Not 10 yards to his right stood a section of early-arriving fans, five deep, leaning against the first-base railing. They shouted encouragement.

In the space between, the question lingered: Could he do it again?

Could Jamie Moyer, 45, the oldest active player in the majors, pull another gem of a performance from his seemingly bottomless supply?

Could the lefthander from Souderton become the Phillies' winning pitcher in two consecutive National League East clinching victories?

Absolutely.

Yesterday at Citizens Bank Park, on the second-to-last day of the season, Moyer tossed six innings, allowing six hits and a run in what was eventually a thrilling 4-3 win over the Nationals.

A year ago, on the last day of the season, Moyer pitched 51/3 innings, allowing one unearned run, in the Phillies' 6-1 victory - also over the Nationals.

"It's such a good feeling, pitching in this type of game two years in a row," Moyer said. "When I walked past those fans, they were just showing their appreciation and their excitement."

Moyer said the fans understand that these moments - September afternoons with the postseason dangling in the balance - are rare.

"They know what it means for us, for them," he said. "They pay their hard-earned money to be here, and I go out and play my hardest."

Moyer left the game with a 3-1 lead. His night was just beginning.

Reliever Chad Durbin took the Phillies unscathed through the seventh. In the eighth, Ryan Madson got into a jam, allowing two hits and a run before facing Aaron Boone with two outs and the tying run on second.

Madson, to the delight of 45,177 towel-waving fans, struck out Boone. When Madson returned to the dugout, Moyer greeted him with a firm handshake.

"You get into the game," Madson said, "and you know your starter pitched a heck of a game. You want to do anything you can to keep the lead."

In the ninth, Moyer watched as closer Brad Lidge flirted with disaster, allowing three hits and a run before shortstop Jimmy Rollins slammed the door on the Nationals with his sliding play up the middle, then a quick flip to Chase Utley to start a game-ending double play.

"I saw Jimmy dive, and then somebody stood up in front of me," Moyer said of his view from the dugout. "I couldn't see the ball."

"To end it that way, you couldn't have scripted it better," Lidge said. "A diving play, a flip to the infielder. . . ."

Thirty-five minutes after the game, after Moyer had pitched his hometown team, again, into the playoffs, he stood in Nike sneakers and his championship T-shirt, fresh out of the box, draped nearly to his knees and splashed with champagne.

It was then, in the middle of the clubhouse, that Moyer called it a "great privilege" to pitch both of those games.