1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Game 7)

GAME 7

On the mound: The Atlanta Braves send Tom Glavine (Grade B) to face off against the Philadelphia Phillies' Terry Mulholland (Grade B-YZ). Mulholland was brilliant in a complete game victory in Game 3, allowing only 1 run & 4 hits (Glavine allowed 4 ER through 5 IP).

Top of the 2nd: After striking out Terry Pendleton for his 3rd strikeout (through first 6 batters) in the game already, and 2nd out of the inning, the Phillies' Terry Mulholland looked like he was in complete control, until Damon Berryhill smacked a mistake pitch over the right field wall [Berryhill rolled a 66-0, 11-1].

Top of the 3rd: The Phillies almost had themselves a quick 1-2-3 inning, but suddenly appeared to be heading for some trouble, when Jeff Blauser reached on a fielding error by second baseman Mariano Duncan & a single by Ron Gant. Not good when the next two batters in the lineup were Fred McGriff (4 HR in NLCS) and David Justice (3 HR in NLCS). McGriff would fly out though. Braves still lead 1-0.

Top of the 6th: The Braves' Ron Gant leads off the inning by drawing a walk. Fred McGriff grounds out to third, while Gant advances to second. With one out, and David Justice stepping up to the plate, the Phillies elect to intentionally walk Justice in favor to face Terry Pendleton (.272 hitter with low .718 OPS), who has hit into 18 double plays during the 1993 MLB Season. Pendleton strikes out, while Damon Berryhill reaches on a infield single [25-9]. Bases loaded for Mark Lemke, [31-14, 2 balls, 16-28], hits into a 6-4 fielder's choice. It's still a tense, 1-0 Atlanta lead.

Bottom of the 7th: Dave Hollins breaks up Tom Glavine's no-hit bid [33-6], with a lead-off double. Braves' Pitching Coach Leo Mazzone calls down to the Braves' pen to get some arms ready. Glavine then walks Darren Daulton [64-14]. Mazzone will come out to talk to Glavine. Pete Incaviglia stands outside of the batter's box...

As a APBA strategist, we would probably run for the bullpen cards with some of those control Z's that Atlanta has, but I want to approach this realistically that Jay Howell and Steve Bedrosian would still be getting ready. The team may have had some relievers stretch their arms a bit, but Tom Glavine was rolling with a no-hitter, with 3 walks entering the 6th. So we are going to take a chance against Incaviglia, hoping for a strikeout or double play. In APBA Tournament play, I would already be placing Jay Howell's Grade A*-YZ card down.

Leo heads back to the dugout, Berryhill squats waiting for the pitch, Glavine delivers... Incaviglia bops it to left, but it's caught by Gant, one out. Glavine would get Wes Chamberlain to also fly out for the second out...

Now the APBA strategist takes over...

Braves' Manager Bobby Cox comes out, and asks the ball from Tom Glavine. The Braves' faithful that happened to make it to Veterans Stadium is all on their feet, giving Glavine a well-deserved standing ovation. Jay Howell will face Kevin Stocker, who batted .324 as a rookie this season through 70 games. Stocker also had an outstanding on-base percentage of .409.

My thought is that with runners on 1st & 2nd, Stocker will beat either Glavine or Howell with result '7' which Stocker has with a dice-roll 22, 33, 44 & 55, while he can also beat either pitcher with a dice-roll 11-6, or 66-0... but Howell has a chance to beat his result '9's in this situation, where as Glavine would have allowed an infield single that loaded the bases, while Phillies would call on a bench option to hit for the pitcher.

Jay Howell delivers the pitch, Stocker [66-0, 21-2-5 on double-columns] smacks it down the right field line, one will score, another will score, as Stocker makes it all the way to third on a triple! The Phillies lead 2-1, and want to add another run as they elect to pinch-hit for Mulholland. This move by Cox will certainly be second-guessed. The Phillies' Todd Pratt [11-5, 22-6, 33-5, 66-1, single-column card] steps up to the plate, with two outs. Howell with the pitch, this one is lifted, it's off the wall, Stocker scores! [Pratt rolled a 33-5]. Howell gets Lenny Dykstra to ground out to third, but it's all too late, as the Phillies now lead 3-1, and are 6 outs away from playing in the 1993 World Series.

Top of the 8th: The Phillies call on reliever David West for his 5th appearance in the series, as he has not allowed a run in 3.1 innings of work. Jim Eisenreich takes over in left, as a defensive replacement for Pete Incaviglia. For the first time tonight, Ron Gant (2 singles, BB) doesn't reach base safely, as he flies out. Fred McGriff draws a walk [53-37-37]. Last time, the Phillies intentionally walked David Justice, but this time they do, as West strikes him out, two outs. Terry Pendleton would also strike out.

