[Big Six]

The Astros won the playoff against the Pirates and advanced to the Division Series, where they faced the Braves. Since two division rivals can't meet in the Division Series, the Padres were stuck with the powerful Marlins.

On October 12, the NLDS opened with games in Atlanta and Florida. The Astros beat the Braves and Ezra Wells, 5-2, with Matt Sulentic driving in all five Astros runs. However, Ty's Padres won a wild slugfest, 13-9.

The next night, the Braves bounced back behind a great game from their ace righthander, Brian Nolan, and evened the series with an 8-2 win.

The Padres sent Ty Williams to the mound for Game Two, and his teammates staked him to a 7-0 lead after five innings. Canadian slugger LF John Darby, who won the NL batting title with a .350 mark and posted a .916 OPS, led the way with a homer and four RBI. The Marlins came back with five runs in the sixth and seventh, and Ty came out of the game, but the bullpen held on to preserve the first postseason win of Ty's career. Their 7-5 victory left the Padres within one game of victory.

The series moved to Houston and San Diego for Game Three. The Marlins bounced back, winning 7-2, while the Astros delighted their home fans by beating the Braves 6-2 and forcing the Braves' backs against the wall.

The next night, however, the Braves battered Houston pitchers for 16 hits and eight runs, while Ezra Wells pitched 8-plus strong innings in a 10-3 victory. Tom Haley saw his first action of the Series, and as closers often are when they're not facing save situations, Tom wasn't as sharp as usual. He worked 2/3 of an inning, allowing two hits and the Padres' third run.

Meanwhile, the Padres sent Xavier Robles out to face the Marlins. Robles, who won 14 games during the regular season, was locked in, and the Padres got homers from two fearsome sluggers: RF Archie Faulkner, who went deep 45 times to lead the NL, and 1B Jorge Rodriguez, who bashed 38. The 5-3 victory put the Padres into the NLCS for the first time since 1998.

The Braves and Astros returned to a sold-out Turner Field for the game that would decide whom the Padres would face. The Braves wasted no time, striking for five runs in the first and five more in the second. Brian Nolan cruised to a 13-4 victory; young Braves infielders Marcus Reid and Jose L. Garcia drove in five runs between them.

Now, Tom Haley's Braves and Ty Williams' Padres will square off with a National League pennant at stake...