The1992National League Championship Series was a semifinal series inMajor League Baseball’s1992 postseason played between theAtlanta Braves (98–64) and thePittsburgh Pirates (96–66) from October 6 to 14. A rematch of the1991 NLCS, Atlanta won the 1992 NLCS in seven games to advance to their second straightWorld Series. The series ended in dramatic fashion; in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, with Atlanta down 2–1 and the bases loaded, the Braves'Francisco Cabrera cracked a two-run single that scoredDavid Justice andSid Bream. Bream famously slid to score the Series-winning run, beating the throw by Pirates left fielderBarry Bonds.

The Braves would go on to lose to theToronto Blue Jays in theWorld Series in six games, while the Pirates did not return to the playoffs until2013, suffering a sports-record 20 consecutive losing season drought.

As of 2025, this is Pittsburgh’s last postseason appearance outside of the divisional round.

The Braves were attempting to return to the World Series one year after theirdramatic seven-game loss to theMinnesota Twins. Atlanta featured largely thesame lineup that had won the 1991 pennant,^[1][2] but they still fell into a tie for last place, seven games behind theGiants, by the end of May.^[3] However, Atlanta went 19–6 in June and 16–9 in July and pulled away from the rest of theNL West by winning 15 of their first 18 games in August.

The Pirates were in the NLCS for the third year in a row after losing to the eventual World Series championCincinnati Reds in1990 and the Braves in1991. It was also the third of four straight NLCS appearances by either the Pirates or theirin-state rivals, thePhiladelphia Phillies.^[4] The 1992 NLCS would also be the first time two teams faced each other in back-to-back postseasons since 1978, when all three postseason series were rematches of 1977.

The Pirates lost slugging right fielderBobby Bonilla to free agency after the 1991 season, replacing him with speedsterAlex Cole. Ace pitcherJohn Smiley was traded to theMinnesota Twins. Despite the departure of Smiley and Bonilla, Pittsburgh charged out to a seven-game lead by late June, suffered through an 11–15 July that allowed theMontreal Expos to tie them for the lead by the end of the month, then won 11 straight in early August before pulling away from the Expos in September to earn its third straightNL East title, becoming the first team to win three straight NL East titles since the Phillies from 1976 to 1978.^[4][5] Future home run championBarry Bonds won his secondMVP Award and led the Pirates with 34 home runs and 103 RBI.

Pressure beyond the moment made it imperative for the Pirates to break through and win the pennant in 1992. Financial demands had already resulted in losing Smiley and Bonilla, and the departure of pending free agents Bonds (left fielder) andDoug Drabek (starting pitcher) loomed. 1992 appeared to be the last chance for Pittsburgh to win with its current core of players.^[6]

Atlanta won the series, 4–3.

Tuesday, October 6, 1992 (8:42 pm EDT) atAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium inAtlanta, Georgia

The first game of the NLCS pitted Atlanta'sJohn Smoltz against Pittsburgh aceDoug Drabek. Smoltz was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the previous NLCS, where the Braves shut out the Pirates, 4–0. Drabek had won once and lost once in the 1991 NLCS.

The Braves scored all five of their runs in the first seven innings. In the second,Mark Lemke's single scoredSid Bream to put Atlanta on the board. They added two more in the fourth inning as Bream doubled to scoreDavid Justice and then scored on an error whenOrlando Merced threw the ball away while attempting to field a bunt.Jeff Blauser's home run in the fifth made it 4–0, andTerry Pendleton drove inOtis Nixon in the seventh to complete the Braves' scoring.

The Pirates'José Lind was responsible for his team's only run as he homered in the eighth inning off of Smoltz. Lind's run, however, was the first the Pirates had scored against the Braves in 30 innings, going back to Lind's RBI single in Game 5 of the 1991 NLCS.

Smoltz went eight innings for the win, while Drabek suffered the loss and was pulled in the fifth inning.

Wednesday, October 7, 1992 (3:08 pm EDT) atAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium inAtlanta, Georgia

Atlanta'sSteve Avery, who defeated Pittsburgh twice in the 1991 NLCS without surrendering a run, started Game 2 in Atlanta whileDanny Jackson, who was a late season acquisition from theChicago Cubs, started for Pittsburgh.

The Braves scored early and often in Game 2. Jackson gave up a single toBrian Hunter, then walkedRon Gant.Damon Berryhill followed with a single to drive in Hunter, andMark Lemke added one of his own to score Gant. Avery then flied out to center field to score Berryhill from third, and after Otis Nixon popped outJeff Blauser followed with a triple, scoring Berryhill and chasing Jackson from the game. In the fifth, Gant facedBob Walk with the bases loaded and two out. On the third pitch of the at-bat Gant hit a deep fly ball to left field that cleared the fence for a grand slam home run, his first career grand slam.

