1997 National League Division Series
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Florida Marlins (3) Jim Leyland 92–70, .568, GB: 9 San Francisco Giants (0) Dusty Baker 90–72, .556, GA: 2
Dates	September 30 – October 3
Television	ESPN (in Florida) NBC (in San Francisco)
TV announcers	Chris Berman andRay Knight (in Florida) Bob Costas,Joe Morgan, andBob Uecker (in San Francisco)
Radio	CBS
Radio announcers	Jerry Coleman andHank Greenwald
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Atlanta Braves (3) Bobby Cox 101–61, .623, GA: 9 Houston Astros (0) Larry Dierker 84–78, .519, GA: 5
Dates	September 30 – October 3
Television	ESPN
TV announcers	Jon Miller andJoe Morgan (Game 1) Jon Miller andReggie Jackson (Games 2–3)
Radio	CBS (National) WSB (Braves' broadcast) KILT (Astros' broadcast)
Radio announcers	CBS:Gene Elston andGary Cohen WSB:Pete Van Wieren,Skip Caray,Don Sutton,Joe Simpson KILT:Milo Hamilton, Vince Controneo
Umpires	Mark Hirschbeck,Gary Darling,Tom Hallion,Dana DeMuth,Terry Tata,Brian Gorman (Giants–Marlins, Games 1–2; Astros–Braves, Game 3) Greg Bonin,Ed Rapuano,Charlie Reliford,Steve Rippley,Harry Wendelstedt,Angel Hernandez (Astros–Braves, Games 1–2; Giants–Marlins, Game 3)
← 1996 NLDS 1998 →

The1997 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of theNational League side in Major League Baseball’s1997 postseason, began on Tuesday, September 30, and ended on Friday, October 3, with the champions of the three NL divisions along with awild card team participating in two best-of-five series. They were:

• (1)San Francisco Giants (Western Division champions, 90–72) vs. (4)Florida Marlins (Wild Card, 92–70): Marlins win series, 3–0.
• (2)Houston Astros (Central Division champions, 84–78) vs. (3)Atlanta Braves (Eastern Division champions, 101–61): Braves win series, 3–0.^[1]

The Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins went on to meet in theNL Championship Series (NLCS). The Marlins became the National League champions, and defeated theAmerican League championCleveland Indians in the1997 World Series.

Florida won the series, 3–0.

Atlanta won the series, 3–0.

TheSan Francisco Giants made it back to the postseason for the first time since the1989 World Series. TheFlorida Marlins were in the postseason for the first time ever.

Pro Player Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida

Game 1 was a matchup betweenKirk Rueter andKevin Brown. Both pitchers were on even terms, allowing one run and four hits through seven innings. Both teams struck in the seventh with leadoff homers byBill Mueller andCharles Johnson. The game was tied 1–1 in the bottom of the ninth inning With the bases loaded,Édgar Rentería singled to right to give the Marlins their first ever postseason win with a walk-off. Rentería would later in his career help the Giants win their first World Series in San Francisco in2010 by winning aWorld Series MVP.

Pro Player Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida

Shawn Estes facedAl Leiter in an exciting Game 2. An RBI single byMark Lewis made it 1–0 Giants in the first. The Marlins would strike back in the bottom half.Bobby Bonilla hit a two-run homer to make it 2–1 Marlins, but a homer byBrian Johnson tied the game in the second. ThenBarry Bonds hit a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 3–2 lead in the third. The Marlins tied it in the bottom half with an RBI single by Bonilla.Stan Javier's infield hit gave the Giants the lead back in the fourth. Hits byAlex Arias andKurt Abbott gave the Marlins the lead in the bottom half. The Marlins would add another run on a homer byGary Sheffield in the bottom of the sixth. It was 6–4, but the Giants refused to concede. An RBI double by Bonds made it a one-run game in the seventh. The one-run lead would stand into the ninth. WithRobb Nen pitching, the Giants managed to tie the game thanks to a key error byCraig Counsell. However, the Marlins would not wait until extra innings to try to win. Sheffield led the inning off with a single; then he stole second. After Bonilla walked,Moisés Alou hit the game-winning single to center field. The ball was scooped up by Dante Powell, whose throw home was in line with home plate, but the ball hit the mound, allowing Sheffield to score easily. This play would be the defining moment of the series, being replayed many times on highlights, as well as mainstream shows such asLive with Regis and Kathie Lee. The Marlins took the series lead, 2–0.

