1991 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

PITTSBURGH PIRATES Vs. ATLANTA BRAVES

Game 1: Tom Glavine vs. Doug Drabek, Three Rivers Stadium

SHODDY BUCS DEFENSE AIDS BRAVES GAME 1 ‘W’

Glavine, Pen Shuts Down NL’s Top Offense

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 9 (AP) – Tom Glavine and three relievers limited the Pirates to one run and two Pittsburgh errors led to a pair of unearned runs, helping the Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 victory in the opening game of the National League Championship Series at Three Rivers Stadium. Glavine allowed a run to the Pirates in the bottom of the first but then kept Pittsburgh at bay. Juan Berenguer, Mike Stanton and Alejandro Pena combined to toss three hitless, shutout innings to close out the game. Terry Pendleton had a pair of hits, including an RBI-triple, to pace the Atlanta offense.

The three Pirates MVP candidates played a part in the two-out first inning rally that produced the game’s first run. After Glavine retired Gary Redus and Jay Bell in the bottom of the opening frame, Andy Van Slyke drew a walk and Bobby Bonilla followed with a base hit, chasing Van Slyke to third. Barry Bonds then dropped a single into shallow center, scoring Van Slyke. Steve Buechele grounded to second to end the inning.

The Braves wasted no time tying the game. In the top of the second, Ron Gant drew a one-out walk from Doug Drabek and stole second base. Sid Bream’s grounder to second advanced Gant to third and he scored when Bell booted Greg Olson’s grounder. The unearned run tied the score.

The Braves took the lead in the top of the third. Lonnie Smith’s one-out double to the right-center field wall got things started. Mark Lemke flied out, but Pendleton’s triple to left-center put Atlanta on top 2-1. Pendleton then scored the third Braves run when Buechele kicked David Justice’s grounder to third. Atlanta led 3-1, with a pair of those runs unearned.

Glavine uncharacteristically struggled with his control, but never paid a price for it. He pitched around a pair of one-out walks to Van Slyke and Bonilla in the third. But by the fourth, he’d found a groove and retired the final eight batters he faced before leaving for a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh.

The Braves threatened to add insurance in the fifth. Lemke and Pendleton lined consecutive two-out singles, and Pirates manager Jim Leyland called on Bob Patterson to face Justice. Patterson retired Justice to escape damage, and the Pirates bullpen went on to record 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball.

The problem was that the Braves bullpen was every bit as effective. In fact, after Don Slaught led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, he was immediately erased on Jose Lind’s double play grounder. From that point on, Braves pitchers retired 17 of the 18 batters they faced to end the game. The only baserunner was a two-out walk to pinch hitter Gary Varsho, issued by Berenguer in the bottom of the seventh. Berenguer then struck out pinch hitter Orlando Merced and Pittsburgh never had another batter reach base.

Game 2 of the NLCS will be held at Three Rivers Stadium tomorrow. Steve Avery of the Braves will face Zane Smith of the Pirates.

10/9/1991, Atl91-Pit91, Three Rivers Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Braves 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 0 6 1

1991 Pirates 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 6 1

Braves AB R H BI AVG Pirates AB R H BI AVG

Smith,Lo lf 4 1 1 0 .250 Redus 1b 3 0 0 0 .000

Mitchell,Kei lf 0 0 0 0 .000 Merced ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Lemke 2b 4 0 1 0 .250 Bell,Ja ss 4 0 0 0 .000

Pendleton 3b 4 1 2 1 .500 Van Slyke cf 2 1 0 0 .000

Justice rf 4 0 0 0 .000 Bonilla rf 3 0 1 0 .333

Gant cf 3 1 0 0 .000 Bonds lf 4 0 1 1 .250

Bream 1b 3 0 0 0 .000 Buechele 3b 4 0 0 0 .000

Hunter,B ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Slaught c 2 0 1 0 .500

Olson,GW c 4 0 2 0 .500 LaValliere ph 2 0 0 0 .000

Belliard ss 4 0 1 0 .250 Lind 2b 3 0 1 0 .333

Glavine p 2 0 0 0 .000 Drabek p 1 0 0 0 .000

Gregg ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Patterson,B p 0 0 0 0 .000

Berenguer p 0 0 0 0 .000 Walk p 0 0 0 0 .000

Stanton p 0 0 0 0 .000 Varsho ph 0 0 0 0 .000

Willard ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Rodriguez,Ro p 0 0 0 0 .000

Pena,A p 0 0 0 0 .000 Landrum,B p 0 0 0 0 .000

35 3 7 1 29 1 4 1

Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Glavine W 1-0 6.0 4 1 1 3 4 105 63 1.50