With Avery still pitching a shutout into the seventh, the Pirates struck. WithBarry Bonds on base and one out,Lloyd McClendon doubled to score him.Don Slaught followed with a walk andJose Lind hit a triple after that, scoring both runners ahead of him and making it an 8–3 game. WithCecil Espy batting, Avery then threw a wild pitch enabling Lind to score and cut the lead in half. After Espy singled,Marvin Freeman came in to relieve the tiring Avery and retiredOrlando Merced to get the second out.Jay Bell followed with a single, butMike Stanton forcedAndy Van Slyke to ground out to end the inning.

The Braves put the game out of reach in the bottom of the seventh. With Gant on base and two outs, Stanton doubled him home.Denny Neagle then intentionally walked Nixon and unintentionally walked Blauser, then gave up a double toTerry Pendleton to score Stanton and Nixon.David Justice then singled, scoring Blauser and Pendleton and ending Neagle's afternoon. The Braves did not score again, and after Slaught scored on a passed ball in the eighth nothing further was done and the Braves took a 2–0 lead in the series with a 13–5 victory.

Avery kept his winning streak in postseason play intact, having yet to lose in five postseason starts. Jackson took the loss after giving up the first four Atlanta runs.

Friday, October 9, 1992 (8:39 pm EDT) atThree Rivers Stadium inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

As play moved toThree Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Atlanta turned to 20-game winnerTom Glavine to try to give them a 3–0 series lead. Pittsburgh countered with rookieTim Wakefield, aknuckleballer who had made 13 starts during the season.^[14]

The first run of the game came in the top of the fourth asSid Bream homered to give the Braves an early 1–0 lead. In the bottom of the next inning,Don Slaught hit a home run of his own to tie the score. The Pirates added a run in the sixth to take the lead asAndy Van Slyke scored on a Jeff King double. Ron Gant hit a home run in the top of the seventh to tie the game, but the Pirates scored what proved to be the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as Van Slyke doubled to scoreGary Redus.

Wakefield pitched a complete game and earned a victory. Glavine took the loss after pitching seven innings.

Saturday, October 10, 1992 (8:39 pm EDT) atThree Rivers Stadium inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game 4 saw a rematch of the Game 1 starters, asDoug Drabek facedJohn Smoltz for the second time.

As they had in Game 1, Atlanta scored early against Drabek. With two runners on and two out in the second, Smoltz drove in the first run by singling to center and scoringRon Gant.Otis Nixon followed by singling himself, scoringMark Lemke. Pittsburgh responded in their half by scoring twice, as a single byAlex Cole with one out scoredMike LaValliere. On the same play,Jose Lind scored asJeff Blauser made a throwing error at shortstop.Orlando Merced drove in a run in the third by doubling home Jeff King.

In the top of the fifth, the Braves scored again asDavid Justice singled with two runners on, scoring Nixon.Randy Tomlin came in to face pinch-hitterBrian Hunter, and he promptly grounded to third. King, however, decided to throw home to try to get Blauser at the plate and made an error allowing a second run to score. Atlanta scored twice more the next inning as Nixon drove in Smoltz with a two out double and scored himself when Blauser singled off ofDanny Cox.Andy Van Slyke drove in Cole with a double in the seventh but the Pirates got no closer andJeff Reardon shut them down in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the postseason.

Smoltz, in addition to scoring a run and driving in a run, stole a base and got his second win of the series. Drabek took his second loss, having failed to get out of the fifth inning for a second time in as many starts. The Braves now had a 3–1 series lead and needed only one more win to advance to their second consecutive World Series.

Sunday, October 11, 1992 (8:44 pm EDT) atThree Rivers Stadium inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Looking to clinch the series, the Braves trotted out Steve Avery for the second time in the series. The Pirates decided not to go back to Danny Jackson after his performance in Game 2 and instead called onBob Walk, who also saw action in Game 2 and gave up the grand slam to Ron Gant that broke the game open, to make his first start of the series

This time, the Pirates solved Avery after failing to do so in any of his three previous starts against them in the LCS.Gary Redus led off the home first with a double, scoring on a single byJay Bell. Avery then induced a groundout off the bat ofAndy Van Slyke, which turned out to be the only out he recorded.Barry Bonds, Jeff King, andLloyd McClendon all doubled following the first out, and three more runs scored before Avery was pulled. McClendon scored Bonds on a sacrifice fly in the third, Redus doubled inDon Slaught in the sixth, and Slaught drove in King in the seventh with a single to make it 7–0. The Braves' only run came in the eighth, asLonnie Smith led off the inning with a triple and scored on a groundout. Smith's triple was one of only three hits Walk allowed in a complete game, the second for the Pirates in the series.

