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Phillies fall in 12 to Nationals; Nola throws five shutout innings

WASHINGTON - Three extra innings were needed to decide the penultimate meeting of the season between the Phillies and Washington Nationals.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws to the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park.
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws to the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park.Read more(Brad Mills/USA Today)

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 7:15 p.m. 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 for only statistical purposes. The offseasons for both teams will begin a week from Sunday night.

The Phillies' 97th loss and 23d in their last 31 games was capped by a walk-off double from NL MVP front-runner Bryce Harper. The franchise's first 100-loss season since 1961 appears a foregone conclusion. The team must win five of its final seven games to avoid such infamy.

Strasburg mowed through the Phillies lineup 21/2 times before Brian Bogusevic lashed a first-pitch change-up for a run-scoring double in the eighth. The Nationals' 27-year-old righthander, who faced the minimum number of batters through seven innings, allowed only three hits and struck out 13 in another outstanding performance against the Phillies. Darin Ruf accounted for the two other hits against him.

After Strasburg's exit, the Phillies' experienced their second reunion with Jonathan Papelbon, their closer until July 28. Papelbon, who blew a save on Sept. 14 at Citizens Bank Park, worked around a Freddy Galvis leadoff single in a scoreless ninth.

Aaron Nola pitched great in what could have been the final start of his rookie season but was pulled after only five innings - each scoreless - as the Phillies continue to monitor his workload. The team will determine Sunday if Nola will make one last start before season's end. The 22-year-old righthander, who threw only 67 pitches on Saturday, will lobby for another, as he did after his last outing.

"I want to go one more," said Nola, who, in his first professional season, has logged 187 innings between double, triple A, and the major leagues. "I want to finish out the season and try to finish it out strong."

Nola, the seventh overall pick in the draft just last year, displayed his advanced feel for pitching in Saturday's fourth inning. He allowed consecutive singles to Harper, Jayson Werth, and Clint Robinson to open the frame and fell behind, two balls and no strikes, to the next batter, Ian Desmond.

The inning could have unraveled there, but Nola evened the count with a pair of curveballs and caught Desmond looking at a fastball on the low, outside corner of the strike zone. A Matt den Dekker lineout and a Wilson Ramos groundout ended the Nationals' threat.

"He's a cool customer," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Nola. ". . . He shows no fear and he locates his pitches very well. That's a sign of a great pitcher, when you get in trouble and can minimize the damage."

The start was Nola's 13th since the Phillies promoted him in late July from triple A. It was the first of his 42 professional starts that his older brother, Austin, was able to attend. His season with triple-A New Orleans ended earlier this month.

"It's always good to have family over here. Especially him," Aaron Nola said. "He hadn't been out to any of my games to watch me. I hadn't even seen him this whole year. So it was definitely good to know [he was out there] and see him in the stands and also with some other family."

kaplanj@phillynews.com

@jakemkaplan