| 2014 National League Championship Series | ||||||||||
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| Dates | October 11–16 | |||||||||
| MVP | Madison Bumgarner (San Francisco) | |||||||||
| Umpires | Gerry Davis (crew chief),Phil Cuzzi (Games 1–2),Bill Welke,Mark Carlson,Greg Gibson,Bill Miller,Paul Emmel (Games 3–5) | |||||||||
| Broadcast | ||||||||||
| Television | Fox (Game 1) FS1 (Games 2–5) | |||||||||
| TV announcers | Joe Buck,Harold Reynolds,Tom Verducci,Ken Rosenthal, andErin Andrews | |||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | |||||||||
| Radio announcers | Dan Shulman andAaron Boone | |||||||||
| NLDS |
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The2014 National League Championship Series was abest-of-seven playoff inMajor League Baseball’s2014 postseason pitting the defending National League champion and third-seededSt. Louis Cardinals against the fifth-seededSan Francisco Giants for the National League pennant and the right to play in the2014 World Series. The series was the 45thNLCS in league history withFox airing Game 1 andFox Sports 1 airing Games 2–5 in the United States. Game 1 was simulcast on Fox Sports 1 and was hosted byKevin Burkhardt,Gabe Kapler andC.J. Nitkowski, who offeredsabermetric analysis of the game.[1]
This was the fourth time the two teams have met in the postseason (1987 NLCS,2002 NLCS, and2012 NLCS). The Cardinals, by virtue of being a division winner, had the home field advantage. The Giants clinched their third pennant within a five-year span, with NLCS wins in2010 and2012.
The Giants would go on to defeat theKansas City Royals in theWorld Series in seven games, winning their third World Series championship in five years.
San Francisco won the series, 4–1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11 | San Francisco Giants – 3, St. Louis Cardinals – 0 | Busch Stadium | 3:23 | 47,201[2] |
| 2 | October 12 | San Francisco Giants – 4,St. Louis Cardinals – 5 | Busch Stadium | 3:41 | 46,262[3] |
| 3 | October 14 | St. Louis Cardinals – 4,San Francisco Giants – 5(10) | AT&T Park | 3:10 | 42,716[4] |
| 4 | October 15 | St. Louis Cardinals – 4,San Francisco Giants – 6 | AT&T Park | 3:53 | 43,147[5] |
| 5 | October 16 | St. Louis Cardinals – 3,San Francisco Giants – 6 | AT&T Park | 3:03 | 43,217[6] |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Madison Bumgarner (1–0) LP:Adam Wainwright (0–1) Sv:Santiago Casilla (1) Attendance: 47,201 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Madison Bumgarner and the Giants bullpen pitched a shutout and limited the Cardinals to only 4 hits. The Giants scored first in the top of the second off Cardinals starterAdam Wainwright. With the bases loaded,Travis Ishikawa hit a bloop single to left to drive in the first run of the game. The Giants took a 2–0 lead whenGregor Blanco reached safely on aMatt Carpenter error. The Giants tacked on a third run in the top of the third on aBrandon Belt sacrifice fly. The Cardinals threatened to score in the bottom of the seventh, with runners at second and third with two outs. Bumgarner appeared tobalk when he stepped off the mound while facingTony Cruz, but no balk was called by the umpires. Bumgarner recovered to strike out Cruz and got two more outs in the eighth before giving way toSergio Romo who retiredMatt Holliday to end the eighth.Santiago Casilla pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out a 3–0 victory for the Giants.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Seth Maness (1–0) LP:Sergio Romo (0–1) Home runs: SF: None STL:Matt Carpenter (1),Oscar Taveras (1),Matt Adams (1),Kolten Wong (1) Attendance: 46,262 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 2 was a back-and-forth affair that ended on aKolten Wong walk-off home run in the ninth inning to give the Cardinals a 5–4 win. The Cardinals struck first whenMatt Carpenter hit a home run offJake Peavy in the bottom of the third.Randal Grichuk's bases-loaded singled in the fourth made it 2–0. The Giants cut the lead in half whenJoaquín Árias pinch-hit for Peavy in the top of the fifth and scoredBrandon Belt on an RBI groundout. In the sixth, the Giants tied it up on aPablo Sandoval double andHunter Pence single. The Giants took the lead in the top of the seventh on an RBI single fromGregor Blanco off Cardinals relieverCarlos Martínez. The Cardinals tied it back up in the bottom of the seventh on a pinch-hit home run fromOscar Taveras offJean Machi. In