Bottom of the 8th: The Braves are forced to send Jay Howell out there for at least one inning. Mariano Duncan grounds out to second for out number one. John Kruk reaches safely on a fielding error by Braves shortstop Jeff Blauser. Dave Hollins [33-6] smacks a double over first, sending Kruk to third. With runners on 2nd & 3rd, Darren Daulton strikes out [36-12] for the second out. Jim Eisenreich works the count to a walk. Bases loaded, Wes Chamberlain sees his pitch, big swing, but comes up empty by striking out.

Top of the 9th: The Phillies call on their closer, Mitch Williams. Damon Berryhill grounds out to short for out number one. Bobby Cox will have Bill Pecota pinch-hit for Mark Lemke. Lemke is only batting 1-for-16 (.063) this series, and although Pecota is 0-for-5, with a sac fly RBI -- Pecota did bat .323 in pinch-hitting duty this season. Pecota strikes out, as the Phillies are one out away from finishing this thing. Sid Bream will come off the bench to pinch-hit in the pitcher's slot. Williams sets, delivers... [26-29] Bream strikes out!

The Philadelphia Phillies are your 1993 National League Champions!!!

The Phillies got all 4 of their hits late, but they made them count, none bigger than Kevin Stocker's two-out, two-run triple that took the lead.

• John Kruk (PHI): batted 10-for-21 (.476) w/ 7 bases on balls, with 4 RBI & 2 SB's /.607 OBP.
• Curt Schilling (PHI): 1-0, 0.56 ERA, 18 K / 4 BB, 6 H (16 IP) with a .625 WHIP.
• Terry Mulholland (PHI): 2-0, 1.13 ERA, 7 K / 4 BB, 9 H (16 IP) with a .813 WHIP.
• Pete Incaviglia (PHI): 3 HR (4-for-17, .235)
• Fred McGriff (ATL): 4 HR (5-for-27, .185)
• David Justice (ATL): 3 HR (7-for-23, .304)
• Greg Maddux (ATL): 1-1, 2.81 ERA, 15 K / 8 BB, 9 H (16 IP) with 1.063 WHIP.

I have to say, I am still going to have to go with John Kruk as the series' Most Valuable Player, he got on base over 60% of the time, while also collecting 10 hits, 7 walks, 4 RBI & 2 steals. Plus Mulholland kind of splits up Schilling's votes there, he didn't do much worse.

Recap of 1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay

Prior to the series, I was expecting this game to go 6-7 games, and why not? Both teams in real life went 6 games, both have strengths in many areas, while both have versatile teams. So it was quite a surprise when the Philadelphia Phillies were making quick work of the Atlanta Braves in Games 1-thru-3... It was so bad, if you told me that we would get this series back to a competitive one, and all tied up, I would have told you that you were crazy.

The Braves looked lousy, while totaling 9 hits in the first 3 games combined. The Phillies' John Kruk, at one point had 6 hits through Games 1-2, while the Braves only had 5 hits!

So a quick recap...

Game 4 was looking much the same, the Phillies jumped out early on John Smoltz, scoring 4 runs in the 2nd inning, making it a short night for Smoltzie. Down 4-1, with 2 outs during the bottom of the 4th, Fred McGriff would hit a grounder to rookie Kevin Stocker, who bobbled it, as McGriff reached safely on a error. Terry Pendleton followed with a single, then David Justice clobbered a three-run home run off Danny Jackson to suddenly make it a 4-4 tie.

That wacky Game 4 would go on to see 5 lead changes, while both teams had leads of 3+ runs at one point. Phillies with their 4-0 lead after the top of the 2nd, while the Braves led 8-5 after 4 innings -- That Braves' 8-5 lead was the first lead Atlanta had all series. It would be an 8th inning RBI single by Ron Gant off of Philadelphia reliever Larry Andersen during the bottom of the 8th that would, along with Greg McMichael's 9th inning save, secure Atlanta's first victory.

The next night, both Curt Schilling (Grade C-XZ) and Steve Avery (Grade B-YZ) provided strong pitching performances for the ball clubs. Avery's big mistake was the two-run homer by Pete Incaviglia during the 2nd inning. Schilling would exit after 7 innings (5 H, 1 ER, 8 K, no walks). Schilling was still a Grade C-XZ, if he stayed in and pitched a scoreless 8th, than he would have had a grade advancement to Grade B-XZ, but felt going to David West (Grade A*-XYW) with a 2-1 lead in the 8th was the better decision. West would do his part, by striking out pinch-hitter Sid Bream and Ron Gant....

