2004 National League Division Series
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season St. Louis Cardinals (3) Tony La Russa 105–57, .648, GA: 13 Los Angeles Dodgers (1) Jim Tracy 93–69, .574, GA: 2
Dates	October 5 – 10
Television	ESPN (Game 1) Fox (Games 2–4)
TV announcers	Jon Miller,Joe Morgan andGary Miller (Game 1) Joe Buck,Tim McCarver andChris Myers (Game 2) Thom Brennaman andTim McCarver (Game 3-4)Kevin Kennedy (Game 3) andChris Myers (Game 4)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Gary Cohen,Luis Gonzalez
Umpires	Dale Scott Greg Gibson Chuck Meriwether Bruce Dreckman Gerry Davis Brian O'Nora
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Houston Astros (3) Phil Garner 92–70, .568, GB: 13 Atlanta Braves (2) Bobby Cox 96–66, .593, GA: 10
Dates	October 6 – 11
Television	ESPN (Games 1–2, 4) ESPN2 (Game 3) Fox (Game 5)
TV announcers	Dave O'Brien,Jeff Brantley, andDavid Justice (Games 1–3) Jon Miller andJoe Morgan (Game 4) Josh Lewin,Steve Lyons andPam Oliver (Game 5)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Jim Durham,Rich Aurilia
Umpires	Tim McClelland Phil Cuzzi Wally Bell Fieldin Culbreth Joe Brinkman Tony Randazzo
← 2003 NLDS 2005 →

The2004National League Division Series (NLDS), the first round of theNational League side in Major League Baseball’s2004 postseason, began on Tuesday, October 5, and ended on Monday, October 11, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:

• (1)St. Louis Cardinals (Central Division champion, 105–57) vs. (3)Los Angeles Dodgers (Western Division champion, 93–69): Cardinals win series, 3–1.
• (2)Atlanta Braves (Eastern Division champion, 96–66) vs. (4)Houston Astros (Wild Card, 92–70): Astros win series, 3–2.^[1]

The National League division and wild card races were some of the most exciting in thewild-card era, as theNational League West came down to the final weekend of the season, while there were as many as four teams trying for a post-season berth via the wild card the last week of the season, which ultimately saw Houston clinch the Wild Card spot on the final day of the regular season.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros went on to meet in theNL Championship Series (NLCS). The Cardinals became the National League champion, and lost to theAmerican League championBoston Red Sox in the2004 World Series.

St. Louis won the series, 3–1.

Houston won the series, 3–2.

Odalis Pérez facedWoody Williams in Game 1.Albert Pujols got the Cardinals started with a two-out solo homer to make it 1–0 in the first. Then in the third, Perez reached his limit after surrendering five two-out runs.Larry Walker's solo homer made it 2–0. Pujols singled andScott Rolen walked beforeÉdgar Rentería doubled in both, thenJim Edmonds's two-run homer made it 6–0 Cardinals. In the fourth,Mike Matheny homered offElmer Dessens to make it 7–0. The Dodgers got on the board in the fifth on back-to-back two-out doubles byCesar Izturis andJayson Werth, then added another run next inning whenAdrian Beltre hit a leadoff single and scored onAlex Cora's two-out triple. The Cardinals added to their lead onLarry Walker's leadoff home run in the seventh offGiovanni Carrara.Kiko Calero andRay King followed Williams' six solid innings with a perfect seventh and eighth.Jason Isringhausen closed out the game after allowing a home run toTom Wilson in the ninth.

Jeff Weaver facedJason Marquis in Game 2.Jayson Werth homered in the first to make it 1–0 Dodgers, but in the second, with runners on first and second and one out, Weaver's error on a pickoff attempt allowedEdgar Renteria to score andReggie Sanders to go to second. One out later,Tony Womack's triple andLarry Walker's double scored a run each, giving the Cardinals a 3–1 lead. However, back-to-back homers byShawn Green andMilton Bradley to lead off the top of the fourth tied the game. Marquis was removed in favor ofCal Eldred. With Weaver still pitching in the fifth and runners on first and second and two outs, Renteria's RBI single put the Cardinals back in front 4–3. After Sanders was hit by a pitch to load the bases,Mike Matheny's two-run single made it 6–3 Cardinals. Matheny would also come through in the seventh with another two-run single offGiovanni Carrara. The Cardinals' solid bullpen held the Dodgers as they cruised to another 8–3 win.

