The 2002

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 2002

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 Monday, October 7, 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, 101–59) vs. (4)

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

(Wild Card, 95–66); Giants win series, 3–2. * (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, 98–64) 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, 97–65); Cardinals win series, 3–0.The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage (Games 1, 2 and 5 at home), which was determined by playing record. The Cardinals and Giants went on to meet in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Giants became the National League champion, and lost to the American League champion

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

in the

2002 World Series The 2002 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s 2002 season. The 98th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Anaheim Angels and the National Lea ...

Matchups

Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Atlanta vs. San Francisco

The

had continued to move forward in a golden era of consistency that had resulted in their eleventh consecutive division title since 1991 (with only the cancelled 1994 season being the exception), marked by consistent pitching from

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 ...

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 ...

, and Kevin Millwood (who combined for 52 wins to 25 losses) to go with

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 ...

and his league-leading 55 saves. They won over 100 games for the first since 1999, having experienced an improvement of thirteen games from the previous year. The Braves led the National League in runs allowed, ERA (3.13), and hits allowed (San Francisco led in home runs allowed). For the

, this was their third postseason appearance in the past six seasons. While a five game improvement from last year was not enough to catch the NL West title, it was enough to loom over the lone Wild Card spot, marked by ending the year with an eight game winning streak. As for the Giants,

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Gian ...

(who experienced three consecutive losses to the Braves in the NLCS from 1990 to 1992 as the left fielder for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

) continued his unprecedented run to start the 21st century. While he had less games played and home runs from the previous year, he managed to hit 46 while drawing a record of 198 walks while batting a career high .370 to coast to the

Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Write ...

, which was his fifth as a player and second of ultimately four in a row. Right beside Bonds in offense was Jeff Kent, who hit .313 with 37 home runs with 195 hits in 152 games. While Kirk Rueter and Russ Ortiz led the Giants in wins as a pitcher (14), it was Robb Nen who served as the key star in pitching once again. In his fifth season with the Giants, he went to the All-Star Game for the third time while garnering 43 saves.

Game 1

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 498,7 ...

In Game 1, Russ Ortiz faced

. In the top of the second, after Benito Santiago and

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 ...

hit back-to-back one-out singles,

J. T. Snow Jack Thomas Snow Jr. (born February 26, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the San Fra ...

hit a two-run double, then David Bell singled Snow home to make it 3–0 Giants. Glavine would help his own cause by hitting a bases-loaded two-run single to left field that almost tied the game thanks to an error by Bonds in the bottom half of the second. In the fourth, David Bell and Russ Ortiz back-to-back one-out singles, then

Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th amon ...

's RBI single and

Rich Aurilia Richard Santo Aurilia (; born September 2, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for several teams between 1995 and 2009. Amateur career Aurilia was born in Brooklyn, New York. Before being drafted by Texas, Aurilia was a ...

's two-run double made it 6–2 Giants.

Chris Hammond Christopher Andrew Hammond (born January 21, 1966) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Hammond was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth round of the amateur draft. Hammond had not sustained considerable success unti ...

relieved Glavine in the sixth and after a two-out double and intentional walk, Santiago's double scored both runners. In the bottom of the eighth

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played rig ...

's homer off Tim Worrell made it 8–3. With one on and one out, Santiago dropped a foul fly ball hit by

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- ...

, who then homered to make it 8–5. In the ninth, the Braves put the tying run at the plate off Robb Nen for Sheffield, but he hit into a game-ending double play.

Game 2

Turner Field in

In Game 2, Kirk Rueter faced Kevin Millwood, who was looking to keep the Braves' hopes alive in the series. The Braves struck first when Julio Franco walked with one out, moved to second on a ground out and scored on

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 ...

's RBI single in the first, but

homered to tie the game in the top of the second. Back-to-back homers by Javy Lopez and Vinny Castilla made it 3–1 Braves in the bottom half. Then

Mark DeRosa Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2013. He played for the Atlanta Braves (1998–2004), Texas Rangers (2005–2006), Chicago Cu ...

doubled and scored on

Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis, he ...

's RBI single one out later to make it 4–1 Braves. In the fourth, DeRosa followed a leadoff single and walk with a two-run triple to knock Rueter out of the game. DeRosa then scored on a passed ball by Manny Aybar to make it 7–1 Braves. The Giants got home runs from

off Millwood in the sixth and

in the ninth off

, but the Braves won the game 7–3 to tie the series.