Mitch Williams, doing his part? Not so much. Bottom of the 9th, Williams would allow a lead-off single to Fred McGriff, followed by a game-tying RBI triple by David Justice. Still with no outs, Terry Pendleton delivers the walk-off win.

Curt Schilling was only 6 outs away from probably earning the 1993 NLCS Most Valuable Player Award, in which he would have been 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA, 18 strikeouts & 4 walks through 16 innings of work. It should be noted that Schilling actually won that award in real life.

The walk-off win set up the Braves to have their ace Greg Maddux pitch in Game 6. The Phillies' Tommy Greene showed he was no slouch, by going 8 innings, striking out 11 Braves, while only allowing 6 hits, 2 earned runs & 2 walks.

The only problem was that Maddux was even better, allowing only 2 hits & 1 earned run (during the 9th), while striking out 7, walking 4. The Phillies' bats could only manage 2 hits, both by Dave Hollins. The Braves' David Justice padded the Braves 3-0 lead with his 3rd HR of the series, a solo home run during the 4th inning. Game 6 would be the first game that John Kruk did not log a hit, he has 10 hits this series, batting .526 while he has reached base on 6 walks as well.

One more thing, the Braves have John Smoltz (Grade B-X) as a bullpen option if need-be, up to this point in his career, Smoltz has never come out of the bullpen since being called up by the Braves in 1988. Smoltz only pitched 2 innings in Game 4, four days ago (3 days rest).

So it all comes down to this, after the Braves trailed 0-3, the series is tied 3-3.


Game 7 - Christmas Day

1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Game 6)

The Braves have now won two straight, winning the last game on a walk-off single by Terry Pendleton, off of unpredictable reliever Mitch Williams. Now the Braves send their ace Greg Maddux to the mound, as they attempt to tie the series.

GAME 6

On the mound: Greg Maddux (Grade A-YZ) for Atlanta vs Tommy Greene (Grade B-X) for Philadelphia, at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia.

Bottom of the 1st: John Kruk draws a two-out walk. Dave Hollins followed with a single off Maddux, moving Kruk up to second. For a moment, Greg Maddux appeared to be against the ropes when he plunked 'Dutch' Darren Daulton with a pitch. Bases loaded for their #6 hitter Jim Eisenreich, but he misses out on a big opportunity as he goes down swinging.

Top of the 2nd: Tommy Greene allows back-to-back walks to sluggers Fred McGriff and David Justice. Game 5 hero, Terry Pendleton grounds out to deep third, while the base runners move up. Damon Berryhill singles to right, McGriff scores, Justice rounds third, while the throw by right fielder Jim Eisenreich comes to the plate, the tag & he's out! Berryhill advances to second. Mark Lemke strikes out, as Greene gets out, allowing only one run.

Top of the 3rd: Otis Nixon with one out, reaches second on a throwing error by pitcher Tommy Greene, who threw the ball over the first baseman John Kruk's head. Jeff Blauser struck out for out number two. Ron Gant hits a ball to left center for a RBI double. Fred McGriff flies out to right for the third out. Braves lead 2-0, while the Phillies have already committed 2 fielding errors.

Top of the 4th: David Justice leads the inning off with a solo blast over the right field wall, while Veterans Stadium is quiet. Justice now has 3 HR for the series, while his teammate Fred McGriff has 4 home runs during this series. Braves 3, Phillies 0

Top of the 7th: The Phillies' Tommy Greene settled down from 5th inning on, while striking out the side during the seventh -- striking out Mark Lemke (for the 3rd time), Greg Maddux & Otis Nixon. Greene now has 10 strikeouts.

Bottom of the 8th: Pete Incaviglia, who has 3 HR this series, comes in to pinch-hit for Milt Thompson, grounds out to short. Kevin Stocker grounds out for the second out. Ricky Jordan comes in to pinch-hit for the pitcher Greene; Jordan strikes out. Braves still lead, 3-0.

Tommy Greene exits with 11 strikeouts in 8 innings of work, 6 hits, 2 earned runs (3 runs) & 2 walks allowed. Reliever David West comes in with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief this series.

Bottom of the 9th: Greg Maddux will stay in to close this one out, as the Braves are 3 outs away from tying up the series, 3-3. Bill Pecota (who came in to pinch-hit for Mark Lemke) will stay in at second base. Sid Bream comes in as a fielding upgrade for Fred McGriff at first base. [The Braves stay at an overall fielding 1 (41), while their infield (34) is a fielding 2].

