The 2001 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2001

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 ...

playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 9, and ended on Sunday, October 14, 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) Houston Astros (Central Division champion, 93–69) vs. (3)

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 Bos ...

(Eastern Division champion, 88–74): Braves win series, 3–0. * (2)

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

(Western Division champion, 92–70) vs. (4)

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 ...

(Wild Card, 93–69): Diamondbacks win series, 3–2.The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage (Games 1, 2 and 5 at home), which was determined by playing record. Houston and St. Louis tied for the Central Division title, but Houston was awarded the division winner's playoff-seeding over St. Louis due to their 9–7 advantage in head-to-head play. Officially the two clubs were co-champions. Although the team with the best record was normally intended to play the wild card team, the Astros played the Braves, rather than the wild card Cardinals, because the Astros and Cardinals were in the same division. The Diamondbacks and Braves went on to meet in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Diamondbacks became the National League champion, and defeated 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 of ...

in the 2001 World Series.

Matchups

Houston Astros vs. Atlanta Braves

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Houston vs. Atlanta

The

won their tenth straight division title, despite having the worst record (88–74) among playoff teams. With that record, 2001 was also the Braves' worst season since

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, when they had the worst record in baseball. The Houston Astros were in the playoffs for the seventh time, hoping to avenge two postseason losses in the 1990s to the Braves. At 93–69, and having home field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Astros were heavily favored to win this series.

Game 1

Enron Field in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

In Game 1, Greg Maddux of Atlanta faced Wade Miller of Houston. Brian Jordan drove in the first two runs of the game, hitting a sacrifice fly in the first with runners on first and third and a homer in the fourth. Brad Ausmus's two-run homer after a walk tied the game in the fifth for the Astros. Then Moisés Alou's groundout with runners on second and third in the sixth gave the Astros the lead, but the Braves refused to concede. In the eighth,

Keith Lockhart Keith Alan Lockhart (born November 7, 1959) is an American conductor. He is the Conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and the Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Caro ...

hit a leadoff double off of Mike Jackson and scored on Marcus Giles's single to tie the game. Julio Franco reached on an error before

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Ph ...

relieved Jackson and allowed a tie-breaking three-run home run to Chipper Jones. Andruw Jones's leadoff home run in the ninth off of Mike Williams made it 7–3.

Vinny Castilla Vinicio "Vinny" Castilla Soria (; born July 4, 1967) is a Mexican former Major League Baseball third baseman who played his best years with the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves. Previously, he played with the Atlanta Braves (1991–1992, 200 ...

's leadoff home run in the bottom half gave the Astros that run back, but

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 ...

got the save as the Braves won 7–4.

Game 2

Enron Field in

In Game 2,

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 ...

and Dave Mlicki started a classic pitching duel. In the top of the second, B. J. Surhoff doubled to lead off the inning. Then Andruw Jones singled to the shortstop and an error by

Julio Lugo Julio Cesar Lugo (November 16, 1975 – November 15, 2021) was a Dominican professional baseball shortstop. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, St ...

put Surhoff on third. Rey Sánchez would then ground into a double play, but Surhoff would score to make it 1–0 Braves. In all but two innings the Astros had a hit and stranded five in the game. Glavine pitched eight innings and Smoltz recorded his second consecutive postseason save.

Game 3

Turner Field in

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 498,715 ...

In Game 3,

Shane Reynolds Richard Shane Reynolds (born March 26, 1968) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1992 through 2004 for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks. Listed at 6' 3", 210 lb., Reynolds batted and th ...

of Houston faced John Burkett of the Braves. In the bottom of the second, Rey Sanchez doubled with two outs before Paul Bako's two-run homer put the Braves up 2–0. In the third, Julio Franco homered to make it 3–0. Then a squeeze play sacrifice bunt by Bako in the fourth with runners on first and third made it 4–0. Reynolds only lasted four innings and Burkett cruised until giving up a two-run homer to

Daryle Ward Daryle Lamar Ward (born June 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2008 for the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirat ...

in the sixth. Chipper Jones's two-run homer provided insurance in the bottom of the eighth of off Octavio Dotel and Smoltz once again dominated the ninth. Ausmus flied to center to end the series. Once again, the Astros had been denied by the Braves for their first ever postseason series win. This was the last postseason series win by the Braves until 2020, when they swept the Cincinnati Reds in the newly-added Wild Card Series.

Composite box

2001 NLDS (3–0):

over Houston Astros

Arizona vs. St. Louis

The

were making their second straight postseason appearance and they hoped to avenge their NLCS loss against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. The

were making their second playoff appearance and they too were stunned by the

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in 1999, having won 100 games that year. This was the first NLDS to go to 5 games.

