2019 NLCS Game 4 vs Cardinals (sweep clincher)

Lore & Background

The 2019 Nationals were a team of improbable comebacks, and Game 4 of the NLCS was their ultimate testament. After falling behind 4-0 in the first inning, the Nationals clawed back with single runs in the third and fourth, then tied it in the fifth. The game remained deadlocked until the top of the 10th, when Howie Kendrick—who had already become a postseason legend with his grand slam in Game 5 of the Division Series—stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. He crushed a 3-2 pitch from Cardinals reliever Carlos Martínez deep to right-center, clearing the bases and giving the Nationals a 7-4 lead that they would not relinquish.

In Their Own Story

The air at Nationals Park was thick with tension, the kind that makes your lungs forget how to work. The Cardinals had jumped out early, scoring four runs in the first inning, and the home crowd fell into a nervous hush. But the Nationals, as they had all October, refused to break. They chipped away—a run here, a run there—until the game was knotted at 4-4 in the fifth. Then the scoreboard froze. Inning after inning, the silence stretched, the October chill biting deeper. Then came the 10th. With the bases loaded, two outs, and the count full, Howie Kendrick dug in. The pitch—a high fastball from Carlos Martínez—arrived, and Kendrick turned on it. The crack of the bat was a thunderclap that split the night. The ball soared deep to right-center, clearing the bases and the fence. As Kendrick rounded the bases, the roar from the stands was deafening, a release of every ounce of doubt and hope. The sweep was complete. The Nationals were going to the World Series.

Reader's Guide

The occasion was the potential clincher of the 2019 National League Championship Series, with the Nationals holding a 3-0 series lead over the Cardinals. The game started disastrously for Washington, as St. Louis scored four runs in the top of the first inning. But the Nationals chipped away, showing the resilience that had become their hallmark. The game remained tied from the fifth inning onward, setting the stage for extra innings. In the top of the 10th, with the bases loaded and two outs, Howie Kendrick launched a grand slam off Carlos Martínez, giving the Nationals a 7-4 lead. Closer Sean Doolittle shut the door in the bottom of the inning, securing the sweep and the franchise's first National League pennant since moving to Washington. The game is remembered as the defining moment of the Nationals' championship run—a testament to their never-give-up attitude and Kendrick's postseason heroics.

Did You Know?

• Howie Kendrick's grand slam in Game 4 of the NLCS was his second grand slam of the 2019 postseason, following one in Game 5 of the Division Series against the Dodgers.
• The Nationals became only the second team in MLB history to sweep the NLCS after starting the postseason as a Wild Card team.
• The 2019 Nationals were the first team from Washington, D.C., to reach the World Series since the 1933 Senators.
• Game 4 of the 2019 NLCS was played on October 15, 2019, at Nationals Park.