bichette was a four-time All-Star as a member of the Colorado Rockies.-Career:...

then singled to center to put runners on the corners. Then, Larry Walker

Larry Walker

Larry Kenneth Robert Walker is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1989 through 2005, Walker played for the Montreal Expos , Colorado Rockies , and St. Louis Cardinals...

brought the Rockies back into the game with a mammoth three-run home run to tie the game at three. In the bottom of the eighth, the Rockies took the lead when Andrés Galarraga

Andrés Galarraga

drove home Bichette with a double after Bichette had reached with a double of his own. The Rockies were now three outs away from tying the series at one game a piece. But the Braves would not give in. Jones doubled to left to lead off the top of the 9th, then came home on a single by McGriff to tie the game. With two outs now, Mike Devereaux

Mike Devereaux

Michael Devereaux is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth round of the amateur draft and made his debut on September 2, 1987...

singled, then Mike Mordecai

Mike Mordecai

Michael Howard Mordecai is a right-handed hitting/throwing infielder in Major League Baseball who most recently played for the Florida Marlins.-School and minor leagues:...

followed with another single that drove home McGriff to give the Braves the lead. An error by Eric Young allowed two more runs to score to give the Braves a convincing 7–4 ninth inning lead. Mark Wohlers

Mark Wohlers

Mark Edward Wohlers is a former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Atlanta Braves from to...

saved the game in the bottom half to give the Braves a two games to none lead going home.

Game 3, October 6

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, often shortened to "Fulton County Stadium," was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.-History:...

in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

The potential clincher pitted Bill Swift

Bill Swift

William Charles Swift is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher.After graduating South Portland High School, Swift attended the University of Maine. Swift pitched for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team and was a first-round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners following his senior year at Maine...

against John Smoltz

John Smoltz

John Andrew Smoltz is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and active sportscaster. He is best known for his prolific career of more than two decades with the Atlanta Braves, in which he garnered eight All-Star selections and received the Cy Young Award in 1996...

. A wild pitch by Smoltz allowed Eric Young to score to make it 1–0 Rockies. Then Young made it 3–0 when he homered with one man on in the third. But the Braves put together three runs in the fourth thanks to an RBI double by Ryan Klesko

Ryan Klesko

Ryan Anthony Klesko , is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and corner outfielder, who played for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants...

and a two-run single by Javy López

Javy López

Javier López Torres is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played from through for the Atlanta Braves , Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox . He batted and threw right-handed...

. During the final play of the inning, Jeff Blauser

Jeff Blauser

Jeffrey Michael Blauser is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He played for the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs from 1987 to 1999.-Career:...

struck out and sprained his ankle in doing so, putting him on the bench for the rest of the postseason. The Rockies quickly responded with a two-run homer by Vinny Castilla

Vinny Castilla

Vinicio "Vinny" Castilla Soria is a former Major League Baseball third baseman who played his best years with the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves...

in the sixth. But the Braves would chip away at the score in the seventh when Mike Mordecai

Mike Mordecai

Michael Howard Mordecai is a right-handed hitting/throwing infielder in Major League Baseball who most recently played for the Florida Marlins.-School and minor leagues:...

doubled home Klesko. Then in the ninth, with the Rockies leading 5–4, the Braves would tie the game thanks to a two-out, pinch hit RBI single by Luis Polonia

Luis Polonia

Luis Andrew Polonia Almonte was a Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter....

. With Mark Wohlers

Mark Wohlers

Mark Edward Wohlers is a former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Atlanta Braves from to...

on the mound in the tenth, the Rockies would put together back-to-back RBI singles to make it 7–5. Mark Thompson

Mark Thompson (baseball)

Mark Radford Thompson is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He graduated from Logan County High School in Russellville, Kentucky and he then attended the University of Kentucky....

got the Rockies their first ever postseason win.

Game 4, October 7

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, often shortened to "Fulton County Stadium," was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.-History:...

in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Greg Maddux

was matched against Bret Saberhagen

Bret Saberhagen

Bret William Saberhagen is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher.-Early years:Bret Saberhagen attended Grover Cleveland High School, located in Reseda, California. Saberhagen starred in both basketball and baseball...

, who was hoping to keep Colorado's momentum intact. The game was scoreless into the third when Dante Bichette

Dante Bichette

Alphonse Dante Bichette, Sr. is a former Italian-American Major League Baseball player. Bichette was a four-time All-Star as a member of the Colorado Rockies.-Career:...

launched a three-run homer with one out in the top of the third. It silenced the crowd, hoping to see their Braves finally win it all for the first time in four tries. But the Braves would respond in the bottom of the third. A two-out, two-run double by Chipper Jones

Chipper Jones

made it a one-run game. Then Fred McGriff

Fred McGriff

homered to give the Braves the lead for good. An error by Eric Young made it 5–3 on a fielder's choice by Rafael Belliard

Rafael Belliard

Rafael Leonidas Belliard Matias is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He is currently the infield coach for the Detroit Tigers....

in the bottom of the fourth. Then Ryan Klesko

Ryan Klesko

Ryan Anthony Klesko , is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and corner outfielder, who played for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants...

doubled Belliard home to make it 6–3. A barrage of singles and doubles made the final score 10–4 and the Braves would advance to the 1995 National League Championship Series

1995 National League Championship Series

-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1995 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioThe opening game of the 1995 NLCS would be well-pitched and decided in extra innings. The only run allowed by Tom Glavine, who would go seven innings, came on a Ron Gant single following a Barry Larkin triple in the fourth...

