2016 NLDS Game 5 vs Dodgers

Lore & Background

The 2016 NLDS Game 5 is etched in Nationals lore as a game of what-ifs and near-misses, a tragic opera in four acts. The Nationals drew first blood, but the Dodgers clawed back, knotting the game in the seventh. The pivotal moment came in the eighth when manager Dusty Baker, playing the percentages, ordered an intentional walk to rookie phenom Corey Seager, loading the bases. The gamble backfired spectacularly when the next batter, Justin Turner, laced a two-run single, sending a dagger through the home crowd. Yet the Nationals, refusing to die, tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on a clutch hit by Chris Heisey, reigniting the park. Then, in the 10th, a single swing from Chase Utley—a name already dripping with infamy in D.C.—sent a solo homer soaring over the left-field wall, silencing the faithful and ending the season in cruel, sudden finality.

In Their Own Story

The air at Nationals Park was thick with tension as Max Scherzer took the mound on short rest, his eyes locked on the Dodgers' lineup, his beard flecked with sweat. The crowd roared as the Nationals jumped ahead 1-0 in the third on a Daniel Murphy sacrifice fly, but the Dodgers chipped away, tying it in the seventh on a Carlos Ruiz double. In the eighth, the intentional walk to Seager felt like a desperate gamble; when Justin Turner ripped a two-run single into left, a collective groan swept through the stands, heavy as a wet blanket. Yet the Nationals fought back in the ninth: with two outs and a runner on, Chris Heisey—a bench player thrust into the spotlight—laced a pinch-hit double to left, scoring Jose Lobaton and tying the game at 3-3. The stadium erupted, a deafening wave of noise and hope. Then, in the 10th, a crack of the bat off Shawn Kelley's 91-mph fastball sent a soaring ball over the left-field wall. The crowd fell silent, the only sound the Dodgers' cheers as they mobbed Utley at home plate. Nationals players stood frozen on the field, the season slipping away in a single, sickening swing.

Reader's Guide

This was the decisive fifth game of the 2016 NLDS, a best-of-five series tied at two games apiece. The Nationals, led by ace Max Scherzer on only three days' rest for the first time in his career, took an early 1-0 lead but could not hold it. The Dodgers tied the game in the seventh on a Carlos Ruiz double, then seized a 3-1 lead in the eighth after a controversial intentional walk to Corey Seager backfired when Justin Turner delivered a two-run single. The Nationals rallied to tie in the bottom of the ninth on a pinch-hit double by Chris Heisey, forcing extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley crushed a solo home run off Nationals reliever Shawn Kelley, giving the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. The Nationals went down in order in the bottom of the 10th, ending their season. The game is remembered for its high drama, the controversial intentional walk, and Utley's walk-off homer—a moment that became a defining scar of the series.

Did You Know?

• This was the first postseason game at Nationals Park to go to extra innings.
• Max Scherzer started on only three days' rest for the first time in his career.
• The walk-off home run was hit by Chase Utley, who had been a controversial figure in Nationals lore since a 2015 slide that broke a Mets infielder's leg.
• The game lasted 4 hours and 32 minutes.