Game 3

Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco In Game 3,

of the Braves faced

Jason Schmidt Jason David Schmidt (born January 29, 1973), is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. In his career, he has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–2009), San Francisco Giants (2001–06), Pittsburgh Pirates (1996–2001) and Atlan ...

of the Giants. In the bottom of the first,

hit a leadoff single and scored on Jeff Kent's doubled to make it 1–0 Giants. In the top of the third,

hit a leadoff triple and scored on a groundout by Julio Franco. The game remained tied until the sixth. With one out, three consecutive walks ended Schmidt's night. Vinny Castilla singled in two runs off Manny Aybar, then

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 ...

followed with a towering three-run homer to make it 6–1 Braves.

's homer in the bottom half made it 6–2, but the ninth saw the Braves add insurance. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out off Tim Worrell.

hit an RBI single off Aaron Fultz, who was relieved by Robb Nen.

Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodg ...

's single scored two, then one out later, Lockhart's single scored another.

Kevin Gryboski Kevin John Gryboski (born November 15, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and current head coach of Wilkes University's baseball team. Career High school career At Bishop Hoban High School in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvani ...

retired the Giants in order in the bottom of the inning as the Braves' 10–2 win gave them a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco In Game 4, Glavine would be sent to the mound once again, this time facing Liván Hernández. Glavine's struggles would continue, as he allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs in the first,

's sacrifice fly and Benito Santiago's groundout scored a run each. Next inning, David Bell hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on

's single. Another single and intentional walk loaded the bases before Santiago walked to force in another run. Aurilia's two-out three-run homer made it 7–0 in the third, knocking Glavine out of the game. The Braves got on the board in the fifth on

's RBI double with a runner on third, but the Giants got that run back in the bottom half off

Damian Moss Damian Joseph Moss (born 24 November 1976) is a retired Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. Career After making his Major League debut on 26 April, , with the Atlanta Braves, Moss would also spend the season in Atlanta, where he placed ...

on Santiago's RBI double with two on. The Braves scored two runs in the sixth on Javy Lopez's double and Vinny Castilla's single, but nothing else as the Giants' 8–3 win forced a Game 5 in Atlanta.

Game 5

Turner Field in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. In the clinching Game 5, Russ Ortiz returned to the mound to face Kevin Millwood. The Giants struck first in the second inning;

hit a single to leadoff the inning, and

would drive him home from second base on a two-out RBI single. In the fourth inning, on a 3-2 count, Bonds would line a ball into left-center to make it 2-0. The Braves had a golden opportunity in the fifth inning, having loaded the bases on an error and two walks, but

grounded out to the shortstop. The Braves would be rewarded for their patience in the next inning, which started with singles by

and Vinny Castilla to drive Ortiz out of the game. With one out, facing Aaron Fultz,

lined a single to center to score Jones and cut the lead to one while Fultz was replaced by Felix Rodriguez. He would induce two subsequent outs to end the inning. The Giants returned the favor in the 7th, starting with a double by

J.T. Snow Jack Thomas Snow Jr. (born February 26, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the San Franci ...

and two walks by

Mike Remlinger Michael John Remlinger (born March 23, 1966) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Remlinger has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the San Francisco Giants (1991), New York Mets (1994–95), Cincinnati Reds (1995–9 ...

to load the bases. With one out,

hit a flyball off Darren Holmes to center to score Snow. In the ninth, with the Braves trailing 3–1,

and Chipper Jones each came to the plate with two men on to face against Robb Nen, representing the Division Series-winning run. However, Sheffield struck out and Jones would hit into a double play to end the series. For the first time since the 1989 National League Championship Series, the Giants had won a postseason series. As for the Braves, this continued a chain of postseason series losses that would not subside until eighteen years later.

Composite box

2002 NLDS (3–2):

over

Arizona vs. St. Louis

The

won the West for the second straight year, having a better record than the previous year when they won the

2001 World Series The 2001 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Arizona Diamondbacks and the three- ...

. The

were making their third straight postseason appearance.

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

In Game 1, Matt Morris faced eventual 2002 Cy Young Award winner

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 ...

, who dominated the 2001 postseason with ease. However, in the top of the first an error by

Tony Womack Anthony Darrell Womack (born September 25, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), with most of his career spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona D ...

put a runner on for

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, ...

, who then hit a home run to make it 2–0 Cardinals. The Diamondbacks scratched out a run in the bottom half on Steve Finley's sacrifice fly with runners on first and third. In the bottom of the third,

Quinton McCracken Quinton Antoine McCracken (born August 16, 1970) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), and was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays franchise's first center fielder and bat ...

tied the game with an RBI single. In the fourth, the floodgates began to open as

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine ...

led off the inning with a triple and Scott Rolen followed with a two-run homer. Then

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 ...