Berenguer H 1 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 23 12 0.00

Stanton H 1 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 0.00

Pena,A S 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 9 7 0.00

9.0 4 1 1 4 5 141 84

Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Drabek L 0-1 4.2 5 3 1 1 3 73 51 1.93

Patterson,B 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 13 9 0.00

Walk 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 21 16 0.00

Rodriguez,Ro 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 8 7 0.00

Landrum,B 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 13 8 0.00

9.0 7 3 1 1 5 128 91

Atl: Gregg batted for Glavine in the 7th

Hunter,B batted for Bream in the 9th

Willard batted for Stanton in the 9th

Mitchell,Kei inserted at lf in the 9th

Hunter,B moved to 1b in the 9th

Pit: LaValliere batted for Slaught in the 7th

Varsho batted for Walk in the 7th

Merced batted for Redus in the 7th

Merced moved to 1b in the 8th

LaValliere moved to c in the 8th

E-Bell,Ja, Buechele. 2B-Smith,Lo(1). 3B-Pendleton(1). RBI-Pendleton(1),

Bonds(1). SB-Gant(1). K-Smith,Lo, Justice, Gant, Olson,GW, Glavine, Redus,

Bell,Ja, Buechele, Drabek, Merced. BB-Gant, Van Slyke 2, Bonilla, Varsho.

SH-Drabek.

GWRBI: Pendleton

Temperature: 52, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: out to left at 6 MPH.

Attendance: 58,321

Game Time: 2:51

Game 2: Steve Avery vs. Zane Smith, Three Rivers Stadium

AVERY, PENA COMBINE TO SHUTOUT BUCS

Braves Take 2-0 Series Lead

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 10 (AP) – Steve Avery fired 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball and Alejandro Pena recorded his second save in as many games as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 at Three Rivers Stadium to take a two-games-to-none lead in the National League Championship Series. Following an off-day, the clubs will meet for Game 3 at Fulton County Stadium on October 12. Avery was brilliant, surrendering only five hits—all singles—while walking one and striking out seven. Pittsburgh starter Zane Smith had some early problems, but ultimately righted the ship and allowed just one run in six innings of work. But the Pirates, the top scoring team in the NL during the regular season, have mustered only one run against Atlanta’s pitching over the first two games.

The Braves stranded five baserunners over the first three innings, but broke through for a run in the fourth. Greg Olson led off the inning with a base hit—one of three he managed in the game-and advanced to second on Mark Lemke’s hit-and-run ground out to second. Rafael Belliard reached on an infield single, advancing Olson to third. That brought Avery to the plate and his ground ball to second baseman Jose Lind wasn’t hit hard enough for Pittsburgh to turn a double play. The Pirates had to settle for a fielder’s choice force out at second, with Olson scoring what turned out to be the game’s only run. Lonnie Smith followed by grounding a double past third baseman Steve Buechele, with Avery stopping at third. Smith then retired Terry Pendleton on a grounder to second to avoid further damage.

The Smith double—the only extra base hit of the game for either team--was the last safety the Braves could muster against Smith, who retired the final seven batters he faced before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth.

Avery retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced, surrendered a two-out single to Don Slaught in the fifth, then struck out Lind to end the inning.

Things did get a bit sticky for Avery in the seventh. Bobby Bonilla led off with a base hit and was forced at second by Barry Bonds. But Buechele drew Avery’s only free pass of the contest to put runners at first and second. It was the first time the Pirates had advanced a baserunner past first base. Avery, however, induced a double play ball off the bat of Slaught and the 1-0 lead remained intact.

In the bottom of the eighth, Avery retired Lind and pinch hitter Cecil Espy before yielding a two-out single to Gary Redus. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox inserted Pena and on the second pitch to Jay Bell, Redus took off for second. Olson gunned him down and the inning was over.

The Braves had a chance to add an insurance run off reliever Roger Mason in the ninth. Olson led off the inning with his third hit, a single, and was sacrificed to second by Lemke. Belliard flied to right but Keith Mitchell, who entered the contest as part of a double-switch when Avery was removed from the game in the eighth, lined a base hit to center. Olson tried to score but Andy Van Slyke gunned him down at the plate to keep the deficit at one run.

Bell opened the bottom of the ninth with a single to left. The tying run was on first and the Pirates had their trio of MVP candidates to follow. But Pena, calmly, proved up to the task. He fanned Van Slyke, retired Bonilla on a foul pop fly to third baseman Pendleton and retired Bonds on a routine fly ball to Ron Gant in center.

The Pirates will have to get their offense going on the road to have any chance to get back in the series.

