The1995National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of theNational League side inMajor League Baseball’s1995 postseason, matched the East Division championAtlanta Braves against the Central Division championCincinnati Reds. The Reds had the home field advantage due to a predetermined formula (as agreed upon in instituting a third Division and Wild Card spot), which awarded home field advantage to the Central Division champion or its playoff opponent as opposed to the host being the team with the most wins.

The two teams were victorious in theNL Division Series (NLDS), with the Braves defeating the wild card qualifierColorado Rockies three games to one, and the Reds defeating the West Division championLos Angeles Dodgers three games to none. The Braves won the series four games to none to become the National League champions, and defeated theAmerican League championCleveland Indians in the1995 World Series.

This NLCS was notable as it matched up what had been the two easternmost teams in theNational League West Division from 1969 to 1993, both teams having been placed there at the insistence of theNew York Mets andChicago Cubs (the former team wanted the Cubs' rivalsSt. Louis Cardinals, then the dominating power of the NL, in theNational League East Division, and the Cubs wanted in the same division as St. Louis). It was also the first NLCS since1989 not to feature either thePhiladelphia Phillies or the Pittsburgh Pirates. The two teams reigned exclusively as NL East champions from 1990 to 1993.^[1]

Atlanta won the series, 4–0.

Tuesday, October 10, 1995, atRiverfront Stadium inCincinnati, Ohio

The opening game of the 1995 NLCS would be well-pitched and decided in extra innings. The only run allowed byTom Glavine, who would go seven innings, came on aRon Gant single following aBarry Larkin triple in the fourth.Pete Schourek was lights out the entire game, but allowed back-to-back leadoff singles in the ninth beforeDavid Justice hit into a forceout at second to send the game to extra innings. In the 11th inning, bench playerMike Devereaux singled inFred McGriff, who drew a leadoff walk off ofMike Jackson and moved to third on two groundouts, to give Atlanta a 2–1 lead. ManagerBobby Cox needed to use three pitchers in the bottom of the inning, butGreg McMichael induced a double play with runners on first and third that ended the game.

Wednesday, October 11, 1995, atRiverfront Stadium inCincinnati, Ohio

WithJohn Smoltz on the mound, the Braves took an early 1–0 lead whenMarquis Grissom hit a leadoff single in the first off ofJohn Smiley, moved to second on a groundout and scored onChipper Jones's single, then got a second run in the fourth whenFred McGriff hit a leadoff double and scored on aMike Devereaux RBI double. In the fifth,Lenny Harris's two-out RBI single with two on put the Reds on the board, thenJeff Branson stole home to tie the game at two. That score held until the tenth inning, when the Braves scored four runs and took the game. Cincinnati relieverMark Portugal's wild pitch with the bases loaded allowedMark Lemke to scamper home with the go-ahead run.Javy López followed with a three-run blast that blew the game open. This would be the final postseason game ever played inRiverfront Stadium.

Friday, October 13, 1995, atAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium inAtlanta, Georgia

Greg Maddux went eight innings and only gave up one run in another strong start for an Atlanta starter. LeftyDavid Wells, acquired by Cincinnati in anticipation of facing the predominantly left-handed Braves lineup in the playoffs, matched Maddux with a scoreless first five innings. Later, right-handed Atlanta catcherCharlie O'Brien belted a three-run home run in the sixth off Wells. RookieChipper Jones hit a two-run shot in the seventh to make it 5–0. The Reds got on the board in the eighth on three straight one-out singles, the last of which toHal Morris scoring a run.Jeff Branson led off the ninth with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored onThomas Howard's sacrifice fly, as the Braves held on for a 5–2 victory.

Saturday, October 14, 1995, atAtlanta–Fulton County Stadium inAtlanta, Georgia

Steve Avery, who was inconsistent all season, got the start for Atlanta and tossed six scoreless innings.Rafael Belliard hit a leadoff single off ofPete Schourek in the third, then moved to second on a fly out beforeMark Lemke hit an RBI single to give Atlanta a 1–0 lead. The game remained close until the seventh, whenMike Jackson allowed a leadoff triple and one out walk before a passed ball allowedMarquis Grissom to score. After an intentional walk, series MVPMike Devereaux hit a three-run home run to put the Braves up 5–0. After a double and intentional walk,Dave Burba relieved Jackson andLuis Polonia's RBI single made it 6–0 Braves.Bobby Cox took no chances and used closerMark Wohlers to finish off the Reds in the ninth. The shutout victory completed a surprisingly easy sweep of Cincinnati and sent the Braves to their third World Series in five years.

The Reds offense only managed to score five runs in four games off Atlanta's pitching staff, even with the fact that the first two contests went to extra-innings.

This was the only NLCS to end in a four-game sweep until2007, when theColorado Rockies defeated theArizona Diamondbacks in four games.

Former BraveRon Gant would play against his former team with the Reds, then again the next year as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

This was the final game for managerDavey Johnson with the Reds.

1995 NLCS(4–0):Atlanta Braves overCincinnati Reds

Two weeks later, the Braves defeated another Ohio-based team in the World Series, theCleveland Indians, in six games. It was their first World Series victory in Atlanta.

The 1995 season for the Reds proved to be successful, despite dysfunction from the beginning. Reds ownerMarge Schott announced early in the 1995 season that managerDavey Johnson would not return in 1996, regardless of how the Reds did.^[6] Schott named former Reds third basemanRay Knight (who had played for Johnson on the1986 Mets championship team) as bench coach, with the understanding that he would take over as manager in 1996. The Reds took a dive under Ray Knight in1996 and he was eventually fired in 1997. Johnson was quickly hired to manage the Baltimore Orioles for the1996 season, but would find himself in another tenuous situation, as he and Orioles ownerPeter Angelos would also not get along. Similar to his situation with Marge Schott, Johnson would be fired after the1997 season despite two AL Championship Series appearances. Meanwhile, Schott was banned from day-to-day operations of the Reds by MLB from 1996 through 1998 due to statements in support of German domestic policies ofNazi Party leaderAdolf Hitler, amongst other controversies over her own personal beliefs; shortly afterwards, she sold the majority of her share in the team in 1999.^[7]

The Reds promptly floundered for the next fifteen years, missing the playoffs each year until2010. The Reds also have not won a postseason series since beating the Dodgers to advance to the NLCS in 1995, which is the currently longestpostseason series winning drought in MLB. Included in the Reds’ postseason series losing streak was them being swept by Braves again in the National League Wild Card Series in2020.^[8]

• 1995 NLCS at Baseball Reference

• 1995 Major League Baseball season
• Atlanta Braves postseason
• Cincinnati Reds postseason
• National League Championship Series
• 1995 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
• 1995 in sports in Ohio
• 1995 in Atlanta
• 1990s in Cincinnati
• October 1995 sports events in the United States
• Baseball competitions in Atlanta
• Baseball competitions in Cincinnati

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