View source for 1979 National League Championship Series

{{Short description|11th edition of Major League Baseball's National League Championship Series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox LCS
  | image =
  | year = 1979
  | champion = [[1979 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pittsburgh Pirates]] (3)
  | champion_manager = [[Chuck Tanner]]
  | champion_games = 98–64, .605, GA: 2
  | runnerup = [[1979 Cincinnati Reds season|Cincinnati Reds]] (0)
  | runnerup_manager = [[John McNamara (baseball)|John McNamara]]
  | runnerup_games = 90–71, .559, GA: 1½
  | date = October 2–5
  | MVP = [[Willie Stargell]] (Pittsburgh)
  | television = [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]]<br>[[KDKA-TV]] (PIT)<br>[[WLWT]] (CIN) 
  | announcers = '''NBC''': [[Joe Garagiola, Sr.|Joe Garagiola]], [[Tony Kubek]] and [[Don Sutton]]<br>'''KDKA-TV''': [[Milo Hamilton]], [[Lanny Frattare]] and [[Nelson Briles]]<br>'''WLWT''': [[Ray Lane (sportscaster)|Ray Lane]] and [[Bill Brown (sportscaster)|Bill Brown]] 
  | radio_network = [[Major League Baseball on CBS Radio|CBS]]
  | radio_announcers = [[Jack Buck]] and [[Jerry Coleman]]
  | umpires = [[John Kibler]] <small>(crew chief)</small><br>[[Ed Montague (umpire)|Ed Montague]]<br>[[Jerry Dale]]<br>[[Frank Pulli]]<br>[[Dick Stello]]<br>[[Jim Quick]]
}}
The '''1979 National League Championship Series''' was the semifinal round of the National League side of the [[1979 MLB Postseason|1979 postseason]], played between the [[National League West]] champion [[1979 Cincinnati Reds season|Cincinnati Reds]] and the [[National League East]] champion [[1979 Pittsburgh Pirates season|Pittsburgh Pirates]]. This was the 11th edition of the [[National League Championship Series|NLCS]].

It was the fourth time in the 1970s that the Pirates and Reds had faced off for the pennant; Cincinnati had won all three previous meetings in [[1970 National League Championship Series|1970]], [[1972 National League Championship Series|1972]] and [[1975 National League Championship Series|1975]]. 

The Pirates won the series in a three-game sweep in what would be the last postseason appearance for both franchises until [[1990 National League Championship Series|1990.]]

To date, this is the last time that the Pirates won the National League pennant. Aside from the [[Seattle Mariners]], the only team left that has yet to win a pennant, the Pirates currently hold the longest active league pennant drought in the majors.

==Summary==
{{See also|1979 MLB Postseason}}
===Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds===
{{MLB Playoff Summary
| summary =
| winner = Pittsburgh
| score = 3–0
| score1 = '''Pittsburgh Pirates''' – 5, Cincinnati Reds – 2 <small>(11)</small>
| date1 = October 2
| loc1 = [[Cinergy Field|Riverfront Stadium]]
| time1 = 3:14
| att1 = 55,006
| ref1 = <ref name="Game1">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1979/B10020CIN1979.htm|title=1979 NLCS Game 1 - Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>
| score2 = '''Pittsburgh Pirates''' – 3, Cincinnati Reds – 2 <small>(10)</small>
| date2 = October 3
| loc2 = Riverfront Stadium
| time2 = 3:24
| att2 = 55,000
| ref2 = <ref name="Game2">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1979/B10030CIN1979.htm|title=1979 NLCS Game 2 - Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>
| score3 = Cincinnati Reds – 1, '''Pittsburgh Pirates''' – 7
| date3 = October 5
| loc3 = [[Three Rivers Stadium]]
| time3 = 2:45
| att3 = 42,240
| ref3 = <ref name="Game3">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1979/B10050PIT1979.htm|title=1979 NLCS Game 3 - Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates|access-date=September 13, 2009|publisher=Retrosheet}}</ref>
}}

==Game summaries==

===Game 1===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 2, 1979
|Time=8:30{{nbsp}}pm ([[Eastern Time Zone|ET]])
|Location=[[Riverfront Stadium]] in [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]]
|Road='''Pittsburgh'''|RoadAbr=PIT
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=2|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|R10=0|R11=3|RR=5|RH=10|RE=0
|Home=Cincinnati|HomeAbr=CIN
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=2|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|H10=0|H11=0|HR=2|HH=7|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Grant Jackson (baseball)|Grant Jackson]] (1–0)|LP=[[Tom Hume]] (0–1)|SV=[[Don Robinson (baseball)|Don Robinson]] (1)
|RoadHR=[[Phil Garner]] (1), [[Willie Stargell]] (1)|HomeHR=[[George Foster (baseball)|George Foster]] (1)
||Other={{convert|54|F|C}}, partly cloudy}}

Both sides threw their aces in Game 1 as 14-game winner [[John Candelaria]] started for the Pirates, and [[Tom Seaver]] started for the Reds. After [[Omar Moreno]] grounded out to start the game, a 45-minute rain delay stalled the contest. When play resumed, Seaver retired [[Tim Foli]] and [[Dave Parker (baseball)|Dave Parker]] for an unusually long 1-2-3 inning.

