Washington Nationals

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.

Gio Gonzalez became the first 21-game winner in the majors, Michael Morse hit two homers and the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 Thursday night to move closer to an NL East title.

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.

Darin Ruf homered for his first major league hit, Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown also went deep and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the playoff-bound Washington Nationals 6-3 Tuesday night.

John Lannan pitched 5 2-3 shutout innings in his first start since replacing Stephen Strasburg in Washington's starting rotation, and the Nationals lowered their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to six with a 2-0 win over the punchless New York Mets on Wednesday night.

Bryce Harper had his first four-hit game and pinch-hitter Tyler Moore launched a go-ahead homer off R.A. Dickey in the seventh inning to send the Washington Nationals past the punchless New York Mets 5-3 on Tuesday night.

Gio Gonzalez earned his big league-leading 19th victory and the Washington Nationals backed him with three home runs to beat the listless New York Mets 5-1 Monday night.

Kyle Kendrick pitched effectively for 6 2-3 innings and Jimmy Rollins drove in a pair of runs to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

Michael Morse hit a grand slam, Bryce Harper also homered and the Washington Nationals became the latest team to tag a struggling Johan Santana in their 6-4 victory over the New York Mets on Friday night.

Ross Detwiler pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Adam LaRoche homered and the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 on Thursday night.