The 2006 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2006

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Sunday, October 8, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a " wild card" team—participating in two

best-of-five There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

series. They were: *(1)

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

(East Division champions, 97–65) vs. (4)

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

(Wild Card, 88–74); Mets win series, 3–0. *(2)

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

(West Division champions, 88–74) vs. (3)

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

(Central Division champions, 83–78); Cardinals win series, 3–1. The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage, which was determined by playing record. The Padres were awarded the Western Division title over the Dodgers due to their winning the season series against Los Angeles 13–5. The Mets and the Cardinals met in the NL Championship Series, with the Cardinals becoming the National League champion and going on to defeat the American League champion

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in the

2006 World Series The 2006 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2006 season. The 102nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Leag ...

Playoff race

The NL playoff race was highly dramatic when as many as six teams entered the final weekend of the regular season fighting for the final three playoff spots. Two of three division champions were decided on the final day of the regular season. The

began the season with high hopes of finally ending the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

' string of division titles. The Mets lived up to their high expectations and roared out of the gate, taking over first place in the division on the fourth day of the season and never looking back. They won seven of their first eight games, and had built up a double-digit lead in the standings by the end of June. The Mets clinched the division on September 18, and finished 12 games ahead of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. The Braves finished third, 18 games back. However, the Mets entered the postseason without injured ace

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

, and learned the day before Game 1 of the Division Series that projected Game 1 starter

Orlando Hernández Orlando Hernández Pedroso (born October 11, 1965), nicknamed "El Duque" (Spanish for "The Duke"), is a Cuban-born right-handed former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Industriales of the Cuban National Series, the New York Yan ...

would be lost for the whole round. The

' run to their third consecutive Central Division championship pales in comparison to their runs in the previous two seasons. As before, the Cardinals took over the lead in the division early on, overtaking the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

on June 9. It appeared as if this season would follow the established pattern as the Cardinals steadily built up their lead to as much as five and a half games and a 42–26 record on June 19. The Cardinals began

interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pr ...

by being swept by both the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and

as part of an eight-game losing streak. Despite the slump, they did not relinquish the division lead. The Reds were able to tie the Cardinals in the standings on June 30 and July 1, but the Cardinals regained sole possession of first place the following day and held onto the lead for the rest of the season despite additional losing streaks of eight and seven games. The Cardinals' struggles largely stemmed from the numerous injuries to key players throughout the season, including

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine", ...

Jim Edmonds James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and a broadcaster for Bally Sports Midwest. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, ...

David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein (; born January 20, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida and played professiona ...

Chris Carpenter Christopher John Carpenter (born April 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals from 1997 to 2012. A Cy Young Award win ...

Mark Mulder Mark Alan Mulder (born August 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed starting pitcher, Mulder pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He is a two-time All-Sta ...

, and

Jason Isringhausen Jason Derik Isringhausen ( born September 7, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 through 2012 for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay ...

. The title appeared to be well in hand on September 19 with leads of seven games over the Reds and eight and half games over the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

with just 13 games left to play. The Cardinals then went on another seven-game losing streak just as the Astros won seven consecutive, shrinking the Cardinals' lead to just a game and a half. The Cardinals were able to regain their composure, winning three of their next four and clinching on the final day of the season with an Astros loss to the Atlanta Braves. The

' playoff run was led by their strong pitching and saw closer

Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego P ...

overtake

Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of: Arts, entertainment and media *Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction *Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor *Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer *Lee Smith ...

as the all-time saves leader. This season also marked the first time in Padres history that the team went to the playoffs in consecutive years. The Padres did not clinch a playoff spot until the final weekend of the regular season and finished with an identical record to the

, but were awarded the Western Division title due to the Padres winning the season series against the Dodgers 13–5. The

