2019 NLCS Game 4 vs Cardinals (sweep clincher)
Howie Kendrick's grand slam in the 10th inning turned a deadlocked Game 4 into a coronation, sealing the sweep and a World Series berth.
Game 4 of the 2019 National League Championship Series was the night the Washington Nationals finally shed their underdog skin, completing a stunning sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals and punching their first-ever ticket to the World Series. Under the lights of Nationals Park on a crisp October evening, the game distilled the team's entire postseason identity: relentless, unbreakable, and defiant. A wild-card club that had scraped into October left the field as league champions.
Quick Facts
- Series
- 2019 NLCS, Game 4
- Opponent
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Venue
- Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
- Result
- Nationals win, 7-4
- Series outcome
- Nationals win series 4-0
- Key player
- Howie Kendrick (grand slam, 10th inning)
Lore & Background
The 2019 Nationals were a team of improbable comebacks, and Game 4 of the NLCS was their ultimate testament. After falling behind 4-0 in the first inning, the Nationals clawed back with single runs in the third and fourth, then tied it in the fifth. The game remained deadlocked until the top of the 10th, when Howie Kendrick—who had already become a postseason legend with his grand slam in Game 5 of the Division Series—stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. He crushed a 3-2 pitch from Cardinals reliever Carlos Martínez deep to right-center, clearing the bases and giving the Nationals a 7-4 lead that they would not relinquish.
Reader's Guide
The occasion was the potential clincher of the 2019 National League Championship Series, with the Nationals holding a 3-0 series lead over the Cardinals. The game started disastrously for Washington, as St. Louis scored four runs in the top of the first inning. But the Nationals chipped away, showing the resilience that had become their hallmark. The game remained tied from the fifth inning onward, setting the stage for extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, with the bases loaded and two outs, Howie Kendrick launched a grand slam off Carlos Martínez, giving the Nationals a 7-4 lead. Closer Sean Doolittle shut the door in the bottom of the inning, securing the sweep and the franchise's first National League pennant since moving to Washington. The game is remembered as the defining moment of the Nationals' championship run—a testament to their never-give-up attitude and Kendrick's postseason heroics.
Did You Know?
- Howie Kendrick's grand slam in Game 4 of the NLCS was his second grand slam of the 2019 postseason, following one in Game 5 of the Division Series against the Dodgers.
- The Nationals became only the second team in MLB history to sweep the NLCS after starting the postseason as a Wild Card team.
- The 2019 Nationals were the first team from Washington, D.C., to reach the World Series since the 1933 Senators.
- Game 4 of the 2019 NLCS was played on October 15, 2019, at Nationals Park.
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