The 1996

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...

(NLDS), the opening round of the 1996

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 1, and ended on Saturday, October 5, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were: *(1)

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

(Eastern Division champion, 96–66) vs. (4)

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

(Wild Card, 90–72): Braves won series, 3–0. *(2)

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

(Western Division champion, 91–71) vs. (3)

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(Central Division champion, 88–74): Cardinals won series, 3–0.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. The Padres played the Cardinals, rather than the wild card Dodgers, because the Padres and Dodgers are in the same division. Had the 1996 NLDS been played under the 1998-2011 arrangement, then Atlanta (1) would have still faced off against Los Angeles (St. Louis had a worse record, but would have faced Atlanta because of the mandate of no teams from the same division playing against each other in the Division Series) and San Diego likewise would have still faced off against St. Louis, but the Cardinals would have had home field advantage. Under the 2012-present format, which removed the prohibition against teams from the same division meeting in the Division Series, the matchups still would have been Atlanta-Los Angeles and St. Louis-San Diego, with the Braves and Cardinals having home field advantage. The St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves both swept their Division Series, and went on to meet in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Braves would rally to win that series four games to three and become the National League champion, but would lose to the American League champion

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

in the

1996 World Series The 1996 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1996 season. The 92nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion (and defending World Series champio ...

Matchups

San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

San Diego vs. St. Louis

Game 1

Busch Stadium (II) Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 St. Louis Cardinals season, 1966 through 2005 St. Louis Cardinals season, 2005. The stadiu ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

The Cardinals and Padres met for the first time in the postseason. A three-run home run by

Gary Gaetti Gary Joseph Gaetti (, ; born August 19, 1958), is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins (1981–1990), California Angels (1991–1993), Kansas City Royals (1993–1995), St. Louis Cardinals (1996– ...

off

Joey Hamilton Johns Joseph Hamilton (born September 9, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played professionally for nine seasons, recording a 74–73 win–loss record, a 4.44 earned run average (ERA) and 894 strikeouts. He attended Sta ...

put the Cardinals up for good.

Todd Stottlemyre Todd Vernon Stottlemyre (born May 20, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a starting pitcher from to , most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays with whom he won t ...

pitched masterfully, allowing only a home run by

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

Rick Honeycutt Frederick Wayne Honeycutt (born June 29, 1954) is an American former professional baseball coach and pitcher. Honeycutt pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six different teams over 21 years, from 1977 to 1997. He pitched in 30 post-season ...

and

Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...

shut the Padres down for the win.

Game 2

A well fought Game 2 saw the Cardinals squander two leads. Scott Sanders faced Andy Benes.

Willie McGee Willie Dean McGee (born November 2, 1958) is an American professional baseball coach and former outfielder who is an assistant coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for four teams, over 18 seasons. ...

put the Cardinals on top on the third with an RBI single after two walks.

Ken Caminiti Kenneth Gene Caminiti (April 21, 1963 – October 10, 2004) was an American third baseman who spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1987–1994, 1999–2000), San Diego Padres (1995–1998), Texas Rangers ( ...

tied the game with a leadoff home run in the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, Sanders allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out before Ron Gant cleared them with a double off of Dario Veras to make it 4–1 Cardinals. In the sixth, after back-to-back one-out singles, a two-run single by

Tony Gwynn Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hit ...

aided by center fielder

's throwing error made it a one-run game in the Padres sixth. In the eighth, Benes allowed a leadoff single and walk. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners up off of

before an RBI ground out by

Steve Finley Steven Allen Finley (born March 12, 1965) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for eight teams between 1989 and 2007, most notably the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks; he is one of only two play ...

tied the game, but in the bottom half,

Doug Bochtler Douglas Eugene Bochtler (born July 5, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995–2000. Amateur career Bochtler attended John I. Leonard High School in Lake Worth, Florida and graduated i ...

walked two and threw a wild pitch to put runners on second and third with one out.

Tom Pagnozzi Thomas Alan Pagnozzi (born July 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, from through . A three-time Gold Glove Award w ...

's ground out off of

Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego ...

scored

Brian Jordan Brian O'Neal Jordan (born March 29, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and National Football League safety. In the NFL, he played for the Atlanta Falcons, while he played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Los An ...

and put the Cardinals up 5–4.

got his second save of the postseason with a perfect ninth.

Game 3

Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadi ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

In Game 3, the Cardinals looked to

Donovan Osborne Donovan Alan Osborne (born June 21, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from -. Career Osborne attended Carson High School in Carson City, Nevada before he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1987 ...

to put the Padres away. Opposing the potential sweep was Andy Ashby.

put the Cardinals ahead when he singled to center field to score

Royce Clayton Royce Spencer Clayton (born January 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, ...

, who walked to lead off and moved to second on a single. After back-to-back one-out singles,

Chris Gomez Christopher Cory Gomez (born June 16, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He bats and throws right-handed. College career He played park league baseball in Lakewood for Mike Fahey. After playing baseball at Lakewood High School i ...

's fielder's choice and

Jody Reed Jody may refer to: *Jody (given name), a list of people with the given name *Jody (singer), French singer, real name Julie Erikssen * "Jody" (song), 1986 single by Jermaine Stewart *"Jody", a 1982 song by America from ''View from the Ground'' *"Jod ...

