The Braves countered with Charlie Leibrandt, the only Brave with Series exposure. Before joining the Braves in 1990, Leibrandt was a member of the Kansas City Royals for six seasons and had won 17 games for their 1985 World Series champion squad. Thus he was also the only Braves starter who had previously faced several members of the Twins lineup, including Dan Gladden, Kirby Puckett, and Kent Hrbek. In 1991, Leibrandt was 15–13 with a 3.49 ERA. His win total was third on the team behind Tom Glavine and Steve Avery. In the NLCS against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Leibrandt pitched in Game 5 and recorded a no-decision.