1995 National League Division Series
| 1995 National League Division Series | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 3 – 7 | ||||||||||||
| Television |
NBC (Games 1–2) ABC (Games 3-4) |
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| TV announcers |
Pete Van Wieren and Larry Dierker (Games 1–3) Al Michaels, Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver (Game 4) |
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| Radio | CBS | ||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Gene Elston and Gary Cohen | ||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 3 – 6 | ||||||||||||
| Television |
NBC (Games 1–2) ABC (Game 3) |
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| TV announcers |
Greg Gumbel and Joe Morgan (Games 1–2) Al Michaels, Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver (Game 3) |
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| Radio | CBS | ||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Jerry Coleman and Jim Hunter | ||||||||||||
| Umpires |
John McSherry, Jerry Layne, Joe West, Terry Tata, Harry Wendelstedt, Charlie Reliford (Atlanta–Colorado, Games 1–2; Cincinnati–Los Angeles, Game 3) Ed Montague, Bob Davidson, Eric Gregg, Frank Pulli, Bruce Froemming, Gary Darling (Cincinnati–Los Angeles, Games 1–2; Atlanta–Colorado, Games 3–4) |
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| Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves (3) | Bobby Cox | 90–54, .625, GA: 21 | |
| Colorado Rockies (1) | Don Baylor | 77–67, .535, GB: 1 |
| Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds (3) | Davey Johnson | 85–59, .590, GA: 9 | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers (0) | Tommy Lasorda | 78–66, .542, GA: 1 |
The 1995 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 1995 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Saturday, October 7, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. As a result of both leagues realigning into three divisions in 1994, it marked the first time in major league history that a team could qualify for postseason play without finishing in first place in its league or division. The teams were:
The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage, which was not tied to playing record but was predetermined—a highly unpopular arrangement which was discontinued after the 1997 playoffs. Also, the team with home field "advantage" was required to play the first two games on the road, with potentially the last three at home, in order to reduce travel. Had the 1995 NLDS been played under the post-1997 arrangement, then Atlanta (1) would've still played against Colorado (4) and Cincinnati (2) would have likewise still faced Los Angeles (3).
The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds went on to meet in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Braves became the National League champion, and defeated the American League champion Cleveland Indians in the 1995 World Series.
Atlanta won the series, 3–1.
Cincinnati won the series, 3–0.
Coors Field in Denver, Colorado
Game 1 was a match-up between aces: Greg Maddux for the Atlanta Braves and Kevin Ritz 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 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 to ground out, he walked Larry Walker. Then a single by Andrés Galarraga moved Walker to third. Ellis Burks's sac fly brought Walker home. The next batter, Vinny Castilla, 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 led off with a solo home run to make it a one-run game. David Justice then walked just before a single by Ryan Klesko. An error during the play by Burks moved Justice to third. Luis Polonia 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 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. 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 (on a diving stop by Chipper Jones robbing the Big Cat of extra bases), with Walker out at second. Alejandro Peña 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 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 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 pitcher Lance Painter (Rockies skipper Don Baylor had run out of position players in his first postseason game as manager) to strike out to end the game and give the Braves a well-earned victory.
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