The Braves will find themselves in Game 5 of a best-of-five National League Division Series for the fourth time Wednesday, all four times on their home field.
Their record in the three previous such games: 0-3.
>> On Oct. 7, 2002, the Braves lost NLDS Game 5 to the San Francisco Giants, 3-1, at Turner Field. The Braves had runners on first and third with no outs in the ninth, but Gary Sheffield struck out and Chipper Jones hit into a double play to end the series.
>> On Oct. 5, 2003, the Braves lost NLDS Game 5 to the Chicago Cubs, 5-1, at Turner Field. Chicago starting pitcher Kerry Wood dominated the game, allowing one run on five hits in eight innings, as the Cubs won their first postseason series since the 1908 World Series.
>> And on Oct. 11, 2004, the Braves lost NLDS Game 5 to the Houston Astros, 12-3, at Turner Field. The Astros led 4-2 after six innings and scored eight runs off the Braves’ bullpen in the seventh and eighth.
Wednesday’s game at SunTrust Park marks the first time the Braves have carried an NLDS to a fifth game since 2004. They lost the series in four games in 2005, 2010, 2013 and 2018.
MLB introduced the Division Series in 1995, and the Braves dominated the event for a while. They won the NLDS in four games in 1995, in three-game sweeps in 1996, 1997 and 1998, in four games in 1999 and in three games in 2001. They haven’t won a playoff series since the 2001 NLDS, as you undoubtedly have heard.
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