the bottom of the eighth,Matt Adams gave the Cardinals a 4–3 lead on another home run, this time offHunter Strickland. The Cardinals brought in closerTrevor Rosenthal in the top of the ninth, but he could not hold the lead. With one out,Andrew Susac singled andMatt Duffy came on as a pinch runner.Juan Pérez singled to put runners at first and second. After Blanco lined out,Joe Panik worked a walk, with ball four coming on a wild pitch that allowed Duffy to score the tying run from second base. The Cardinals were able to escape the inning without further damage. With the game tied 4–4 in the bottom of the ninth, Wong lined the second pitch fromSergio Romo over the right field wall for the walk-off home run, the Cardinals' fourth home run of the game.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Sergio Romo (1–1) LP:Randy Choate (0–1) Home runs: STL:Randal Grichuk (1) SF: None Attendance: 42,716 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As the series shifted to San Francisco, the Giants took a 2–1 series lead after Cardinals relieverRandy Choate's wild throw on a bunt in the bottom of the 10th inning allowedBrandon Crawford to score the winning run. The Giants got to Cardinals starterJohn Lackey in the bottom the first. With two outs,Buster Posey andPablo Sandoval both singled, and Posey scored whenHunter Pence hit a double to right field. With runners at second and third, the Cardinals intentionally walkedBrandon Belt to load the bases.Travis Ishikawa hit a deep drive to right-center that was nearly a grand slam but was blown back towards the outfield due to a strong wind blowing in from right field. Ishikawa's double scored all three runners to give the Giants an early 4–0 lead. Lackey settled down to keep the Giants scoreless after that, allowing the Cardinals to chip away at the Giants' lead. AKolten Wong triple in the top of the fourth off Giants starterTim Hudson knocked in two runs to cut the Giants lead in half. The Cardinals cut the lead to 4–3 with aJhonny Peralta RBI single in the sixth.Randal Grichuk's home run in the top of the seventh tied the game at 4–4. As the bullpens took over, the game remained tied until the bottom of the tenth inning when Choate issued a leadoff walk to Crawford and a single toJuan Pérez. AfterGregor Blanco attempted to bunt the runners over, Choate threw wildly to first base, allowing Crawford to score the winning run.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| St. Louis | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | x | 6 | 11 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Yusmeiro Petit (1–0) LP:Marco Gonzales (0–1) Sv:Santiago Casilla (2) Home runs: STL:Kolten Wong (2) SF: None Attendance: 43,147 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Cardinals struck first in the top of the first onMatt Adams's RBI single off ofRyan Vogelsong with two on, but the Giants tied the game in the bottom of the inning onBuster Posey's sacrifice fly off ofShelby Miller with runners on first and third. The Cardinals retook the lead in the second whenKolten Wong hit a leadoff double and scored onA. J. Pierzynski's single. In the third with runners on first and third with no outs,Jhonny Peralta's double play scoredMatt Holliday before Wong's home run made it 4–1 Cardinals.Yusmeiro Petit came on in relief for the Giants and pitched three scoreless innings. In the bottom of the third, Posey's single scoredJoaquin Arias from third with two outs and after a walk, Posey scored onHunter Pence's single. In the bottom of the sixth, with runners on second and third with one out off ofMarco Gonzales,Gregor Blanco's fielder's choice andJoe Panik's groundout scored a run each, then Posey's RBI single off ofSeth Maness gave the Giants a 6–4 lead. Five Giants relievers combined to get the final nine outs and give the Giants a 3–1 series lead.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Jeremy Affeldt (1–0) LP:Michael Wacha (0–1) Home runs: STL:Matt Adams (2),Tony Cruz (1) SF:Joe Panik (1),Michael Morse (1),Travis Ishikawa (1) Attendance: 43,217 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 5 was a rematch of Game 1 startersMadison Bumgarner andAdam Wainwright. The Cardinals got to Bumgarner first, scoring a run after two walks and aJon Jay double in the top of the third. The Giants responded in the bottom of the third whenJoe Panik hit a two-run home run to right field, the Giants' first home run sinceBrandon Belt's game winner in Game 2 of the NLDS, a drought that lasted six games and 242 plate appearances.