The Phillies' Lenny Dykstra reaches first on a lead-off walk. Phils' Manager Jim Fregosi will pinch-hit Mariano Duncan for Mickey Morandini. Duncan grounds it to deep short, the throw from Jeff Blauser is in time, while Dykstra reaches second, one out.

Stepping up to the plate is John Kruk, who is batting 10-for-18 (.556 AVG) while drawing 6 walks (.667 OBP) -- He has simply been automatic this series, so Maddux will have to be careful...Maddux delivers, and Kruk strikes out! It is all up to Dave Hollins to keep the Phillies chances in this game alive, the pitch, and he hits it to right, Dykstra will score, score that as an RBI single! Hollins has been the only one able to get a hit off Maddux all day, with two. Darren Daulton steps up, but flies out to right, as Atlanta ties the series up!

Despite his 4 walks, the reigning N.L. Cy Young Greg Maddux was brilliant, allowing only 2 hits & 1 earned run. Maddux recorded 7 straight innings (Innings 2-8) without allowing a hit.

1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Game 5)

Avery needed to be on top of his game in Game 5.

The Atlanta Braves avoided the sweep with a 10-9 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4, now they play the series one game at a time.

GAME 5

On the mound: The Phillies will send Curt Schilling (Grade C-XZ) out to the mound. Schilling, the last time out, pitched a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts against Atlanta, now we'll see if he can close out Atlanta on their home turf. Meanwhile, the Braves will send out Steve Avery (Grade B-YZ) to keep the dream alive.

Top of the 2nd: After Jeff Blauser boots a grounder with Darren Daulton reaching safely on an error, Pete Incaviglia makes the Braves pay with a two-run blast to left. Incaviglia now has 3 home runs this series.

Bottom of the 2nd: Fred McGriff hits his 4th HR of the series, a solo home run to right, cutting Philly's lead in half.

Bottom of the 3rd & 4th: Curt Schilling strikes out the side in the 3rd inning -- Steve Avery, Otis Nixon & Jeff Blauser. Schilling would strike out Fred McGriff & David Justice, back-to-back in the 4th inning, giving him 5 K's early on, with his only mistake being the McGriff home run back in the 2nd inning.

Bottom of the 6th: Otis Nixon leads off with a single, then steals second base. Jeff Blauser grounds out to second, while Nixon advances to third. Ron Gant, who had a big game in Game 4, grounds out [52-27] to third, while Nixon stays put. Fred McGriff pops up for 3rd out, Phillies still lead, 2-1.

Top of the 7th: Steve Avery has now pitched 5 scoreless innings since two-run homer by Pete Incaviglia, while striking out 3 of the last 6 batters.

Bottom of the 8th: The Phillies go to the pen, calling on reliever David West (Grade A*-XYW), while the Braves call on Sid Bream to pinch-hit in place of the pitcher (Bream strikes out). Jeff Blauser keeps 8th alive with two-out walk, but Ron Gant strikes out. The Phillies are three outs away from wrapping up the series.

Top of the 9th: The Braves' reliever Steve Bedrosian (Grade A&C*-YZ) walks the lead-off man in Kevin Stocker. Phillies' Jim Eisenreich hitting for the pitcher, flies out. Lenny Dykstra grounds out, while Stocker advances to second. The Phillies go to the bench and select Ricky Jordan to pinch-hit for Mariano Duncan, [42-22] Stocker steals third. Jordan grounds out to third though, for the 3rd out, stranding the insurance run at third.

Bottom of the 9th: The Phillies call on their wild closer Mitch Williams (Grade B*-XW) to face McGriff, Justice & Pendleton. Fred McGriff leads off with a single to center [15-10]. The fans are starting to make some noise, while the tomahawk chop is getting going...  Williams sets, delivers, David Justice smacks this one down the line in left, into the corner in left, ricochets off the wall, McGriff scores, the rolling to the right, Pete Incaviglia finally gets to it, while Justice slides into third!

Phillies fans have got to be wondering why Incaviglia was still playing left, but the Phillies pay the price, while the winning run is now on third for Terry Pendleton, who already has two doubles for the night. To be honest, maybe they could have avoided allowing a triple with a better fielder, but one thing is for sure, that's all on Williams, you can't be leaving that in the zone, he's lucky Justice didn't get all of that. The Phillies' pitching coach Johnny Podres is out there trying to settle down Mitch.

Everyone is back in their positions...
Williams delivers, Pendleton hits this one past Morandini! This one is over! The Braves win, as they force a Game 6! 