As it took the Pirates until 2013 to reach the playoffs again, Game 5 of the NLCS was the last postseason game ever played inThree Rivers Stadium.

Tuesday, October 13, 1992 (8:44 pm EDT) atAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium inAtlanta, Georgia

Game 6 saw the series return to Atlanta, withTom Glavine taking onTim Wakefield in a Game 3 rematch.

Once again, as in Game 5, the Pirates scored early and often. After retiring the Pirates in order in the first, Glavine collapsed in the second.Barry Bonds led off with a home run, and after singles by Jeff King andLloyd McClendon,Don Slaught drove them both in with a double. An error byJeff Blauser allowed Slaught to score, and after Wakefield reached on a sacrifice bunt attemptGary Redus hit his fourth double of the series to drive inJose Lind.Jay Bell then homered to score Redus and Wakefield. Glavine was pulled after this, having faced eight batters in the second without an out.

With the Pirates' lead at 8–1 in the fifth, Lind doubled to score Slaught and McClendon, scored himself on a single by Redus, who scored on a single byAndy Van Slyke. McClendon's home run in the sixth ended the Pittsburgh scoring.David Justice hit two home runs in the late innings but they were meaningless as the Pirates tied the series. The stadium was largely empty by the end of the game as most fans left once the Pirates put the game out of reach—a bad omen for the Braves as seven of the previous ten teams that managed to come back from a 3–1 deficit to force a Game 7 had gone on to complete the comeback.

Wakefield again went the distance for his second win—a somewhat questionable decision by Leyland, since had he removed him earlier once he had a comfortable lead, Wakefield could have been available for relief duty in Game 7 to supplant Pittsburgh's notoriously unreliable bullpen. Glavine's eight run, one-inning outing garnered him his second loss.

Wednesday, October 14, 1992 (8:30 pm EDT) atAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium inAtlanta, Georgia

The deciding game of the NLCS featured the third matchup of the series betweenJohn Smoltz andDoug Drabek. Smoltz was an MVP candidate for the series, having started and won both of his games. Drabek had struggled in his two starts, failing to make it past the fifth inning in either matchup. However, the Pirates were carrying momentum from their previous two wins, having knocked out Steve Avery in the first inning and Tom Glavine in the second on their way to outscoring the Braves, 20–5, and looked to become the first team to win the NLCS after trailing, 3–1. The game that followed was regarded as one of the greatest ever, as years laterMLB Network ranked it the fourth best game of all time.^[15]

The Pirates scored first asAlex Cole led off with a walk, advanced to third on a double byAndy Van Slyke, and scored on a sacrifice fly byOrlando Merced. The Pirates would add a run in the sixth asJay Bell scored on a single by Van Slyke, and the lead held up as Drabek pitched his best game of the series in holding the Braves scoreless. The closest the Braves got to breaking through was in the sixth inning, when Drabek allowed three consecutive singles toMark Lemke,Jeff Treadway, andOtis Nixon to load the bases.Jeff Blauser, however, lined into an unassisted double play andTerry Pendleton lined out toBarry Bonds in left to end the threat.

An incident involving the umpires early in the game set a different tone that would come into play later on. In the second inning, home plate umpireJohn McSherry became ill and complained of nausea and dizziness.^[16] After being checked out by the stadium medical staff, McSherry was removed from the game as a precaution and first base umpireRandy Marsh was summoned over from his position to take over behind the plate.^[17] The move gave both Smoltz and Drabek a different target to hit for strikes as Marsh had a consistent strike zone that was much tighter than McSherry's. This was also the first public sign of what would later prove to be fatal cardiac issues for the veteran umpire; it was one of five times he would leave games with similar symptoms, and in 1996, on Opening Day inCincinnati, McSherry went into cardiac arrest and died on the field atRiverfront Stadium while behind the plate.

Although Drabek was able to hold the Braves in check, giving up only five hits in the first eight innings, the Pirates failed to take advantage of multiple opportunities in the late innings to add an insurance run.Mike LaValliere led off the seventh inning with a single off of Mike Stanton, and afterJosé Lind lined out he advanced to second on a bunt by Drabek.Lloyd McClendon then pinch-hit for Cole and was intentionally walked. Pete Smith then entered the game and issued a third walk to Bell, loading the bases for Van Slyke. However, the Braves got out of the jam when Game 5 loser Steve Avery, making a rare relief appearance, came in and induced a fly out to center field.