' run to the playoffs was most notable for their streaky play in the second half of the season. The Dodgers started the second half by losing 13 out of 14 games and trailing the Padres by seven and a half games, in last place in the division, and behind eight teams in the wild card race. They immediately followed that streak by winning 17 of their next 18 to put them on top of the division by three and half games, with a better record than all eight teams they had trailed in the wild card race prior to the streak. Their inconsistent play continued as they were swept by the Padres in late August as part of a four-game losing streak, only to follow that up by winning seven consecutive, then losing their next three. The Dodgers finished the season strong by winning their final seven games, clinching a playoff berth in the final weekend over the

and finishing tied with the Padres. The Dodgers were awarded the wild-card spot based on their 5-13 head-to-head record against San Diego, who earned the divisional championship.

Matchups

New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals

New York vs. Los Angeles

Game 1

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

The game started off with Mets rookie starter

John Maine John Kevin Maine (born May 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. Early life and co ...

on the mound as an emergency replacement for

. Hernández was sidelined with a torn muscle, and ended up missing the rest of the postseason. Maine kept the Mets in the game with only one earned run in innings pitched. This game was notable for having two runners getting tagged out at home plate in the second inning. With runners on first and second and nobody out, catcher Russell Martin hit a line drive to the wall in right field.

Jeff Kent Jeffrey Franklin Kent (born March 7, 1968) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992–2008 for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Francis ...

tried to tag up from second base in the event that right fielder

Shawn Green Shawn David Green (born November 10, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star. He drove in 100 runs four times and scored 100 runs four times, hit ...

caught the ball. Instead, the ball sailed over Green's head. Both Kent and

J. D. Drew David Jonathan "J. D." Drew (born November 20, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. He began his major league career in with the St. Louis Cardinals, and also played for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Bo ...

raced around the bases towards the plate. Green threw to cut-off man

José Valentín José Antonio Valentín (born October 12, 1969) is a Puerto Rican former American Major League Baseball infielder. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and New York Mets (–). His ...

, who relayed to

Paul Lo Duca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972) is an American retired professional baseball player and television personality. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (–), Florida Marlins (2004–, ), New York Met ...

at the plate. Lo Duca was first able to tag out Kent. Drew, trying to score in desperation right behind Kent, was also tagged out at the plate. Lo Duca almost did not see Drew in time to slap the tag on. Martin would score on

Marlon Anderson Marlon Ordell Anderson (born January 6, 1974) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six teams, over 12 seasons. He was widely known for his clutch hits, and writers ...

's double but

Carlos Delgado Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández (born June 25, 1972) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball primarily as a first baseman, from 1993 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Toronto ...

and

Cliff Floyd Cornelius Clifford Floyd Jr. (born December 5, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for 17 seasons, most notably for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins and New York Mets. He is currently a baseball analyst who co-hosts ...

hit solo home runs in the fourth off of Derek Lowe. Lo Duca and Delgado singled in the sixth before scoring on

David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the New York Mets. He was drafted by the Mets in 2001 MLB draft and made ...

's double to make it 4–1 Mets. In the seventh, Anderson hit a leadoff single off of

Guillermo Mota Guillermo Reynoso Mota (born July 25, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his career, he pitched for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, New Yor ...

and second baseman Valetin's error on

Wilson Betemit Wilson Betemit (pronounced BAY-ta-mee) (born November 2, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He is 6'2" and weighs 220 pounds. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New ...

's ground ball put runners on first and third with no outs for the Dodgers. After

Julio Lugo Julio Cesar Lugo (November 16, 1975 – November 15, 2021) was a Dominican professional baseball shortstop. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, St ...

struck out, Anderson scored on

Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis, he w ...

's single. After Furcal stole second,

Nomar Garciaparra Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (; born July 23, 1973) is an American retired Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. After playing parts of nine seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played shortstop, third ...