10/10/1991, Atl91-Pit91, Three Rivers Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Braves 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 8 1

1991 Pirates 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 5 0

Braves AB R H BI AVG Pirates AB R H BI AVG

Smith,Lo lf 4 0 1 0 .250 Redus 1b 4 0 1 0 .143

Pendleton 3b 4 0 2 0 .500 Bell,Ja ss 4 0 2 0 .250

Gant cf 3 0 0 0 .000 Van Slyke cf 4 0 0 0 .000

Justice rf 4 0 0 0 .000 Bonilla rf 4 0 1 0 .286

Pena,A p 0 0 0 0 .000 Bonds lf 4 0 0 0 .125

Hunter,B 1b 3 0 0 0 .000 Buechele 3b 2 0 1 0 .167

Bream ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Slaught c 3 0 1 0 .400

Olson,GW c 4 1 3 0 .625 Lind 2b 3 0 0 0 .167

Lemke 2b 3 0 0 0 .143 Smith,Z p 1 0 0 0 .000

Belliard ss 4 0 1 0 .250 McClendon ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Avery p 2 0 0 1 .000 Kipper p 0 0 0 0 .000

Mitchell,Kei rf 1 0 1 0 1.000 Belinda p 0 0 0 0 .000

33 1 8 1 Espy ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Mason p 0 0 0 0 .000

31 0 6 0

Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Avery W 1-0 7.2 5 0 0 1 7 97 61 0.00

Pena,A S 2 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 10 9 0.00

9.0 6 0 0 1 8 107 70

Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Smith,Z L 0-1 6.0 6 1 1 2 0 81 56 1.50

Kipper 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 9 7 0.00

Belinda 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 14 8 0.00

Mason 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 12 10 0.00

9.0 8 1 1 2 1 116 81

Atl: Bream batted for Hunter,B in the 8th

Bream moved to 1b in the 8th

Mitchell,Kei inserted at rf in the 8th

Pit: McClendon batted for Smith,Z in the 6th

Espy batted for Belinda in the 8th

2B-Smith,Lo(2), Olson,GW(1). RBI-Avery(1). CS-Redus. K-Avery, Redus,

Van Slyke 3, Bonds 2, Lind, Smith,Z. BB-Gant, Avery, Buechele. SH-Lemke.

GWRBI: Avery

Temperature: 59, Sky: clear, Wind: right to left at 6 MPH.

Attendance: 58,537

Game Time: 2:12

Game 3: John Smiley vs. John Smoltz, Fulton County Stadium

BRAVES STAVE OFF LATE BUCS RALLY, TAKE 3-0 SERIES LEAD

Bucs Collect 1^st XBH of NLCS

ATLANTA, Oct. 12 (AP) – After a shaky start, John Smoltz recovered, allowing just one run over six innings of work, pacing the Atlanta Braves to a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Fulton County Stadium. The Braves bullpen held off a furious Pirates rally in the top of the ninth to preserve the win. David Justice belted a two-run home run—his first hit of the NLCS—in the bottom of the third, which proved to be the margin of victory. Atlanta will go for the sweep tomorrow in Game 4.

In a series dominated by close, low-scoring games, it appeared early on that this contest might be different. The Pirates took the lead in the first inning. Orlando Merced led off with a double, Pittsburgh’s first—and to this point, only—extra base hit of the series. Jay Bell bunted the runner to third and Merced scored on Andy Van Slyke’s ensuing sacrifice fly to center. Smoltz then issued the first of his three walks in the game, this one to Bobby Bonilla, and then uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Bonilla to advance to second. Barry Bonds was subsequently intentionally and Smoltz wriggled out of further trouble by retiring Steve Buechele on a fly to left.

The Braves failed to dent home plate against John Smiley in the bottom of the first and the Pirates threatened in the top of the second. Mike LaValliere led off with a single but was erased by Jose Lind’s double play grounder. But Smoltz then issued his third free pass in the first two innings, this one to Smiley, and then Merced singled the runner to third. Bell flied out to end the threat.

The Braves knotted the score in the bottom of the second. Greg Olson’s one-out double started things off and the Braves catcher scored on Mark Lemke’s base hit.

Smoltz pitched around a leadoff single in the third and then the Braves took the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Lonnie Smith led off with a base hit, but was doubled off first when Terry Pendleton lined out on a hit-and-run play. But Ron Gant’s two-out base hit kept the inning alive and Justice untied the game by belting a hanging Smiley breaking ball over the right field fence for a 3-1 Atlanta advantage.

After three innings, the two teams had scored as many runs as in any previous full game in the series, so a much higher-scoring affair appeared to be on the horizon. It wasn’t to be. Smoltz retired 10 straight batters after Van Slyke’s single to open the third, then surrendered a base hit to Bonds before inducing a double play grounder from Buechele on his last pitch of the game, ending the top of the sixth. As for Smiley, he didn’t allow a baserunner past first base following Justice’s home run prior to being lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh.

