Bryce Harper hit his 20th homer, Ian Desmond and Kurt Suzuki also connected and the Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4 Wednesday night to move closer toward winning their first division title since moving to Washington.

Hunter Martin, Getty Images
Hunter Martin, Getty Images
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The Nationals reduced their magic number in the NL East to four. They are four games up on Atlanta with seven remaining.

John Lannan (4-0) gave up two runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings to win his second start since taking Stephen Strasburg's spot in the rotation. Strasburg, the All-Star righty, was shut down after reaching his innings limit.

The Phillies, who closed to within three games of St. Louis for the NL's second wild-card spot following a late push, are on the verge of elimination.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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