If the Cincinnati Reds were looking for revenge for last year’s heartbreak, the Arizona Diamondbacks never gave them the chance. In a World Series that began with ninth-inning chaos and ended with a desert-powered avalanche, Arizona took the crown in five games — and they did it by beating Cincinnati at their own game: pitching, poise, and the occasional well-timed thunderbolt.
And yes, I’ll own this: I expected a street fight. Instead, Arizona turned the biggest stage in baseball into their own personal showcase.
Game 1: The One That Got Away
Arizona 5, Cincinnati 4
This opener gave us everything — crooked numbers early, power on both sides, and a ninth inning Cincinnati will be groaning about for years.
Arizona trailed 4–3 entering the bottom of the ninth, only for the baseball gods to flick the script sideways. With two outs, Delino DeShields hit a chopper to first… and it bounced off Segui’s glove. The tying run scored. One pitch later? Ballgame.
Moises Alou was the star, going 3-for-4 with a homer and playing like a man determined to make the MVP committee notice. Cincinnati’s Mussina pitched well, but Arizona simply refused to go quietly.
Game 2: The Sanders–Freeman–Patterson Wall
Arizona 2, Cincinnati 0
Joey Hamilton deserved better. The Cincinnati right-hander threw eight innings of six-hit, one-run ball, only to watch Arizona’s bullpen slam the door on every rally opportunity. Scott Sanders danced through walks like a man playing hot coals, but Freeman, Assenmacher, and Patterson bailed him out every time.
Arizona needed only two runs — a DeShields leadoff run and a Gwynn sac fly — but the real story was this: Cincinnati went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
In a series this tight, that’s fatal.
Game 3: Floyd Youmans Steals the Show
Arizona 5, Cincinnati 2
Floyd Youmans walked into a chilly Cincinnati night and delivered a masterpiece: 7 shutout innings, five hits, five strikeouts, and a whole lot of Reds batters staring into the void.
Arizona helped him with early haymakers. A first-inning barrage of homers — White, Baerga, and Alomar Jr. — buried Cincinnati before the crowd had time to sit down. Moises Alou added another longball in the sixth for good measure.
Cincinnati never recovered. Down 3–0 in the series, they needed a miracle.
Game 4: The Reds’ Last Breath
Cincinnati 6, Arizona 3
Credit where it’s due: the Reds made it interesting.
Arizona finally blinked in the eighth. With the game tied 3–3, Matt Stairs punched a go-ahead RBI single, igniting a three-run rally that gave Cincinnati their first — and only — win of the series.
Mike Mussina once again gutted through seven innings, and Javy López launched a crucial two-run shot. Cincinnati rode every ounce of postseason desperation to stay alive.
But they were still facing elimination… and Arizona brought dynamite to Game 5.
Game 5: Rondell White Lights the Fuse
Arizona 9, Cincinnati 2
Rondell White played three games in this series. He only needed one to become a legend.
White went 3-for-4 with two homers, three RBI, three runs, and ELEVEN total bases in the title clincher — the kind of performance that gets replayed in championship montages for decades. His seventh-inning blast turned the game into a rout. His ninth-inning bomb turned it into a celebration.
Scott Karl finished the job with a complete game, scattering seven hits and striking out eight. Cincinnati never came close.
The final out dropped, gloves went flying, and the Diamondbacks became champions for the first time in franchise history.
How Arizona Did It
- Pitching dominance: Karl, Youmans, Sanders, and the bullpen held Cincinnati to two runs or fewer in four of five games.
- Timely power: White (4 HR), Alou, Baerga, Alomar Jr. — the heart of the order ate.
- Defense and baserunning: DeShields and Gwynn combined for seven steals, manufacturing runs when the bats cooled.
- Resilience: Down late in Game 1? They won. Under pressure in Game 2? They closed it. Facing Cincinnati’s best arms? They went deep anyway.
This wasn’t a fluke. Arizona played like a team that knew exactly who it was.
Final Thoughts
I thought Cincinnati’s momentum from their seven-game brawl with the Kansas City Royals might carry all the way through October. After they survived that gauntlet and then steamrolled the Cardinals in a four-game sweep, it felt like the Reds were arriving at the World Series with the kind of layered battle-hardening that makes a team dangerous. I expected their depth to challenge Arizona’s rotation. I expected this thing to go six or seven.
Arizona had other plans.