Kent Mercker tossed a perfect seventh for the Braves and Bill Landrum pitched around a leadoff single yielded to Rafael Belliard in the bottom half of the inning. Mike Stanton allowed a one-out single to Bell in the eighth, but kept the Pirates off the board. Landrum and Stan Belinda combined to hold the Braves scoreless in the bottom of the eighth.

Stanton remained in the game to open the ninth with Bonds due to leadoff, but the strategy was foiled when the Pirates left fielder led off with a sharp line drive single to right. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox called on his closer, Alejandro Pena, to end the game, but Pittsburgh wasn’t cooperating. Buechele bounced a single through the middle, putting runners on first and second and Don Slaught, attempting to sacrifice the runners over, dropped down such an effective bunt that Pena had no play, loading the bases with no outs. With a real chance to steal Game 3 and get back in the series, Pirates manager Jim Leyland called on Gary Varsho to pinch hit for Lind, but he popped to Olson for the first out. Cecil Espy then pinch hit for Belinda and lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Bonds, with the other runners holding. That brought Gary Redus to the plate with the tying run in scoring position and the lead run at first, but Redus grounded to Lemke at second to end the game.

The Braves had held on, and will hope to close out the NLCS tomorrow behind Charlie Leibrandt. Randy Tomlin is expected to start for the Pirates.

10/12/1991, Pit91-Atl91, Fulton County Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Pirates 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 0 8 1

1991 Braves 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 x 3 8 0 7 2

Pirates AB R H BI AVG Braves AB R H BI AVG

Merced 1b 3 1 2 0 .500 Smith,Lo lf 3 0 1 0 .273

Redus ph 2 0 0 0 .111 Stanton p 0 0 0 0 .000

Bell,Ja ss 3 0 1 0 .273 Pena,A p 0 0 0 0 .000

Van Slyke cf 3 0 1 1 .111 Pendleton 3b 3 0 0 0 .364

Bonilla rf 3 0 0 0 .200 Gant cf 3 1 1 0 .111

Bonds lf 3 1 2 0 .273 Justice rf 4 1 1 2 .083

Buechele 3b 4 0 1 0 .200 Hunter,B 1b 4 0 1 0 .125

LaValliere c 2 0 1 0 .250 Olson,GW c 4 1 2 0 .583

Slaught ph 2 0 1 0 .429 Lemke 2b 4 0 1 1 .182

Lind 2b 3 0 0 0 .111 Belliard ss 3 0 1 0 .273

Varsho ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Smoltz p 2 0 0 0 .000

Smiley p 1 0 0 0 .000 Mercker p 0 0 0 0 .000

McClendon ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Treadway ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Landrum,B p 0 0 0 0 .000 Mitchell,Kei lf 0 0 0 0 1.000

Rodriguez,Ro p 0 0 0 0 .000 31 3 8 3

Belinda p 0 0 0 0 .000

Espy ph 0 0 0 1 .000

31 2 9 2

Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Smiley L 0-1 6.0 6 3 3 2 3 91 54 4.50

Landrum,B 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 22 12 0.00

Rodriguez,Ro 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 0.00

Belinda 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 8 6 0.00

8.0 8 3 3 3 3 124 74

Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Smoltz W 1-0 6.0 5 1 1 3 4 98 58 1.50

Mercker H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 11 6 0.00

Stanton H 2 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 15 10 5.40

Pena,A S 3 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 13 8 0.00

9.0 9 2 2 3 5 137 82

Pit: Slaught batted for LaValliere in the 7th

McClendon batted for Smiley in the 7th

Slaught moved to c in the 7th

Redus batted for Merced in the 8th

Redus moved to 1b in the 8th

Varsho batted for Lind in the 9th

Espy batted for Belinda in the 9th

Atl: Treadway batted for Mercker in the 7th

Mitchell,Kei inserted at lf in the 8th

2B-Merced(1), Olson,GW(2). HR-Justice(1). RBI-Van Slyke(1), Espy(1),

Justice 2(2), Lemke(1). K-Merced, Bell,Ja, Van Slyke, Bonilla, Buechele,

Justice, Hunter,B, Smoltz. BB-Bonilla, Bonds, Smiley, Smith,Lo, Pendleton,

Gant. SH-Bell,Ja. SF-Van Slyke, Espy. WP-Smiley, Smoltz.

GWRBI: Justice

Temperature: 59, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: right to left at 16 MPH.

Attendance: 52,332

Game Time: 2:49

Game 4: Randy Tomlin vs. Charlie Leibrandt, Fulton County Stadium

BUCS ROUT BRAVES, FORCE GAME 5

Bonilla Leads Bats With 5 Hs, 4 2Bs

ATLANTA, Oct. 13 (AP) – Bobby Bonilla banged out five hits, including four doubles, and drove in three runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 13-3 rout of the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Fulton County Stadium. The victory forces a game Game 5 with the Braves leading the series three-games-to-one.

