Nationals benefiting from meaningful baseball in late September

The Nationals clinched their second division title in the past three seasons on Tuesday in Atlanta. On Wednesday, they rested most of their regulars. On Thursday, they got back to business.

They haven't lost since.

This club has done a really nice job of setting its goals and then going about accomplishing them as the season goes on.

Early on, they just searched for consistency. Their pitching was strong from the beginning. Their defense started to come on. Now it's their offense. They had 12 hits Saturday in a 3-2 win over the Marlins.

The first carrot dangled in front of them was the division title. Mission accomplished.

The second carrot is home field advantage through the NL playoffs. Thanks to the Dodgers' stunning 8-7 loss to the Cubs on Saturday, the Nationals now have a 2 1/2-game lead over Los Angeles in the race for the best record in the NL.

Oh, and by the way, the Nationals have a 14-game lead over the Atlanta Braves. Fourteen games?

But back to the Dodgers - the Nationals have a three-game advantage in the loss column, and today is the Nationals' last road game of the regular season.

The Dodgers have six at home and one game away today. But they have to face the Giants three more times. San Francisco has incentive, because they still have an outside shot at the division title, resting 3 1/2 games behind Los Angeles. The Dodgers host the Giants and then the Rockies to end the season.

Right now, it's the Pirates and the Giants in the NL wild card race. The winner of the one-game playoff would face the Nationals if they maintain their home field advantage. The Nationals face the Marlins five more times and the Mets three more times before the regular season ends a week from today.

The Nationals' season has set up perfectly where their regulars have to play this last week until they can lock up the home field. Bryce Harper will play today and for the rest of the season, until they clinch home field. Manager Matt Williams said Harper's last off day was Saturday. Ryan Zimmerman will get a ton of at-bats this next week, but must be careful with his hamstring. Maybe no more plays at the plate? Williams said it's hard for a player not to go with his instincts when he has a chance to score from third base.

With all these meaningful games this final week, the Nationals will not coast into the playoffs. As a matter of fact, these last three weeks have been like a playoff-type tournament, which will only benefit the Nationals more when they get to Oct. 3. They are in the right mindset for playoff baseball and won't have to turn it on for the National League Division Series.