Roark wins No. 16; Nationals edge Marlins 2-1
WASHINGTON -- Tanner Roark won his career-high 16th game and Trea Turner had a homer and steal and scored both runs as the National League East champion Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the Los Angeles Dodgers lost 3-0 in San Francisco to the Giants. That means Washington (94-67), with a better record than the Dodgers (91-70), will host Games 1 and 2 of the National League Division Series on Oct. 7-8.
The Nationals fan cheered when the Dodgers finale went up on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh.
Chris Johnson had an RBI single in the sixth inning to pull the Marlins within 2-1. That ended the day for Roark (16-10, 2.83 ERA), who gave up three hits and one run with four walks and four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
Blake Treinen came on with two outs in the sixth and fanned Destin Hood, his former teammate in the Washington farm system, with a runner on base to end the threat.
Turner hit a solo homer -- his 13th home run of the year -- to left to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead in the fifth. The homer came off Wei-Yin Chen (5-5) as the Miami bullpen began to get loose behind the left field fence.
Bryce Harper, after striking out four times Friday, had an RBI single in the first to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. He drove in Turner, who led off with a single and took second on a groundout.
Shawn Kelley pitched a scoreless seventh for the Nationals. Closer Mark Melancon came on with two outs in the eighth and got the final out. He then set down the side in the ninth for his 16th save with Washington and 46th overall this year.
Chen, capping a poor season while throwing 80 pitches, gave up two runs, six hits and one walk with five strikeouts in five innings.
Dustin McGowan took over in the sixth for the Marlins. Manager Don Mattingly said Chen was likely to go about 75 pitches and it was pitch No. 71 that Turner sent over the fence in left.
Michael A. Taylor and Danny Espinosa had two hits for the Nationals, who are 49-31 at home this year and 50-25 against the NL East. Washington had lost its previous three games decided by a run.
The Nationals had not won a one-run game since beating the New York Mets 1-0 on Sept. 14 in a game started by Roark, who won 15 games in 2014 in his first year as a starter.
The loss means the Marlins (79-81) will finish with a losing record for the seventh year in a row. Miami is 39-41 on the road with one game left.
Chen ended the year hitting .000 in 44 at-bats with no walks. He does not have a hit in 50 MLB at-bats.
On Saturday, he used a bat that belonged to Jose Fernandez, the Marlins pitcher who died in a boating accident on Sept. 25.
NOTES: Washington LF Jayson Werth was not in the starting lineup after he left Friday's game in the seventh inning with back tightness. The Nationals are taking a cautious approach with Werth and INF Daniel Murphy (strained buttocks muscle), who also was not in the starting lineup. ... RHP Max Scherzer (19-7, 2.82 ERA) will face Marlins RHP Tom Koehler (9-13, 4.15) on Sunday in the regular-season finale. Washington OF Bryce Harper has six career homers against Koehler in 30 at-bats. ... The Nationals have three players who grew up near Miami: LHP Gio Gonzalez, OF Michael A. Taylor and CF Trea Turner. ... Marlins OF/baserunning coach Lorenzo Bundy is from Tappahannock, Va., and starred at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. He was the Triple-A manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate from 2011 to 2013. ... Harper, who started Friday for the first time since he suffered a thumb injury on Sept. 25 in Pittsburgh, was in the lineup again Saturday.