Kyle Kendrick outpitched All-Star Jordan Zimmermann, pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 Thursday night.
Thanks to strong pitching from Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper's burst of energy and Adam LaRoche's slugging, the Washington Nationals won enough from April through September that even a loss on the first day of October could not stop them from clinching the NL East.
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.
Kevin Frandsen hit one of Philadelphia's four solo homers to back Kyle Kendrick, and the Phillies inched closer in the NL playoff race with a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
Kyle Kendrick struck out a career-high eight over seven strong innings to lead the surging Philadelphia Phillies to their fifth straight win, 3-1 over the Miami Marlins on Monday night.
Kyle Kendrick pitched five-hit ball for seven innings and Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a home run off Josh Johnson on Tuesday night, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins.