(Photo Courtesy Cheryl Nichols/DistrictSportsPage)

It’s not often that a team bursts into high fives and hugs in the middle of a game they’re losing, but that’s exactly what happened last night as the Washington Nationals clinched their first ever division title. They ultimately lost the game 2-0, but no one was talking about that game afterward. It was all about the honor of winning the division.

As the Nats left the field after Drew Storen pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth inning, a dull roar started in the stands that didn’t stay dull for long. Jared Hughes, the Pirates pitcher, had just retired Brian McCann to end their game, making the Nats magic number invisible. If you haven’t already seen it, or if you want to see it again, I highly recommend checking out the video of the events unfolding through the eyes of MASN.

The 2012 Nationals’ 96 wins are already the best in franchise history, besting the 1979 Montreal Expos by one game. The Expos finished second that year in the division to the Pittsburgh Pirates. This year’s Nats have two games left against the Phillies before they get a couple days off until the National League Division Series begins.

This has been, without a doubt, the most exciting season in Nationals history, but it is not over yet. With the two games remaining this year, the Nats will try to beat out the Cincinnati Reds for the best record in Major League Baseball. With that honor comes the number one seed on the NL side of the playoff bracket. If the Nats and Reds end the year with the same record, the Nats will get the advantage, because they have a 5-2 record against the Reds this season.

This positioning is not irrelevant. If the Nats tie or best the Reds, they’ll play the Atlanta Braves or the St. Louis Cardinals/Los Angeles Dodgers starting on Sunday, October 7. The Cardinals are the odds on favorite here, as their magic number is one to get in, so I'll assume it'll be them. The Nats have been handed some recent defeats by these teams, but travel to Atlanta or St. Louis for the first two games of the NLDS is the best case scenario to keep the team rested.

If the Nats fall below the Reds, they’ll have to travel to San Francisco for the first two games of the DS to face the Giants starting Saturday, October 6 before heading back home for three games. The Nats have had some success against the Giants this year, posting a 5-1 record against them. However, after a long season and a grueling push to the finish, the cross country travel to play games back-to-back days and then fly back would be exhausting.

Either way, the Nats aren’t in a bad position, and if you ask them, they probably don't care who they face. I'm not sure either matchup gives the Nats an advantage, either. They’ve won their division and have guaranteed themselves a five-game series rather than a one-game playoff. It's absolutely the best case scenario.  They can rest a few starters to keep them fresh for the postseason, which the Nats hope will stretch into November.

The Washington Nationals are 2012 Nationals League East Division Champions. I know I wrote that earlier, but it doesn’t ever get old to hear, does it? For years, I’ve watched teams walk away with the division crown, not quite knowing what it was like. But now, I understand what it was about.

It was unbridled joy from the players, the staff, and yes, even some media, on the field and in the clubhouse as the Nationals celebrated their first ever division title. Players were willing to talk even while sharing the euphoria of their victory with family, friends, and teammates on the field. Hugs were everywhere, and beer and champagne were everywhere (including all over yours truly).

Here are some thoughts from a few Nats players on the what the evening meant to them.

Jayson Werth on his decision to come to DC: “I wanted to go somewhere where I had a chance to win for a long time. And it turned out this was probably the best place I could’ve went.”

Ryan Zimmerman on if he thought this team was capable of doing this in spring training: “We knew we had a good team in the spring. I knew we were young, and if we could learn and come together and things started to click.... I mean, Desi’s had a great year, Espi’s been up and down offensively but look at the numbers he’s put up, he’s probably the best devensive second baseman, one of them, in the league.”

Gio Gonzalez on the Nats keys to success: “I think what we thought was just go out there and try to play our game. We had great chemistry since spring training, we try to keep looking forward and playing our game.”

Gio on watching the Braves scoreboard: “I think it was more like, don’t look at it. Don’t look at it. Just keep staring at our game. And when you heard the reaction of the fans is when we all just let it go.”

Gio on if 21 wins or the division title are more enjoyable: “I think what we’ve done as a team is more enjoyable. I try not to ever look at individual stuff.... There’s a reason why I got 21, because these guys have played hard for me every game.”

Gio on the clubhouse camaraderie: “We haven’t left. This is all band of brothers. I think we feel for each other when pitchers are getting hit, we feel for each other when we win. Either way we all bleed the same, we all try and win [out] the same. I think this is unbelievable.”

We’ll have more on this in the coming hours and days, and the season isn’t over yet, so don't tune out. There are still two games left, though I’d expect not to see many (if any) Nats starters in the lineup for game two against the Phillies, who won today’s game 2-0. Enjoy tonight, NatsTown. The National League Division Series in just a few days away.

