1995 NLCS: The Braves Sweep The Reds
The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds each ran away with their divisions in 1995, and each validated that performance with Division Series triumphs. Their battle in the 1995 National League Championship Series produced a good, exciting games. But that did not translate into a good, exciting series. Atlanta was the team who kept getting the key hit or key out they needed, and the Braves swept their way to a third pennant in five years.
You can read more about the season-long journeys Atlanta and Cincinnati took, their key players, and their Division Series victories at the links below. This article will focus squarely on the games of the 1995 NLCS.
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1995 ATLANTA BRAVES
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1995 CINCINNATI REDS
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1995 NL DIVISION SERIES
Homefield advantage was determined by a rotation system, rather than merit. Thus, even though the Braves had the best record in the National League, this best-of-seven series would open in Cincinnati’s old Riverfront Stadium.
Tuesday, October 10
Tom Glavine was on the mound for the Braves. The future Hall of Famer was facing Pete Schourek, the NL Cy Young runner-up who enjoyed a career year for the Reds. With pitchers like these on the mound, the game went along the lines of what you might expect.
Schourek ripped through the first 11 hitters he faced, allowing only a walk that was promptly erased on a caught stealing. Atlanta finally got their first hit with two outs in the top of the fourth. But through eight innings, the Braves mustered only four singles off Schourek and never even got a runner to second base.
The Reds got on the board in the bottom of the fourth behind a leadoff triple from Barry Larkin and an infield hit by Ron Gant. But it could have been worse. Cincy loaded the bases with one out before Glavine got Bret Boone to hit into a double play to keep the score 1-0.
Larkin again got something going in the sixth, with a leadoff double. After an intentional walk, Glavine again got a double play grounder to prevent any damage. In the bottom of the seventh, Glavine pitched around a leadoff double from Hal Morris. Cincinnati still led 1-0 going into the ninth inning, but they should have been comfortable. And the bill for the missed opportunities was coming due.
Chipper Jones opened the top of the ninth with a single to left. Fred McGriff followed with a single to right, immediately putting runners on the corners with none out. Dave Justice’s productive groundball out tied the game.
A wild pitch that moved the go-ahead run into scoring position prompted Reds’ skipper Davey Johnson to go to his bullpen for closer Jeff Brantley. After an intentional walk, then another free pass loaded the bases with two outs, Brantley finally got out of the inning.
Brantley and Braves’ counterpart Mark Wohlers put zeroes on the board through 10 innings, and the 1-1 game went to the 11th. Mike Jackson was now on in relief for the Reds. He walked McGriff to open the inning, and a sac bunt moved the go-ahead run to second base. With two outs, Mike Devereaux singled. Atlanta had a 2-1 lead.
Brad Clontz was in for the Braves to get the final three outs. Thomas Howard led off the bottom of the 11th with a double, giving renewed hope to the home team. Larkin did his job with a ground ball to the right side that moved the runner to third with one out. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox started mixing and matching with his pitchers. He went to lefty Steve Avery, normally a starter. Avery walked Mariano Duncan.
Cox then went to Greg McMichael to face Reggie Sanders. In an all-too-fitting end to Cincinnati’s night, Sanders hit a grounder to short that turned into a game-ending double play. Atlanta had taken Game 1.
Wednesday, October 11
The Braves had another future Hall of Famer to send to the mound for Game 2 in John Smoltz. Cincinnati didn’t have that, but John Smiley was one of the National League’s more consistent pitchers in this era, setting the stage for another tense duel.
Atlanta rolled their late inning momentum from Game 1 into the top of the first. Marquis Grissom opened Game 2 with a single, he moved to second on a productive out and scored on a base hit from Chipper to get a 1-0 lead. In the top of the fourth, McGriff led off with a double and scored on a subsequent double from Devereaux. 2-zip Braves.
Smoltz cruised through four but ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Benito Santiago dropped a bunt down and beat it out. Boone followed it with another bunt aimed at sacrificing but which turned into a hit and included a throwing error by Smoltz that put Santiago on third base.
Jeff Branson came to the plate and hit a grounder to first. McGriff cut down Santiago at the plate. With two outs, it looked like another missed chance for the Reds. Until Lenny Harris came off the bench to bat for Smiley and delivered a key RBI single to put the home team on the board.
Runners were still on the corners and Johnson managed aggressively, calling for a double steal. It paid off and Branson scored the tying run. We had a 2-2 ballgame after five.
Dave Burba came out of the Cincinnati bullpen and pitched out of jams in the sixth and seventh innings. In the top of the eighth, Jackson was in for the Reds, and he pitched around a leadoff double by McGriff. Were we going to see a reversal of the previous night’s script, and have Atlanta be the team wasting the big opportunities?