Pittsburgh struck first in the third inning when second baseman [[Phil Garner]] led off with an opposite-field home run. After Candelaria struck out, [[Omar Moreno]] hit a sinking liner to right that [[Dave Collins (baseball)|Dave Collins]] attempted a sliding shoestring catch on.  The ball skidded off the wet [[Riverfront Stadium]] turf in front of Collins and rolled to the wall.  The speedy Moreno ended up with a triple, but it could have easily been an inside-the-park homer if not for the hustle of [[Héctor Cruz (baseball)|Héctor Cruz]] in center.  Foli then drove in Moreno with a sacrifice fly to give the Pirates a 2–0 lead.  Seaver then walked [[Dave Parker]] and [[Willie Stargell]], but [[John Milner]] popped out to end the inning.  The Reds tied it in the bottom of the fourth when [[George Foster (baseball)|George Foster]] hit a two-run homer into left center with [[Dave Concepción]] aboard.  Despite a sore shoulder, Candelaria gutted out seven painful innings before giving way to [[Enrique Romo]].

The score stayed at 2–2 until the top of the 11th inning. Tim Foli and Parker singled off Reds reliever [[Tom Hume]]. [[Willie Stargell]] drilled a three-run homer to almost dead center to make it 5–2, Pirates.  The Reds didn't go away silently, though.  After [[Grant Jackson (baseball)|Grant Jackson]] retired the first two batters in the bottom of the 11th, [[Dave Concepción]] singled and [[George Foster (baseball)|George Foster]] walked.  [[Don Robinson (baseball)|Don Robinson]] came on to replace Jackson and walked [[Johnny Bench]] to load the bases.  At that point, [[Chuck Tanner]] visited the mound, and [[Willie Stargell]] jokingly asked Robinson, "Why don't you move to first and I'll pitch?"  The barb relaxed Robinson, who settled down and struck out [[Ray Knight]] for the final out.

===Game 2===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 3, 1979
|Time=3:15{{nbsp}}pm (ET)
|Location=Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio
|Road='''Pittsburgh'''|RoadAbr=PIT
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=1|R5=1|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|R10=1|RR=3|RH=11|RE=0
|Home=Cincinnati|HomeAbr=CIN
|H1=0|H2=1|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=1|H10=0|HR=2|HH=8|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Don Robinson (baseball)|Don Robinson]] (1–0)|LP=[[Doug Bair]] (0–1)|SV=
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=
||Other={{convert|63|F|C}}, mostly cloudy}}

In another extra inning affair, the Pirates beat the Reds 3–2 to earn a road sweep and send the series to Pittsburgh needing just one win in three home games to make the [[1979 World Series]]. The starting pitchers were [[Jim Bibby]] for the Pirates and [[Frank Pastore]] for the Reds.

Pastore helped himself with an RBI sacrifice fly to center in the bottom of the second that scored [[Dan Driessen]]. Driessen was aboard after singling and moving to third on a [[Ray Knight]] single.  The Reds threatened in the bottom of the third when [[Dave Concepcion]] doubled with one out and [[George Foster (baseball)|George Foster]] walked.  Concepcion tried to steal third, but was gunned out by Pirate catcher [[Ed Ott]].  [[Johnny Bench]] popped out to end the threat.

In the top of the fourth, [[Tim Foli]] and [[Dave Parker]] led off with singles.  [[Willie Stargell]] followed with a drive to the left field wall over Foster's head in left.  Foli, however, only made it to third base as he was running cautiously in case the ball was caught (and, subsequently, Parker only made it to second).  Stargell, however, rounded first and made it all the way to second, but with Parker occupying second, he was thrown out by Concepcion while trying to retreat back to first.  With first base now open, [[John Milner]] was walked intentionally, loading the bases, and [[Bill Madlock]] beat out a double-play grounder to score Foli with the tying run.

The Pirates took the lead in the fifth when [[Phil Garner]] sent a sinking liner towards [[Dave Collins (baseball)|Dave Collins]] in right that Collins attempted a shoestring catch on, much like his attempt in Game 1.  Collins appeared to have caught the ball, but umpire [[Frank Pulli]] ruled he trapped it, giving Garner a base hit.  Garner moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bibby (which Bibby almost beat out due to a bad throw by Knight) and scored on a double by Foli.  

The Reds squelched a scoring threat in the top of the seventh when Ott led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Bibby.  Ott tried to score on a base hit by [[Omar Moreno]] but was thrown out at the plate by Foster.  Bibby left after seven innings with discomfort in his neck, having held the Reds to four hits and the single run.