After the Braves failed to score in the seventh, Avery faced the middle of the Pirates' order in the top of the eighth. Bonds led off with a single, but was thrown out on a force play at second with Merced reaching first. Jeff King followed with a double, but Justice threw out Merced trying to score for the second out. LaValliere lined out to end the inning. In the ninth, Braves closerJeff Reardon retired Lind on a fly out. With the pitcher due next,Jim Leyland decided to keep Drabek in the game and he struck out for the second out. McClendon drew a walk, then advanced on a wild pitch. Pinch runnerCecil Espy came in to replace McClendon, but he was stranded at second base as Bell grounded out.

Pittsburgh was now three outs away from advancing to their first World Series since1979. If the lead held, Braves managerBobby Cox would have become the first manager in the era of seven-game LCS play to have blown two 3–1 series leads and lost; Cox previously had seen this happen in1985, when hisToronto Blue Jays lost to the eventual World Series championKansas City Royals after being one victory away from going to theWorld Series.

Terry Pendleton led off the home ninth with a double off of Drabek.David Justice followed by hitting a sharp grounder toJosé Lind, who was eventually awarded aGold Glove at second base for the season.^[18] Lind, however, misplayed the ball, and Pendleton advanced to third on the error. Drabek then walked former teammateSid Bream on four pitches, which moved the tying run into scoring position and loaded the bases.

With the winning run now on base andRon Gant scheduled next, Leyland made a pitching change and brought in his closer,Stan Belinda, to make his second appearance of the series and attempt to preserve the victory for Drabek, who was responsible for all three baserunners. Gant hit a deep fly ball that was caught by Bonds, enabling Pendleton to score and put the Braves on the board.Damon Berryhill was the next batter and worked a 3–1 count out of Belinda. The next pitch appeared to cross the plate in the strike zone, but Marsh called it ball four; it was later speculated that at least two if not three of the pitches called balls to Berryhill would have been called strikes with McSherry behind the plate. Berryhill’s walk once again loaded the bases and moved the winning run, represented by a relatively slow-footed baserunner in Bream, into scoring position.^[6][16][19]

With the pitcher's spot due in two batters, Cox went to his bench for a pinch hitter and summonedBrian Hunter to bat in place of second basemanRafael Belliard. Belinda got him to pop up on the second pitch of the at-bat, which was caught for the second out by Lind.Francisco Cabrera, who had only appeared in seventeen games that season for the Braves, was sent up to try and keep Atlanta's season alive.^{[16][20][21][22]}

Belinda fell behind Cabrera 2–0, then got a strike after Cabrera hit a sharp line drive foul to left. Before the next pitch, Van Slyke, playing center field, signaled to Bonds in left field that he should move a few steps in, so if Cabrera hit the ball to the left side again he could easily cut it off and prevent Bream, whose baserunning speed had been greatly affected by several knee injuries that required surgery during the course of his career, from scoring. Bonds, refusing to move, responded by givingthe finger to his teammate.^[16][23][24]

On the next pitch, Cabrera again hit a liner to left. The ball dropped in for a hit in front of Bonds, scoring Justice with the tying run.^{[25][16][21][24]} As Bonds went to field the ball, Atlanta third base coachJimy Williams noticed that his positioning would require a throw across his body and decided to send Bream to the plate, feeling that LaValliere, the Pirates' catcher, might not be able to tag Bream if he had to field the ball and come back across the plate to make the play. Bonds' throw came in to the right of LaValliere before Bream reached him, but as Williams had predicted, the extra second LaValliere needed to come back to tag Bream enabled the veteran first baseman to slide in safely ahead of the tag with the series-winning run.^[24][25][16]

The victory was picked up by Jeff Reardon, who pitched the ninth inning. The loss was charged to Drabek, who took his third defeat of the series—though two of the three the runs he was charged with were unearned, stemming from the Lind error. Smoltz, with his two victories and solid start keeping the Braves in the game in Game 7, was named the series MVP.

Andy Van Slyke sat motionless in centerfield for several minutes after the game ended, while the Braves celebrated at home plate.^[26]

In the celebration at home plate afterSid Bream's pennant-winning slide, Braves pitcherKent Mercker was hurt and unable to pitch in theWorld Series.

Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS marked the first time (and to date, still the only time) in MLB history that a team which was one out away from losing in a winner-take-all game of a playoff series instead won on the last pitch.^[26] To date, Francisco Cabrera is the only player in MLB history to win a postseason series with a hit during an at bat in which he could have lost the series with an out. All other series walk-off hits occurred either with the score already tied (as withBill Mazeroski's1960 World Series winning home run) or in a game that was not winner-take-all, as withJoe Carter's home run to win the1993 World Series, which occurred in Game 6.