The Washington Nationals are the 2012 National League East Division Champions. It wasn't the way they wanted it, but with the Atlanta Braves 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates as soon as the top of the ninth ended, they made the magic number zero.

Now, the Nats will dual with the Cincinnati Reds over the last two games for the number one seed in the NL. There's more to come on The Nats Blog about the first NL East Division Title in franchise history.

October has arrived, but the Washington Nationals (96-63) still have some business to take care of before they can fully relish the glory of classic October baseball. In their final home stand and final series of the regular season, the Nationals will face the Philadelphia Phillies (80-79) for the second time in a week’s time with just one thing on their minds: the clincher.

Their magic number still sits at one, so with just one win or one Atlanta Braves loss, the Washington Nationals will clinch the National League East division title for the first time in team history. If the Nats pull through as they are expected to, their champagne-showered celebration is guaranteed to happen during this series, or not at all.

Although their delay in clinching the division (they’ve lost three of their last six) will allow the starters less time to rest before the ever important playoff games are upon them than manager Davey Johnson would like, it allows the Nats the special opportunity to celebrate in their own park alongside their own fans.

“We played all season to get in position to win one game and now we get to do it in front of our own fans,” said Jayson Werth, according to the Washington Post. “Can’t wait.”

Nationals fans can’t wait either, and it’s safe to say that this week the majority of the fan base will either be making the trek to Nats Park or tuning in to the game broadcast in hopes of somehow being a part of a moment in team history that won’t soon be forgotten. 

Last week

Not much has changed since these teams last faced each other one series ago. In the interim, the Nats took a tough series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals and the Phillies won two of three against the Miami Marlins. The Phillies were officially eliminated from postseason contention, and the Nationals have been inching closer to their goal of winning the division.

John Lannan, who has famously struggled at Citizen’s Bank Park, pitched well in Philadelphia, allowing two earned runs on five hits and one walk to earn the win. Lannan will now have the opportunity to pitch against the Phillies with home-field advantage in the series opener. In three starts at Nationals Park this year, Lannan has a 5.94 ERA, but has earned the win two out of three times. Pitching for this specific win would certainly mean a lot to Lannan after muddling through the long years of losing with the Nationals since day-one.

The rivalry

As noted by James Wagner of the Washington Post, the Phillies have clinched the NL East three times in the past five years after a win over the Nationals.  Ian Desmond called it “kind of embarrassing when everyone in the stadium is clapping against you when you’re at home.” This year, though, the Nationals have the opportunity to free themselves from embarrassment by playing the victor in an oh-so-sweet role reversal.

The Nats also have the chance this series to secure a winning season record against all NL East teams. Right now their season record against the Phils stands at 7-8, making them the only NL East team the Nats have a losing record against. Last year the Nats finished 10-8 against Philadelphia, and if they want to create a tradition of winning they will have to win the series.

Worth noting

- If Bryce Harper homers at least once per game in this series (unlikely, but Nats fans can dream), he will pass Tony Conigliaro's 24 home runs for the record of most hit by a teenager in one season.

- With their winning percentage just barely above .500, the Phillies have to win at least one game to finish with an even or winning record for the tenth consecutive year.

- If the Phillies were to sweep the Nationals and the Braves were to win all three of their games in Pittsburg, the Nats would host the one game wild card tiebreaker on Thursday.

- With a Nats win and Cincinnati Reds loss today, the Nats would regain the title of best record in baseball.

Who's hot?

Carlos Ruiz (C ) .368 AVG, .429 SLG, .632 SLG, 1 HR, 6 RBI (last five games)

Darin Ruf (1B) .348 AVG, .348 OBP, .565 SLG, 1 HR, 4 RBI (last six games)

Jonathan Papelbon (CL) 0.00 ERA, .400 BAA, 0 BB, 6 SO, 2 SV (last three games)

Who's not?

John Mayberry (OF) .111 AVG, .200 OBP, .167 SLG, 5 SO (last six games)

Domonic Brown (OF) .176 AVG, .238 OBP, .529 SLG, 4 SO (last six games)

Justin De Fratus (RP) 13.50 ERA, .250 BAA, 3 ER, 2 IP, 1 BB (last three games)

Probable starters

John Lannan (4-0, 4.23 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (10-12, 4.08 ERA)

Gio Gonzalez (21-8, 2.89 ERA) vs. TBD

Edwin Jackson (9-11, 4.13 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (6-8, 3.12 ERA)

You know the story by now, but it's worth repeating over and over again. The Washington Nationals magic number is one. They can clinch the National League East division title today with a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. They hold the key to their own destiny. The Nats also have a path to clinching with an Atlanta Braves loss to the New York Mets. The Braves and Mets first pitch is scheduled for 1:35 pm EDT while the Nats and Red Birds are scheduled to go at 2:15 pm EDT.