We will see you all back in Philadelphia for Game 6, as the Braves will now have their ace Greg Maddux on the mound.

1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Games 3-4)

The Atlanta Braves find themselves down, 2-0 in the series, while their lineup has only totaled 5 hits this series. The Phillies' John Kruk has been on fire, batting 6-for-7, with a walk, 3 RBI, 2 runs & a stolen base, while it was Curt Schilling who pitched a Game 1 one-hit gem of a shutout, with 10 strikeouts to boot. 

Atlanta will now have to battle back in Games 3 & Game 4 if they want to get back into this series --Thank god! They have Tom Glavine & John Smoltz ready to pitch in these upcoming, must-win outings.

GAME 3

On the mound: Terry Mulholland (Grade B-YZ) for Philadelphia vs Tom Glavine (Grade B) for Atlanta, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta.

Top of the 1st: Lenny Dykstra draws a lead-off walk. With one out, John Kruk smacks a single to right center [15-10], steals second. After a Dave Hollins strikeout, Darren Daulton clears the bases with a two-run double [33-0, 51-6]. 

This game will be about missed dice rolls or calling the wrong plays on the wrong dice rolls, during the bottom of the 2nd, with a runner on 1st, I call on the Braves' pitcher Tom Glavine to sacrifice bunt, which normally is the right call... how was I suppose to know that he would roll an 11-7, which would have been a single, moving the base runner to third -- Instead, it's a sac bunt, moving runner to second with 2 outs.

Top of the 4th: After a one-out single by Darren Daulton (his 2nd hit of the game), Pete Incaviglia gives Philly a huge lead with a two-run shot off of Tom Glavine, making it 4-0, Phillies lead. The Atlanta crowd is dead silent.

Bottom of the 5th: Lead-off double by David Justice [33-4]. The Braves call on their bench in Francisco Cabrera, and flies out to center [34-31, just missed rolling a 33-5, which would have resulted in a two-run homer]. With 2 outs, the Braves call on Sid Bream to pinch-hit for Tom Glavine, with a runner on 3rd, but strikes out. Greg Olson comes into the game to take place for catcher Damon Berryhill, Deion Sanders will take over in center, while the Braves will call on reliever Kent Mercker. 

Top of the 6th: Darren Daulton [11-0, 33-1] hits a two-out solo home run off Kent Merker, giving him a single, double & homer in 3 at-bats so far, along with 3 RBI. Phillies extend the lead to 5 runs.

Bottom of the 6th: With a runner on 3rd & 2 outs (Deion Sanders - single), Fred McGriff [rolls a 44-8 vs Grade B-YZ] flies out to right. 

Earlier that half-inning, I decided to go for a hit-and-run with Jeff Blauser up & Sanders on 1st, rolling a 31-9, which resulted in a ground out, with the runner advancing to 2nd... versus 31-9 regular result of, infield hit, runner to second.

Bottom of the 7th: Braves catcher Greg Olson hits into inning-ending double play, giving Terry Mulholland 7 shutout innings [Grade Advancement to A-YZ].

Bottom of the 9th: Fred McGriff breaks up Terry Mulholland's shutout bid, with a solo home run to right. The home run was McGriff's 2nd HR of the series.

The Phillies take a strong control of this series, and are on the verge of a sweep. Mulholland is the 2nd Phillies pitcher this series to pitch a complete game. The Braves have only totaled 9 hits, averaging 3 hits per game. John Kruk is batting .727 this series (8-for-11 with 3 RBI, 3 runs & 2 stolen bases. Darren Daulton fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle, while logging 3 RBI & 2 runs.

GAME 4

On the mound: Danny Jackson (Grade C) will pitch for the Phillies in the possible series-clinching win, against John Smoltz (Grade B-X) for Atlanta. We are at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in front of 52,032 fans.

Top of the 2nd: The Phillies start off the inning with back-to-back doubles by Dave Hollins and Darren Daulton (the latter leading to a RBI). With one out, two batters later, Milt Thompson has himself his 1st hit of the series, driving in Daulton, to give Philly, a early 2-0 lead. Kevin Stocker's single, the Phillies' 4th hit of the inning off John Smoltz, plus Mark Lemke's fielding error (on a ball hit by pitcher Danny Jackson) would lead to the bases being loaded. Lenny Dykstra would draw a bases loaded walk. After striking out Mickey Morandini for the 2nd out, Smoltz would allow another bases loaded RBI walk, this time to John Kruk. Dave Hollins would ground out to Smoltz on the mound to stop the bleeding. 

Phillies lead 4-0, the Braves in fact have never led at any point in the series up to this point, and are in a big hole right from the start.

