2014 NLCS Game 7 vs. San Francisco Giants

Lore & Background

The 2014 Nationals arrived in the NLDS as a young, electric team. Bryce Harper, in his third season, had already announced himself as one of the most complete young players in baseball, combining power, speed, and defensive range—though he played the outfield, not first base. Ryan Zimmerman anchored the middle of the order, and the rotation featured Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann. The front office had built a contender, and the fans in D.C. were finally believing the long wait since the Montreal era was over. The Giants, by contrast, were a veteran, postseason-proven club. Buster Posey was at the peak of his career, Pablo Sandoval provided the pop, and the bullpen—anchored by closer Sergio Romo—had proven its mettle in October. Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum gave San Francisco a rotation that could match Washington's talent. The series was a war of attrition, and it ended in four games. Game 4 carried the weight of a decade of fan frustration. The Nationals had come so close, had the lineup to win, had the pitching to hold. But baseball's cruel arithmetic meant that a single fly ball, a single swing-and-miss, a single ground ball to the second baseman could separate a team from the World Series. And on that October night in Washington, it was the Giants who got the final out—a groundout that left runners on base and the bases full of what-ifs.

In Their Own Story

The fog rolled off the bay and settled over the outfield grass at AT&T Park. The lights hummed. In the dugout, the Nationals' bench was a tangle of arms and elbows, eyes locked on the mound. The score was 3–2, top of the ninth, and there were runners on first and second. The whole stadium held its breath. The pitcher wound up. The batter swung. The ball kissed the dirt and rolled toward the shortstop, who fielded it clean and stepped on second. The umpire's hand went up. The Giants' bench erupted. In the Nationals' dugout, the silence was the loudest thing in the ballpark. A rookie in his first October—Bryce Harper—stared at the dirt, his helmet still on. The season was over. The wait would continue.

Reader's Guide

The occasion: Game 7 of the 2014 NLCS, the final game of a seven-game series between the Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants, played at AT&T Park in San Francisco. The Giants led the series 3–3, meaning this game decided who advanced to the World Series. What happened: The Giants took a 3–2 lead that the Nationals could not overcome. The game featured a tense, low-scoring back-and-forth, with both bullpens working deep into the late innings. In the top of the ninth, the Nationals loaded or nearly loaded the bases with the opportunity to tie or take the lead, but the final outs came and the Giants held on. The season ended for Washington. Why it's remembered: This was the Nationals' first NLCS appearance in franchise history, and the 2014 team—featuring a rookie Bryce Harper who would go on to win NL Rookie of the Year—represented a genuine breakthrough. The loss meant the club would have to wait another five years before reaching the postseason's final round again. For fans, the image of that ninth-inning chance, so close and so far, became a touchstone of the era: the moment the dream almost, but didn't, come true.

Did You Know?

• Bryce Harper was in his third season in 2014, having debuted in 2012 and won Rookie of the Year that year; this NLDS was his first postseason experience.
• The final out of Game 4 was a groundout, ending the game with runners on base.