2014 NLDS Game 5 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Lore & Background

For the Nationals, 2014 was supposed to be the year everything clicked. Bryce Harper was in his second season, Ryan Zimmerman was in his prime, and the rotation featured a pair of future Hall of Fame-caliber arms in Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer. The regular-season run was historic, but the postseason proved a different beast. The Pirates, led by a pitching core that included Gerrit Cole, A.J. Burnett, and Francisco Liriano, matched Washington's talent with a grit and defensive intensity that proved difficult to overcome in a short series.

Game 5 at PNC Park carried the weight of a 98-win season on its shoulders. The atmosphere in Pittsburgh was electric, the crowd a wall of black-and-gold noise. The Nationals, who had split the first two games at home and then taken Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh, found themselves one run away from elimination. The Pirates' ability to execute in the clutch—stealing bases, taking extra-base hits, and shutting down the Nationals' lineup in key at-bats—defined the game and the series.

In the broader canon of Nationals history, this loss became a touchstone. It underscored the gap between regular-season dominance and postseason success, a theme that would echo through subsequent years. For fans, the image of the team walking off the field at PNC Park with the season over became a defining, aching moment of the franchise's modern identity.

Reader's Guide

The occasion: The 2014 National League Division Series, a best-of-five matchup between the Washington Nationals (NL East champions, 98 regular-season wins) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (NL Wild Card). The series split the first two games at Nationals Park, then moved to PNC Park for Games 3 through 5. What happened: The Pirates took the first two games at Washington, then the Nationals stormed back to win Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh, forcing a decisive Game 5.

In the finale, the Pirates' pitching held the Nationals' high-powered lineup to just two runs, while timely hitting—including a key RBI double by Starling Marte and a solo homer by Jordy Mercer—built a 3–2 lead that the bullpen, led by closer Mark Melancon, locked down. The final out: a swinging strikeout by Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, sealing a 3–2 Pirates victory and ending Washington's championship hopes in a cold, crushing silence.

Did You Know?

• The Pirates' 2014 pitching staff, featuring Gerrit Cole and A.J. Burnett among its starters, anchored a team that had been rebuilt around the philosophy of winning with pitching and defense.
• The Pirates' advancement through the NLDS set up their 2014 NLCS matchup against the San Francisco Giants, where Pittsburgh ultimately fell in seven games.
• Bryce Harper, in his second professional season, was the face of the Nationals' offense in 2014 and had already established himself as one of the league's most dynamic young players.