2017 NLDS Game 5 vs Cubs

Lore & Background

Game 5 of the 2017 NLDS is etched in Nationals fan memory as a wild, emotional rollercoaster—a game that felt like a fever dream. The Nationals, desperate for their first postseason series win since moving to Washington, built a 4-1 lead early, only to watch the Cubs claw back. Michael A. Taylor, a defensive specialist who usually batted eighth, transformed into a postseason legend with each swing: a solo homer in the second, a two-run blast in the fourth, and a go-ahead missile in the eighth that sent Nationals Park into a frenzy. It seemed to seal a victory. But the Cubs, the defending World Series champions and masters of late-game magic, refused to die. In the top of the eighth, they ambushed the Nationals' bullpen—a walk, a single, a double—and then Willson Contreras ripped a two-run double into left-center, flipping the lead. The Nationals answered with a run in the bottom half, but Wade Davis, a cold-blooded closer, shut the door in the ninth. He struck out Bryce Harper on a 1-2 curveball that froze the superstar, ending the game and the series. The stadium went from a roar to a gasp to silence in seconds.

In Their Own Story

The air at Nationals Park was electric, thick with hope and tension—the kind of humidity that makes your shirt stick to your back before the first pitch. For eight innings, the game swung like a pendulum on a frayed rope. Michael A. Taylor, a quiet center fielder known more for his glove than his bat, became an unlikely hero with each crack of his bat sending a ball over the fence: the first a solo shot that barely cleared the left-field wall, the second a no-doubter into the bullpen, the third a towering blast that seemed to hang in the air forever. The crowd roared, believing this was the year—the year they'd finally exorcise the ghosts of past Octobers. Then, in the top of the eighth, the Cubs' bats came alive. A walk to pinch-hitter Jon Jay, a single by Kris Bryant, a double by Anthony Rizzo—suddenly, the lead vanished, replaced by a 7-5 deficit. The final out came on a called third strike, a curveball that Harper watched drop into the zone as if it were a slow-motion nightmare. He stood frozen at the plate, bat on his shoulder, as the Cubs swarmed the mound. The silence in the ballpark was deafening—broken only by the sound of a few thousand Cubs fans chanting 'Let's go, Cubs!' in the upper deck.

Reader's Guide

This game was the decisive match of the 2017 NLDS, a best-of-five series that saw the Nationals take a 2-1 lead before the Cubs forced Game 5. The occasion was a winner-take-all showdown at Nationals Park, with both teams' seasons on the line. What happened was a slugfest: the Nationals hit four home runs (three by Taylor, one by Daniel Murphy), but the Cubs matched them with timely hitting, including a key home run by Javier Báez that cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth. The turning point came in the eighth inning when the Cubs scored four runs off the Nationals' bullpen, erasing a 7-5 deficit. The game is remembered for its sheer drama and the Nationals' inability to close out a series they seemed to have in hand. It remains a symbol of the franchise's postseason struggles and the fine line between triumph and heartbreak—a line the Nationals crossed, only to find themselves on the wrong side.

Did You Know?

• Michael A. Taylor became the first Nationals player to hit three home runs in a postseason game.
• The game featured a combined 17 runs, making it one of the highest-scoring NLDS Game 5s in history.
• Bryce Harper struck out looking to end the game, a moment that became iconic for Cubs fans and painful for Nationals fans.
• The Cubs went on to win the World Series that year, making this game a key step in their repeat championship run.