Phillies vs. Nationals: Philadelphia ends its season at .500

The Philadelphia Phillies dropped their final game of the season, losing to the Washington Nationals 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon. The loss gives the Phillies a final record of 81-81 on the season, their worst record since an 80-81 2002 season. The Nationals clinched the top seed in the National League with the win, finishing with a 98-64 record, and will go on to play the Atlanta Braves or St. Louis Cardinals in the ALDS starting on Sunday.

Darin Ruf drove in Carlos Ruiz in the fourth inning to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead, but the Nationals answered in the bottom of the inning with two runs of their own. Washington added another run in the sixth and two more in the eighth to secure the victory. Cliff Lee picked up the loss, ending his season with a 6-9 record despite a 3.16 ERA and 207 strikeouts.

No pitcher has ever won fewer than 8 games when posting an ERA lower than 3.20 and striking out more than 200. Lee will be first.

— Matt Gelb (@magelb) October 3, 2012

The Phillies have already made a personnel move since their season ended. They let first base coach Sam Perlozzo go immediately following the game. Perlozzo had been with the Phillies since the beginning of the 2009 season.

Phillies vs. Nationals: Cliff Lee takes the hill for season finale

The Philadelphia Phillies will conclude the 2012 regular season on Wednesday afternoon when they play the final game of a three-game set against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.

After taking the first game of the series by a score of 2-0 on Monday, the Phillies dropped the second game in the set, 4-2. Rookie call-up Darin Ruf managed to facilitate both runs with two solo home runs and came through with a game-winning triple on Monday night.

Cliff Lee is the projected starter for Wednesday afternoon and will face Nationals right-hander Edwin Jackson. Lee will enter the game with a 6-8 record and a 3.12 ERA. Despite a rocky year, which included an extended streak without a win at home, Lee has held his opponents to fewer than two runs and pitched at least six innings in his last eight starts. Jackson currently carries a 9-11 record with a 4.13 ERA.

First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet and can be heard on 1210 WPHT and 94.1 WIP.

Phillies vs. Nationals recap: Darin Ruf rips 2 homers, but Phils fall, 4-2

The Phillies dropped the second game of their final series of the season Tuesday night, losing 4-2 to the Nationals. The Phils tried to play spoiler on Monday night, but a Braves loss clinched the division for Washington.

Philadelphia could still disrupt the Nats' chances to clinch the best record in the National League, but a combination of six Washington pitchers shut down Philly on Tuesday.

The only Phillies hitter who had any success was slugging rookie Darin Ruf, who blasted two homers. Ruf has been a bright spot for the Phillies as they play out the final week of the season. He hammered his first career homer last week against the Nats, and also came through with the game-winning triple on Monday. On Tuesday, he crushed solo homers in the fourth and eighth to produce the Phils' only runs for the second straight night.

Philadelphia will now wrap up the 2012 season Wednesday afternoon with Cliff Lee on the mound. He'll be opposed by Edwin Jackson.

Phillies vs. Nationals: Philadelphia looks to finish with winning record

The Philadelphia Phillies secured at least a .500 record with their win over the Washington Nationals on Monday night, and on Tuesday they look to secure a winning season. The Phillies will start B.J. Rosenberg (1-2, 6.86 ERA) as they attempt to get a win using their bullpen now that originally scheduled starter Tyler Cloyd has been shut down for the season with arm fatigue.

The Nationals have opted not to start ace Gio Gonzalez and rest him for the postseason, instead sending Tom Gorzelanny (4-2, 2.90) to the mound. The pitchers won't be the only irregular starters on Tuesday with both teams sitting some everyday players. Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins will sit out his second straight game on Tuesday and may be done for the season.

Here are the full lineups for both teams:

Philadelphia Phillies (81-79)

1. Kevin Frandsen, 3B
2. John Mayberry, CF
3. Chase Utley, 2B
4. Ty Wigginton, 1B
5. Darin Ruf, LF
6. Domonic Brown, RF
7. Erik Kratz, C
8. Michael Martinez, SS
9. B.J. Rosenberg, SP

Washington Nationals (96-64)

1. Steve Lombardozzi, 2B
2. Bryce Harper, CF
3. Tyler Moore, LF
4. Adam LaRoche, 1B
5. Chad Tracy, 3B
6. Mark DeRosa, SS
7. Roger Bernadina, RF
8. Sandy Leon, C
9. Tom Gorzelanny, SP

Phillies vs. Nationals recap: Kyle Kendrick dominates for 2-0 win, but Nats celebrate NL East crown

The Philadelphia Phillies opened their final series of the season trying to play spoiler in Washington. They did their part, as Kyle Kendrick was dazzling yet again, pacing the Phils to a 2-0 shutout win. But the Pirates defeated the Braves, 2-1, in Pittsburgh to secure an NL East crown and celebration in Washington.

The Nationals learned of the Braves' loss as they came off the field in the middle of the ninth. The news on the scoreboard at Nationals Park sparked an impromptu celebration in the Washington dugout, as players congratulated each other and manager Davey Johnson. But there were still three outs left in the game, and Charlie Manuel sent Phillippe Aumont out to the mound to finish off the shutout. And Aumont delivered, going 1-2-3 to end the game, but also start the Washington champagne celebration.

Kendrick has been one of Philadelphia's steadiest starters since the beginning of August, and he finished his season with a dominating start against the NL East champs. He gave up just four hits and walked no one on his way to seven scoreless innings. He struck out four, and the only time the Nats really threatened was in the second inning when they had back-to-back singles. Justin De Fratus would get into a bit of jam in the eighth, but he and Jeremy Horst got out of the inning unscathed.

On the other side, an early two-run triple by Darin Ruf produced the only offense of the night. Ruf ripped a John Lannan offering to deep left, scoring Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown. The rookie slugger, who's seen increased playing time over the final two weeks, smacked his first career homer just last week against the Nats. His triple in the second on Monday would prove to be the difference.

Phillies vs. Nationals preview: Game time, TV schedule and more

The Philadelphia Phillies will head to Washington to play their final series of the 2012 season against the Washington Nationals