2006 National League Division Series

San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals

New York vs. Los Angeles

The series seemed over for the Mets before it even started, first by losing ace Pedro Martínez

Pedro Martínez

Pedro Jaime Martínez is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion...

for the postseason and then losing probable Game 1 starter Orlando Hernández

Orlando Hernández

Orlando Hernández Pedroso , nicknamed "El Duque", is a former Cuban right-handed baseball pitcher....

. Despite having a potent offense, many people didn't seem to give the Mets too much of a chance without a great starting rotation. In fact, the Mets pitching helped keep the two bats at the top of the Dodgers order from doing damage. Rafael Furcal

Rafael Furcal

Rafael Antonio Furcal , is a Major League Baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent.-Early career:...

and Kenny Lofton

Kenny Lofton

Kenneth Lofton is a former Major League Baseball outfielder known for his great speed on the base paths as well as in the field, award-winning defensive play , timely hitting, and playful spirit. He batted and threw left-handed...

went 3 for 24 (.125) in the series combined. In the regular season, they hit .300 and stole 59 bases combined. Thanks to mixed efforts by everyone on the Mets, they advanced to the 2006 National League Championship Series

2006 National League Championship Series

The National League Championship Series , the second round of the 2006 National League playoffs, began on October 12 and ended on October 19; it was scheduled to begin on October 11, but was postponed a day because of inclement weather. The St...

. Dodgers second baseman

Second baseman

Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

Jeff Kent

Jeffrey Franklin Kent is a retired Major League Baseball second baseman. Kent won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2000 with the San Francisco Giants, and is the all-time leader in home runs among second basemen...

had eight hits in the three-game series. Only Fernando Viña

Fernando Viña

Fernando Viña is a retired Cuban-American Major League Baseball second baseman and current MLB analyst for Oakland Athletics...

had more hits in a series that lasted three games.

Game 1, October 4

Shea Stadium

William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...

in Queens, New York
The game started off with Mets rookie starter John Maine

John Maine

John Kevin Maine is an American professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets. He bats and throws right-handed.-Early life and college:Maine was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia...

on the mound after the Mets received devastating news about Orlando Hernández

Orlando Hernández

Orlando Hernández Pedroso , nicknamed "El Duque", is a former Cuban right-handed baseball pitcher....

possibly missing the rest of the postseason. He kept the Mets in the game with only one earned run in innings pitched. In the second inning, a strange play occurred at home plate. With runners on first and second and nobody out, catcher Russell Martin

Russell Martin

Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr is a Canadian Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees.Martin became the everyday catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately upon his Major League debut, and continued in that role for nearly 5 years...

hit a line drive all the way to the wall in right field. Jeff Kent

Jeff Kent

tried to tag up from second base in the event that right fielder Shawn Green

Shawn Green

Shawn David Green is a former Major League Baseball player.Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star...

caught the ball. Instead, the ball sailed over his head. Both Kent and J. D. Drew

J. D. Drew

David Jonathan "J. D." Drew is an American professional baseball right fielder who is a free agent. He is a left-handed hitter, and began his major league career in with the St. Louis Cardinals...

raced around the bases towards the plate. Green threw to cut-off man José Valentín

José Valentín

José Antonio Valentín is a former Major League Baseball infielder, who played with the Milwaukee Brewers , Chicago White Sox , Los Angeles Dodgers , and New York Mets .-Early years:...

, who relayed to Paul Lo Duca

Paul Lo Duca

Paul Anthony Lo Duca is a television personality and a former Major League Baseball catcher. Previously, Lo Duca played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Florida Marlins , New York Mets , and Washington Nationals...

at the plate. Lo Duca tagged out Kent. Drew, trying to score in desperation, was also tagged out at the plate. Lo Duca almost didn't see Drew in time to slap the tag on. The Dodgers would score a run later in the inning, but Carlos Delgado

Carlos Delgado

Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández is a retired Puerto Rican professional baseball player. With 473 home runs and 1,512 RBI, he holds the all-time home run and RBI records among Puerto Rican players....

and Cliff Floyd

Cliff Floyd

Cornelius Clifford Floyd, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball outfielder.-Early years:Floyd was born to parents Cornelius Clifford Floyd, Sr. and Olivia Floyd. After spending 13 years as an only child, Floyd was joined by brother Julius...

hit home runs in the fourth. Nomar Garciaparra

Nomar Garciaparra

Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...

tied the game at four with a two-RBI double in the top of the seventh. Delgado and David Wright, however, gave the Mets the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh with RBI hits off Brad Penny

Brad Penny

Bradley Wayne "Brad" Penny is a Major League starting pitcher. Penny has spent portions of his career with the Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers....

