The 1990 National League Championship Series was played between the Cincinnati Reds (91–71) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (95–67). It was the first playoff appearance for both teams since 1979 and the fifth NLCS meeting overall with Cincinnati winning the pennant over Pittsburgh in 1970, 1972, and 1975 while Pittsburgh won over Cincinnati in 1979.
The Reds won the series, 4–2, and eventually went on to sweep the defending World Champion Oakland Athletics in the World Series. This was the only NLCS during the 1990s that did not feature the Atlanta Braves and was the first of four straight to feature either the Philadelphia Phillies or the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Between Game 2 (in Cincinnati) and Game 3 (in Pittsburgh), the teams took two days off instead of the usual one. That Sunday, October 7, the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to use Three Rivers Stadium for their scheduled game against the San Diego Chargers, so Game 3 (and by extension, the rest of the series) was pushed back a day.
Summary
Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Game summaries
Game 1
Thursday, October 4, 1990 (8:30PM EDT) at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio
The Pirates took the first game of the LCS with a 4-3 victory. The game-winning run scored in the 7th when Andy Van Slyke hit a routine inning-ending flyout that was misjudged by Eric Davis in left-field, scoring Gary Redus.
Bob Walk was the starting pitcher for Pittsburgh and José Rijo was on the mound for the Reds. The Reds had two doubles in the bottom half of the first inning and scored three runs. These would prove to be the only runs they could bring across the plate for the entire game. For Pittsburgh, Sid Bream would hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to tie the game. The key Pirate play to seal the game was throwing out pinch-runner Billy Bates, the trailing runner at the back end of a double steal in the ninth inning, to get the second out. Pittsburgh took the series lead, one game to none and claimed home field advantage.
Game 2
Friday, October 5, 1990 (3:15PM EDT) at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio
Doug Drabek, the National League Cy Young Award winner for 1990 took the mound against Tom Browning for a weekday afternoon Game 2. Cincinnati again scored in the first inning when Barry Larkin walked, stole second, went to third on a hard single by Herm Winningham and scored on a single by Paul O'Neill. The Pirates tied it in the fifth when José Lind, better known for defense, hit a homer.
The Pirates appeared ready to take the lead in the sixth when Andy Van Slyke singled and went to second on a single by Bobby Bonilla. With two on and nobody out, Pirates slugger Barry Bonds came up with a chance for a big inning. Bonds popped out to deep right, and Van Slyke attempted to advance. But Paul O'Neill threw a perfect strike to Chris Sabo who tagged Van Slyke for a 9–5 double play.
The Reds regained the lead in the fifth when Winningham reached on a fielder's choice, stole second, and scored on O'Neill's drive to left center that hit the wall after barely avoiding Bonds' glove. Drabek went the distance but got the loss. Browning got the win and Randy Myers the save. Barry Larkin's stop and throw on a sharp grounder by Bonds up the middle squelched a potential rally with none out in the ninth.
Game 3
Monday, October 8, 1990 (3:20PM EDT) at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
This was a weekday afternoon game, and for the first time in history, there were two scheduled off days between games. This set-up seemed to help Pittsburgh as it would allow them to have Drabek for game seven if necessary. Danny Jackson squared off against Zane Smith. But it was Mariano Duncan who stole the show.
In the second, Joe Oliver singled and Billy Hatcher homered to give the Reds a 2–0 lead. The Pirates tied it in the fourth when Jay Bell doubled, Andy Van Slyke singled to score Bell, and Van Slyke scored on Carmelo Martínez's double. In the fifth, Billy Hatcher doubled, Larkin singled, and Duncan hit a three-run homer to give the Reds a 5–2 lead. In the bottom of eighth, the Pirates got a run back when Barry Bonds singled, went to second on a walk, and scored on Mariano Duncan's throwing error to make it 5–3. In the ninth, the Reds got the run back when Oliver singled and Billy Bates ran for him. Bates eventually scored on a Duncan single (his fourth RBI of the game). The game ended with a Reds victory, 6–3, allowing them to reclaim home field advantage and to take a two games to one lead in the NLCS.
Game 4
Tuesday, October 9, 1990 (8:30PM EDT) at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania