2003 National League Division Series
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Chicago Cubs (3) Dusty Baker 88–74, .543, GA: 1 Atlanta Braves (2) Bobby Cox 101–61, .623, GA: 10
Dates	September 30 – October 5
Television	Fox (Games 1, 4–5) ESPN/WGN (Games 2-3)
TV announcers	Thom Brennaman,Steve Lyons (Games 1, 4) andChris Myers (Game 4) Jon Miller,Joe Morgan andGary Miller (Games 2–3) Thom Brennaman,Tim McCarver (Game 5)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Jim Durham,Joe Girardi
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Florida Marlins (3) Jack McKeon 91–71, .562, GB: 10 San Francisco Giants (1) Felipe Alou 100–61, .621, GA:15+1⁄2
Dates	September 30 – October 4
Television	ESPN/WGN (Games 1–2) ESPN2 (Games 3–4)
TV announcers	Chris Berman,Rick Sutcliffe,Tony Gwynn (Games 1–3) Dave O'Brien,Rick Sutcliffe,Tony Gwynn (Game 4)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Gary Cohen,Luis Gonzalez
Umpires	Bruce Froemming,Hunter Wendelstedt,Dale Scott,Gary Cederstrom,Jeff Kellogg,Phil Cuzzi (Cubs–Braves, Games 1–2 & 5; Giants–Marlins, Games 3–4) John Hirschbeck,Bill Miller,Brian Gorman,Larry Young,Ed Rapuano,Mark Wegner (Giants–Marlins, Games 1–2; Cubs–Braves, Games 3–4)
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The2003National League Division Series (NLDS), the first round of theNational League side in Major League Baseball’s2003 postseason, began on Tuesday, September 30, and ended on Sunday, October 5, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were:

• (1)Atlanta Braves (Eastern Division champion, 101–61) vs. (3)Chicago Cubs (Central Division champion, 88–74): Cubs win series, 3–2.
• (2)San Francisco Giants (Western Division champion, 100–61) vs. (4)Florida Marlins (Wild Card, 91–71): Marlins win series, 3–1.^[1]

The Cubs and Marlins met in theNL Championship Series, with the Marlins winning in seven games. They went on to win the2003 World Series, defeating theAmerican League championNew York Yankees in six games.

Chicago won the series, 3–2.

Florida won the series, 3–1.

Turner Field inAtlanta,Georgia

In Game 1,Kerry Wood of Chicago facedRuss Ortiz of Atlanta. Both pitchers were on their game and in the bottom of the third inning the Braves struck first whenMarcus Giles's home run put them up 1–0. The score remained that way until the top of the sixth, when the Cubs loaded the bases with three consecutive leadoff singles. However, Ortiz got the next two outs, with the last being an RBI groundout byPaul Bako. Wood doubled in two runs, then scored onKenny Lofton's single to make it 4–1 Cubs. The Braves loaded the bases in the eighth off Wood on a strike-three wild pitch and two walks, but scored only one run onChipper Jones's forceout offMike Remlinger.Kyle Farnsworth stranded the bases loaded whileJoe Borowski pitched a scoreless ninth to give the Cubs a series lead. Combined, the Cubs bullpen allowed only one hit, a ninth-inning single by Vinny Castilla. This was the Cubs' first road postseason victory since Game 3 of the1945 World Series.

Turner Field inAtlanta

In Game 2,Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs facedMike Hampton of the Braves. Hampton ran into trouble in the first when two leadoff walks put two men on forSammy Sosa, who doubled in the first run of the game, thenMoisés Alou brought in a run on a fielder's choice. AfterAramis Ramírez singled to load the bases, Hampton recovered to strikeout six consecutive batters. Hampton struck outEric Karros,Ramón Martínez andDamian Miller to end the first. He then struck outCarlos Zambrano,Kenny Lofton andMark Grudzielanek in the second. Sosa led off the third with a single to end the streak. Hampton's six consecutive strikeouts set a Division Series record and tied an overall postseason record held by three other pitchers:Todd Worrell in 1985,Moe Drabowski in 1966 andHod Eller in 1919. The Braves cut the lead in half whenChipper Jones forcedMark DeRosa out at second, allowingRafael Furcal to score in the bottom half of the first. ThenAndruw Jones's RBI single tied the game in the fourth. In the bottom of the sixth,Marcus Giles would give the Braves the lead with an RBI single to left field. A sacrifice fly byTom Goodwin offJohn Smoltz tied the game in the eighth. However,Mark DeRosa's clutch two-out, two-run double offDave Veres in the bottom half put the Braves ahead 5–3 and Smoltz finished it with a perfect ninth.