It was a breakout game for the Pittsburgh offense which accumulated 17 hits after managing only 19 safeties over the previoua three games combined. Pittsburgh managed 10 extra base hits in Game 4 after amassing only one in the first three games of the NLCS.

The Pirates knocked Braves starter Charlie Leibrandt out of the box in the third inning and then battered a trio of Atlanta relievers throughout the remainder of the game. Pirates starter Randy Tomlin held the Braves to one run over six innings before tiring in the seventh, but the game’s outcome was never in doubt after the first few frames.

The Pirates plated seven runs between the second and fourth innings. Steve Buechele doubled home Barry Bonds to open the scoring in the second, and, after a walk to Don Slaught, Jose Lind singled in another run; a Gary Redus sacrifice fly plated a third. Bonds and Buechele drove home a run each in the third and Bonilla’s second double of the game, in the fourth, brought home the sixth Pittsburgh tally. A seventh run scored on a wild pitch.

The Braves picked up a run in the fourth on Brian Hunter’s RBI single, but the Pirates countered with a tally of their own in the fifth when Jose Lind tripled and Redus doubled him home.

If the game wasn’t over by then, it was conclusively put to bed when the Pirates tallied three more times in the sixth. Buechele’s two-run double was the big blow, but Tomlin added insult to injury with an RBI single of his own.

A Lemke triple and an Belliard double gave the Braves two more runs in the seventh, but it simply made things appear slightly more respectable. Bonilla’s fourth double of the game, coming in the top of the ninth, capped the scoring.

In 2106 regular season games, no player managed to do what Bonilla accomplished in Game 4 of the NLCS. 17 different players banged out three doubles in a regular season game, but no one had four two-baggers.

The Pirates will try to keep the offense going when they meet the Braves in Game 5. It will be a rematch of Game 1 starters: Doug Drabek for Pittsburgh and Tom Glavine for Atlanta.

10/13/1991, Pit91-Atl91, Fulton County Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Pirates 0 3 2 2 1 3 1 0 1 13 17 0 11 0

1991 Braves 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 11 1 9 1

Pirates AB R H BI AVG Braves AB R H BI AVG

Redus 1b 5 1 1 2 .143 Smith,Lo lf 4 0 1 0 .267

Bell,Ja ss 5 1 0 0 .188 Pendleton 3b 4 0 0 0 .267

Van Slyke cf 4 3 3 0 .308 Berenguer p 0 0 0 0 .000

Bonilla rf 6 2 5 3 .438 Mitchell,Kei ph 1 0 1 0 1.000

Kipper p 0 0 0 0 .000 Gant cf 5 1 2 0 .214

Bonds lf 4 2 2 1 .333 Justice rf 4 0 0 0 .063

Buechele 3b 5 2 3 4 .333 Hunter,B 1b 4 0 1 1 .167

Walk p 0 0 0 0 .000 Olson,GW c 3 1 1 0 .533

Varsho ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Willard ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Slaught c 4 1 0 0 .273 Lemke 2b 3 1 2 1 .286

Lind 2b 4 1 2 1 .231 Belliard ss 4 0 2 1 .333

Tomlin p 4 0 1 1 .250 Leibrandt p 0 0 0 0 .000

Wilkerson 3b 1 0 0 0 .000 Clancy p 1 0 0 0 .000

43 13 17 12 Cabrera ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Wohlers p 0 0 0 0 .000

Blauser ph 2 0 1 0 .500

37 3 11 3

Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Tomlin W 1-0 6.1 8 3 3 0 3 83 57 4.26

Walk 1.2 1 0 0 1 1 31 21 0.00

Kipper 1.0 2 0 0 1 1 26 13 0.00

9.0 11 3 3 2 5 140 91

Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Leibrandt L 0-1 2.1 6 5 5 1 0 52 31 19.29

Clancy 2.2 3 3 2 4 2 50 28 6.75

Wohlers 2.0 5 4 4 2 2 58 31 18.00

Berenguer 2.0 3 1 1 0 2 33 22 2.70

9.0 17 13 12 7 6 193 112

Pit: Wilkerson inserted at 3b in the 7th

Varsho batted for Walk in the 9th

Varsho moved to rf in the 9th

Atl: Cabrera batted for Clancy in the 5th

Blauser batted for Wohlers in the 7th

Blauser moved to 3b in the 8th

Willard batted for Olson,GW in the 8th

Willard moved to c in the 9th

Mitchell,Kei batted for Berenguer in the 9th

E-Justice. 2B-Redus(1), Van Slyke 2(2), Bonilla 4(4), Buechele 2(2), Gant(1),

Olson,GW(3). 3B-Lind(1), Lemke(1). RBI-Redus 2(2), Bonilla 3(3), Bonds(2),

Buechele 4(4), Lind(1), Tomlin(1), Hunter,B(1), Lemke(2), Belliard(1).