Bottom of the 2nd: The Braves had to do something drastic, down 4-0, with bases loaded, thanks to a Terry Pendleton walk, Dave Justice single & Mark Lemke walk. The Braves called on pinch-hitter Bill Pecota to hit for John Smoltz, the team only had one out, but couldn't afford for Smoltz to hit into an inning-ending double play or the Braves coming up with nothing at all. Pecota would come through with a sac fly, cutting the lead down to 3 runs (trailing 4-1).

Smoltz would only pitch 2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 4 earned runs & two costly walks through 2 innings, while striking out 3 Phillies. The Braves go to Kent Mercker (Grade B*-XW) in hoping to avoid any more runs.

Bottom of the 3rd: Two outs, Fred McGriff hits a ball to shortstop Kevin Stocker, in which he bobbles the grounder, McGriff is safe on the error. Terry Pendleton hits a single to center, while McGriff advances to third. David Justice would make Danny Jackson pay on a mistake pitch, as Justice sends it over the left field fence at Fulton-County, to tie the game up at 4-4.

Top of the 4th: Kevin Stocker leads off the inning with a single off of reliever Kent Mercker, in for his 2nd inning of work. The Phillies call on Kim Batiste to pinch-hit for pitcher Danny Jackson. Batiste flies out, while Dykstra grounding out advanced the base runner to second. Mickey Morandini comes through with an RBI single to give the Phillies, a 5-4 lead, but was then foolish by being picked off first base by Mercker. 

Roger Mason (Grade C*-Y) will come in to pitch for the Phillies, for his first action of the series.

Bottom of the 4th: Lead-off single by Mark Lemke. Braves call on Francisco Cabrera to pinch-hit for Mercker, hoping for a two-run blast, but instead he hits into a double play. Cabrera had a 11-5, 33-5 & 66-1 single column card. Otis Nixon hits a single, while Jeff Blauser follows with a single, advancing Nixon to third, Blauser then steals second. Two outs, two balls & two strikes on Ron Gant -- Gant smacks a single to right [55-8], driving in both runners, and giving Atlanta their first lead of the entire series! The Braves keep it coming with a two-run homer by Fred McGriff, his 3rd of the series.

The Phillies will have to go to the pen again, they were hoping Mason would at least go two innings, but he obviously doesn't have his stuff. The Phillies call on Mike Williams to face Terry Pendleton, and gets Pendleton to end the nightmare of an inning for Philadelphia. Braves lead 8-5.

The Braves call on Marvin Freeman (Grade D*-X) to pitch the 5th inning.

Top of the 5th: John Kruk leads the inning off with a double [11-0, 61-6]. Dave Hollins draws a walk. Darren Daulton hits an infield fly, no one advances, one out. Jim Eisenreich hits a single to left, scoring in Kruk, while Hollins advances to third. 1st & 3rd for Milt Thompson, strikes out. Kevin Stocker steps up to the plate with 2 outs, the Braves elect for Freeman to intentionally walking Stocker to face the pitcher. 

The Phillies manager Jim Fregosi elects to pinch-hit for the pitcher Mike Williams, calling on Wes Chamberlain; Braves' manager Bobby Cox counters with reliever Jay Howell (Grade A*-YZ) coming in to relieve Freeman. Howell delivers, Chamberlain flies to left for final out of the inning. The Phillies trim Atlanta's lead down to 2 runs though.

Bottom of the 5th: Ben Rivera (Grade C-YW) gets his first appearance of the National League Championship Series, while retiring the side.

Top of the 6th: With Jay Howell still on the mound for the Braves, Lenny Dykstra leads off the inning with a solo home run over the right field fence [22-0, 15-1]. Phillies now trail, 8-7.

Bottom of the 6th: The Braves keep their pitcher Jay Howell in, allowing him to hit. Howell would hit a fly ball to center in which Dykstra must have lost the ball in the lights, as the ball drops, call that an E-8! Otis Nixon does Dykstra a favor though & hits into a double play. Blauser flies out to finish 6th.

Top of the 7th: Reliever Jay Howell, who has had a few two-inning performances during the season will get one more inning of work (if possible) for Atlanta. Howell walks the lead-off hitter Darren Daulton, but gets Jim Eisenreich to strike out & Milt Thompson to ground out. Howell then plunks Kevin Stocker with a pitch. Runners on 1st & 2nd, 2 outs, and down only 8-7, the Phillies will have catcher Todd Pratt pinch-hit for the pitcher Ben Rivera. The Braves will have to stick with Howell, as they don't have too many options and are not sure how long this game could go.