's two-out double tied the game,. In the bottom of the inning, reliever

Brad Penny Bradley Wayne Penny (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Penny played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida / Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardi ...

walked two with one out before Delgado's single and Wright's double scored a run each. In the ninth, closer

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Phil ...

allowed a leadoff double to Betemit, who scored on Ramon Martinez's two-out double, but Garciaparra struck out to end the game as the Mets took a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

Game 2 pitted Dodgers rookie

Hong-Chih Kuo Hong-Chih Kuo (; born July 23, 1981 in Tainan, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese retired professional baseball pitcher who last pitched for the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He had previously played in Major League ...

against

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

. In the bottom of the third, outfielder

Endy Chávez Endy de Jesus Chávez Meza (; born February 7, 1978), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, New ...

hit a bunt single to lead off the inning. A wild pitch and subsequent ground out moved him to third before he scored on José Reyes's ground out. In the fifth, the Mets loaded the bases on a hit and two walks with one out off of Kuo, who was then relieved by

Brett Tomko Brett Daniel Tomko (born April 7, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Ange ...

's sacrifice fly gave the Mets a 2–0 lead. In the sixth, the Mets loaded the bases again on two hits and an error with no outs.

Mark Hendrickson Mark Allan Hendrickson (born June 23, 1974) is an American former baseball and basketball player. Hendrickson was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and played power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Continental Bas ...

relieved Tomko and got

Endy Chavez Endy Sleep (also known as just Endy) is a Canadian-based, e-commerce company that sells sleep products online. Endy primarily operates as an online storefront, with their main headquarters in Toronto. Endy is Canada's largest direct online-only mat ...

to hit into a force out at home. Pinch-hitter

Julio Franco Julio César Franco Robles (born August 23, 1958)Franco's birth date is in question. Many of his early bios and cards have his birthday listed in 1954, and on the roster of the Quintana Roo Tigres, his birthday is listed in 1961. is a Dominica ...

's fielder's choice and Reyes's RBI single scored a run each.

hit a home run in the eighth off of

Aaron Heilman Aaron Michael Heilman (born November 12, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Heilman was drafted by the New York Mets out of Notre Dame in 2001. He came up through the Mets system as a starting pitcher, but was converted to ...

for the Dodgers but Wagner pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the series. The Dodgers were hit with more bad news.

was lost after a leg injury that would keep him off the field except for pinch-hitting duties.

Game 3

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

In Los Angeles, the Mets loaded the bases in the first with one out on a walk and two singles off of veteran starter

Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves ...

before RBI singles by

and

put them up 3–0. In the third, Floyd singled with two outs before scoring on Green's double. In the fourth, the Dodgers loaded the bases on three singles off of Mets starter

Steve Trachsel Stephen Christopher Trachsel (born October 31, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles between 1993 and 2008. He batted and t ...

with one out before rookie first baseman

James Loney James Anthony Loney (born May 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, and New York Mets, and in Korea Baseball Org ...

, starting in place of the injured

, drove in two with a single to center. In the fifth,

singled with two outs before

's home run off reliever

Darren Oliver Darren Christopher Oliver (born October 6, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is a second generation major league player, as his father Bob Oliver played in the major leagues for nine seasons between 1967 and 1975. E ...

tied the game at four. After allowing a single to

, Oliver was relieved by

Chad Bradford Chadwick Lee Bradford (born September 14, 1974) is an American former professional relief pitcher. He was well known for his extreme submarine-style pitching, and his success in Major League Baseball (MLB) despite his unconventional delivery and ...

, who allowed a single and walk to load the bases.

Pedro Feliciano Pedro Juan Feliciano Molina (August 25, 1976 – November 8, 2021) was a Puerto Rican baseball pitcher who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Perpetual Pedro", he played for the New York Mets from 2002 to 2004, from 2 ...

relieved Bradford and walked Loney to put the Dodgers up 5–4. In the top of the sixth,

hit a leadoff double off of

Jonathan Broxton Jonathan Roy Broxton (born June 16, 1984) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardin ...