[12] The Giants' lead didn't last long, as Bumgarner gave up home runs toMatt Adams andTony Cruz in the top of the fourth. Both starters settled down as Bumgarner retired the final 13 batters he faced, and Wainwright retired his final 10 straight. The Cardinals carried a 3–2 lead into the eighth inning and brought inPat Neshek to hold the lead. Pinch hitterMichael Morse knocked a home run to left to tie the game at 3–3. Neshek retired the next three batters. In the top of the ninth,Santiago Casilla gave up a single and two walks, leading managerBruce Bochy to bring inJeremy Affeldt, who retiredOscar Taveras (in what would be his final at-bat before his death 10 days later in a car accident) to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals brought inMichael Wacha, who put two runners on before giving up a 3-run walk-off home run toTravis Ishikawa that clinched the pennant for the Giants, sending San Francisco to its third World Series appearance in five seasons. Ishikawa's home run was the first to send a National League team to the World Series since Giants'Bobby Thomson'sShot Heard 'Round the World in 1951. Ishikawa's home run was the first ever to end an NLCS and the fourth to end any LCS, afterChris Chambliss (1976 ALCS),Aaron Boone (2003 ALCS), andMagglio Ordonez (2006 ALCS).[13] All previous pennant winners on a walk off home run, including Thomson's, lost the World Series. It was the first walk off of any kind to end the NLCS since an RBI single by San Francisco Giant center fielderKenny Lofton in Game 5 of the2002 NLCS, which was coincidentally against the Cardinals.
Fox Sports play-by-play commentatorJoe Buck's call of "...the Giants win the pennant!" on Ishikawa's home run mimickedRuss Hodges' call of Thomson's pennant-winning home run, occurring 63 years and 13 days apart from each other.
2014 NLCS(4–1):San Francisco Giants overSt. Louis Cardinals
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Giants | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 42 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 38 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total attendance: 222,543 Average attendance: 44,509 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On October 26, 2014, tragedy befell the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball whenOscar Taveras and his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo, died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic shortly after the Cardinals were eliminated from the playoffs, and exactly 2 weeks after Taveras's final career home run in Game 2. Taveras was just 22 years old.[14]
The Giants would rideMadison Bumgarner's clutch pitching totheir third World Series in five seasons, in what was considered one of the best individual pitching performances in postseason history. Bumgarner would be the seventh player to win aLCS andWorld Series MVP in the same postseason, and just the fourth pitcher, joining theOrel Hershiser in 1988,Livan Hernandez in 1997, andCole Hamels in 2008.
The 2014 season was an end of an era for both the Cardinals and Giants. Between the two ball clubs, they won NL pennants in every year starting in 2010 and ending in 2014. The Giants had won NL pennants in2010,2012, and 2014 (they won the World Series in each of these seasons), while the Cardinals won pennants in2011 and2013 (winning theWorld Series in 2011). The Cardinals dedicated the 2015 season to Taveras after his tragic death and they posted the best record in the National League. However, they were upset by the rivalCubs in theNational League Division Series. The Cardinals did not make the postseason again until2019. In2016, the Giants made the playoffs again as a wildcard, but lost to the eventualWorld Champion Cubs in theNational League Division Series. The Giants would bottom out with a 98-loss season in2017 and did not return to the postseason until2021. By then, managerBruce Bochy and most of the players from the 2010-2014 teams were gone, although some of the core members remained, such as catcherBuster Posey, first basemanBrandon Belt, and shortshopBrandon Crawford.
Travis Ishikawa would be the last walk-off home run to clinch a pennant for only five years. In the2019 American League Championship Series,Jose Altuve would send the Houston Astros to the World Series via a two-run home run off ofAroldis Chapman.[15]