Make or break pitch for Howell, Pratt sends it to left center, it's off the wall, Daulton scores, Ron Gant throws it to home, and Stocker will score! The Phillies have reclaimed the lead, it's now 9-8!

The Braves would get out of eventually, but the damage has been done. The Phillies are 9 outs away from a sweep, and they are now calling on their best bullpen arms. Larry Andersen (Grade B*-XY) will be pitching the during the bottom of the 7th. 

Bottom of the 7th: The Braves' Ron Gant leads off with a single to right. Fred McGriff flies out for out number one. Braves call on hit-and-run, and Terry Pendleton executes it perfectly [34-31], advancing Gant to third. David Justice strikes out for the second out. Braves call on pinch-hitter Sid Bream in place of catcher Greg Olson. Sid Bream hits it to center [15-10], drives in Gant, but Pendleton is thrown out at third on the throw from Lenny Dykstra in center. Game tied up at 9-9.

Top of the 8th: With two outs, Darren Daulton puts a scare into Braves reliever Steve Bedrosian (Grade A&C*-YZ) with a double [22-0, 24-6]. Only for Jim Eisenreich to come up empty, by grounding out to short. 

Bottom of the 8th: The Phillies go with Larry Andersen another inning, saving David West for later if need be. With one out, the Braves' Rafael Belliard came in to pinch-hit for Bedrosian, and hits a single to right [25-9]. Otis Nixon draws a walk [35-14], runners on 1st & 2nd. Jeff Blauser flies out to center with no runners advancing, two outs. Ron Gant continues to rake in this game, smacking RBI single over second, stealing second, with Nixon on third; Gant has 3 hits & 3 RBI in this one. 

The Phillies finally call on reliever David West, who hits a fly out to end the inning.

Top of the 9th: Greg McMichael (Grade A*-X) will try to close things out for Atlanta. With two outs, the Phillies call on Pete Incaviglia (2 HR this series) to hit for the pitcher, but fouls out behind the plate [65-35].

The Braves really had to work hard for this victory, but still need to pull out three straight to win this series. The Braves' bats finally came alive, but most of that may have had a little to do with that there was no pitching on either side in an ugly, see-saw battle in Game 4. 

One game at a time.

1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Games 1-2)

My 1993 National League Championship Series Replay...

GAME 1

On the mound: Steve Avery (Grade B-YZ) for Atlanta vs Curt Schilling (Grade C-XZ) for Philadelphia, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

Bottom of the 1st: Second baseman Mariano Duncan draws a one-out walk. John Kruk follows with a single to right center (steals second). With two strikes, Dave Hollins works the count to a walk, to load the bases. Suddenly in trouble early, Avery has to pitch to the dangerous Darren Daulton, but Daulton would ground into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play.

Top of the 2nd: Curt Schilling strikes out the side in Fred McGriff, Dave Justice, and Terry Pendleton, giving Schilling 4 K's early on... This could be a long night for Atlanta, if this is any indication for things to come.

Top of the 3rd: Mark Lemke draws a one-out walk. Steve Avery up at bat, Lemke advances on a passed ball to second. Avery bats Lemke over to third for the 2nd out. Otis Nixon draws a walk. With runners on the corners, the Braves elect to hit-and-run with Jeff Blauser at the plate, Nixon is off and running, but is thrown out trying to steal second, on a solid throw by Darren Daulton. [Blauser rolled a 13-14, which if I did not elect to hit-and-run, would have drawn Atlanta's 3rd walk of the inning, with Gant up to the plate].

Top of the 5th: Damon Berryhill breaks up Curt Schilling's early no-hit bid with one out. Mark Lemke draws his 2nd walk of the day [rolling back-to-back, 14 results, which resulted in a walk against Schilling's Z control rating]. Runners on 1st & 2nd for the Braves' pitcher Steve Avery at the plate, Avery lays down a sac bunt, to advance the runners to 2nd & 3rd, 2 outs. Otis Nixon [rolls a 51-10] flying out to Lenny Dykstra for final out. Score remains, zero apiece.

Top of the 6th: With Ron Gant on second (due to a walk & advancing to 2nd on a groundout), Dave Justice has a chance to do some damage, but flies out center [Curt Schilling has pitched 6 shutout innings & advances to a Grade B-XZ].