. After

popped out on the infield, pinch hitter Michael Tucker drew a walk. Three consecutive bloop hits from José Reyes,

, and

Carlos Beltrán Carlos Iván Beltrán (; born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Fra ...

scored a run each, making it 7–5 Mets.

Chris Woodward Christopher Michael Woodward (born June 27, 1976) is an American former professional baseball utility player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, ...

doubled to lead off the eighth off of

and scored on Lo Duca's one-out single. After a walk,

Takashi Saito is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher who is currently the chief pitching coach for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Saito's professional career spanned 23 years. He spent his first 13 seasons pit ...

relieved Tomko and an error on

's ground ball made it 9–5 Mets.

and

pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth, respectively, as the Mets swept a postseason series for the first time since the

1969 NLCS The 1969 National League Championship Series was a best-of-five match-up between the East Division champion New York Mets and the West Division champion Atlanta Braves. In what was the first ever NLCS, the Mets defeated the Braves three games to ...

. Former Dodgers Green and Lo Duca finished with two RBI each.

Composite box

2006 NLDS (3–0):

over

San Diego vs. St. Louis

Game 1

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

In a pitching rematch of Game 1 of the

2005 NLDS The 2005 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2005 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 4, and ended on Sunday, October 9, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—p ...

and

Jake Peavy Jacob Edward Peavy (born May 31, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants. He batted and threw right- ...

both started strong through three innings and it appeared that the pitcher's duel that was expected the previous year would occur this time around. That changed in the fourth inning when

Chris Duncan Christopher Edwin Duncan (May 5, 1981 – September 6, 2019) was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2005 through 2009. He was the younges ...

hit a leadoff single, then

hit a two-run home run into one of the deepest parts of Petco Park.

then singled, moved to third on

Scott Rolen Scott Bruce Rolen (born April 4, 1975) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds. He was an eight-t ...

's double, and scored on

Juan Encarnación Juan De Dios Encarnación (born March 8, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1997 to 2007 for the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dod ...

's sacrifice fly. The Cardinals added to their lead on Edmonds's RBI single next inning that scored

from third and in the sixth when

Ronnie Belliard Ronald Belliard (born April 7, 1975) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2010 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardin ...

singled with one out, stole second, and scored on

Yadier Molina Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982), nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely considered one of the great ...

's single to knock Peavy out of the game. Carpenter, on the other hand, continued his strong pitching performance as he pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just one run to cross the plate when Dave Roberts tripled with one out in the sixth and scored on

Brian Giles Brian Stephen Giles (; born January 20, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. During his career he played for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres. The left-handed Giles was a two-time All-Star and had a ...

's sacrifice fly. The Cardinal bullpen, which had been shaky down the stretch, pitched the final innings of the game allowing just one hit. The Cardinals led the best-of-five series one game to none.

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Carpenter, Pujols Power Cards
/ref>

Game 2

Cardinal starter

Jeff Weaver Jeffrey Charles Weaver (born August 22, 1976) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. During his career, he pitched for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, St. Louis Cardinal ...

and four relievers combined on a four-hitter to shut out the Padres 2–0. The only runs scored in the game came in the fourth when

Preston Wilson Preston James Richard Wilson (born July 19, 1974) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played all or parts of ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2007 for the New York Mets, Florida Marlins, Colorado ...

hit a leadoff double and scored on a single by

, who reached second on Dave Roberts's throw to home. Pujols moved to third on a groundout before scoring on

's RBI single. Padres starter

David Wells David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered on ...

pitched five solid innings in a losing effort.