's double scored a run each to put the Padres up 2–1. Then

homered to make it 3–1 in the third. An RBI single in the bottom of the fourth by Reed after back-to-back leadoff singles made it 4–1 Padres and Osborne was done. A leadoff homer by Ron Gant made it 4–2 in the sixth. Then, Jordan singled, stole second, and scored on a one-out triple by John Mabry. Tim Worrell relieved Ashby and allowed an RBI single to

to tie the game at four. The Cardinals would take the lead in the seventh when

Ray Lankford Raymond Lewis Lankford (born June 5, 1967) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres from 1990 to 2004. He was known for his combination of power, speed, and defensive prowess. ...

scored on a bases-loaded double play by Gant. Caminiti's second home run of the game off of

tied the game in the eighth, However, after a walk in the ninth, Jordan hit a two-run home run off of

that proved to be the series winner. A one-out single by

in the ninth put the tying run at the plate but nothing would be made of it as Eckersley got his third save in as many tries to win the series.

Composite box

1996 NLDS (3–0):

over

Atlanta vs. Los Angeles

Game 1

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

The Braves were heavy favorites against the Dodgers, who sneaked into the playoffs on a Wild Card berth. This would be manager

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...

's only postseason series as Dodgers manager. The Braves sent 24-game winner

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time A ...

to the mound for Game 1. Opposing Smoltz would be Ramón Martínez. The Braves struck first when

Fred McGriff Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, po ...

's sacrifice fly brought

Marquis Grissom Marquis Deon Grissom (born April 17, 1967) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...

, who singled to lead off, stole second and moved to third on a groundout, home in the fourth.

Todd Hollandsworth Todd Mathew Hollandsworth (born April 20, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). In , he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, setting a record as the fifth consecutive Los Angeles ...

tied the game with an RBI-double in the fifth after a lead off double by Greg Gagne. Smoltz and Martinez dueled for eight innings, when Martinez left the game. When the game moved to extra innings, eventual playoff MVP

Javy López Javier "Javy" López Torres (born November 5, 1970) is a Puerto Rican former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1992–2003), Baltimore Orioles (2004–2006) and Boston Red Sox (2006). He batted and threw right- ...

hit the go-ahead home run in the tenth off of

Antonio Osuna Antonio Pedro Osuna (born April 12, 1973) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, and Washington Nationals during his 11-year Major League Ba ...

Mark Wohlers Mark Edward Wohlers (born January 23, 1970) is a former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, he played all or parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, exclusively as a relief pitcher. He is best known for his years with the Atlanta ...

recorded the save and the Braves led the series 1–0.

Game 2

Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves ...

faced

Ismael Valdez Ismael may refer to: People * Ismael Balkhi, a political activist from Afghanistan * Ismael Blanco (born 1983), an Argentine professional footballer * Ismael Prego "Wismichu", a Spanish youtuber * Ismael Villegas, a Puerto Rican Major League Bas ...

in Game 2. Another pitcher's duel took place.

singled to lead off the first and moved to second thanks to an error by

Ryan Klesko Ryan Anthony Klesko (born June 12, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and corner outfielder who played for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. He attended Westminster High School in Westminster, C ...

, Hollandsworth moved to third on a groundout, then scored on

Mike Piazza Michael Joseph Piazza ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1992 to 2007. He currently serves as the manager of the Italian national baseball te ...

's groundout, but Klesko homered with one out in the bottom half to tie the game at one. Piazza singled to lead off the fourth and moved to second on an error by

, then

Raul Mondesi Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

's RBI double made it 2–1 Dodgers. Fred McGriff led off the seventh inning with a home run to tie the game at two. After Klesko was called out on strikes,

Jermaine Dye Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. Dye grew up in Northern California and was a multi-sport star at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville. Dye attended Cosumnes River College in ...

hit a home run to give the Braves a 3–2 lead.

got another save in the ninth as the Braves now led the series 2–0 going home.

Game 3

Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in the southeastern United States, located in Atlanta. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of th ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Hideo Nomo is a Japanese former baseball pitcher who played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He achieved early success in his native country, where he played with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from to . He then exploited a l ...

faced

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

for Game 3. The night would sour for Nomo as he gave up a first-inning run, thanks to a McGriff double that scored

Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the List of first ov ...

, who singled with two outs, and squandered the series in the fourth. Glavine doubled with two outs, then Grissom walked. A double by

Mark Lemke Mark Alan Lemke (born August 13, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball player and current broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Lemmer", he was a popular second baseman for the Atlanta Braves from to . He won the 1995 World Series with the Braves over ...

scored both Glavine and Grissom. Then Jones homered to put the Braves up 5–0. Nomo was finished and so were the Dodgers. They would scratch out a run apiece in the seventh (on

Juan Castro Juan Gabriel Castro (born June 20, 1972), is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Phillies, ...

's double to score Greg Gagne, who singled with two outs) and eighth (on

's sacrifice fly off of Mike Bielecki after Greg McMichael allowed a leadoff walk and subsequent double), but no more. Wohlers got his third save in as many tries to end the series.

Composite box

1996 NLDS (3–0):

over

References

External links

STL vs. SDP at Baseball-ReferenceATL vs. LAD at Baseball-Reference
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