Philadelphia Phillies, comprehensively beat the Wahington Nationals 2-0 at the Nationals Park Monday, but the Nationals still managed to clinch the NL East title.
The main strength of the Nationals was outstanding performance of their pitchers. They were looking invincible with Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg hurling missiles on the opponents. Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper were unbelievable with the baseball bat; the way they dominated the pitchers was remarkable. 32-year-old Adam LaRoche's resurrection was amazing and it raised the overall performance of the Nationals as a team.
This was the first division title for the Nationals since 2005 when they moved from Montreal, as the Atlanta Braves, who were at second place lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1. The Nationals lead Atlanta by three games. There are two more games remaining in the regular season.
It was a treat for the Nationals fans when they saw the scoreboard declare ''NL East Division Champions.'' The night sky was ablaze with red fireworks and there were celebrations among fans and players alike.
Davey Johnson, the Washington manager had made his intentions clear that he wasn't all that interested in merely playing in a wild-card playoff. He was determined to win the division championship.
The team had very good support from the home crowd. They cheered the team at crucial moments, applauding the efforts of every player making a contribution. They also applauded when they saw scoreboard in right-center field which showed that the Pirates were leading against the Braves.
Prior to the game, the Phillies manager, Charlie Manuel said he would really hate the Nationals winning a division title when playing against his team and that it ''would just make him mad.'' The Phillies had already been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Associated Press quoted Manuel as saying about the Nationals: "They've had a good season. They broke out early and got on top early and played solid baseball all year long."
The Nationals lost a few matches recently. The Phillies' right-hander Kyle Kendrick kept them in check in Monday's game, throwing seven scoreless innings and allowing just four hits.
John Lannan (4-1) got a tremendous round of applause from fans when he got John Mayberry Jr., the game's second batter, to ground into 1-6-3 double play. Lannan had returned from reconstructive surgery on his right elbow.
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