With time running out, the Dodgers called onJosé Lima for Game 3. Opposing him would beMatt Morris. Both pitchers kept the game quiet until the third. The Dodgers would take the lead for only the second time in the series with a two-run bases-loaded double bySteve Finley. ThenShawn Green followed with a leadoff homer in the fourth. Lima would keep the Cardinals silent all night and Green would homer once again in the sixth to make it 4–0. Lima would pitch a complete-game five-hit shutout to give the Dodgers their first postseason win since the clinching Game 5 of the1988 World Series.

All the momentum the Dodgers might have had disappeared in Game 4.Jeff Suppan facedOdalis Pérez andJayson Werth struck first against Suppan with a one-out homer in the first to make it 1–0 Dodgers, butReggie Sanders homered as well to tie the game in the second. Then with two on via two walks,Édgar Rentería gave the Cardinals the lead with an RBI single in the third, but the Dodgers tied the game on a sacrifice fly byAdrián Beltré. However,Wilson Álvarez facedAlbert Pujols with two men on in the fourth and surrender a three-run homer to give the Cardinals a commanding 5–2 lead. Then Pujols singled homeLarry Walker offYhency Brazoban to give the Cardinals a 6–2 lead in the seventh. That marked the end for the Dodgers asAlex Cora struck out againstJason Isringhausen to end the series in the ninth.

2004 NLDS(3–1):St. Louis Cardinals overLos Angeles Dodgers

Roger Clemens facedJaret Wright in Game 1. The Braves loaded the bases in the bottom of the first on an error and two walks beforeJohnny Estrada's sacrifice fly put them up 1–0. Wright cruised through the first two innings but ran into trouble in the third.Brad Ausmus's leadoff homer tied the game and after two quick outs,Carlos Beltrán singled.Jeff Bagwell followed with an RBI double. ThenLance Berkman homered to put the Astros up 4–1. In the fifth, the Astros got two more on Beltrán's two-run homer.Kevin Gryboski relieved Wright and allowed a single toJeff Bagwell and one out later,Jeff Kent's RBI single made it 7–1 Astros. In the bottom of the inning,Andruw Jones's two-out home run made it 7–2 Astros. The Braves scored their last run in the sixth whenRafael Furcal hit a leadoff triple and scored on a groundout byMarcus Giles. The Astros added to their lead in the seventh on an RBI single byMorgan Ensberg offJuan Cruz and the ninth onJason Lane's leadoff home run offChris Reitsma.Mike Gallo pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth as the Astros' 9–3 win gave them a 1–0 series lead.

The Astros jumped off to an early 2–0 lead off Braves starterMike Hampton on homers byJeff Bagwell in the first andRaul Chavez in the third. Hampton would leave in the seventh with an injured arm. In the seventh, Astros starterRoy Oswalt, who was working on a shutout, began to falter as he allowed a pinch-hit double toDeWayne Wise. ThenRafael Furcal would single him home to make it 2–1. In a bizarre incident, the Astros' bullpen phone stopped working and someone had to check the status of their relievers. It caused a delay that Braves managerBobby Cox protested. This occurred after Oswalt gave up his only run of the game. The bullpen would save the inning and the game remained 2–1 until the bottom of the eighth, whenAdam LaRoche tied the game with an RBI double offBrad Lidge with the Astros five outs away from taking a commanding 2–0 lead in the series. As the game moved to extra innings,Charles Thomas singled with one out in the bottom of the 11th offDan Miceli. AfterEli Marrero struck out, Thomas stole second, thenRafael Furcal hit the game-winning two-run home run to tie the series at one game apiece.

