Nationals beat Pirates to nail division title

Second-placed Mets’ loss helped Washington earn their third crown in five years

Bryce Harper and Wilson Ramos drove in two runs as the Washington Nationals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 Saturday and clinched the National League East title. The Nationals earned their third division title in five years but they needed some help to do it as the second place New York Mets lost 10-8 to the Philadelphia Phillies.

“It never gets old,” said Nationals outfielder Jayson Worth, who now has won eight division titles in his career. “It’s such a hard thing to accomplish. You spent six months trying to do it. It’s why you go to spring training early, so you can do everything possible to put yourself in position to do this. It’s really special.”

The celebration didn’t end with the players.

“This is what I came back into baseball for,” said Nationals DETROIT 4 C’CAGO CUBS 4 OAKLAND 0 NYYankees 0 TAMPA BAY 4 Arizona 1 PITTSBURGH 1 Atlanta 4 CLEVELAND 1 MILWAUKEE 1 HOUSTON 4 NY METS 8 Seattle 2 SAN DIEGO 6 Colorado 1 manager Dusty Baker, who is 67 years old. Relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings for Washington.

The loss hurt the host Pirates’ dwindling chance to get into the Major League Baseball playoffs. Pittsburgh has won seven of its past 10 games but can’t afford any more losses in its final eight games. Washington’s Joe Ross was making his second start since missing 66 games because of a sore shoulder.