Manager Season Champion Philadelphia Phillies MVP Gary Matthews | Radio CBS Dates 4 Oct 1983 – 8 Oct 1983 | |
Umpires Terry Tata, Dick Stello, John McSherry, Lee Weyer, Doug Harvey, Jerry Crawford TV announcers Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola Radio announcers Duke Snider and Jerry Coleman Television Major League Baseball on NBC Similar 1980 National League C, 1977 National League C, 1995 National League C, 1997 National League C, 2009 National League C | ||
The 1983 National League Championship Series was a best-of-five matchup between the West Division champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the East Division champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies beat the Dodgers, three games to one, and would go on lose the World Series to the Baltimore Orioles.
Contents
Background
During the regular season, the Dodgers had beaten the Phillies in eleven of the twelve games they played.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Philadelphia won the series, 3–1.
Game 1
Tuesday, October 4, 1983, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California
Mike Schmidt hit a two-out homer off Jerry Reuss in the first, and the Phillies made it hold up as Steve Carlton and Al Holland combined to scatter seven Dodger hits. The Dodgers' only threats came in the sixth, when Steve Sax singled, Bill Russell sacrificed Sax to second, and Sax went to third on a Carlton wild pitch. Carlton retired the last two hitters, however. Another threat came in the eighth when singles by Sax and Dusty Baker and a walk to Pedro Guerrero loaded the bases, chasing Carlton. Holland came in and retired Mike Marshall for the third out and finished the game.
Game 2
Wednesday, October 5, 1983, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California
The Dodgers drew first blood with a Ken Landreaux RBI single in the first. Gary Matthews tied it for the Phils in the second with a home run off Fernando Valenzuela. Valenzuela and Cy Young Award winner John Denny would continue dueling until the Dodger half of the fifth. Valenzuela led off and reached third when Garry Maddox misplayed a fly-ball. However, with one out, Valenzuela was thrown out at the plate on a Greg Brock ground ball (Brock reached first). Seemingly out of the inning, Denny walked Dusty Baker and then gave up a tie-breaking two-run triple to Pedro Guerrero.
The Dodgers' final run came in the eighth on an RBI single by catcher Jack Fimple. Valenzuela and Tom Niedenfuer would combine to scatter seven hits for the win.
Game 3
Friday, October 7, 1983, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
With the series shifting to Philadelphia, rookie Charles Hudson turned in a pitching gem, going the distance and allowing only four hits. A fourth-inning two-run homer by Mike Marshall was Hudson's lone mistake. Gary Matthews provided the bulk of the offense with three hits and four RBIs, including his second homer of the series.
Game 4
Saturday, October 8, 1983, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Series MVP Gary Matthews hit a three-run homer in the first off Jerry Reuss and the Phillies never looked back as they moved to their second World Series in four seasons. Sixto Lezcano added a two-run homer in the sixth as Steve Carlton pitched his second win, scattering 10 hits with relief help from Ron Reed and Al Holland.
Out of the 14 postseason series that Pete Rose played in, this was the only one in which he did not record an RBI. He did hit well in the series, compiling six hits and one walk in seventeen plate appearances. Oddly enough, in the thirteen series in which Rose had an RBI, he never drove in more than two runs in any of them.
Composite box
1983 NLCS (3–1): Philadelphia Phillies over Los Angeles Dodgers