Nationals beat the Braves, 3-0, clinch division crown
ATLANTA — Washington Nationals reliever Drew Storen stepped off the Turner Field mound and watched the ball roll into Asdrubal Cabrera’s glove. Storen slapped his glove twice and waited for onrushing teammates — reserves from the dugout, relievers from the bullpen, outfielders in shallow center leaping and bumping chests.
They formed into a jumping, screaming pile in the infield. The players rushed to grab gray T-shirts proclaiming them champions, Ian Desmond leading the way. Mark Lerner hugged Tanner Roark. Doug Fister hugged Mike Rizzo. Everybody hugged everybody as the sparse crowd hurled wan boos.
With their 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves, the Nationals clinched their second National League East title in three years, snatching the crown from their hosts.
The Nationals completed a 58-day blitz in which they turned a tie for the division lead into a runaway. Their 87th victory, in Game 150, pushed them 121⁄ games ahead of spiraling Atlanta with12 to play. On Oct. 3, the Nationals will play their first playoff game since Game 5 of the 2012 National League Division Series, a punishing loss they never had the chance to redeem in 2013, a slice of heartbreak they can atone for now, as a better version of themselves.
“We are so proud of this organization,” Nationals managing principal owner Ted Lerner said in an emailed statement. “Watching them clinch their second NL East division championship in three years means so much to our fans, our city and our family. Mike Rizzo and Matt Williams should be commended for building and leading a championship club. Tonight, we celebrate this milestone but realize that there is still work to do and goals to accomplish. We are looking forward to the possibilities that lie ahead.”
The Nationals came to Atlanta intent on burying the Braves in merciless fashion. They handed the ball Tuesday night to Roark, the 27-year-old right-hander who had been acquired at the trade deadline in 2010 for shortstop Cristian Guzman. Roark toiled in the minors for years.
On Tuesday night, Roark pitched seven scoreless innings, held the Braves to five hits, struck out four, walked none and threw only 89 pitches. On Tuesday night, he surpassed 190 innings and lowered his ERA to 2.85.
The deciding runs came in the sixth inning, with Jayson Werth on first base after a walk. Aaron Harang, the burly righthander who had shut down the Nationals all year, threw Desmond a 2-2 fastball. Desmond obliterated the pitch, sending it soaring through the soupy Atlanta air. The ball landed about 20 rows over the left field fence and bounded off a suite window. Holding to the tradition reserve Kevin Frandsen began in August, the Nationals tossed Desmond’s hat around the dugout like a basketball. It returned to him, and he reverse-dunked it through the hoop a teammate formed with his arms.
The Nationals arrived in spring training with less bravado than in 2013 but more confidence, facing less external expectation but carrying more internal assuredness. They had their hearts broken in 2012 and crumbled under hype in 2013, and the shared experience had hardened their exterior, given them a second skin.
“There’s more polish there,” Werth said. “When I came here, people were always asking me, ‘What’s the difference between the Phillies and the Nats?’ A couple years ago, I was like, ‘There’s more talent here, but there’s more polish in Philly.’ Now I feel like the talent has been polished and turned into some really good players.”
“It just seems like we’re hungry,” Gio Gonzalez said. “You can see it in our eyes, like we haven’t eaten in a while. We’re still staying hungry. Now, it’s almost like shaking hands and it’s on to the next level.”