Game 1

Bank One Ballpark Chase Field, formerly Bank One Ballpark, is a retractable roof stadium in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. It opened in 1998 Arizona Diamondbacks season, 1998, the year the Diamondbacks ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

Game 1 was a game of excellent starting pitching. Matt Morris faced

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

, who made the most of his first playoff start in eight years. Both pitchers were on even terms until Arizona scored the game's only run in the bottom of the fifth when

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 ...

singled home Damian Miller, who was hit by a pitch leading off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Schilling pitched a complete-game three-hit shutout as Arizona won 1–0 to take a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

In Game 2,

Woody Williams Woody may refer to: Biology * Pertaining to wood, a plant tissue and material * Woody plant, a plant with a rigid stem containing wood * Pertaining to woodland, land covered with trees * Woody, slang for a penile erection People and fictional c ...

of St. Louis faced

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

of Arizona. Johnson seemingly had the Cardinals in the first when he got

Plácido Polanco Plácido Enrique Polanco (; born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was a ...

to ground into a double play. But

Édgar Rentería Édgar Enrique Rentería Herazo (; born August 7, 1975), nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby", is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals, th ...

walked and the soon-to-be-named NL Rookie of the Year Albert Pujols hit his first playoff home run to make it 2–0. Williams hit a leadoff doubled in the third, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Polanco's sac fly that made it 3–0 Cardinals. The D'Backs scored a run in the eighth on Danny Bautista's groundout off of Steve Kline with runners on second and third (the run charged to Williams), but an errant throw to first by pitcher Miguel Batista in the ninth on Kerry Robinson's ground ball with runners on second and third gave the Cardinals that run back. Steve Kline got the save in the bottom of the ninth to even the series.

Game 3

Busch Stadium (II) in St. Louis, Missouri In Game 3, Batista returned to the mound to start for Arizona. Opposing him would be

Darryl Kile Darryl Andrew Kile (December 2, 1968 – June 22, 2002) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher. He pitched from 1991 to 2002 for three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, primarily for the Houston Astros. Kile was known for his shar ...

. Both pitchers kept the game scoreless until

Jim Edmonds James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and a broadcaster for Bally Sports Midwest. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, ...

's two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth gave the Cardinals a 2–0 lead. Luis Gonzalez responded with a homer off the right field pole to make it a one-run game in the sixth. Then the Diamondbacks came back in dramatic fashion. After Kile allowed a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh, Mike Matthews came on in relief and allowed a one-out single before

Greg Colbrunn Gregory Joseph Colbrunn (born July 26, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball, Major League baseball player and coach (baseball), hitting coach. Primarily a first baseman during his active career, the Fontana, California, native played ...

tied the game with an RBI single. A fielder's choice put two men on for eventual NLCS MVP

Craig Counsell Craig John Counsell (born August 21, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player who is the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Counsell became the Brewers' manager in May 2015; he became the longest-te ...

. He then hit a three-run home run to right that put the D'Backs up 5–2. Rentería's home run in the bottom of the inning off of Brian Anderson made it 5–3, but

Byung-hyun Kim Byung-hyun Kim (; or ; born January 19, 1979) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. He had his most successful years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox. Kim is remembered for his role in the 2001 World Ser ...

closed the door in the ninth despite allowing a leadoff single and subsequent walk. Tragically, this wound up being Kile's final playoff game.

Game 4

Busch Stadium (II) in St. Louis, Missouri

Albie Lopez Albert Anthony "Albie" Lopez (born August 18, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He graduated from Mesa Community College. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 20th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Lopez spent ...

looked to close the door on the Cards. Opposing him would be Bud Smith. Smith got into trouble in the top of the first when he allowed two walks and

singled home a run to make it 1–0 Diamondbacks. However,

Fernando Viña Fernando Viña (''VEEN-ya'') (born April 16, 1969) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball second baseman and former MLB analyst for ESPN. His parents Andres and Olga emigrated from Cuba in 1968. From through , Viña played for the Se ...

hit a leadoff single, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on J. D. Drew's single to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. Then

's home run in the bottom of the second put the Cardinals up for good.

's two-run homer after a walk in the third gave the Cardinals insurance. Both bullpens held the other team to nothing for the rest of the game as the series was once again tied.

Game 5

In the clinching Game 5, Matt Morris once again faced

. Both pitchers were on their game, allowing only one run throughout the entire game. Morris was the first to falter in the bottom of the fourth when he gave up a solo home run to

Reggie Sanders Reginald Laverne Sanders (born December 1, 1967) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, San ...

