2014 National League Division Series
The National League Division Series was two best-of-five-game series on the National League side in Major League Baseball’s 2014 [Major League Baseball postseason|2014 postseason] to determine the participating teams in the National League Championship Series">National League (baseball)">National League Championship Series. The Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants—played in two series. Fox Sports 1 carried most of the games, with two of the games on MLB Network.
These matchups were:
- Washington Nationals vs. 2014 [San Francisco Giants season|San Francisco Giants] : Giants win series 3–1.
- Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals : Cardinals win series 3–1.
Matchups
Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Washington vs. San Francisco
This was the first postseason meeting between the Nationals and Giants.Game 1
The Giants opened the series with Jake Peavy on the mound to counter Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg. Joe Panik put the Giants on the board in the third inning with an RBI single and Brandon Belt followed suit in the fourth to support Peavy, who didn't allow a hit until the bottom of the fifth inning. The first signs of trouble for the Giants came in the bottom of the sixth when, after a leadoff double from former Giant Nate Schierholtz and a two-out walk to Jayson Werth, Peavy was taken out of the game. Javier López came into the game only to surrender a walk to Adam LaRoche. With the bases loaded, Hunter Strickland came on to make just his tenth overall Major League appearance and struck out Ian Desmond to end the threat. The Giants added a third run when Panik tripled to lead off the seventh, and Buster Posey singled to knock him in. This run was to prove crucial, as when Strickland came out in the bottom half of the inning, he allowed home runs to both Bryce Harper and Asdrúbal Cabrera to make it a one-run game. Jeremy Affeldt finished off the Nationals in the seventh, and Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless eighth, before Santiago Casilla retired the side in order for the save, as the Giants held on to win by a score of 3–2.Game 2
Game 2 of the Division Series between the Nationals and the Giants lasted a record 18 innings, with the Giants winning 2–1. It was the longest postseason game in Major League Baseball history to date, both by duration and innings played, exceeding the previous innings-played mark by of a half-inning. Coincidentally, Adam LaRoche of the Nationals and Tim Hudson of the Giants both played in the 2005 game as Atlanta Braves, becoming the only two players to play in both 18 inning games. Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, which lasted 7 hours 20 minutes, has since surpassed this game by duration, although both contests share the 18-inning mark.Hudson struck out eight Nationals and conceded one run in innings of work, with the lone run coming in the third when Asdrúbal Cabrera doubled, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on Anthony Rendon’s two out single. However, Hudson was bettered by Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann who came an out shy of recording a three-hit shutout, just six days after throwing a no-hitter on the last day of the regular season. Zimmermann retired 20 Giants in a row before walking Joe Panik with two outs in the ninth and being removed from the game. The Giants continued to rally in the ninth when Buster Posey singled on the first pitch from closer Drew Storen, and Pablo Sandoval drove in Panik with a double. Posey was thrown out at home plate on the same play, and manager Bruce Bochy called for a video review but it was unsuccessful and it ended the inning. Sergio Romo retired the side in the bottom half and the game went to extra innings, tied 1–1. In the 10th inning, Nationals second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera and manager Matt Williams were ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Entering the game in the 12th inning, Giants pitcher Yusmeiro Petit became just the seventh pitcher to throw six or more shutout innings of relief in a playoff game, as neither team could break the deadlock. Brandon Belt finally broke the tie, launching a home run into the second deck in right field to lead off the 18th inning off of Tanner Roark. As the clock struck midnight, Hunter Strickland finished off the game to earn the save and a 2–0 series advantage for the Giants. The win marked the tenth consecutive postseason victory for the Giants, a streak extending back to the 2012 National League Championship Series. By allowing one run in the third and subsequently never allowing another one for the rest of the game, the Giants' pitching staff combined for a new postseason record 15 consecutive scoreless innings in a single game, breaking Babe Ruth's 13 scoreless innings in Game 2 of the 1916 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. This record would be broken by Game 3 of the 2022 American League Division Series between the Astros and Mariners, with the Astros pitching an 18-inning shutout, which also featured a leadoff home run in the top of the 18th as the go-ahead play.
Game 3
Hoping to avoid a sweep, the Nationals sent Doug Fister to the mound in Game 3. Opposing him was Madison Bumgarner who had thrown a complete-game shutout in the NL Wild Card game. Both pitchers threw six scoreless innings, but in the top of the seventh, Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper opened up the inning with back-to-back singles. Wilson Ramos attempted to bunt the runners over, but Bumgarner's throw to get the force out at third went past Pablo Sandoval and down the left field line, allowing both Desmond and Harper to score, with Ramos ending up at second on the error. Asdrúbal Cabrera singled in Ramos and the Nationals had a 3–0 lead. The score remained 3–0 until the ninth when Harper led off the inning with a home run to stretch the lead to 4–0. Drew Storen came on in the bottom half and allowed a single to Sandoval and a double to Hunter Pence to open the inning. Brandon Belt struck out looking for the first out. Brandon Crawford hit a sacrifice fly to score Sandoval and cut the lead to 4–1, but Storen got Travis Ishikawa to ground out for the final out of the game as the Nationals avoided a sweep. As it turned out, this would be the only loss Bumgarner would have the entire postseason.Game 4
and Gio González were the starters for Game 4, with the Nationals needing a victory to send the series back to the nation's capital. The Giants struck first with two runs in the bottom of the second off Gio González. After Brandon Crawford singled and Juan Pérez reached on an error, Vogelsong reached first safely on a well-placed bunt to load the bases with one out. Gregor Blanco walked and Joe Panik hit an RBI groundout to give the Giants a 2–0 lead. Vogelsong held the Nationals hitless until the fifth inning, when Ian Desmond singled and Bryce Harper doubled him home to cut the Giants' lead to 2–1. The Giants threatened against Nationals reliever Tanner Roark in the bottom of the fifth by loading the bases, but manager Matt Williams summoned Jerry Blevins to face Brandon Belt, whom he struck out to end the threat.Bryce Harper tied up the game in the top of the seventh inning with a towering home run off Hunter Strickland into McCovey Cove, Harper's third home run of the series and second off of Strickland. Harper also became the third player in postseason history to hit the Cove after Barry Bonds and Rick Ankiel. Left-hander Matt Thornton started the bottom of the seventh inning by getting the first out but allowed singles to Joe Panik and Buster Posey. He was replaced by Aaron Barrett, who walked Hunter Pence to load the bases. Facing Pablo Sandoval, Barrett threw a wild pitch which allowed Panik to score what would prove to be the game-winning run. The Nationals then proceeded to attempt to intentional walk Sandoval, but Barrett's threw another wild pitch. However, this time Posey was thrown out at the plate trying to score, with replay confirming it. Sergio Romo pitched a perfect eighth, and Santiago Casilla followed with a scoreless ninth. After issuing a two-out walk to Bryce Harper, Casilla retired Wilson Ramos on a groundout to eliminate the Nationals and send the Giants to their third NLCS in five years. According to Elias Sports Bureau, this was the fourth time in MLB postseason history that the winning run in a series-clinching game scored on a wild pitch in the seventh inning or later, after the 1927 Yankees, 1972 Reds, and 2004 Yankees.