1995 NLCS Game 5

For the all-important Game 5, the Reds again went with a starter on 3 days rest with John Smiley.  The Braves countered with their own lefty, Tom Glavine.

Things didn't start out well for the Braves as they lost their starting second baseman, Mark Lemke, in the bottom of the 1st.  The team trainers said he could miss an additional 7 games.  However, the Braves got on the board first on a 2-run HR by Ryan Klesko in the 2nd inning.  The Reds responded in the top of the 4th with a 3-run shot by Reggie Sanders.  The Braves quickly re-took the lead in the bottom half of the frame, the big shot a 2-out, 2-run double by Marquis Grissom and added another run in the bottom of the 5th on an RBI single by Rafael Belliard.

The Reds responded with a run in the top of the 6th on an RBI double by Benito Santiago to cut it to 6-4.  A 2-run single by Javy Lopez in the bottom of the inning stretched the lead back out and chased Smiley.

The final scoring was from a 2-run double by Bret Boone in the top of the 8th off Brad Clontz to give us our final score of 8-6.  The series heads back to Cincinnati with the Braves holding a 3 games to 2 lead.

1995 NLCS Game 4

With the Reds beating the Braves ace Greg Maddux in game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead, the Braves turned to Steve Avery in the hopes that he could help them win the pivotal game 4.

The Reds countered with Pete Schourek on 3 days rest.  The Braves got on board first in the 4th inning behind a leadoff Chipper Jones homerun.  They loaded the bases on three singles with one out, but Schourek got out of the jam, retiring Belliard and Avery.

Avery was magnificent, allowing only two hits and holding the Reds scoreless through the first 7 innings.  A two-out two-run Ron Gant homerun gave the Reds a 2-1 lead and they were only 6 outs away from taking a 3-1 series lead.  Avery finished with a line of 7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 12 K.

Fred McGriff tied things up in the bottom of the 8th with a solo homerun, his sixth of the postseason, off of Dave Burba.

Things would remain deadlocked until the bottom of the 11th, when Javy Lopez blasted a 2-run walkoff homerun off of Hector Carrasco, sending Braves fans happy and tying up the NLCS at 2 games a piece.

1995 NLCS Game 3

As the Braves return home to Atlanta Fulton County Stadium for Game 3, with the series tied 1-1, they handed the ball to the man who had one of the greatest pitching seasons of all time, Greg Maddux.

However the Reds would not be rattled.  In the 3rd inning, they strung together 4 singles and a walk to score two runs, even though they left the bases loaded.  The Braves got one back in the bottom, but a leadoff Jeff Branson homerun in the 4th made it 3-1.  A 2-run single by Bret Boone in the 5th made it 5-1.

The Braves got one back in the 8th, but Bret Boone scored Reggie Sanders on an RBI triple in the top of the 9th to made it 6-2.  With a tired bullpen and a 4 run lead, the Reds brought in Mark Portugal to close things out.  However a 2-run homerun by Mark Lemke chased Portugal and made it 6-4.  Jeff Brantley came in the close things out and although he gave up a solo shot to Fred McGriff to make it 6-5, he was able to get David Justice to foul out to Benito Santiago to get the save and give the Reds a victory and 2-1 lead in the series.

1995 NLCS Game 2

With the Atlanta Braves having dropped Game 1 of the NLCS, they turned to John Smoltz to keep them from returning home down two games to none.

And Smoltz was up to the task. Tossing a complete game shutout, allowing a single hit, a two-out single to Barry Larkin in the 3rd inning.

For the Reds, John Smiley was nearly as good, allowing 6 hits and one run in 7 2/3 innings.

The Braves scored their lone run in the 7th.  A leadoff walk to David Justice was following by a Mike Deveraux single.  With Justice on third, a Javy Lopez fly ball to left scored the run that turned out to be the difference.

With the series tied 1 game a piece, we head to Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium as Greg Maddux awaits the Reds.