's singled, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on

Mike Matheny Michael Scott Matheny (born September 22, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player and former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for 13 seasons as a catcher ...

's RBI single to make it is 5–2 Cards. Eli Marrero's sacrifice fly in the sixth made it 6–2 Cardinals before they blew the game open in the seventh.

Matt Mantei Matthew Bruce Mantei AN-tie(born July 7, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. In his career, Mantei played with the Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox. He batted and threw right-handed. Career M ...

allowed a single and walk, then

Tino Martinez Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from ...

walked off

Greg Swindell Forest Gregory Swindell (born January 2, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player. He had a 17-year career in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to . He played for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins and Bost ...

to load the bases. Swindell's errant throw on Matheny's bunt attempt allowed two runs to score, then Matt Morris's single scored two more runs.

Mike Fetters Michael Lee Fetters (born December 19, 1964) is an American professional baseball coach. He is currently the bullpen coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for eight teams during his 16-year career as ...

relieved Swindell and walked

with two outs to reload the bases before

's two-run single capped the scoring at 12–2 Cardinals, giving them a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

In Game 2, Chuck Finley 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 ...

J. D. Drew David Jonathan "J. D." Drew (born November 20, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. He began his major league career in with the St. Louis Cardinals, and also played for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and B ...

got the scoring started with a homer in the third to put the Cardinals up 1–0. Finley and Schilling dueled until Finley left with a cramp in his pitching hand. When

moved from left field in the eighth, he immediately created trouble by misplaying a ball hit by

Greg Colbrunn Gregory Joseph Colbrunn (born July 26, 1969) is an American former Major League baseball player and hitting coach. Primarily a first baseman during his active career, the Fontana, California, native played in the Major Leagues for 13 seasons (199 ...

off Rick White. Then

tied the game with a double. The Cardinals regained the lead in the top of the ninth, however, when

hit a leadoff single off

Mike Koplove Michael Paul Koplove (; born August 30, 1976) is an American professional baseball scout and former player. He pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cleveland Indians. A sidearm relief pitcher, Koplove threw with a different arm angle ...

, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a Miguel Cairo RBI single.

Jason Isringhausen Jason Derik Isringhausen ( born September 7, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 through 2012 for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Tamp ...

shut the D'Backs down 1–2–3 in the bottom of the inning for the save, giving the Cardinals a 2–0 lead in the series.

Jeff Fassero Jeffrey Joseph Fassero (born January 5, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Professional career Montreal Expos Fassero was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 22nd round of the amateur draft, but he bounced around in the min ...

got the win in relief by retiring the last batter of the eighth.

Game 3

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 ...

in St. Louis, Missouri Trying to avoid a series sweep, the Diamondbacks struck first in the second off starter Andy Benes when

David Dellucci David Michael Dellucci (born October 31, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams. High school Dellucci graduated from Catholic High in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

homered after a walk to put them up 2–0. However, against

Miguel Batista Miguel Descartes Batista Jerez (born February 19, 1971) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals, Ar ...

, Miguel Cairo's RBI single in the bottom half cut the lead to 2–1. Then Pujols would tie the game with an RBI single in the third. In the fourth with runners on first and third, Benes's sacrifice bunt allowed Cairo to score to give the Cardinals the lead. Fernando Viña's RBI single then made it 4–2 Cardinals.

Rod Barajas Rodrigo Richard Barajas (born September 5, 1975) is an American former professional baseball catcher and most recently catching and quality control coach for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Barajas served as the interim mana ...

homered to make it a one-run game in the fifth, but the Cardinals padded their lead in the eighth when

drew a leadoff walk off Byung-Hyun Kim and scored on Cairo's double. After an intentional walk,

Kerry Robinson Kerry Keith Robinson (born October 3, 1973) is an American former professional Major League Baseball player. Robinson started at an early age playing baseball and football for N.Y.A. (Northside Youth Association) and playing hockey for the Val ...

's RBI single made it 6–3 Cardinals.

got the series winning save by once again shutting down the Diamondbacks 1–2–3 in the ninth, and avenge last year's NLDS defeat.

Composite box

2002 NLDS (3–0):

over

Notes

External links

SFG vs. ATL at Baseball-Reference

STL vs. ARI at Baseball-Reference
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