Twenty years ago today, the Padres moved one step closer to the franchise’s second National League championship, taking a 3-0 series lead in their NLCS matchup with the favored Braves. Sterling Hitchcock earned his first win of the series by outperforming four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux just days after getting a victory over Randy Johnson in the NLDS. San Diego’s offense put up four runs but two would have sufficed as Atlanta mustered just one off of Hitchcock before being shut out by a quartet of relievers.
The Padres looked poised to take an early lead, loading the bases in the bottom of the first inning on a single by Steve Finley, error by Andres Galarraga, and walk to Wally Joyner, but Maddux got out of the jam by striking out Jim Leyritz.