(who was relieving Derek Lowe

Derek Lowe

Derek Christopher Lowe is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He throws and bats right-handed. He is 6'6" and 230 pounds.-Early years:...

), with closer Billy Wagner

Billy Wagner

William Edward Wagner , nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is a retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He pitched for the Houston Astros , the Philadelphia Phillies , the New York Mets , the Boston Red Sox , and the Atlanta Braves...

nailing down the save.

Game 2, October 5

Shea Stadium

in Queens, New York
In a game where the Mets were expected to struggle, they came through with a big win. Dodgers rookie Hong-Chih Kuo

Hong-Chih Kuo

Hong-Chih Kuo is a Major League Baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. When Kuo made his debut in , he became the fourth MLB player from Taiwan ....

was expected to beat the Mets, who have a lineup full of left-handed hitters (or at least, hit better left-handed). Instead, the lefty Kuo was up against Tom Glavine

Tom Glavine

Thomas Michael Glavine is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine was the second winningest pitcher in the National League, second only to teammate Greg Maddux's 176...

, who earned the win, with the Mets offense manufacturing runs. In the bottom of the third, outfielder Endy Chávez

Endy Chávez

Endy de Jesus Chávez is a Major League Baseball outfielder.Chávez bats and throws left-handed and is considered to have good fielding skills, speed, and the ability to hit to all parts of the field...

hit a bunt single to lead off the inning. That led to a José Reyes RBI ground out. In the sixth, Paul Lo Duca

Paul Lo Duca

hit a sacrifice fly to give the Mets a 2–0 lead. In the seventh, after pinch-hitter Julio Franco

Julio Franco

Julio César Robles Franco is a former Major League Baseball infielder and designated hitter. In , Franco was the oldest active player in the major leagues at the age of 49....

hit into a fielder's choice, driving in a run, Reyes drove in another run with an RBI single. Wilson Betemit

Wilson Betemit

Wilson Betemit is a Dominican professional baseball infielder. He is 6'2" and weighs 220 pounds...

hit a home run for the Dodgers but lost 4–1. The Dodgers were hit with more bad news. Nomar Garciaparra

Nomar Garciaparra

was lost after a leg injury that would keep him off the field except for pinch-hitting duties.

Game 3, October 7

Dodger Stadium

Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...

in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

In Los Angeles the Mets jumped out on Dodgers veteran starter Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux

Gregory Alan Maddux , nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "The Professor", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years , a feat matched only by Randy Johnson...

for three runs in the first inning, and added another in the third. The Dodgers came back in the fourth inning with a bases-loaded double by rookie first baseman James Loney off Mets starter Steve Trachsel

Steve Trachsel

Stephen Christopher Trachsel , nicknamed "The Human Rain Delay", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is known for the long amount of time he takes to deliver the ball to home plate in between pitches. Games in which he pitches are known to be considerably longer than most games, leading...

for two runs to make the score 4–2. Loney was starting in place of the injured Nomar Garciaparra

Nomar Garciaparra

. In the fifth, Jeff Kent

Jeff Kent

hit a two-run home run off reliever Darren Oliver

Darren Oliver

Darren Christopher Oliver is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher.Oliver was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 3rd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft, and has had three separate stints with the club.-Early life:...

to tie the game at four. The Dodgers would add another run in the inning as Loney drew a bases-loaded walk. But the Mets proved too relentless. Trailing 5–4 in the sixth, Shawn Green

Shawn Green

Shawn David Green is a former Major League Baseball player.Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star...

started off with a leadoff double. After José Valentín

José Valentín

José Antonio Valentín is a former Major League Baseball infielder, who played with the Milwaukee Brewers , Chicago White Sox , Los Angeles Dodgers , and New York Mets .-Early years:...

popped out on the infield, pinch hitter Michael Tucker drew a walk. Three consecutive bloop hits from José Reyes, Paul Lo Duca

Paul Lo Duca

, and Carlos Beltrán

Carlos Beltrán

Carlos Iván Beltrán is a Major League Baseball outfielder.-Early life:In his youth, Beltrán excelled in many sports, with volleyball and baseball being his favorites. At his father's urging, he gave up volleyball to concentrate on baseball when he was seventeen...

, plated three Met runs, making the score 7–5. Having taken the lead, the Mets never looked back, adding two more runs in the eighth, to take a 9–5 lead. Former Dodgers Green and Lo Duca finished with two RBI each and Pedro Feliciano

Pedro Feliciano

Pedro Juan Feliciano Molina is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher for the New York Yankees.-Early career:...

earned the win. This was the first time that the Mets swept a postseason series since the 1969 NLCS.

