Ceci Ferrara
October 8, 2014
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
The Washington Nationals’ season ended early on Tuesday night, much earlier than they had wanted, or hoped. As the San Francisco Giants once again huddled in celebration for their third NLCS berth in five years, the Nats were reduced from rival to spectator. All they could do was watch.
“It’s tough to digest, kind of an eerie feeling,” said Nationals pitcher Tyler Clippard. “It doesn’t seem like it should be over. But it is.”
After falling behind 2-0 in the series, they traveled to San Francisco where the Nationals bounced back with a 4-1 victory on Monday night. Washington fans tuned in on Tuesday night eagerly awaiting what Game 4 had in store. As it turned out, it was the same as the majority of the series: not much.
The Giants got on the board in the bottom of the second, when Gio Gonzalez walked in a run with the bases loaded. On the next play, botched fielding of a routine grounder gave up another run, and San Francisco a 2-0 lead. Though it wasn’t a huge lead, at the moment it seemed insurmountable for a team that had scored just seven runs in the previous three games.
Washington went hit-less until the fifth, when Bryce Harper saved the Nats from getting shut-out. Ian Desmond singled to l ead off the inning, followed by an RBI double by Harper. Harper went on to score the team’s only other run – a monster home-run that exited the ballpark and landed in McCovey’s Cove. With the game tied, it seemed, for a brief moment, that there might be a Game 5 after all. That Washington wasn’t finished.
But once again, the Nationals’ bullpen failed them. In the bottom of the inning, reliever Matt Thornton gave up two singles, and was promptly removed in favor of Aaron Barrett. But then Barrett ran into trouble, giving up a walk to his first batter to load the bases. Then, while pitching to third baseman Pablo Sandoval, he threw a wild pitch, which allowed Joe Panik to score.
In a game that the Giants won 3-2, the winning run was scored on a wild pitch. It is not a play that Nationals, or their fans, will soon forget. Once again, the Nationals are going home early, empty-handed. They will not get to experience an NLCS, or a world series berth. Not now; not yet.
Instead, they will head home like the other 26 teams that are no longer vying for a shot at the championship. They will clean out their lockers, take some time off, and then come back in a couple of months ready to work harder so they can, hopefully, go further next year.