Game 3

Busch Stadium (III) in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

Game 3 ended the Padres' eight-game winless streak against the Cardinals in the postseason and gave them their first postseason win since Game 6 of the 1998 NLCS. However, they left 14 runners on base. The Padres scored their runs in the third off of

Jeff Suppan Jeffrey Scot Suppan (; born January 2, 1975), is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current professional baseball coach who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, ...

when he allowed a one-out double to

Adrián González Adrián González Savín (born May 8, 1982), also known by his nicknames "A-Gon" and "Titán", is a Mexican-American former professional baseball first baseman He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, ...

and walked

Mike Cameron Michael Terrance Cameron (born January 8, 1973) is an American former professional Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, B ...

before both men scored on

Russell Branyan Russell Oles Branyan (born December 19, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (two occasions), Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers (two occasions), Ta ...

's double to left, with Branyan reaching third on

's throw to home. Branyan then scored on

Geoff Blum Geoffrey Edward Blum (born April 26, 1973) is an American former professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Dia ...

's sacrifice fly. The Cardinals scored their only run in the eighth on So Taguchi's home run off of reliever

Scott Linebrink Scott Cameron Linebrink (born August 4, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He attended Texas State University before getting drafted, but finished his degree after his retirement at Concordia University (Texas) in Austin. ...

. Game 3 of this series marked ESPN's most recent Division Series telecast to date. The network would not broadcast another postseason game again until the 2014 National League Wild Card Game.

Game 4

Busch Stadium (III) in

After losing Game 3, Cardinals manager

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...

decided to use Carpenter to start Game 4 in hopes of closing out the Series at home. Carpenter started off shakily, allowing back-to-back one hit singles to

and

and walking

Josh Bard Joshua David Bard (born March 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He is the bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red ...

to load the bases.

walked to force in a run before

's ground out scored another. Carpenter settled down and pitched six scoreless innings before being pulled in the eighth. St. Louis answered by loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning off of Woody Williams on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch with two outs before

tied the game with a two-run single, but was tagged out at second to end the inning. The game remained tied until the seventh when

drew a leadoff walk and scored on

's triple. Williams was replaced with

Cla Meredith Olise Cla Meredith III (; born June 4, 1983), nicknamed "The Claw," is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, and Baltimore Orioles. Collegiate career Meredith attended Virginia Comm ...

, who hit Belliard with a pitch before allowing an RBI single to

Scott Spiezio Scott Edward Spiezio (; born September 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He is well-known for his time as a member of the Anaheim Angels, when he hit a three-run home run in Game Six of the 2002 World Series against ...

's single loaded the bases before Padre third baseman Branyan's throwing error to second on Carpenter's ground ball scored Belliard and kept the bases loaded.

's sacrifice bunt scored Spiezio to give the Cardinals a 6–2 lead. Rookie pitcher

Adam Wainwright Adam Parrish Wainwright (born August 30, 1981), nicknamed "Waino" and "Uncle Charlie", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Atlanta Braves selected him 29th overall in the ...

pitched a scoreless ninth despite allowing two hits to close out the Series and allow the Cardinals to advance to the NLCS for the third consecutive year. The offensive woes that plagued the Padres in the first three games continued for the Padres in Game 4. The team failed to score after the first, and went a combined 2-for-32 with runners in scoring position in the Series. It was the final Division Series game televised by Fox, at least for the foreseeable future. While Fox Sports would reclaim partial Division Series broadcasting rights in 2014, all of their Division Series games since have been broadcast on

FS1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed (TV network), Speed on August 1 ...

. This was the last playoff game for the Padres, until

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Composite box

2006 NLDS (3–1):

over

Notes

External links

2006 MLB Postseason ScheduleNYM vs. LAD at Baseball-ReferenceSTL vs. SDP at Baseball-Reference
{{Navboxes, list1= {{NLDS {{St. Louis Cardinals {{New York Mets {{San Diego Padres {{Los Angeles Dodgers {{Major League Baseball on Fox {{ESPN Major League Baseball {{Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio National League Division Series

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...

St. Louis Cardinals postseason New York Mets postseason San Diego Padres postseason Los Angeles Dodgers postseason

2000s in San Diego 2000s in St. Louis

2000s in Queens Shea Stadium