Composite box

1995 NLDS (3–1): Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

over Colorado Rockies

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...

Game 1, October 3

Dodger Stadium

Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...

in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

Pete Schourek

Peter Alan Schourek is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1991 to 2001...

faced Ramón Martínez in Game 1. Back-to-back singles with one out got the rally started in the top of the first for the Reds. After Reggie Sanders

Reggie Sanders

Reginald Laverne Sanders is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed. Sanders was 24 years old when he made his major league debut on August 22, , after being selected in the 7th round of the amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds...

popped out, Hal Morris

Hal Morris

William Harold Morris III is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Cincinnati Reds. He attended Munster High School in Munster, Indiana, and the University of Michigan. Morris was the Player of the Year while attending Munster High School...

struck the game's first blow by doubling home the two runners on base. Then Benito Santiago

Benito Santiago

Benito Santiago Rivera is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played for twenty seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to , most notably for the San Diego Padres...

hit a two-run homer to make it 4–0 Reds. A four-run lead in the first was more than enough for Schourek. A sac fly and a double scored three more runs in the top of the fifth. The Dodgers were rendered helpless, getting two runs on a sac fly and a homer by Mike Piazza

Mike Piazza

Michael Joseph "Mike" Piazza ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics....

. The Reds would win Game 1, 7–2.

Game 2, October 4

Dodger Stadium

in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Former 20-game winner John Smiley faced Ismael Valdez

Ismael Valdez

Ismael Valdez Alvarez is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. His professional baseball career began at age 17 when he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league organization. After a three year climb through the Dodgers farm system, Valdez made his major league debut at the age of 20...

in Game 2. Eric Karros, who would drive in all the Dodgers runs, got them on the board first with an RBI double in the first. But Reggie Sanders

Reggie Sanders

brought the Reds back with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth. But, Karros would immediately respond with a leadoff homer to tie the game at two. Raúl Mondesí

Raúl Mondesí

Raúl Ramón Mondesí Avelino is a former Major League Baseball player and the current mayor of San Cristóbal Province in the Dominican Republic. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1994 as a right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers...

would be ejected from the game in between innings in the eighth on his way to right field. He bad mouthed the umpire Bob Davidson

Bob Davidson (umpire)

Robert Allan Davidson is an umpire for Major League Baseball.-Early life:Bob Davidson graduated from Duluth East High School in Duluth, Minnesota in 1970. He attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he played baseball for two seasons. Davidson then left to pursue a professional umpiring...

for a play at home in the seventh that went the Reds' way. In the eighth, the Reds took the lead on a Barry Larkin

Barry Larkin

Barry Louis Larkin is a retired Major League Baseball player. Larkin played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004 and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds' World Series championship team...

single that scored Mariano Duncan

Mariano Duncan

Mariano Duncan Nalasco is a retired second baseman and shortstop who played for several Major League Baseball teams during his 12 year career. He was the infield coach and 1st base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers under Managers Grady Little and Joe Torre...

. A fielder's choice and an RBI single made it 5–2 Reds in the ninth. A leadoff single off Jeff Brantley gave the Dodgers life. With one out, Karros hit his second home run of the game to make it 5–4 and that gave him four RBIs for the day. But Brantley got the next two men out to save Game 2 and give the Reds a two-game lead going to Cincinnati.

Game 3, October 6

Riverfront Stadium

Cinergy Field

Riverfront Stadium , later known as Cinergy Field , was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball team and the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team. Located on the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, the stadium was best known as the home of "The Big Red Machine," as the...

in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

Soon-to-be-named National League Rookie of the Year Hideo Nomo

Hideo Nomo

is a former right-handed pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball from Japan. He achieved early success in Japan, where he played with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from to...

faced playoff-savvy David Wells

David Wells

David Lee Wells , nicknamed "Boomer", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Wells was considered to be one of the game's better left-handed pitchers, especially during his years with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched the fifteenth perfect game in baseball history...

. A two-run homer by Ron Gant

Ron Gant

Ronald Edwin "Ron" Gant is a former American Major League outfielder and second baseman earlier on who played for the Atlanta Braves , Cincinnati Reds , St...

got the scoring started for the Reds in the third. The Dodgers would cut the lead in half on an RBI single by Raúl Mondesí

Raúl Mondesí

in the fourth. But the game and the series got away in a hurry. A Bret Boone

Bret Boone

Bret Robert Boone is a former Major League Baseball second baseman.-Personal life:Boone was born in El Cajon, California to Susan G. Roel and Bob Boone. He is a graduate of El Dorado High School and the University of Southern California. He is the grandson of former major leaguer Ray Boone and...

homer in the bottom of the fourth made it 3–1. Then, in the sixth, Nomo began to lose his control, giving up two singles and a wild pitch. Then pinch hitter Mark Lewis came up with the bases loaded and socked a grand slam to make it 7–1 Reds. Ultimately, the Dodgers would change pitchers five times as the Reds clobbered the Dodgers in the third and final game 10–1. They would advance to the 1995 National League Championship Series

1995 National League Championship Series

Composite box

1995 NLDS (3–0): Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

over Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

External links

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