Ross Detwiler, the starting pitcher the day the Nats clinched the postseason on September 20th, is on the bump for the Nats as they look to win the division title. The Nats are putting out their standard starting lineup as they go for the clinch. Detwiler, a native Missourian, will surely have many, many folks out at Busch Stadium for the game. He's been as dominant has he's been in his whole career recently, and he'll face a good young pitcher in Lance Lynn.

For the Braves, their young ace, Kris Medlen, will try and stave off elmination from division title contention for one more day against the Mets. With a win today, the Braves will have won 23 consecutive starts by Medlen, which would be an MLB record. He has a ludicrous 1.64 ERA while the Mets lineup, outside of David Wright, isn't exactly what you'd call deadly. It certainly feels like the Nats will have to put together a win if they want to clinch today.

We will probably know the result of the Braves game before the Nats game ends, so it's going to be a great day to have an MLB.tv subscription for Nats fans. If you don't have one, you should find a way to keep an eye on the Braves game. When today is said and done, here's hoping we can all celebrate the guarantee of an NLDS in Washington, D.C. this October.

After winning their series in Philadelphia and reducing their magic number to three, the Washington Nationals (95-61) will finish out their final road trip of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals (84-72) at Busch Stadium.

Last year's World Series champs are three games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers and four games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers in the race for the second Wild Card spot. Their magic number to clinch that spot is four, but the way it all shakes out will be interesting to watch, as the Cardinals' two main opponents have significantly easier schedules down the backstretch. The Dodgers will play the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants, and the Brewers will play the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres. Among those teams are some of the worst records in baseball. But the Cardinals have to face the two teams with the overall best records -- the Nationals and the Cincinnati Reds.

By sweeping the Cardinals, the Nationals could not only clinch the NL East division title before returning to Washington, they could also nearly eliminate St. Louis from postseason contention.

Davey’s not sweating

The pressure will certainly be on for these two teams, as this series could significantly affect both of them. However, Nationals manager Davey Johnson isn’t concerned with putting any extra pressure on the team through the final six games.

"They're all big games," Johnson said, according to MLB.com. "The first game we played of the year is a big game. I never try to get too upset or too giddy when you win a bunch. ... One-hundred sixty two games is a long time, so you need to maintain an even keel."

Despite Davey’s level head, Nationals and Cardinals fans everywhere will surely rest easier if this series goes they way they’d like.
Since last time

Washington creamed the Cardinals at the beginning of the month, winning three of four games and seriously outscoring them, plating 31 runs to St. Louis' 14. Since then, the Cardinals have gone 12-10, and the Nats have gone 14-9.

The Cardinals offense has been sub-standard this month. Their slash line of .252/.330/.387 (15th, 13th, 18th) for September is well behind their .271/.337/.421 slash line for the year (4th, 1st, 9th), and their average runs-per-game is down to four, from their yearly average of five.

The Nationals offense, however, has been above their yearly mark this month. They have been consistently hitting the ball well, and their .280/.341/.493 September slash-line shows it, ranking third, fourth, and first, respectively, among MLB teams. Putting up numbers like those has continued to boost their overall slash-line up to .262/.323/.427 (9th, 11th, 6th).

Homecoming for Jackson

Getting the ball in the series opener, Edwin Jackson will pitch in Busch Stadium for the first time since October of last year when he pitched Game 4 of the National League Division Series for a Cardinals victory over the Phillies.
Despite being such an integral part of the Cards’ postseason success last year, Jackson will take the mound with the hopes of stalling their march to the playoffs in what hopefully will be a repeat performance of the last time he faced them.
When he pitched to the Cardinals in August, Jackson was absolutely dominant, going eight innings with 10 strikeouts and just one earned run.
Worth noting

- Catcher Yadier Molina’s career batting average off Jackson is .700 with one home run.

- Both Adam LaRoche (98) and Ryan Zimmerman (94) could reach 100 RBI this series. It would be LaRoche's second 100-RBI season and Zimmerman's third. The only other National to reach the century mark was Adam Dunn in 2009 and 2010.

- Third baseman David Freese hasn't played in a game since Sunday, after spraining his right ankle. It has not yet been determined if he will be cleared to play against the Nationals.

Who's hot?

