An eighth-inning Bryce Harper three-run homer broke a scoreless tie and lifted the Washington Nationals to a 3-0 win over Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Harper (.250/.378/461, 24 HR, 80 RBI) had struck out in each of his three previous at-bats before connecting off Phillies reliever Patrick Shuster on a 3-1 slider.
Max Scherzer (16-7, 2.82 ERA, 0.92 WHIP) got a no-decision on a brilliant night, pitching six and two-thirds scoreless innings, giving up four hits, striking out eight and walking one.
Shawn Kelley (2-2, 3.04 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) demonstrates the uselessness of the win stat for pitchers, getting credited with the W despite throwing only three pitches, which just happened to come before the Harper blast.
Washington (84-58) has an eight and a half game lead on the New York Mets in the NL East, and reduced its magic number to clinch the division to 13.
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Chris Graham
