Chicago Cubs: An in-person reflection of last season’s NLDS clincher

Without question, the most memorable baseball game I ever attended came last fall – Game 5 of the NLDS between the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals.

We all remember when the Chicago Cubs somehow advanced to a third consecutive NLCS last fall. But, given I was at Nationals Park, I experienced it on a very different level than folks watching at home.

There was drama before the game even began. My uncle, a Nats season-ticket holder, had secured a pair of his seats for myself and a friend to witness this spectacle. In the run-up to the game, I lost one of the tickets… hardly an inauspicious start.

So, instead of being accompanied by a fellow North Sider, I was relegated to a state of solitude as I entered a sea of red that evening.

Things quickly improved when Jon Jay hit a leadoff double and later scored on a groundout by Anthony Rizzo. In the bottom of the first, Javier Baez cut down Trea Turner at the plate to keep the Cubs in front.

But the Nats fans roared with approval after now-Cub Daniel Murphy homered off of Kyle Hendricks in the second to tie the game. Anthony Rendon and Matt Wieters followed with singles, bringing Michael A. Taylor to the plate.