WASHINGTON - Three extra innings were needed to decide the penultimate meeting of the season between the Phillies and Washington Nationals.
But, 48 minutes before the conclusion of Washington's 2-1 win in 12 innings on Saturday, the preseason National League East favorites were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. It was about a quarter after 7 when the out-of-town scoreboard at Nationals Park reflected that the New York Mets had won, 10-2, in Cincinnati, to clinch the division.
With the Phillies' fate decided long ago, the game had officially been rendered meaningless. Eight more dominant innings from Stephen Strasburg mattered only for statistical purposes.