. Schilling was masterful and was four outs away from winning the series. He was working on a four-hit shutout when J. D. Drew tied the game with a home run in the eighth. Schilling pitched a complete game and in the ninth, a leadoff double by Matt Williams off of Dave Veres put the winning run on base. A sacrifice bunt by Damian Miller put pinch runner

Midre Cummings Midre Almeric Cummings (born October 14, 1971) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (-), Philadelphia Phillies (1997), Boston Red Sox ( and ), Minnesota Tw ...

on third. Steve Kline relieved Veres and after

was walked intentionally, Cummings tried to steal home on the squeeze play attempt and got caught. Colbrunn went to second and Danny Bautista came on to pinch run. Then Tony Womack delivered the series winning single to left field. The Diamondbacks won their first postseason series ever and were now going to their first ever NLCS.

Composite box

2001 NLDS (3–2):

over

Media coverage

For the first and only time, Fox Family and Fox carried the National League Division Series, with

Kenny Albert Kenneth Gary Albert (born February 2, 1968) is an American sportscaster, the son of NBA sportscaster Marv Albert and nephew of sportscasters Al Albert and Steve Albert. He is the only sportscaster who currently does play-by-play for all four ...

and

Rod Allen Roderick Bernet Allen (born October 5, 1959) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current game analyst for the Miami Marlins on Bally Sports Florida. He formerly worked as an analyst for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sport ...

calling the action of Game 1 and Game 2 of the

–

series for Fox Family, while Mel Proctor and

called the action of Game 3 of the

–

series for Fox. Fox Family and Fox carried the National League Division Series, with Thom Brennaman (himself a Diamondbacks broadcaster) and Steve Lyons calling the action of Game 1 and Game 2 of the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

–

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 ...

series for Fox Family, while

Joe Buck Joseph Francis Buck (born April 25, 1969) is an American sportscaster. The son of sportscaster Jack Buck, he worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, including roles as lead play-by-play announcer for the network's Nation ...

and

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardina ...

called the action of Game 3, Game 4 and Game 5 of the

–

series for Fox Family (Games 3–4), and Fox (Game 5). ESPN Radio provided national radio coverage for the fourth consecutive year, with Wayne Hagin and Buck Showalter calling the action of the

–

series, while

Charley Steiner Charley Steiner (born ) is an American sportscaster and broadcast journalist. He is currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, paired with Rick Monday. Early career Steiner grew up a Bro ...

and Dave Campbell called the action of the

–

series. Locally, the

–

portion of the 2001 NLDS was called on KTAR-AM in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

by Greg Schulte, Jeff Munn,

(Games 4–5) and

Jim Traber James Joseph Traber (born December 26, 1961)Jim Traber
at thebaseballcube.com is an Ameri ...

, and on KMOX-AM in

Jack Buck John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002) was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. His play-by-play work earned him recognition from numerous hal ...

(Games 3–4), Mike Shannon and Dan McLaughlin (Games 1–2, 5), while the

–

portion of the 2001 NLDS was called on

WSB-AM WSB (750 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. It airs a news/talk radio format, simulcast on Doraville-licensed WSBB-FM. WSB is the flagship station for Cox Media Group; in addition to WSB and WSBB-FM, it owns three o ...

Pete Van Wieren Peter Dirk Van Wieren (October 7, 1944 – August 2, 2014) was an American sportscaster best known for his long career calling play-by-play for Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves. Early career Van Wieren was born in Rochester, New York and ...

Skip Caray Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. (August 12, 1939 – August 3, 2008) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He was the so ...

Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakla ...

and Joe Simpson, and on

KTRH-AM KTRH () is a commercial radio station licensed to Houston, Texas and owned by iHeartMedia that airs a talk radio format. Programming is also heard on co-owned KODA's HD 2 channel at , and the station uses the iHeartRadio platform to stream ...

Milo Hamilton Leland Milo Hamilton (September 2, 1927 – September 17, 2015) was an American sportscaster, best known for calling play-by-play for seven different Major League Baseball teams from 1953 to 2015. He received the Ford C. Frick Award from t ...

and Alan Ashby.

Notes

External links

ATL vs. HOU at Baseball-Reference

ARI vs. STL at Baseball-Reference
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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 ...

Arizona Diamondbacks postseason Atlanta Braves postseason St. Louis Cardinals postseason Houston Astros postseason 2001 in sports in Arizona 2001 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state) 2001 in sports in Missouri 2001 in sports in Texas 2001 in Atlanta 2001 in Houston 2000s in Phoenix, Arizona 2000s in St. Louis October 2001 sports events in the United States