Nats lock up top seed in National League (plus attendance notes)

Game 162 is in the books. All that's left now is the postseason run. By way of this afternoon's 5-1 win, the Nationals have earned the No. 1 seed in the National League and at least a tie for the best record in the majors. Even if the Reds win tonight, finishing in a tie with Washington with an identical 98-64 record, the Nats will get the top seed in the NL because they won the season series between the two teams. That means the Nationals will play the winner of the Braves-Cardinals wild card play-in game in the Division Series. Book your hotels now. Edwin Jackson notched his 10th win of the season today, giving the Nats five starters with double-digit wins this season. Ryan Zimmerman, Tyler Moore and Michael Morse all homered for the Nats in the victory. Davey Johnson wasn't in the Nationals' dugout (at least, he wasn't visible in the Nats dugout) in the last few innings of this afternoon's game. Bench coach Randy Knorr took over the game managing duties. It's possible this was just a courtesy to Knorr, but we'll find out after the game. Meanwhile, the Nats announced an attendance of 37,075 today, giving them 2,370,794 on the season and bringing their per-game average to 30,010 for the season. That's the most the Nats have drawn per home game since 2005. The crowds will only grow once postseason games begin.