Composite box

2006 NLDS (3–0): New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

over Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

Game 1, October 3

PETCO Park

Petco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers...

in San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

In a pitching rematch of Game 1 of the 2005 NLDS

2005 National League Division Series

-Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros:-Game 1, October 4:Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriIt was a matchup between Jake Peavy and eventual 2005 Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter. In the bottom of the first, Jim Edmonds's one-out solo homer put the Cardinals up 1–0...

, Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter

Christopher John Carpenter is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2003, and is currently signed with the team until the 2011 season, with a club option for 2012.Carpenter was 22 years old and a highly-regarded prospect when he broke into the...

and Jake Peavy

Jake Peavy

Jacob Edward Peavy is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Chicago White Sox. He bats and throws right-handed...

both started strong through three innings and it appeared that the pitcher’s duel that was expected the previous year would occur this time around. That changed in the fourth inning when Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...

hit a two-run home run 422 feet (128.6 m) into one of the deepest parts of Petco Park. Peavy would give up an additional run in the fourth, as well as allowing a run in the fifth and sixth inning before being pulled in the sixth. Carpenter on the other hand continued his strong pitching performance as he pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just one run to cross the plate. The Cardinal bullpen, which had been shaky down the stretch, pitched the final innings of the game allowing just one hit. The Cardinals lead the best-of-five series one game to none.

Game 2, October 5

PETCO Park

in San Diego, California

San Diego, California

Cardinal starter Jeff Weaver

Jeff Weaver

Jeffrey Charles Weaver is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has pitched in the majors for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, St. Louis Cardinals, and Seattle Mariners...

and four relievers combined on a four-hitter to shut out the Padres 2–0. The only runs scored in the game came in the fourth, as Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...

and Jim Edmonds

Jim Edmonds

James Patrick "Jim" Edmonds is a former American Major League Baseball center fielder. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, the St. Louis Cardinals, the San Diego Padres, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Cubs, and the Cincinnati Reds...

had back-to-back RBI singles.

Padres starter David Wells

David Wells

David Lee Wells , nicknamed "Boomer", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Wells was considered to be one of the game's better left-handed pitchers, especially during his years with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched the fifteenth perfect game in baseball history...

pitched well in a losing effort, going five innings and allowing two runs.

Game 3, October 7

Busch Stadium (III)

Busch Stadium

Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...

in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

Game 3 ended the Padres' eight-game winless streak against the Cardinals in the postseason and gave them their first postseason win since Game 6 of the 1998 NLCS. However, they left fourteen runners on base.

This was also the last playoff game to be televised by the ESPN family of networks, at least until 2013.

Game 4, October 8

Busch Stadium (III)

Busch Stadium

Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...

in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

After losing Game 3, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa

Tony La Russa

Anthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball manager and infielder, best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals...

decided to use Carpenter to start Game 4 in hopes of closing out the Series at home. Carpenter started off shakily, allowing two runs (including a bases-loaded walk) in the first inning, but he settled down and pitched six scoreless innings before being pulled in the eighth.

St. Louis answered with two runs in the bottom of the first to tie the score, and then scored four more unanswered runs in the sixth to take a 6–2 lead, with RBIs from Juan Encarnacion

Juan Encarnación

Juan De Dios Encarnación is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. His last major league team was the St. Louis Cardinals...

, Scott Spiezio

Scott Spiezio

Scott Edward Spiezio is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He is currently an infielder for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League . He is well known for his time as a member of the Anaheim Angels, when he hit a 3-run home run in Game Six of the 2002 World Series against the...

, Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter

, and David Eckstein

David Eckstein

David Mark Eckstein is a former American professional baseball player who was an infielder in Major League Baseball for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida, and has played professionally for the Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona...

. Rookie pitcher Adam Wainwright

Adam Wainwright

Adam Parrish Wainwright is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted 29th overall by the Atlanta Braves in the 2000 amateur draft. He made his major league debut for the St...

pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the Series and allow the Cardinals to advance to the NLCS

2006 National League Championship Series

for the third consecutive year.

The offensive woes that plagued the Padres in the first three games continued for the Padres in Game 4. The team failed to score after the first, and went a combined 2-for-32 with runners in scoring position in the Series.

It was the final Division Series game televised by Fox, at least for the foreseeable future.

Composite box

2006 NLDS (3–1): St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

over San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

Series quotes

External links

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