John Thomson facedBrandon Backe in Game 3. Thomson would leave the game in the first with a strained muscle on his left side after surrendering a double and a walk with one out.Paul Byrd came on in relief and got out of the inning, but, in the third,Carlos Beltrán put the Astros on top with a two-run homer. In the fourth, the Braves issued their response with a homer fromJohnny Estrada.Andruw Jones then doubled and, after an intentional walk, scored on Byrd's RBI single to tie the game. In the bottom of the fifth,Lance Berkman walked with two outs before scoring onJeff Kent's RBI double off the scoreboard, thenMorgan Ensberg's RBI single made it 4–2 Astros and Byrd was gone. AgainstAntonio Alfonseca in the bottom of the sixth, the Astros put two men on and Alfonseca would leave in favor ofTom Martin, who allowed an RBI single toLance Berkman. AfterJeff Kent walked to load the bases, Ensberg's two-run double made it 7–2. They scored one more run whenBrad Ausmus walked to lead off the seventh, moved to second on a wild pitch byChris Reitsma, then to third on a ground out before scoring on aMike Lamb sacrifice fly. The Braves put their first two men on in the eighth offRuss Springer and, after two strikeouts,Andruw Jones hit a three-run homer to cut the lead in half, butBrad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth for the save as the Astros' 8–5 win left them one win away from the NLCS.

With their backs to the wall in Game 4, the Braves sentRuss Ortiz to the mound to faceRoger Clemens. Three consecutive leadoff singles in the second put the Braves up 1–0, thenAdam LaRoche's double play with runners on second and third made it 2–0 Braves. In the bottom of the inning, the Astros loaded the bases on two singles and a walk before Clemens's sacrifice fly cut the Braves' lead to 2–1. ThenCraig Biggio hit a three-run homer to give the Astros a 4–2 lead.Carlos Beltrán doubled and scored onJeff Bagwell's single to make it 5–2 Astros. Behind Clemens, the Astros were closing in on their first-ever postseason series win, but Clemens left the game in favor ofChad Qualls, who gave up a three-run homer toAdam LaRoche to tie the game in the sixth. The Braves took the lead in the ninth offRuss Springer whenRafael Furcal was hit by a pitch with two outs, stole second and scored onJ. D. Drew's single. The Astros got two one-out singles in the bottom of the inning offJohn Smoltz, butJeff Kent grounded into the game-ending double play to force a Game 5 in Atlanta.

Roy Oswalt took onJaret Wright in the clinching Game 5. The Astros, 0-7 all-time in a postseason series, were trying to break a dubious streak in which they had lost six consecutive playoff games in which they had a chance to clinch a postseason series victory. In the top of the second, a leadoff single was followed by a double beforeMorgan Ensberg's ground out andJose Vizcaino's sacrifice fly scored a run each. ThenCarlos Beltrán homered in the third to make it 3–0 Astros, but the Braves cut the lead to one on a pair of homers byRafael Furcal (awaiting to serve a brief sentence for drunk driving that would start when the postseason ended for the Braves) andJohnny Estrada in the fifth. Beltrán's second homer in the sixth, however, made it 4–2. WhenChris Reitsma took the mound in the seventh, the Astros were able to put the series away with a five-run explosion. Vizcaino hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored onCraig Biggio's two-out single. Biggio scored on Beltrán's single beforeJeff Bagwell's two-run homer's made it 8–2.Tom Martin relieved Reitsma and allowed a double toLance Berkman, who scored onJeff Kent's single. The Braves scored their last run of the series in the bottom of the inning onJohnny Estrada's RBI single offMike Gallo. The Astros added to their lead in the eighth offJuan Cruz when Ensberg hit a leadoff double and scored onJason Lane's two-out single. After Biggio doubled, Beltrán's two-run single made it 12–3.Dan Wheeler would come on to shut the door on the Braves in the ninth.Chipper Jones's flyout to left gave the Astros the win in Game 5 and gave them their first-ever postseason series win. After three losses to the Braves in the playoffs, the Astros won the right to play in the NLCS for the first time since1986.

2004 NLDS(3–2):Houston Astros overAtlanta Braves

• STL vs. LAD at Baseball-Reference
• HOU vs. ATL at Baseball-Reference

• National League Division Series
• 2004 Major League Baseball season
• St. Louis Cardinals postseason
• Houston Astros postseason
• Los Angeles Dodgers postseason
• Atlanta Braves postseason
• 2004 in sports in Los Angeles
• 2004 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
• 2004 in sports in Missouri
• 2004 in sports in Texas
• 2004 in Atlanta
• 2004 in Houston
• 2000s in St. Louis
• October 2004 sports events in the United States

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