SB-Redus(1), Bonds(1). K-Redus, Bell,Ja, Lind, Tomlin 2, Wilkerson, Gant,

Justice, Hunter,B, Belliard, Cabrera. BB-Redus, Bell,Ja, Van Slyke 2, Bonds,

Slaught, Lind, Smith,Lo, Lemke. HBP-Bonds. HB-Leibrandt. WP-Walk, Clancy,

Wohlers.

GWRBI: Buechele

Temperature: 66, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 17 MPH.

Attendance: 51,867

Game Time: 3:15

Game 5: Doug Drabek vs. Tom Glavine, Fulton County Stadium

BUCS BATS REMAIN HOT, POUND GLAVINE, BRAVES

NLCS Will Return to Steel City

ATLANTA, Oct. 14 (AP) – For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Pirates looked like their regular season selves, battering Atlanta ace Tom Glavine for nine runs, and they went on to defeat the Braves 12-5 at Fulton County Stadium. The series will return to Pittsburgh for Game 6. Bobby Bonds belted a third-inning grand slam, breaking open a close game, and Bobby Bonilla hammered a three-run homer of his own. Jay Bell had three hits, including a solo home run, and Andy Van Slyke reached base safely five times and scored three runs.

The Pirates scored three time in the top of the first off Glavine. Gary Redus led off with a base hit and moved to second one out later on the first of three walks drawn by Van Slyke. Bonilla then belted a Glavine change-up over the right field wall for a 3-0 Pittsburgh lead.

But the Braves came right back against Doug Drabek on the bottom of the inning. Lonnie Smith led off with a single and, one out later, took third on Terry Pendleton’s base hit. David Justice followed with a single, bringing home Smith to cut the deficit to 3-1, with Pendleton stopping at second. Ron Gant then doubled, scoring Pendleton and chasing Justice to third. Sid Bream’s ground out scored Justice with the tying run.

After a scoreless second, the Pirates broke the game open for good in the third. Bell drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on Van Slyke’s ringing double. Glavine fell behind the blazing hot Bonilla and eventually walked him intentionally. That brought up Bonds and the Pittsburgh left fielder unloaded on a Glavine breaking ball, driving it high up into the seats beyond the right field fence for a grand slam and a 7-3 lead. Later in the inning, Jose Lind drove home Buechele, who had walked, to make it 8-3.

In the top of the fourth, Redus led off with a single, Bell doubled to the gap in right-center, leaving runners on second and third, and ending Glavine’s day. Kent Mercker replaced him and Van Slyke greeted the new pitcher by bouncing a single to left, scoring Redus and advancing Bell to third. Mercker avoided further damage, but the rout was clearly on.

Tommy Gregg’s pinch hit single in the bottom of the fourth gave the Braves a fourth run, but the Pirates got two more in the sixth. Bell homered off Juan Berenguer to open the inning and Van Slyke walked again. Bonilla singled and Mike Stanton replaced Berenguer. But he walked Bonds and Buechele to force home the 11^th Pittsburgh run.

At this point, it was just about getting the game over with. Justice hit a solo home run off of Bob Patterson in the eighth to make it 11-5, but the relentless Pirates got one more run in the ninth, when Cecil Espy singled home Lind, who had doubled.

The Braves have to be wondering if, now that it’s wide open, they can turn off the Pittsburgh offensive spigot. After an off-day, they’ll have their third chance to wrap up the NLCS, but this time it will come against a confident Pirates team and it will be back at Three Rivers Stadium.

10/14/1991, Pit91-Atl91, Fulton County Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Pirates 3 0 5 1 0 2 0 0 1 12 14 0 9 2

1991 Braves 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 13 1 8 2

Pirates AB R H BI AVG Braves AB R H BI AVG

Redus 1b 6 2 3 0 .250 Smith,Lo lf 5 1 2 0 .300

Bell,Ja ss 5 2 3 1 .286 Treadway 2b 3 0 1 0 .250

Van Slyke cf 3 3 2 1 .375 Cabrera ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Bonilla rf 4 2 2 3 .450 Clancy p 0 0 0 0 .000

Mason p 0 0 0 0 .000 Hunter,B ph 1 0 0 0 .154

Bonds lf 4 1 1 4 .316 Pendleton 3b 5 1 2 0 .300

Buechele 3b 3 1 0 1 .278 Justice rf 5 2 2 2 .143

Slaught c 4 0 0 0 .200 Gant cf 3 0 1 1 .235

Lind 2b 5 1 2 1 .278 Bream 1b 3 1 1 1 .143

Drabek p 3 0 0 0 .000 Olson,GW c 4 0 1 0 .474

McClendon ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Belliard ss 3 0 1 0 .333

