User:Vidor/FRANCISCO CABRERA GAME

this is an unfinished work in progress

The Francisco Cabrera game, played on October 14, 1992 at Fulton-County Stadium in Atlanta, was the last game of the 1992 National League Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. Atlanta's dramatic three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth won the game and the National League pennant for the Braves.

The season
The Braves were attempting to return to the World Series one year after their dramatic seven-game loss to the Minnesota Twins. Atlanta featured largely the same lineup that had won the 1991 pennant,, but they still fell into a tie for last place, seven games behind the Giants, by the end of May. However, Atlanta went 19-6 in June and 16-9 in July and pulled away from the rest of the NL West by winning 15 of their first 18 games in August.

The Pirates were in the NLCS for the third year in a row. In 1990, they lost to the eventual world champion Reds in six games. In 1991 they lost in seven games. Pittsburgh ended that series by going on a 22-inning scoreless streak. The Pirates lost slugging right fielder Bobby Bonilla to free agency after the 1991 season, replacing him with speedster Alex Cole. Pittsburgh charged out to a seven-game lead by late June, suffered through an 11-15 July that allowed the Montreal Expos to tie them for the lead by the end of the month, then won eleven straight in early August before pulling away from the Expos in September to earn its third straight NL East title. Future home run champion Barry Bonds won his second MVP Award and led the Pirates with 34 home runs and 103 RBI.

The series
Smoltz dominated the Pirates in Game 1 and Atlanta won 5-1. The Braves knocked Danny Jackson out of Game 2 in the second inning and went on to win 13-5. Rookie Tim Wakefield, who'd made his big league debut on July 31 and made thirteen starts for the Pirates,, threw a complete game to win Game 3 for the Pirates by a 3-2 score. In Game 4 the Braves chased Pirate ace Doug Drabek from the game in the fifth and won 6-4.

Atlanta now led three games to one. No team had lost a series that they led three games to once since the St. Louis Cardinals blew the 1985 World Series. However, Steve Avery's disastrous Game 5 start (1/3 of an inning pitched, 4 ER) led to a 7-1 Pittsburgh victory in Game 5, and the Pirates won Game 6 behind another complete game effort from Wakefield.