Wrigley Field inChicago

In Game 3,Greg Maddux facedMark Prior. In the bottom of the first, the Cubs put two runs on the board thanks toRandall Simon's two-run single, but neither team could score off Maddux or Prior again until the eighth inning. A sacrifice fly byMarcus Giles cut the lead in half afterMark DeRosa doubled and moved to third on a ground out, butAramis Ramírez gave Prior insurance with an RBI double after a one-out single in the bottom of the eighth offKevin Gryboski. Prior pitched a complete-game, two-hit masterpiece. Game 3 was Maddux's final game with the Braves after 11 seasons, as he returned to the Cubs as a free agent in 2004.

Wrigley Field inChicago

In Game 4,Russ Ortiz facedMatt Clement, hoping to end the series. Both pitchers held off the opposition until the Cubs broke through in the bottom of the third.Moisés Alou would double inSammy Sosa, who walked with two outs, to give the Cubs a 1–0 lead. However,Darren Bragg's forceout allowedJulio Franco to score to tie the game in the top of the fourth. ThenChipper Jones's two-run home run gave the Braves a 3–1 lead in the fifth. After a two-out walk and single,Vinny Castilla added another run with an RBI single to make it 4–1 Braves.Eric Karros's home run in the sixth cut their lead to 4–2, butChipper Jones's second two-run home run offMark Guthrie made it 6–2 Braves in the eighth. Karros's second home run of the game in the bottom of the inning offWill Cunnane made it 6–3 Braves, then back-to-back leadoff doubles byRandall Simon andDamian Miller offJohn Smoltz in the ninth made it 6–4, but Smoltz retired the next three hitters with the final out being a long fly ball to center field off the bat of Sosa to end the game and send the series back to Atlanta.

Turner Field inAtlanta

In Game 5,Kerry Wood this time facedMike Hampton. Hampton once again gave up early runs when the Cubs took a 1–0 lead in the first with aMoisés Alou RBI single. ThenAlex S. Gonzalez's leadoff home run next inning gave the Cubs a 2–0 lead.Aramis Ramírez's two-run home run silenced the crowd in the sixth and made it 4–0 Chicago. An RBI forceout byGary Sheffield gave the Braves their only run of the night in the sixth, but the Cubs would add a run in the ninth offWill Cunnane thanks to an errant throw to first byVinny Castilla on a ground ball byEric Karros, who scored onTom Goodwin's double, to take a commanding 5–1 lead.Joe Borowski sent down the Braves 1–2–3 in the ninth and the Cubs' win in Game 5 gave the Cubs their first postseason series win since the1908 World Series.^[11]

2003 NLDS(3–2):Chicago Cubs overAtlanta Braves

TheFlorida Marlins completed their second winning season in franchise history. TheSan Francisco Giants were the defending NL Champions and making their second straight postseason appearance.

Pacific Bell Park inSan Francisco

In Game 1,Josh Beckett facedJason Schmidt and a classic pitcher's duel began. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth. Two walks to lead off spelled doom for Beckett, as an error byMiguel Cabrera onEdgardo Alfonzo's single allowed a run to score to make it 1–0 Giants. Both pitchers kept the game close and Beckett allowed only two hits (aRay Durham single to lead off the first). Schmidt allowed only three hits for a complete game win. Alfonzo brought in the game's other run on an RBI double in the eighth offChad Fox afterBarry Bonds was intentionally walked with two outs.