Patterson,B p 0 0 0 0 .000 Willard ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Espy rf 1 0 1 1 .500 Lemke 2b 0 0 0 0 .286

39 12 14 12 Glavine p 1 0 0 0 .000

Mercker p 0 0 0 0 .000

Gregg ph 1 0 1 1 .500

Berenguer p 0 0 0 0 .000

Stanton p 0 0 0 0 .000

Blauser ph 2 0 1 0 .500

38 5 13 5

Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Drabek W 1-1 6.0 7 4 4 2 2 102 66 4.22

Patterson,B H 1 1.1 2 1 1 0 0 15 13 3.86

Mason 1.2 4 0 0 0 4 31 24 0.00

9.0 13 5 5 2 6 148 103

Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Glavine L 1-1 3.0 7 9 9 4 2 80 45 10.00

Mercker 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 12 7 0.00

Berenguer 1.1 2 2 2 1 3 34 20 5.79

Stanton 1.2 0 0 0 2 0 25 13 2.70

Clancy 2.0 4 1 1 1 0 34 20 5.79

9.0 14 12 12 8 6 185 105

Pit: McClendon batted for Drabek in the 7th

Espy inserted at rf in the 8th

Atl: Gregg batted for Mercker in the 4th

Blauser batted for Stanton in the 7th

Cabrera batted for Treadway in the 7th

Blauser moved to 2b in the 8th

Willard batted for Belliard in the 8th

Lemke inserted at 2b in the 9th

Blauser moved to ss in the 9th

Hunter,B batted for Clancy in the 9th

E-Pendleton. 2B-Bell,Ja(1), Van Slyke(3), Lind(1), Gant(2). HR-Bell,Ja(1),

Bonilla(1), Bonds(1), Justice(2). RBI-Bell,Ja(1), Van Slyke(2), Bonilla 3(6),

Bonds 4(6), Buechele(5), Lind(2), Espy(2), Justice 2(4), Gant(1), Bream(1),

Gregg(1). K-Redus, Bonds 2, Buechele 2, Drabek, Smith,Lo, Justice, Gant 2,

Olson,GW, Willard. BB-Bell,Ja, Van Slyke 3, Bonilla, Bonds, Buechele 2, Gant,

Bream. HBP-Slaught. HB-Berenguer. WP-Clancy.

GWRBI: Bonds

Temperature: 69, Sky: clear, Wind: out to left at 1 MPH.

Attendance: 52,233

Game Time: 3:27

Game 6: Steve Avery vs. Zane Smith, Three Rivers Stadium

BRAVES WRAP UP NLCS; MEET TWINS IN WORLD SERIES

Pendleton, Smith Homer; Leibrandt Sparkles in Key Relief Role

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 16 (AP) – For the Atlanta Braves, the third time was the charm. After failing to put away their opponents in Games 4 and 5, the Braves got the job done in Game 6. Steve Avery won his second game, en route to NLCS Most Valuable Player honors, and Terry Pendleton and Lonnie Smith both homered to lead the Braves past the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series at Three Rivers Stadium. The win clinches the NL pennant for Atlanta and the Braves will now meet the Minnesota Twins in the World Series. The Twins finished off the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, four-games-to-one.

Avery took a no-hitter into the fifth, but surrendered a three-run home run to Gary Redus in the bottom of that frame. Still, he held the Pirates to just three hits. Charlie Leibrandt, who started Game 4 and was driven from the mound in the third inning of that contest, was brilliant in Game 6. Doing something he never did in the regular season—appear in relief—Leibrandt fired three perfect innings. It was of incalculable value to a tired, battered bullpen.

The Braves jumped on Pittsburgh starter Zane Smith for three runs in the top of the third. Smith singled with one out and stole second base. Pendleton doubled him home to give Atlanta a 1-0 advantage. Then Ron Gant reached when shortstop Jay Bell booted his ground ball, leaving runners on the corners with one out. David Justice singled home Pendleton and Gant took third on the play. Brian Hunter’s subsequent sacrifice fly plated Gant with the third run of the inning.

Pendleton’s home run leading off the fifth gave the Braves a 4-0 lead.

Avery was cruising along to that point, having scattered three walks, but holding the Pirates hitless. But Don Slaught led off the fifth with a single and Jose Lind followed with another base hit, putting runners on first and second. Lloyd McClendon pinch hit for Smith, but flied to left. But Redus then guessed first pitch fastball from Avery, got it, and drove it over the left field wall for a three-run home run. Suddenly, the Pirates were within a single run.

Neither team scored in the sixth, but leading off the top of the seventh, facing Bob Walk, Smith ambushed Walk’s first pitch, driving it well over the wall in straight away left field for a 5-3 Atlanta lead.

