As for the Giants, Barry Bonds (who experienced back-to-back NLCS losses to the Braves in 1991 and 1992 as the left fielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates) continued his unprecedented run to start the 21st century.

While Kirk Rueter and Russ Ortiz led the Giants in wins as a pitcher (14), it was Robb Nen who served as the key star in pitching once again.

Glavine would help his own cause by hitting a bases-loaded two-run single to left field that almost tied the game thanks to an error by Bonds in the bottom half of the second.

In the ninth, the Braves put the tying run at the plate off Robb Nen for Sheffield, but he hit into a game-ending double play.

Turner Field in Atlanta In Game 2, Kirk Rueter faced Kevin Millwood, who was looking to keep the Braves' hopes alive in the series.

The Giants got home runs from Rich Aurilia off Millwood in the sixth and Barry Bonds in the ninth off John Smoltz, but the Braves won the game 7–3 to tie the series.

Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco In Game 3, Greg Maddux of the Braves faced Jason Schmidt of the Giants.

Glavine's struggles would continue, as he allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs in the first, Barry Bonds's sacrifice fly and Benito Santiago's groundout scored a run each.

The Braves scored two runs in the sixth on Javy Lopez's double and Vinny Castilla's single, but nothing else as the Giants' 8–3 win forced a Game 5 in Atlanta.

The Braves had a golden opportunity in the fifth inning, having loaded the bases on an error and two walks, but Chipper Jones grounded out to the shortstop.

The Braves would be rewarded for their patience in the next inning, which started with singles by Andruw Jones and Vinny Castilla to drive Ortiz out of the game.

In the ninth, with the Braves trailing 3–1, Gary Sheffield and Chipper Jones each came to the plate with two men on to face against Robb Nen, representing the Division Series-winning run.

Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona In Game 1, Matt Morris faced eventual 2002 Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson, who dominated the 2001 postseason with ease.

In the fourth, the floodgates began to open as Albert Pujols led off the inning with a triple and Scott Rolen followed with a two-run homer.

Mike Fetters relieved Swindell and walked Jim Edmonds with two outs to reload the bases before Albert Pujols's two-run single capped the scoring at 12–2 Cardinals, giving them a 1–0 series lead.

When Albert Pujols moved from left field in the eighth, he immediately created trouble by misplaying a ball hit by Greg Colbrunn off Rick White.

Busch Stadium (II) in St. Louis, Missouri Trying to avoid a series sweep, the Diamondbacks struck first in the second off starter Andy Benes when David Dellucci homered after a walk to put them up 2–0.

Rod Barajas homered to make it a one-run game in the fifth, but the Cardinals padded their lead in the eighth when Albert Pujols drew a leadoff walk off Byung-Hyun Kim and scored on Cairo's double.