The Nats made it to the playoffs for the 4th time this year, and adding to the excitement we we're playing the Cubs. Strasburg pitched brilliantly in Game 1, striking out 10, but the Nats couldn't score, giving the Cubs a one game to none series lead. Game 2 was more to our liking: the Nats jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a Rendon homer. The Cubs tied it up in the second, then took a 3-1 lead in the 4th on a questionable home run call. We saved the real drama for the 8th when Harper tied the game with a 2-run homer, then Zimmerman gave us the lead with a 3-run blast, and Doolittle sealed the win with the save in the 9th.
The series then shifted to Chicago. In Game 3 Zimmerman put us on the board with a double in the 6th, and Max Scherzer took a no-hitter into the 7th before Zobrist tied the game with a double. Then in the 8th Anthony Rizzo demanded respect with a pop-up bloop hit that gave the Cubs the lead and the win. Game 4 was all Nats as Strasburg overcame flu-like symptoms to strike out 12 as the Nats shut out the cubs, with the big play from the Nats offense coming from Michael A. Taylor's 8th inning grand slam.
With the series tied at 2 games a piece, we were all set for another decisive game 5 at Nats Park. Elaine and Mom Mom joined Owen and I at the Park, and cousin Sam joined us in spirit with an epic string of texts back-and-forth with Owen throughout the game. The first was a bit rocky for Gio, but he escaped only giving up one run on a ground out. Things were looking up for the Nats when Murphy and Taylor both hit 2-run homers in the bottom of the 2nd giving us a 4-1 lead. In the third, Gio was looking shaky again, giving up another run on a groundout, then letting the Cubs crawl back to within a run on a wild pitch. Max Scherzer was ready to pitch in relief though, so we were feeling good when he ran out to the mound in the top of the 5th with the Nats holding a one run lead. Scherzer got two quick outs from Bryant and Rizzo, but then Contreras managed an infield single that Turner couldn't quite turn into an out, and Zobrist singled on a soft fly ball that Jayson Werth couldn't quite get to either. Then Russell doubled in a run on a sharp grounder that just got past Rendon at third, two runs score, 5-4 Cubs. Max intentionally walked Heyward next, and then things really got wild.
Javier Baez struck out swinging (inning over right?), but the ball got by Wieters, who was shaken up when Baez hit him in the head with his bat on his back swing. Weiters raced to get the ball, but threw it away into right field trying to get Baez out at first, and another run scored, 6-4 Cubs. But wait, Baez hit Weiters in the the mask with his bat, shouldn't he be out?!? No, according to the umpires at the park that night, but after the series MLB confirmed that the umps got it wrong, Baez should have been out, the run shouldn't have scored, and the inning should have been over. Weiters was clearly shaken after a play where he was wrongly charged with a passed ball and an error, and then he was charged with catcher's interference on the very next batter loading the bases. Scherzer must have been in disbelief because he hit the next batter forcing in a run, 7-4 Cubs. ESPN calculated that of all the things that went wrong in the 5th inning the odds that all of them would have been outs was about 1-in-4, and the odds that none of them would be outs was 1-in-2,183,406,113.
The game wasn't over though! The Cubs scored again in the top of the 6th taking a commanding 8-4 lead, but the Nats scored two in the bottom half, 8-6 Cubs. Top of the 7th, Cubs score again on a questionable play where slide interference could have been called, 9-6 Cubs. Nats loaded the bases for Bryce Harper int the bottom of the 7th, but he only managed a long sacrifice fly, 9-7 Cubs, and then Zimmerman struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 8th, the Nats had two on no outs, but Lind grounded into a double play, then Taylor had an RBI single and the Nats only trailed by one, 9-8 Cubs. Lobaton hit a two out single to put runners on first and second, but then the Cubs catcher made a snap throw to first with Trea Turner batting to try to pick off Lobaton. He was called safe at first, but of course with the Nats luck he was called out on review. The bottom of the ninth the Nats brought up Turner, Werth and Harper to try to get something going, but they went quietly, with Harper striking out to end the game.
In the end, the Nats outscored the Cubs (like they outscored the Dodgers last year), but couldn't score 'em at the right times. Having grown up a Cubs fan, I thought I knew something about baseball heartbreak and misery, but Washington hasn't won a World Series since Walter Johnson brought home the title in 1924, and in these past six years the Nats have put on a master class in soul-crushing losses.
(click here for all the pictures)
This catalog of Nats postseason misery demanded an update (sorry, Nats fans).
This catalog of Nats postseason misery demanded an update (sorry, Nats fans).— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) October 13, 2017
Last 10 playoff losses: 8 by 1 run, all soul-crushing. How? pic.twitter.com/yHfBCQywxR
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