Leibrandt entered the game in the sixth and cruised through the Pittsburgh lineup, retiring all nine batters he faced. For all the difficulty Leibrandt had with the Pirates in Game 4, he needed only 21 pitches to toss three innings in Game 6.

Alejandro Pena came on in the ninth looking for his fourth save in the NLCS in as many appearances. It wouldn’t be easy. Bobby Bonilla led off with a base hit to right-center. Barry Bonds flied to center, but Steve Buechele reached on an infield single, putting the tying runs on base with just one out. Orlando Merced hit for Slaught, but fanned for the second out. That brought Jose Lind to the plate. On the first pitch from Pena he bounced to third. Pendleton handled the grounder cleanly and threw to first for the out, thereby punching Atlanta’s ticket to the World Series.

It was a nice comeback for the Braves pitching staff, which performed so brilliantly in the first three games but was utterly demolished by the Pirates in Games 4 and 5.

Pena, Smith, Pendleton and Mark Lemke all drew consideration for series MVP honors, but the decision was ultimately made to go with Avery, who won both of his starts, posted a 2.13 earned run average against the National League’s best offense, and held Pittsburgh to a collective .182 batting average and .500 OPS.

10/16/1991, Atl91-Pit91, Three Rivers Stadium

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP

1991 Braves 0 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 5 7 0 6 0

1991 Pirates 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 5 1 5 0

Braves AB R H BI AVG Pirates AB R H BI AVG

Smith,Lo lf 4 2 2 1 .333 Redus 1b 4 1 1 3 .250

Pena,A p 0 0 0 0 .000 Bell,Ja ss 4 0 0 0 .240

Pendleton 3b 5 2 2 2 .320 Van Slyke cf 4 0 0 0 .300

Gant cf 4 1 0 0 .190 Bonilla rf 3 0 1 0 .435

Justice rf 4 0 1 1 .160 Bonds lf 3 0 0 0 .273

Hunter,B 1b 2 0 0 1 .133 Buechele 3b 4 0 1 0 .273

Bream ph 1 0 0 0 .125 Slaught c 3 1 1 0 .222

Olson,GW c 4 0 0 0 .391 Merced ph 1 0 0 0 .400

Lemke 2b 3 0 2 0 .353 Lind 2b 3 1 1 0 .286

Belliard ss 3 0 0 0 .286 Smith,Z p 0 0 0 0 .000

Avery p 1 0 0 0 .000 Landrum,B p 0 0 0 0 .000

Treadway ph 1 0 0 0 .200 McClendon ph 1 0 0 0 .000

Leibrandt p 0 0 0 0 .000 Walk p 0 0 0 0 .000

Gregg ph 1 0 0 0 .333 Rodriguez,Ro p 0 0 0 0 .000

Mitchell,Kei lf 0 0 0 0 1.000 Espy ph 1 0 0 0 .333

33 5 7 5 Belinda p 0 0 0 0 .000

Kipper p 0 0 0 0 .000

31 3 5 3

Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Avery W 2-0 5.0 3 3 3 3 3 77 49 2.13

Leibrandt H 1 3.0 0 0 0 0 1 21 14 8.44

Pena,A S 4 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 21 13 0.00

9.0 5 3 3 3 5 119 76

Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA

Smith,Z L 0-2 4.0 5 4 3 2 3 66 42 3.60

Landrum,B 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 9 7 0.00

Walk 1.2 2 1 1 0 0 25 19 1.93

Rodriguez,Ro 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00

Belinda 1.2 0 0 0 1 1 28 16 0.00

Kipper 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0.00

9.0 7 5 4 3 5 132 86

Atl: Treadway batted for Avery in the 6th

Bream batted for Hunter,B in the 8th

Bream moved to 1b in the 8th

Gregg batted for Leibrandt in the 9th

Mitchell,Kei inserted at lf in the 9th

Pit: McClendon batted for Landrum,B in the 5th

Espy batted for Rodriguez,Ro in the 7th

Merced batted for Slaught in the 9th

E-Bell,Ja. 2B-Pendleton(1). 3B-Lemke(2). HR-Smith,Lo(1), Pendleton(1),

Redus(1). RBI-Smith,Lo(1), Pendleton 2(3), Justice(5), Hunter,B(2),

Redus 3(5). SB-Smith,Lo(1), Bonds(2). K-Smith,Lo, Gant, Hunter,B, Lemke,

Belliard, Redus, Bell,Ja, Bonilla, Buechele, Merced. BB-Smith,Lo, Lemke,

Belliard, Bonilla, Bonds, Lind. SH-Avery, Smith,Z. SF-Hunter,B.

GWRBI: Pendleton

Temperature: 62, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 7 MPH.

Attendance: 58,640

Game Time: 2:43