Nationals 2, Phillies 1 (12)
WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harper had an RBI double to drive in Anthony Rendon with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning against reliever Colton Murray as the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 on Saturday, but it was too late for the defending National League East division champions.
Harper's third hit came one pitch after Phillies first baseman Darin Ruf couldn't come up with a foul pop in front of the Washington bench.
The Nationals (79-75) began the day 8 1/2 games back of the first-place New York Mets in the National League East. But the Mets, who entered Saturday with a magic number of one, clinched the division with a 10-2 win in Cincinnati before the Nationals game ended in the nation's capital.
The Phillies (58-97) have lost nine of 11 and are 25-55 on the road.
Matt Thornton (2-1) got the win and Murray (0-1) was tagged with the loss as light rain fell late in the game before a sparse home crowd that had visions of a World Series in March.
The Phillies had tied the score in the eighth on an RBI double by right fielder Brian Bogusevic. His hit scored first baseman Darin Ruf (two hits), who led off the inning with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Washington starter Stephen Strasburg gave up one run and three hits with 13 strikeouts and one walk in eight innings but did not figure in the decision. The right-hander struck out at least 10 batters for the fourth game in a row and 21st time in his career.
Shortstop Ian Desmond, a pending free agent, drove in Harper with an RBI groundout to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead in the sixth. Harper also doubled in the eighth but was stranded.
Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola, who did not figure in the decision, allowed no runs and six hits with five strikeouts before he was lifted after five innings.
Strasburg retired the first 12 batters before Ruf lined a clean single to left to begin the fifth. Strasburg got the next batter, second baseman Andres Blanco, to ground into a double play and struck out Bogusevic to end the inning.
But Strasburg didn't get any early offensive support even after Harper, right fielder Jayson Werth and first baseman Clint Robinson began the fourth with singles. Nola then retired the next three batters to escape the bases-loaded jam to keep the game scoreless.
Strasburg led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to right and advanced to second on a throwing error. But he was thrown out at third on a grounder off the bat of Rendon, and third baseman Yunel Escobar grounded into his league-high 24th double play of the year.
Strasburg entered the game having struck out 37 batters with three walks and just 12 hits allowed in his previous three starts. He allowed one hit and no runs in eight innings in a win at Philadelphia on Sept. 15.
NOTES: The Nationals reinstated OF Reed Johnson from the 60-day disabled list and transferred OF Denard Span (left hip inflammation) from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL. Johnson returns to the active roster after missing 131 games following surgery to repair a tendon in his left foot. He was also delayed when he suffered a broken rib while on a minor league rehab assignment. Johnson played in 12 games for the Nationals and was 4-for-18. ... Washington LHP Gio Gonzalez (11-8, 3.94 ERA) faces Philadelphia RHP Aaron Harang (6-15, 4.93) on Sunday ... Washington RHP Stephen Strasburg, the Saturday starter, was 5-2 with a 2.24 ERA in his previous eight starts ... Phillies RHP Jerad Eickhoff, the winner Friday with 10 strikeouts, became the first Philadelphia rookie RHP to record 10 strikeouts in a game since Garrett Stephenson on May 13, 1997 against the St. Louis Cardinals. ... OF Bryce Harper walked for the 123rd time this year, tying a Montreal/Washington franchise record set by Ken Singleton in 1973.