3Com Park at Candlestick Point inSan Francisco, California

In Game 3, the Giants looked toWilson Álvarez to keep them alive. Opposing him would beAlex Fernandez, hoping to close out the series. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, whenJeff Kent hit a home run with one out to make it 1–0 Giants. Later, however, the Marlins would put the series away when switch-hittingDevon White hit a stunning grand slam into the left field bleachers in the top of the sixth, which was just his second home run hit while right-handed on the season. Kent would hit another home run in the bottom half, but two RBI doubles byCharles Johnson andCraig Counsell put any hopes of a Giants comeback out of reach.Robb Nen gotDamon Berryhill to ground out to end the series. In response to their team being swept, Giants fans littered the field with garbage as the Marlins players celebrated. This was the final MLB playoff game at Candlestick Park, as the team moved toPacific Bell Park after the 1999 season. Until 2016, this was the last time the Giants lost a postseason series at home. In their next six appearances in the postseason, they either lost the series on the road or won the World Series until finally losing at home in the2016 NLDS. As of the 2024 season, this series is the last time the Giants were swept in the postseason.

1997 NLDS(3–0):Florida Marlins overSan Francisco Giants

TheHouston Astros finally made it back to the postseason for the first time since the1986 National League Championship Series. TheAtlanta Braves were hosting their first postseason series atTurner Field. The Braves and Astros were formerly members of theNational League West from 1969 to 1993.

Game 1 was a matchup betweenDarryl Kile andGreg Maddux.Kenny Lofton led off the bottom of the first with a double, the first postseason hit at Turner Field.Keith Lockhart flied to right, putting Lofton at third. ThenChipper Jones hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 1–0 Braves in the first. ThenRyan Klesko homered to lead off the second, a homer which would prove to be the game winner. The Astros would strike for a run in the fifth, thanks to an RBI single by Kile. Maddux and Kile dueled for seven innings. Kile allowed only two hits and Maddux pitched a complete game.

The Astros sentMike Hampton to the mound againstTom Glavine. The game was quiet through the first2+1⁄2 innings, but, in the bottom of the third,Jeff Blauser hit a three-run homer to put the Braves ahead. The Astros, however, would tie the game thanks to a two-run double byBrad Ausmus and an RBI single byMike Hampton that scored Ausmus. The Astros would make a game of it, but only for the moment. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Hampton would surrender four consecutive walks to give the Braves the lead. Hampton would leave, butMike Magnante gave up two more runs thanks to a two-run single byGreg Colbrunn. Next inning, Magnante allowed three singles, the last of which toFred McGriff scoring a run.Ramón García walkedJavy Lopez to load the bases before first basemanJeff Bagwell's error onAndruw Jones's ground ball allowed two runs to score and put runners on second and third.Danny Bautista's two-run single extended the Braves' lead to 11–3. In the eighth, Lopez's two-run double off ofBilly Wagner made it 13–3 Braves. Glavine pitched six innings for the win whileMike Cather andMark Wohlers pitched three scoreless innings of relief to give the Braves a 2–0 series lead.

Game 3 was a battle betweenJohn Smoltz andShane Reynolds.Chipper Jones got the Braves started with a two-out homer in the top of the first. An RBI single byJeff Blauser made it 2–0 in the second, and another RBI single, byMichael Tucker, made it 3–0 in the seventh. Although Reynolds pitched well (two runs over six innings), John Smoltz pitched brilliantly, allowing only three hits and one run, a homer byChuck Carr, in a complete-game victory. A passed ball allowed one final insurance run to make it 4–1 Braves in the eighth.Bill Spiers grounded out in the bottom of the ninth to end the series.

1997 NLDS(3–0):Atlanta Braves overHouston Astros

• FLA vs. SFG at Baseball-Reference
• ATL vs. HOU at Baseball-Reference

• National League Division Series
• 1997 Major League Baseball season
• Florida Marlins postseason
• Atlanta Braves postseason
• San Francisco Giants postseason
• Houston Astros postseason
• 1997 in sports in California
• 1997 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
• 1997 in sports in Florida
• 1997 in sports in Texas
• 1997 in Atlanta
• 1997 in Houston
• 1997 in San Francisco
• October 1997 sports events in the United States

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2013