WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyle Schwarber and Weston Wilson each drove in two runs, Aaron Nola earned his 14th victory and the NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies avoided a series sweep and closed out the regular season with a 6-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday. Philadelphia finished 95-67, the second-best record in the National League behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64), and were five games better than last season. The Phillies' victory total was the team's highest since winning 102 games in 2011 --- the last time they won the division.
The Phillies have a bye in the first round of the playoffs and will face either NL Central champion Milwaukee or the NL’s third wild card in a division series scheduled to start Saturday in Philadelphia. Luis García Jr. homered in the first inning for Washington, which went 71-91 for the second straight season.
Nola (14-8) allowed three runs in five-plus innings and struck out seven. A day after teammate Zack Wheeler ended his regular season with 200 innings pitched, Nola came within two outs of matching the feat. The 31-yeare-old right-hander was lifted after giving up a leadoff triple to Dylan Crews in the sixth.
Phillies reliever José Ruiz loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth before striking out García and James Wood. Kody Clemens then hauled in Juan Yepez’s long fly to left, ending the game and sealing Ruiz’s first save in 264 career appearances. The Phillies loaded the bases with no outs in the first against.
