The series ended in dramatic fashion; in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, with Atlanta down 2–1 and the bases loaded, the Braves' Francisco Cabrera cracked a two-run single that scored David Justice and Sid Bream.
Bream famously slid to score the Series-winning run, beating the throw by Pirates left fielder Barry Bonds.
Atlanta featured largely the same lineup that had won the 1991 pennant,[1][2] but they still fell into a tie for last place, seven games behind the Giants, by the end of May.
The Pirates were in the NLCS for the third year in a row after losing to the eventual World Series champion Cincinnati Reds in 1990 and the Braves in 1991.
The Pirates lost slugging right fielder Bobby Bonilla to free agency after the 1991 season, replacing him with speedster Alex Cole.
Financial demands had already resulted in losing Smiley and Bonilla, and the departure of pending free agents Bonds (left fielder) and Doug Drabek (starting pitcher) loomed.
Jeff Blauser's home run in the fifth made it 4–0, and Terry Pendleton drove in Otis Nixon in the seventh to complete the Braves' scoring.
With Cecil Espy batting, Avery then threw a wild pitch enabling Lind to score and cut the lead in half.
Jay Bell followed with a single, but Mike Stanton forced Andy Van Slyke to ground out to end the inning.
The Pirates added a run in the sixth to take the lead as Andy Van Slyke scored on a Jeff King double.
Andy Van Slyke drove in Cole with a double in the seventh but the Pirates got no closer and Jeff Reardon shut them down in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the postseason.
Barry Bonds led off with a home run, and after singles by Jeff King and Lloyd McClendon, Don Slaught drove them both in with a double.
An error by Jeff Blauser allowed Slaught to score, and after Wakefield reached on a sacrifice bunt attempt Gary Redus hit his fourth double of the series to drive in Jose Lind.
Wednesday, October 14, 1992 (8:30 pm EDT) at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia The deciding game of the NLCS featured the third matchup of the series between John Smoltz and Doug Drabek.
The Pirates would add a run in the sixth as Jay Bell scored on a single by Van Slyke, and the lead held up as Drabek pitched his best game of the series in holding the Braves scoreless.
The closest the Braves got to breaking through was in the sixth inning, when Drabek allowed three consecutive singles to Mark Lemke, Jeff Treadway, and Otis Nixon to load the bases.
[16] After being checked out by the stadium medical staff, McSherry was removed from the game as a precaution and first base umpire Randy Marsh was summoned over from his position to take over behind the plate.
David Justice followed by hitting a sharp grounder to José Lind, who was eventually awarded a Gold Glove at second base for the season.
Drabek then walked former teammate Sid Bream on four pitches, which moved the tying run into scoring position and loaded the bases.
With the winning run now on base and Ron Gant scheduled next, Leyland made a pitching change and brought in his closer, Stan Belinda, to make his second appearance of the series and attempt to preserve the victory for Drabek, who was responsible for all three baserunners.
Gant hit a deep fly ball that was caught by Bonds, enabling Pendleton to score and put the Braves on the board.
Berryhill’s walk once again loaded the bases and moved the winning run, represented by a relatively slow-footed baserunner in Bream, into scoring position.
[6][16][19] With the pitcher's spot due in two batters, Cox went to his bench for a pinch hitter and summoned Brian Hunter to bat in place of second baseman Rafael Belliard.
Before the next pitch, Van Slyke, playing center field, signaled to Bonds in left field that he should move a few steps in, so if Cabrera hit the ball to the left side again he could easily cut it off and prevent Bream, whose baserunning speed had been greatly affected by several knee injuries that required surgery during the course of his career, from scoring.
[25][16][21][24] As Bonds went to field the ball, Atlanta third base coach Jimy Williams noticed that his positioning would require a throw across his body and decided to send Bream to the plate, feeling that LaValliere, the Pirates' catcher, might not be able to tag Bream if he had to field the ball and come back across the plate to make the play.
Andy Van Slyke sat motionless in centerfield for several minutes after the game ended, while the Braves celebrated at home plate.
[26] In the celebration at home plate after Sid Bream's pennant-winning slide, Braves pitcher Kent Mercker was hurt and unable to pitch in the World Series.
Until 2008, the Braves were the last team in Major League Baseball to win a seventh game after blowing a 3–1 series lead, and only the fourth of 11 total to do it up to that point.
That year, the Tampa Bay Rays won Game 7 of the ALCS after blowing a 3–1 lead to the Boston Red Sox.
Leyland moved on to manage the Detroit Tigers to two World Series losses in 2006 and 2012 (including 3 straight ALCS appearances from 2011–13) before retiring following the 2013 season.