Larkin continued to put his mark on this series, with a leadoff double in the bottom of the eight and an immediate steal of third base. And his teammates continued to miss the chance to cash it in. Gant popped out. Sanders and Santiago struck out. It was still 2-2 after eight.
A second straight night of extra innings loomed, and Game 2 went to the 10th inning. Mark Portugal was now in for the Reds. Mark Lemke and Justice both singled, with a walk in between. The bases were loaded with one out. A wild pitch brought in the go-ahead run. And Javy Lopez sealed the deal with a three-run blast that bought the Braves more than enough insurance. Wohlers closed the 6-2 final.
The two nights at Riverfront Stadium had seen fiercely contested games. Yet the series went south with the sense that it was already over.
Friday, October 13
Atlanta’s parade of Hall of Fame starters hadn’t even gotten to the best one—the soon-to-be Cy Young Award winner, Greg Maddux, had closed out the Division Series and was therefore not available to start in the NLCS until this Game 3. Cincinnati turned to lefty David Wells to try and get back in this series.
Wells pitched out of trouble in the first two innings, allowing five singles, but consistently getting key outs and a timely double play to keep it a scoreless game. At the plate, Wells singled in the top of the third, helping Cincinnati load the bases with two outs. But this opportunity, like so many others in this series, went by the boards.
After three innings, we had a lot of action on the basepaths, but no runs on the board. And it stayed that way until the sixth.
McGriff led off of the home half of the sixth with a double. Devereaux worked a one-out walk. Charlie O’Brien homered. Atlanta had a 3-0 lead.
One inning later, following a Lemke base hit, Chipper went deep. The pitcher’s duel—and effectively this entire series—had been blown open. It was 5-0.
Cincinnati got a run back in the eighth and another in the ninth, but they never got the tying run to the plate. Maddux completed eight innings, Wohlers cleaned up the final three outs, and the 5-2 win put the Braves on the brink of the National League pennant.
Saturday, October 14
In desperation, the Reds went back to Schourek on three days’ rest to try and extend their season. The Braves kept their rotation aligned, giving the ball to Avery.
The first two innings passed by without incident. In the bottom of the third, having been shut out by Schourek for ten consecutive innings, Atlanta finally broke through. Rafael Belliard led off with a single, took second on a productive out and scored on a two-out hit from Lemke.
Larkin drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth. After an error, Cincinnati had runners on first and second with none out. But Sanders grounded into a double play. Atlanta missed their own chance in the top of the fifth, loading the bases with one out after Avery and Grissom started the inning with singles. Schourek got McGriff to pop out and escaped.
It was a familiar sight—a tense pitcher’s duel going into the late innings. And it would be a familiar ending. With Jackson on for Schourek in the bottom of the seventh, Grissom led off with a triple. Chipper drew a one-out walk. A passed ball made it 2-0. After an intentional walk, Devereaux homered to make it 5-0. Javy Lopez doubled and eventually scored on a two-out infield hit.
At 6-0, all that was left to do was clean up. Alejandro Pena pitched the eighth for Cox. Wohlers came on in the ninth. With two outs, Sanders was at the plate. For the 10th time in this NLCS, Sanders struck out. Atlanta was going to the World Series.
THE AFTERMATH
Devereaux was named 1995 NLCS MVP, going 4-for-13, driving in five runs, and having the three-run blast that effectively ended the series. I find this a curious decision. McGriff and Chipper each had better raw numbers, with both going 7-for-16 with three walks. Moreover, McGriff and Chipper were at least, if not more, involved than Devereaux in the key moments of the series.
It’s close, but I would lean to McGriff as having been the most impactful player in this series, with a legitimate argument to be made for Chipper. Devereaux deserves his props—he had a nice series—but MVP was pushing it.
Larkin and Schourek, Cincinnati’s two best players, met the moment. Larkin, the soon-to-be NL MVP went 7-for-18 with three extra base hits, all at important times. He simply didn’t have anyone who would pick him up. And Schourek was brilliant in his two starts. But the supporting pieces just didn’t come through, notably Sanders, who had a brilliant regular season, but struggled to 2-for-16 in this NLCS.
This was, in retrospect, the end of an era for Cincinnati. Riverfront Stadium had been the stage for some great postseason baseball throughout the 1970s, with the Big Red Machine. 1995 would be the last year playoff baseball was played in Riverfront. Cincinnati didn’t make it back to October until 2010, with the old stadium long gone.
Atlanta had some very bright days in their immediate future. After coming up short in the World Series in 1991 and 1992, the Braves got their breakthrough and won a good six-game Fall Classic with the Cleveland Indians. Atlanta went on to win two more pennants before the decade was out. 1995 was the high point for the National League’s flagship franchise of this era.