1995 National League Division Series 1

1995 National League Division Series
Atlanta Braves 90 - 54 in the NL	3 - 1 Series Summary	Colorado Rockies 77 - 67 in the NL

1995 MLB Postseason
LG	Division Series	League Champ.	World Series
AL	CLE - BOS	CLE - SEA	ATL - CLE
	SEA - NYY
NL	CIN - LAD	ATL - CIN
	ATL - COL
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The Teams

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves had advanced to the series by winning the National League East Division. The team was managed by Bobby Cox. The Braves had reached the playoffs in 1991, 1992 and 1993 as NL West Champions before the 1994 strike had wiped out the previous year's post-season. The Braves were making their first appearance as the NL Eastern Division Champions.

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies had advanced to the series by winning the National League Wild Card. The team was managed by Don Baylor. The upstart Rockies had reached the playoffs for the first time in only their third year of existence.

Umpires

• Games 1 and 2: Jerry Layne, John McSherry, Charlie Reliford, Terry Tata, Harry Wendelstedt, Joe West
• Games 3 and 4: Gary Darling, Bob Davidson, Bruce Froemming, Eric Gregg, Ed Montague, Frank Pulli

From 1995 to 2003, each league used two umpiring crews for its divisional series. The crews changed series at the change of venues (after Game 2).

The Games

Game 1

October 3, 1995 at Coors Field in Denver, CO; night game (Attendance: 50,040)	Boxscore
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Atlanta Braves 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 5 12 1 Colorado Rockies 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 13 4 Win: Alejandro Pena (1-0) Loss: Curt Leskanic (0-1) Save: Mark Wohlers (1) Home Runs: ATL - Chipper Jones 2 (2), Marquis Grissom (1); COL - Vinny Castilla (1)

Game 1 pitted starters Greg Maddux against Kevin Ritz at Coors Field. Neither got the decision as the game was not settled until the 9th inning, when Chipper Jones hit a solo home run, his second of the game, against Curt Leskanic. In a tense bottom of the 9th, Rockies manager Don Baylor, having exhausted his bench options, was forced to pinch-hit with a pitcher, Lance Painter, with two out and the bases loaded. Mark Wohlers completed a scoreless inning by striking out Painter to earn the save. Marquis Grissom hit a solo home run. Luis Polonia and Dwight Smith both had pinch-hit RBIs. Vinny Castilla hit a two-run home run and a double off Maddux. Ellis Burks batted in the other two Rockies runs. Alejandro Pena picked up the win in relief for the Braves.

Game 2

October 4, 1995 at Coors Field in Denver, CO; night game (Attendance: 50,063)	Boxscore
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Atlanta Braves 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 7 13 1 Colorado Rockies 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 4 8 2 Win: Alejandro Pena (2-0) Loss: Mike Munoz (0-1) Save: Mark Wohlers (2) Home Runs: ATL - Marquis Grissom 2 (3) COL - Larry Walker (1)

Game 2 was another see-saw affair. Marquis Grissom hit a pair of solo home runs off Rockies starter Lance Painter to help stake the Braves to a 3-0 lead. Colorado outfielder Larry Walker tied the game with a three-run home run in the 6th, knocking out the Braves starter, Tom Glavine. The Rockies took the lead in the 8th with a pair of doubles by Dante Bichette and Andres Galarraga. But the Braves scored three in the top of the 9th off Mike Munoz and Darren Holmes. Mark Wohlers got his second save and Alejandro Pena picked up his second win.

Game 3

October 6, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GA; night game (Attendance: 51,300)	Boxscore
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Colorado Rockies 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 7 9 0 Atlanta Braves 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 5 11 0 Win: Darren Holmes (1-0) Loss: Mark Wohlers (0-1) Save: Mark Thompson (1) Home Runs: COL - Eric Young (1), Vinny Castilla (2)

Game 3 was the series' third back-and-forth game. John Smoltz and Bill Swift started for the teams and neither got a decision, the third game in a row this happened. Eric Young and Vinny Castilla provided dual two-run homers and Young also scored on a wild pitch, all off Smoltz, to give the Rockies a 5-3 lead through six innings. The Braves got all the runs they would score off Swift in the 4th, tying the game at the time.

Mike Mordecai reduced Colorado's lead to 5-4 with a pinch-hit double in the 7th and Luis Polonia tied the game off Darren Holmes with a pinch-hit single in the 9th. Mark Wohlers came on in the 10th and got two outs until Dante Bichette doubled, Larry Walker was intentionally walked, and Andres Galarraga and Castilla singled. Mark Thompson then set the Braves down in order for the save.

Game 4

October 7, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GA; night game (Attendance: 50,027)	Boxscore
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Colorado Rockies 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 11 1 Atlanta Braves 0 0 4 2 1 3 0 0 x 10 15 0 Win: Greg Maddux (1-0) Loss: Bret Saberhagen (0-1) Home Runs: COL - Dante Bichette (1), Vinny Castilla (3); ATL - Fred McGriff 2 (2)

Game 4 saw Greg Maddux face veteran pitcher Bret Saberhagen. This game wasn't see-saw at all. Colorado took the early lead with a Dante Bichette three-run homer in the 3rd inning, but the Braves scored 4 runs in the bottom of the inning with singles by Mark Lemke and Marquis Grissom, a two-run double by Chipper Jones, and a two-run homer by Fred McGriff. McGriff added another homer in the 5th and a bases-loaded single in the 7th to provide more cushion for Atlanta. Vinny Castilla hit another homer in the 6th, but it was a solo shot. Alejandro Pena pitched two innings to finish Maddux's win and send the Braves to their sixth NLCS ever.

Series Summary

Game	Score	Date	Ballpark, City	Attendance
1	Braves 5 - 4 Rockies	October 3	Coors Field, Denver, CO	44,199
2	Braves 7 - 4 Rockies	October 4	Coors Field, Denver, CO	50,063
3	Rockies 7 - 5 Braves (10 innings)	October 6	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, GA	53,276
4	Rockies 4 - 10 Braves	October 7	Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, GA	50,027

Related Sites

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NL Division Series (3-1) Braves (NLE) over Rockies (WC) NL Division Series (3-0) Reds (NLC) over Dodgers (NLW)

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AL Championship Series (4-2) Indians over Mariners

AL Division Series (3-0) Indians (ALC) over Red Sox (ALE) AL Division Series (3-2) Mariners (ALW) over Yankees (WC)