Allen Craig (OF) .324 AVG, .324 OBP, .471 SLG, 1 HR, 7 RBI (last eight games)

Pete Kozma (SS) .316 AVG, .391 OBP, .789 SLG, 2 HR, 6 RBI (last six games)

Jason Mott (CL) 0.00 ERA, .105 BAA, 1 BB, 11 SO, 6 SV (last six games)

Who's not?

Carlos Beltran (OF) .150 AVG, .227 OBP, .300 SLG, 8 SO (last six games)

Jon Jay (OF) .207 AVG, .233 OBP, .310 SLG, 6 SO (last six games)

Probable starters

Edwin Jackson (9-10, 3.77 ERA) vs. Adam Wainwright (13-13, 4.02 ERA)

Jordan Zimmermann (12-8, 2.90 ERA) vs. Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.77 ERA)

Ross Detwiler (10-7, 3.28 ERA) vs. Lance Lynn (17-7, 3.69 ERA)

Gio Gonzalez’s rough start left some uneasy after the first inning, but the Washington Nationals showed why you have to let the game play out in their 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. It not only statistically eliminated the Philles from the playoffs, but it handed the Phils a losing record at home for the first time in 12 seasons. More important than either of those two things though, the win lowered the Nats magic number to three with just six games remaining this season.

Bryce Harper got the offense going for the Nats with a home run in the first inning, his 21st of the season. Harper now is just three homers behind Tony Conigliaro for most home runs in MLB history by a teenager. That's not bad company, but it’d be hard to imagine him hitting that mark in just six games. Anything can happen, especially with Bryce Harper, but even if he doesn't get there, it's been an incredible season for the rookie.

Even that wasn’t he offensive story of the game, though. It was the return of Michael Morse’s power stroke. Morse hit a towering home run in the second inning to left center field that just slipped over the fence to move the Nats back within one run, 3-2. In the sixth though, with the Nats up 4-3, Morse put the game away with a two-run, 451 foot home run in to the Nationals bullpen. The bullpens at Citizens Bank Park are stacked, and the Nats ‘pen is further back and higher up. To make the moment even better, Tom Gorzelanny caught the blast in his cap to the cheers of his fellow relievers. Here's a video, and check out that strut by Morse. He knew it was gone the second it left the bat.

ESPN.com’s Jason Stark reported that the last right-handed batter to hit a home run into that top bullpen was Ryan Zimmerman on April 27, 2009. What are the odds?

Finally, it’s not often that a Cy Young contender’s winning start gets buried this far into a story, but nonetheless, here we are. Gio Gonzalez had a rough go of it early, throwing 57 pitches in the first two innings. He gave up a three-run double to new Nats killer Darin Ruf after he loaded the bases with a single and two walks. It was the only three runs that Gio surrendered all game, and he settled down enough after the second inning to pitch six innings on 106 pitches. It was a battle for Gio, but he ended up moving back ahead of R.A. Dickey in the wins column with his 21st victory this season.

The Nationals now head to St. Louis to face a Cardinals team that is fighting for the second Wild Card spot before they end the season back in D.C. with three against the Phillies again. It’s not an easy end to the season, and the Atlanta Braves don’t show any signs of losing soon, but the Nats hold the key to their destiny.

F.P Santangelo and Bob Carpenter. If you are a Nationals fan you either love ‘em, hate ‘em, or just mute ‘em. Both sides have their devoted factions. Some think they’re disingenuous and point out the obvious, others say they are fun and help novice fans better understand the game. Like ‘em or not, they’re what Nationals fans have and they’re likely here to stay for a while.

Personally, I always find it interesting to watch other team’s broadcasts whenever possible. You get a completely different viewpoint of the game as well as your own team. Each time I pick up another broadcast, whether it be from WGN when the Cubs are in town or SNY when I am visiting family in the New York area, I always wonder how much of our baseball “world view” if shaped by the constant chatter of F.P. and Bob.

According to a test conducted by the Wall Street Journal, some, but not a ton. WSJ conducted an experiment to find which broadcast teams were the most biased in baseball. F.P., Bob, and the Nationals came in with tied with the seventh most biased broadcast in the league.

The test was hardly scientific. The Wall Street Journal looked at one (ONE!) game and counted the times each broadcast team used words like “we,” “us” or “our,” or used any other type of blatant homerism while depicting and analyzing the game.  Over the course of the one (ONE!) game the WSJ watched on MASN, Bob and F.P. had nine biased comments…one per inning. That tied them with the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, and the San Diego Padres.

The Chicago White Sox blew everyone out of the water with 104 biased comments in the test. Second place was the Cleveland Indians, with 23.

One has to wonder what score the team would have gotten if Rob Dibble was still in the box…