2002 National League Division Series
The 2002 National League Division Series, the opening round of the 2002 National League 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:
- Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants ; Giants win series, 3–2.
- Arizona Diamondbacks vs. St. Louis Cardinals ; Cardinals win series, 3–0.
Matchups
Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Atlanta vs. San Francisco
The Atlanta Braves had won their 11th straight division title. The San Francisco Giants were making their third appearance in the postseason since 1997. Barry Bonds was also looking for a little revenge because he was the left fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates when they lost to the Braves in two straight NLCS appearances.Game 1, October 2
in AtlantaIn Game 1, Russ Ortiz faced Tom Glavine. In the top of the second, after Benito Santiago and Reggie Sanders hit back-to-back one-out singles, J. T. Snow 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's RBI single and Rich Aurilia's two-run double made it 6–2 Giants. Chris Hammond 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'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, 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, October 3
in AtlantaIn 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's RBI single in the first, but J. T. Snow 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 doubled and scored on Rafael Furcal'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 Rich Aurilia off Millwood in the sixth and Barry Bonds in the ninth off John Smoltz, but the Braves won the game 7–3 to tie the series.
Game 3, October 5
in San FranciscoIn Game 3, Greg Maddux of the Braves faced Jason Schmidt of the Giants. In the bottom of the first, Kenny Lofton hit a leadoff single and scored on Jeff Kent's doubled to make it 1–0 Giants. In the top of the third, Rafael Furcal 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 followed with a towering three-run homer to make it 6–1 Braves. Barry Bonds'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. Chipper Jones hit an RBI single off Aaron Fultz, who was relieved by Robb Nen. Andruw Jones's single scored two, then one out later, Lockhart's single scored another. Kevin Gryboski 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, October 6
in San FranciscoIn 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, Barry Bonds'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 Rich Aurilia's single. Another single and intentional walk loaded the bases before Santiago walked to force in another run. Then Rich 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 Rafael Furcal's RBI double with a runner on third, but the Giants got that run back in the bottom half off Damian Moss 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, October 7
in AtlantaIn the clinching Game 5, Russ Ortiz returned to the mound to face Kevin Millwood. Reggie Sanders's RBI single in the second scored Barry Bonds and made it 1–0 Giants. Then Bonds's home run made it 2–0 in the fourth. Mark DeRosa's RBI single off Aaron Fultz made it 2–1 in the sixth, the run charged to Ortiz, but the Braves squandered scoring chances, leaving 12 men on. The Giants got that run back in the seventh on a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Kenny Lofton off Darren Holmes, the run charged to Mike Remlinger. In the ninth, with the Braves trailing 3–1, Gary Sheffield came to the plate with two men on off Robb Nen, representing the Division Series-winning run, but struck out and Chipper Jones grounded out into a double play to end the series. This would begin the Braves' streak of four consecutive NLDS losses.
Composite box
2002 NLDS : San Francisco Giants over Atlanta BravesArizona vs. St. Louis
The Arizona Diamondbacks won the West for the second straight year, having a better team than the previous year when they won the 2001 World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals were making their third straight postseason appearance. Having swept the defending NL Champions in the 2000 National League Division Series, they had a chance to sweep the defending World Champions in 2002.Game 1, October 1
in Phoenix, ArizonaIn Game 1, Matt Morris faced eventual 2002 Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson, who dominated the 2001 postseason with ease. However, in the top of the first an error by Tony Womack put a runner on for Jim Edmonds, 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 tied the game with an RBI single. In the fourth, the floodgates began to open as Albert Pujols led off the inning with a triple and Scott Rolen followed with a two-run homer. Then Édgar Rentería's singled, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on Mike Matheny'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 allowed a single and walk, then Tino Martinez walked off Greg Swindell 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 relieved Swindell and walked Jim Edmonds with two outs to reload the bases before Albert Pujols's two-run single capped the scoring at 12–2 Cardinals, giving them a 1–0 series lead.
Game 2, October 3
in Phoenix, ArizonaIn Game 2, Chuck Finley faced Curt Schilling. J. D. Drew 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 Albert Pujols moved from left field in the eighth, he immediately created trouble by misplaying a ball hit by Greg Colbrunn off Rick White. Then Quinton McCracken tied the game with a double. The Cardinals regained the lead in the top of the ninth, however, when Édgar Rentería hit a leadoff single off Mike Koplove, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a Miguel Cairo RBI single. Jason Isringhausen 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 got the win in relief by retiring the last batter of the eighth.
Game 3, October 5
in St. Louis, MissouriTrying to avoid a series sweep, the Diamondbacks struck first in the second off starter Andy Benes when David Dellucci homered after a walk to put them up 2–0. However, against Miguel Batista, 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 homered to make it a one-run game in the fifth, but the Cardinals padded their lead in the eighth when Albert Pujols drew a leadoff walk off Byung-Hyun Kim and scored on Cairo's double. After an intentional walk, Kerry Robinson's RBI single made it 6–3 Cardinals. Jason Isringhausen got the series winning save by once again shutting down the Diamondbacks 1–2–3 in the ninth.