The1979 National League Championship Series was the semifinal round of the National League side of the1979 postseason, played between theNational League West championCincinnati Reds and theNational League East championPittsburgh Pirates. This was the 11th edition of theNLCS.

It was the fourth time in the 1970s that the Pirates and Reds had faced off for the pennant; Cincinnati had won all three previous meetings in1970,1972 and1975.

The Pirates won the series in a three-game sweep in what would be the last postseason appearance for both franchises until1990.

To date, this is the last time that the Pirates won the National League pennant. Aside from theSeattle Mariners, the only team left that has yet to win a pennant, the Pirates currently hold the longest active league pennant drought in the majors.

Pittsburgh won the series, 3–0.

Both sides threw their aces in Game 1 as 14-game winnerJohn Candelaria started for the Pirates, andTom Seaver started for the Reds. AfterOmar Moreno grounded out to start the game, a 45-minute rain delay stalled the contest. When play resumed, Seaver retiredTim Foli andDave Parker for an unusually long 1-2-3 inning.

Pittsburgh struck first in the third inning when second basemanPhil Garner led off with an opposite-field home run. After Candelaria struck out,Omar Moreno hit a sinking liner to right thatDave Collins attempted a sliding shoestring catch on. The ball skidded off the wetRiverfront Stadium turf in front of Collins and rolled to the wall. The speedy Moreno ended up with a triple, but it could have easily been an inside-the-park homer if not for the hustle ofHéctor Cruz in center. Foli then drove in Moreno with a sacrifice fly to give the Pirates a 2–0 lead. Seaver then walkedDave Parker andWillie Stargell, butJohn Milner popped out to end the inning. The Reds tied it in the bottom of the fourth whenGeorge Foster hit a two-run homer into left center withDave Concepción aboard. Despite a sore shoulder, Candelaria gutted out seven painful innings before giving way toEnrique Romo.

The score stayed at 2–2 until the top of the 11th inning. Tim Foli and Parker singled off Reds relieverTom Hume.Willie Stargell drilled a three-run homer to almost dead center to make it 5–2, Pirates. The Reds didn't go away silently, though. AfterGrant Jackson retired the first two batters in the bottom of the 11th,Dave Concepción singled andGeorge Foster walked.Don Robinson came on to replace Jackson and walkedJohnny Bench to load the bases. At that point,Chuck Tanner visited the mound, andWillie Stargell jokingly asked Robinson, "Why don't you move to first and I'll pitch?" The barb relaxed Robinson, who settled down and struck outRay Knight for the final out.

In another extra inning affair, the Pirates beat the Reds 3–2 to earn a road sweep and send the series to Pittsburgh needing just one win in three home games to make the1979 World Series. The starting pitchers wereJim Bibby for the Pirates andFrank Pastore for the Reds.

Pastore helped himself with an RBI sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the second that scoredDan Driessen. Driessen was aboard after singling and moving to third on aRay Knight single. The Reds threatened in the bottom of the third whenDave Concepcion doubled with one out andGeorge Foster walked. Concepcion tried to steal third, but was gunned out by Pirate catcherEd Ott.Johnny Bench popped out to end the threat.

In the top of the fourth,Tim Foli andDave Parker led off with singles.Willie Stargell followed with a drive to the left field wall over Foster's head in left. Foli, however, only made it to third base as he was running cautiously in case the ball was caught (and, subsequently, Parker only made it to second). Stargell, however, rounded first and made it all the way to second, but with Parker occupying second, he was thrown out by Concepcion while trying to retreat back to first. With first base now open,John Milner was walked intentionally, loading the bases, andBill Madlock beat out a double-play grounder to score Foli with the tying run.

The Pirates took the lead in the fifth whenPhil Garner sent a sinking liner towardsDave Collins in right that Collins attempted a shoestring catch on, much like his attempt in Game 1. Collins appeared to have caught the ball, but umpireFrank Pulli ruled he trapped it, giving Garner a base hit. Garner moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bibby (which Bibby almost beat out due to a bad throw by Knight) and scored on a double by Foli.

The Reds squelched a scoring threat in the top of the seventh when Ott led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Bibby. Ott tried to score on a base hit byOmar Moreno but was thrown out at the plate by Foster. Bibby left after seven innings with discomfort in his neck, having held the Reds to four hits and the single run.

The Reds mounted a threat in the eighth against the Pirate bullpen. Left-handerGrant Jackson retired lefty-hittingJoe Morgan for the first out, butChuck Tanner, managing by percentages, brought inEnrique Romo to face right-handed hitting Concepción. The move backfired as Romo gave up back-to-back singles to Concepción and Foster.Kent Tekulve relieved Romo to faceJohnny Bench and, on his second pitch to Bench, wild-pitched the runners to second and third. Tekulve recovered to strike out Bench, intentionally walkedDan Driessen, and then retiredRay Knight for the last out.

Tekulve encountered trouble in the ninth. With one out,Héctor Cruz, batting forTom Hume, doubled. Collins then doubled in Cruz to tie the game. Tekulve was then replaced by leftyDave Roberts, but Roberts walked Morgan. Tanner then brought in Game 1 saverDon Robinson, who struck out Concepción and retired Foster on a groundout to end the threat.

The Pirates won it in the tenth when Moreno singled, went to second on a bunt by Foli and scored on Parker's single. Robinson retired the Reds in the tenth and the Pirates had a two games to none lead over the Reds. Robinson got the win andDoug Bair got the loss.

The Pirates made it to their firstWorld Series since1971 with a blowout win to complete a three-game sweep of the Reds. The starting pitchers wereBert Blyleven for the Pirates, andMike LaCoss for the Reds. For the second time in three games, the start was delayed by rain.

After allowing a hit in the first, the Pirates got on the board quickly when leadoff hitterOmar Moreno, a pain in the Reds' side all series, singled and stole second.Tim Foli then grounded to Concepcion, who tried to catch Moreno at third, but Moreno reached third safely and Foli to first.Dave Parker then hit asacrifice fly for a 1–0 Pirates lead.

In the second,Phil Garner tripled and scored on Foli's sacrifice fly. LaCoss was then replaced byFred Norman, who gave upWillie Stargell's second home run of the series and another homer toBill Madlock in the third. Stargell doubled home two more runs in the fourth for a 6–0 Pirate lead and essentially clinched the NLCS MVP.

The Reds got one run back in the sixth whenJohnny Bench homered, but it was their last run of the year. The Pirates got that run back in the eighth when Garner scored on an error byCesar Geronimo, the onlyerror committed in the entire series. Blyleven went the distance and the Pirates had completed an unexpected sweep in advancing to the1979 World Series. To date, this is the Pirates' most recent pennant.

1979 NLCS(3–0):Pittsburgh Pirates overCincinnati Reds

• 1979 NLCS at Baseball Reference

• National League Championship Series
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• Cincinnati Reds postseason
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