The March 1993 issue ofBaseball Digest pronounced it the greatest baseball comeback ever,^[27] as did John Smoltz immediately after the game.^[16] A 2006 study by thePittsburgh Post-Gazette pronounced Cabrera's game-winning single the eighth-"clutchest" hit in MLB history.^[28] ESPN called the Pirates' defeat the eighth most painful in baseball history.^[29]Don Ohlmeyer, the former head of NBC Sports and President of NBC West Coast, supposedly called the event "one of the most exciting baseball moments he had ever seen".^[30]

Game 7 was the last postseason game for the Pirates until2013, when the team faced and defeated theCincinnati Reds in theNational League Wild Card Game. The Pirates also went 20 years without a winning season after 1992. Game 7 was the last Pirates game for Bonds and Drabek who left via free agency, signing with theGiants andAstros, respectively.

Until 2008, the Braves were the last team in Major League Baseball to win a seventh game after blowing a 3–1 series lead, and only the fourth of 11 total to do it up to that point. That year, theTampa Bay Rays won Game 7 of theALCS after blowing a 3–1 lead to theBoston Red Sox.

1992 NLCS(4–3):Atlanta Braves overPittsburgh Pirates

The Braves lost the 1992 World Series to theToronto Blue Jays in six games. 1992 was the second of five National League pennants for the Braves from1991 to1999. After making their second consecutive NLCS in 1992, the Braves made seven of the next nine that followed. In 1993, the Braves again came back from a second half deficit to win their division, but were upset by thePhiladelphia Phillies in the NLCS. Atlanta won their first World Series under Bobby Cox in1995. They lost the1996 and1999 World Series to theNew York Yankees. In 1997, the Braves fell toJim Leyland's Marlins in the NLCS and in 1998, they were defeated by theSan Diego Padres. After being defeated in theNLDS in2000, the Braves made it back to the NLCS in2001 only be defeated by the eventual World Series championArizona Diamondbacks. Their most recent NLCS appearance came in2021, where they defeated the defending World Series championLos Angeles Dodgers in six games en route to winning the2021 World Series over theHouston Astros in six games to win their fourth World Series championship.

Francisco Cabrera went 0–1 in the 1992 Series. He played only one more season in the big leagues, accruing 91 plate appearances for the1993 Braves. He later managed theSt. Louis Cardinals'Dominican League affiliate.^[31] Cox eventually retired as Braves manager following the 2010 season, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014. He was joined by his ace from this series, Tom Glavine, who was elected as a player that same year and won 305 games in his career.

"The Slide" also proved to be the end of the Pirates' stretches of playoff runs after losing three straight NLCS. The Pirates never recovered from their loss to the Braves, going 75–87 in1993. The Pirates would not have another winning season until2013; their streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons through2012 remains an all-time record for major North American professional sports.^[32]

Barry Bonds and Doug Drabek played their last games for the team, as both departed in free agency that offseason. Bonds went to theSan Francisco Giants, where he played for the remainder of his career and eventually set baseball'sall-time single season andcareer home run record with 73 and 762 respectively. Bonds became eligible for theHall of Fame in2013, but has yet to be elected due in part toconcerns about hisuse of performance-enhancing drugs. After years of bad blood with the organization, Bonds was inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame in 2024.^[33] Drabek signed with theHouston Astros and stayed there for four seasons, but did not maintain the consistency that he had in Pittsburgh and eventually retired in 1998. Manager Jim Leyland stayed with the Pirates through the1996 season, with his team losing 80 or more games three of those four years. He moved on to theFlorida Marlins, where his team beat Cox'sBraves in theNLCS and went on to win the World Series in1997. Leyland moved on to manage theDetroit Tigers to two World Series losses in2006 and2012 (including 3 straightALCS appearances from2011–13) before retiring following the2013 season.

As of 2025, this is Pittsburgh’s last postseason appearance outside of the divisional round, and this is their most recent postseason appearance as a division champion, as the Pirates hold the longest division title drought in the majors.^[34] The only team of the four major North American leagues with a longer division title drought are theNFL’sCleveland Browns, who last won their division in1989, three years before Pittsburgh’s last division title.^[35]

• 1992 NLCS at Baseball Reference

• National League Championship Series
• 1992 Major League Baseball season
• Atlanta Braves postseason
• Pittsburgh Pirates postseason
• 1992 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
• 1992 in sports in Pennsylvania
• 1992 in Atlanta
• 1992 in Pittsburgh
• October 1992 sports events in the United States

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