The magic number is zero. Washington topped Pittsburgh, 6-1, on Saturday night, and with the New York Mets losing to Philadelphia, the Nationals have clinched the NL East.
The Nats (90-64) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first on a sac-fly by Bryce Harper and a two-run single by J.D. Drew.
A pair of fielder’s choice RBIs off the bats of Jayson Werth and Harper, aided by Pirates errors, and a sac-fly by Anthony Rendon pushed the lead to 6-1 in the fourth.
Reynaldo Lopez (4-3, 4.54 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) earned the win in relief, giving up three hits in five and two-thirds scoreless innings, striking out six and walking two.
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Chris Graham