The Reds mounted a threat in the eighth against the Pirate bullpen.  Left-hander [[Grant Jackson (baseball)|Grant Jackson]] retired lefty-hitting [[Joe Morgan]] for the first out, but [[Chuck Tanner]], managing by percentages, brought in [[Enrique Romo]] to face right-handed hitting Concepción.  The move backfired as Romo gave up back-to-back singles to Concepción and Foster.  [[Kent Tekulve]] relieved Romo to face [[Johnny Bench]] and, on his second pitch to Bench, wild-pitched the runners to second and third.  Tekulve recovered to strike out Bench, intentionally walked [[Dan Driessen]], and then retired [[Ray Knight]] for the last out.

Tekulve encountered trouble in the ninth.  With one out, [[Héctor Cruz (baseball)|Héctor Cruz]], batting for [[Tom Hume]], doubled.  Collins then doubled in Cruz to tie the game.  Tekulve was then replaced by lefty [[Dave Roberts (pitcher)|Dave Roberts]], but Roberts walked Morgan.  Tanner then brought in Game 1 saver [[Don Robinson (baseball)|Don Robinson]], who struck out Concepción and retired Foster on a groundout to end the threat.

The Pirates won it in the tenth when Moreno singled, went to second on a bunt by Foli and scored on Parker's single. Robinson retired the Reds in the tenth and the Pirates had a two games to none lead over the Reds. Robinson got the win and [[Doug Bair]] got the loss.

===Game 3===
{{Linescore|
|Date=October 5, 1979
|Time=3:15{{nbsp}}pm (ET)
|Location=[[Three Rivers Stadium]] in [[Pittsburgh]], [[Pennsylvania]]
|Road=Cincinnati|RoadAbr=CIN
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=1|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=1|RH=8|RE=1
|Home='''Pittsburgh'''|HomeAbr=PIT
|H1=1|H2=1|H3=2|H4=2|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=1|H9=X|HR=7|HH=7|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Bert Blyleven]] (1–0)|LP=[[Mike LaCoss]] (0–1)|SV=
|RoadHR=[[Johnny Bench]] (1)|HomeHR=[[Willie Stargell]] (2), [[Bill Madlock]] (1)
||Other={{convert|52|F|C}}, overcast}}

The Pirates made it to their first [[1979 World Series|World Series]] since [[1971 World Series|1971]] with a blowout win to complete a three-game sweep of the Reds. The starting pitchers were [[Bert Blyleven]] for the Pirates, and [[Mike LaCoss]] for the Reds. For the second time in three games, the start was delayed by rain.

After allowing a hit in the first, the Pirates got on the board quickly when leadoff hitter [[Omar Moreno]], a pain in the Reds' side all series, singled and stole second.  [[Tim Foli]] then grounded to Concepcion, who tried to catch Moreno at third, but Moreno reached third safely and Foli to first.  [[Dave Parker]] then hit a [[sacrifice fly]] for a 1–0 Pirates lead.

In the second, [[Phil Garner]] tripled and scored on Foli's sacrifice fly. LaCoss was then replaced by [[Fred Norman (baseball)|Fred Norman]], who gave up [[Willie Stargell]]'s second home run of the series and another homer to [[Bill Madlock]] in the third.  Stargell doubled home two more runs in the fourth for a 6–0 Pirate lead and essentially clinched the NLCS MVP.

The Reds got one run back in the sixth when [[Johnny Bench]] homered, but it was their last run of the year. The Pirates got that run back in the eighth when Garner scored on an error by [[Cesar Geronimo]], the only [[error]] committed in the entire series. Blyleven went the distance and the Pirates had completed an unexpected sweep in advancing to the [[1979 World Series]]. To date, this is the Pirates' most recent pennant.

==Composite box==
1979 NLCS '''(3–0): [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]''' over [[Cincinnati Reds]]
{{Linescore
|Road='''[[Pittsburgh Pirates]]'''
|R1=1|R2=1|R3=4|R4=3|R5=1|R6=0|R7=0|R8=1|R9=0|R10=1|R11=3|RR=15|RH=28|RE=0
|Home='''[[Cincinnati Reds]]'''
|H1=0|H2=1|H3=0|H4=2|H5=0|H6=1|H7=0|H8=0|H9=1|H10=0|H11=0|HR=5|HH=23|HE=1
|TotalAttendance=152,246 |AveAttendance=50,749
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1979_NLCS.shtml 1979 NLCS at Baseball Reference]

{{Navboxes|list1=
{{1979 MLB Playoffs navbox}}
{{NLCS}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates}}
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}}

[[Category:National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:1979 Major League Baseball season|National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates postseason]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds postseason]]
[[Category:1979 in sports in Ohio|National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:1979 in sports in Pennsylvania|National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:1970s in Cincinnati]]
[[Category:1970s in Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:October 1979 sports events in the United States|National League Championship Series]]
[[Category:Baseball competitions in Cincinnati]]
[[Category:Baseball competitions in Pittsburgh]]