The Washington Nationals were the first team in the MLB to clinch a division title with a 3-0 victory over the Braves Tuesday night. The Orioles followed suit shortly thereafter with an 8-2 win over the Blue Jays to claim their first AL East title since 1997.
The Nationals put the nail in the coffin of the NL East as they got revenge on the Atlanta Braves for beating them out for the division title last year. Tanner Roark pitched seven innings of scoreless baseball and gave up just five hits before he was relieved by Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen. The Nats had only had six hits on the night, but it was good enough to take down the spiraling Braves.
Ian Desmond provided the scoring for Washington with a two-run homer in the sixth inning that drove in Jayson Werth. He also scored on a wild pitch in the ninth inning. The Nationals extended their lead to 12 ½ games in the division with just twelve games remaining, and with Ryan Zimmerman returning to the lineup soon they could be a dangerous team in the postseason.
Unfortunately for the Nats, they didn't have the luxury of clinching the division at home like the Baltimore Orioles did. Buck Showalter led the O's to their first AL East title since 1997 and the home fans were able to celebrate the milestone. Baltimore scored eight runs on eight hits with three RBIs a piece from Steve Pearce and Alejandro De Aza. Ubaldo Jimenez lasted five innings, giving up two runs on two hits and four walks before the bullpen took over for the last four innings.
"It's everything I hoped for, man. It's an awesome experience," said outfielder Nick Markakis, in this ESPN article. "We worked hard all season long to get where we are now. We got one step out of the way. Now we have a couple more steps to go."
The O's have a lot to be proud of as one of the best teams in baseball, especially since the starting rotation is lacking an ace and they've been without catcher Matt Wieters and third baseman Manny Machado for quite some time (Chris Davis was also recently suspended for 25 games).
The 2014 MLB playoffs begin on September 30 and you can view the entire schedule here.