Bottom of the 6th: Lead-off single by Lenny Dykstra. Mariano Duncan hits a double [66-0, 63-6] off Avery, scoring in Dykstra, for the game's first run. John Kruk makes it back-to-back RBI doubles [33-0, 62-6], 2-0, Phillies lead. Dave Hollins flies to right, for 1st out, no advancement by Kruk. Darren Daulton grounds it to the pitcher [44-8] , pitcher tosses over to first for the 2nd out, while Kruk moves on over to third. Pete Incaviglia [22-6, single column card] hits a two-run homer off Avery, for the nail in Avery's coffin. Braves Manager Bobby Cox has seen enough, and will go to the pen. Reliever Marvin Freeman stops the bleeding as Wes Chamberlain grounds out to second. Phillies lead 4-0.

Top of the 7th: Curt Schilling strikes out Mark Lemke to retire the side, recording his 7th strikeout of the game [Schilling advances to Grade A-XZ with 7 shutout innings].

Curt Schilling goes on to pitch a one-hit, 10 K gem, shutting out the Braves, while allowing 4 walks. The Braves' Steve Avery gets the loss, allowing 6 hits, 4 earned runs & 3 walks in 5.2 innings. John Kruk collects 3 hits, including a RBI double, run & stolen base. Mariano Duncan drew 2 walks, while also having an RBI double.


GAME 2

On the mound: N.L. Cy Young favorite Greg Maddux (Grade A-YZ) for Atlanta vs Tommy Greene (Grade B-X) for Philadelphia, at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia. Phillies lead series, 1-0.

1st Inning: Both teams squander chances. Atlanta led off 1st with a single & stolen base by Otis Nixon, with Jeff Blauser drawing a walk on the next at-bat, but two infield flies with no runners advancing & a fielder's choice at second later, the Braves came up empty. Philadelphia with 2 outs, draw back-to-back walks (a rarity) against such a great control artist like Maddux, but Darren Daulton would come up empty at the plate to capitalize on the opportunity.

Bottom of the 3rd: The Phillies' Lenny Dykstra leads off with a single & stolen base [33-0, 34-11]. Mickey Morandini flies to right, Dykstra advances to third. John Kruk singles to left, Dykstra scores, Kruk advances to second on wild throw by Ron Gant. Phillies lead 1-0.

Top of the 4th: David Justice with two outs, hits a solo home run off of Tommy Greene to give Atlanta's first run of the series, tying the game at 1-1.

Bottom of the 5th: Mickey Morandini draws a one-out walk. John Kruk smacks and RBI double over first [35-14, 2 balls... 11-0, 56-6], giving Philly back the lead, 2-1. Dave Hollins draws a walk (4th walk by Maddux). Runners on 1st & 2nd, Darren Daulton grounds out, advancing the runners to 2nd & 3rd. Jim Eisenreich connects on a big single to right [25-8 vs Grade A, 2nd & 3rd], scoring both runners, making the game, 4-1 Philadelphia! Milt Thompson strikes out for the 3rd time ending the big inning.

Top of the 6th: Fred McGriff does his best to keep the Braves in the game, hitting a two-out solo homer off of Greene. Braves trail 4-2.

Top of the 7th: The Phillies went to the pen prior to the inning, with Larry Andersen toeing the rubber; Phillies pinch-hit for Greene during the bottom of the 6th with Wes Chamberlain. Andersen (Grade B*-XY) strikes out the side in Terry Pendleton, Damon Berryhill & Mark Lemke.

Bottom of the 7th: The Braves stay with Greg Maddux for one more inning. Maddux rewards manager Bobby Cox' faith with 3 strikeouts in the inning, although giving up a 3rd hit in the game to John Kruk.

Kruk has 6 hits during the first 2 games of the 1993 NLCS.

Top of the 8th: Jeff Blauser hits a single off reliever David West with two outs, steals second [33-0, 52-11]. Ron Gant ends the possible threat by grounding out.

Top of the 9th: Phillies' closer Mitch Williams, 'The Wild Thing', retires the side, by getting pinch-hitter Bill Pecota to fly out for the final out.

Phillies lead the series, 2-0. When asked if he thought home plate umpire Frank Pulli was squeezing him on some possible strike calls, Greg Maddux said "I don't have much to say on the matter, we are the ones that lost the game. I think we'll be good to go once we are back in front of our home crowd."

It should be mentioned that Pulli was once placed on probation by former commissioner Fay Vincent for placing bets on non-baseball sporting events, along with umpire Rich Garcia back in 1989.

The Atlanta Braves have totaled only 5 hits in the first 2 games of the series (combined), while the Phillies' John Kruk alone has 6 hits through 7 at-bats this series, along with a BB & 3 RBI.

Atlanta will have to find their stride in Atlanta, as their postseason fate weighs on Tom Glavine & John Smoltz the next two games.