Pacific Bell Park inSan Francisco

In Game 2,Brad Penny facedSidney Ponson. The game would feature six pitching changes for each team as both starters would last less than half the game. An RBI groundout in the top of the first byDerrek Lee after two leadoff singles and a wild pitch gave the Marlins their first lead in the series, butBarry Bonds tied the game with a two-out double after a leadoff single in the bottom half. The game then quieted until the bottom of the fourth whenEdgardo Alfonzo doubled in two runs after a single and walk and then scored onMarquis Grissom's groundout. The Giants now had a 4–1 lead, but in the top of the fifth, after singles byJeff Conine andTodd Hollandsworth, RBI singles byIván Rodríguez andJuan Pierre as well asLuis Castillo's groundout tied the game. The Giants would recapture the lead with an RBI hit byJ. T. Snow offRick Helling in the bottom of the fifth. However,Juan Encarnación's home run with one out offJoe Nathan tied the game in the sixth. The Marlins then loaded the bases on three singles before Pierre's go-ahead two-run double offJason Christiansen made it 7–5 Marlins. Next inning, the Marlins loaded the bases on a single, Snow's error, and walk beforeJeff Conine's groundout made it 8–5 Marlins. In the ninth, center fielderMarquis Grissom's error on Lee's fly ball with two on allowed another run to score offJim Brower. The Marlins' 9–5 victory tied the series heading to Florida.

Pro Player Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida

In Game 3,Kirk Rueter facedMark Redman. Eventual NLCS MVPIván Rodríguez got the scoring started with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. The game quieted down with Redman and Rueter dueling until the sixth. The Giants tied the game on a bases-loaded forceout byJosé Cruz followed by a pinch-hit RBI single byPedro Feliz. In the top of the seventh, Marlins left fielderJeff Conine robbed a home run. Both teams failed to score runs for the last three innings and the game moved to extra innings. The Giants took the lead in the eleventh.Rich Aurilia walked to lead off, andÁlex González committed an error on what appeared to be a double play ground ball byBarry Bonds, allowing Bonds to reach first and Aurilia to advance to third.Edgardo Alfonso then hit an RBI single to put the Giants up 3-2. The Giants then loaded the bases with one out, but failed to score any more runs when Cruz hit into a forceout with Bonds out at the plate, andJ.T. Snow grounded out. The Marlins would strike back in the bottom half off Giants closerTim Worrell. Jeff Conine led off with a seemingly routine fly ball to right, but Cruz, San Francisco's Gold Glove right fielder, dropped the routine fly for an error. Gonzalez then walked to put men on first and second.Miguel Cabrera then bunted, and a great play from Worrell prevented him from reaching, but he moved the runners over. The Giants would counter by intentionally walkingJuan Pierre to load the bases and set up a force out. It would work initially as Worrell was able to fieldLuis Castillo's grounder and get Conine out at the plate, but Rodríguez would hit a two-strike single to right field, scoring both González and Pierre to win the game.

Pro Player Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida

In Game 4,Jerome Williams facedDontrelle Willis. In the top of the second, a sacrifice fly byYorvit Torrealba put the Giants out in front 1–0. However,Rich Aurilia's error onJeff Conine's ground ball allowedMiguel Cabrera, who doubled to lead off, to score to tie the game in the bottom half. AfterLuis Castillo walked, a double byIván Rodríguez gave the Marlins the lead in the third. ThenDerrek Lee singled home Rodriguez to make it 3–1. That marked the end of the day for Williams. In the fourth, the Marlins took a commanding 5–1 lead on Cabrera's bases-loaded two-run single, but Willis ran into trouble in the top of the sixth. After two leadoff singles,Rich Aurilia's RBI double made it 5–2 Marlins. ThenBarry Bonds's sacrifice fly made it 5–3.Edgardo Alfonzo doubled in a run to make it a one-run game. Willis was finished as well andBrad Penny came on in relief. He got the second out, but relinquished the lead whenJ. T. Snow singled home Alfonzo to tie the game. Both bullpens would keep the game quiet until the bottom of the eighth.Félix Rodríguez came on in relief for the Giants and after two quick outs, allowed a base hit and hit a batter to put two men on for Cabrera, who singled in two runs aided an error by the Giants. They now had a 7–5 lead going into the ninth. WithUgueth Urbina coming on to close, the Giants put together a quick rally. A leadoff double by pinch-hitterNeifi Perez and a base hit by Snow made it 7–6. Then Urbina got the next two outs. But Urbina hitRay Durham to put Snow in scoring position and two on. Then, Snow tried to score on a single to left byJeffrey Hammonds.Jeff Conine's throw was on target, and Ivan Rodriguez tagged Snow at the plate as Snow barreled into him. Rodriguez fell backwards and, as he rose, showed that he held on to the ball, preserving the Marlins win. The Marlins won the series three games to one. For the first time in postseason history, a series ended with the potential tying run thrown out at the plate, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

2003 NLDS(3–1):Florida Marlins overSan Francisco Giants

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

• National League Division Series
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