The Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals faced off for the 5th and deciding game of their NLDS series Thursday night. This game was an ‘all hands on deck’ effort from both teams, as is expected in a win or go home scenario. The Cubs used 19 players in this one, and the Nationals used 19 of their own guys as well. And like many had hoped for coming in, this one ended up being full of drama and excitement.
Kyle Hendricks got the start for the Cubs in the decisive Game 5, and he was not as sharp in this game as he was in Game 1 of the series. He missed several pitches higher than catcher Willson Contreras had set up, and for a guy who tops out at about 89 miles per hour with his fastball that spells nothing but trouble. Pitches left up in the zone are what helped the Nationals score 4 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning, as both Daniel Murphy and Michael Taylor launched elevated mistakes out of the park for homeruns. Hendricks’ game relies very heavily on his ability to locate the ball where he wants to throw it, but he did not have his best stuff going tonight. After throwing 81 total pitches, his final line over 4 innings of work includes 9 hits allowed, 4 earned runs, and 7 strikeouts.
On the other side of the diamond, Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez did not fare much better. Manager Dusty Baker said during an in game interview that he would have liked to get more out of Gio, but “his location was suspect tonight.” He only lasted 3 innings and he had poor command of most pitches (especially his curveball) all night long, needing 67 pitches to get through the first third of the game. His final line includes just 3 hits allowed, but he did walk 4 and allow 3 earned runs to cross the plate.
The Cubs’ offense did get off to a decent start, though they did leave more to be desired in the early part of the game. Leadoff man Jon Jay laced the second pitch of the game into the right field corner for a double, and after advancing to third on a wild pitch he was driven in on a groundout by Anthony Rizzo. They did manage to load up the bases right after Rizzo’s at bat, but they could not capitalize on it as Jason Heyward grounded out to first to end the frame.
After the Nationals put up that 4-spot in the 2nd inning, the Cubs clawed away at the deficit their next time up. Third baseman Kris Bryant scored on a groundout by shortstop Addison Russell, and Contreras later came around to score on another wild pitch by Gonzalez.
By that point, the Cubs offense was starting to click.
Washington brought Matt Albers to pitch the 4th inning, and he did a good job getting the Cubs to go down 1-2-3. Because his spot in the batting order was first in the bottom half of the frame, starting pitcher Max Scherzer came into the game to start off the 5th inning. The inning looked like it would go similarly to his Game 3 start, getting Bryant and Rizzo out on 6 total pitches. But then singles by Contreras and pinch-hitter Ben Zobrist put runners on first and second, and Russell took the first pitch he saw down the third base line for a 2-run double.
That inning would be far from over, however. Heyward was intentionally walked to put a force out at each bag. Javier Baez struck out swinging at a dropped third strike, and as he was running to first Nationals catcher Matt Wieters threw the ball away into the outfield allowing Russell to come around and score. Pinch-hitting for the pitcher spot Tommy La Stella reached base on a catcher’s interference call, and Jay brought Heyward home after getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. By the end of the inning the Cubs had taken a 7-4 lead, and they did their best to hold on from that point on.
Russell wasn’t done producing for the team, as he hit another RBI double in the top of the 6th inning bringing Zobrist in to score and make it a 8-4 game. He would finish the night 2-3 at the plate with 1 run scored and 4 more driven in. He was easily the team’s offensive MVP of this game.
The Nationals tried to mount a comeback with two down in the bottom of the 6th. Jayson Werth got the rally going by working a full count and eventually drawing a walk off of Cubs reliever Pedro Strop. Cubs manager Joe Maddon made the move to bring in lefty Mike Montgomery with Bryce Harper coming up to the plate, and that move did not pay off. Harper ripped the ball down the first base line for a double, and Werth would come around to score on a wild ball four to Ryan Zimmerman. The next batter, Murphy, then drove a ball over Zobrist’s head in left field that brought Harper around to score, and the inning finally ended as Wieters flew out to Heyward in right.
The 7th inning brought even more drama. In the top half of the inning Kyle Schwarber scored a run on a fielder’s choice by Bryant, even though the Nationals unsuccessfully challenged the play at second base claiming that Jon Jay performed an illegal slide.
Washington tried to get another rally going in the bottom half of the frame, and it took three Cubs pitchers – Carl Edwards Jr. (who appeared in every game this series), Jose Quintana, and Wade Davis – to get the team through the inning. At one point the Nationals had the bases loaded with one out and Harper at the plate, but the Cubs controlled the damage by getting him to hit a sacrifice fly and bringing in Davis to strike Zimmerman out and neutralize the threat for the time being.
Despite all of the excitement throughout the middle innings, the Cubs held a 9-7 lead through the end of the 7th. But if you thought the fun ended there, you would be very mistaken.
In the bottom of the 8th the Nationals put forth another comeback attempt drawing walks from the first two batters of the inning. After a timely mound visit from Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio, Davis was able to produce a crucial double play ball from pinch hitter Adam Lind which sent a runner to third. The following batter, Michael Taylor, shot a line drive up the middle for a base hit scoring one, and Jose Lobaton followed up with a liner up the middle of his own. Contreras made a pick off attempt of Lobaton at first base during the next at bat, and the runner was originally called safe. After Joe Maddon challenged the play the call was overturned, and that out ended another Nationals rally.
Davis was struggling to get through the inning, allowing four runners to reach base on two hits and two walks. The double play ball was big because had the Cubs even recorded just one out on the play, another run would have crossed the plate for the Nationals and tied the game up. The challenge at first was huge for the Cubs because with Davis running on fumes at that point, there’s no knowing if he would have finished the inning or if he would have continued to allow Washington players to reach base.
He did manage to get things together in the 9th inning, as he set down the top of the order to cap off the game and win the series. The 7-out save is (to this point) his only save of more than 3 outs all season, and his 44 pitches thrown is the most he has thrown in a single game since 2013 – when he was still a starting pitcher. Most of his outing wasn’t pretty, but once the 9th inning came Davis turned it on and shut the Nats down.
The victory sends the Cubs to the NLCS where they will go up against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best of 7 series. Game 1 of that series will take place in L.A. on Saturday, and is scheduled to start at 8:08 PM ET.
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