The Washington Nationals weren’t the only ones who benefitted from Max Scherzer’s no-hitter on Saturday night.
The Mets loss also helped the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were subsequently able to secure home-field advantage in the NLDS with their win over the San Diego Padres later Saturday night.
Zack Greinke pitched another gem in his final regular-season outing, giving up just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out eight over eight innings. It was Greinke’s final chance to impress National League Cy Young voters, who will get to decide if he, Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw or Cubs ace Jake Arrieta gets to take home the award this winter.
Justin Turner also hit a first-inning solo homer to center field, with Howie Kendrick scoring the go-ahead run in the fourth inning on a double play ball from Adrian Gonzalez.
With the Dodgers clinching, the Los Angeles/New York divisional series is the first that’s completely set in stone. Home field advantage in the National League Wild Card game will be determined Sunday, while the Blue Jays’ and Yankees’ opponents in their respective divisional- and wild card-round games will be decided either Sunday or in a play-in game Monday.
The Dodgers kick off their series with the Mets on Friday night, and the series starting in Los Angeles might actually help the series from having a delayed start. Hurricane Joaquin and a subsequent storm figure to make landfall at some point this week along the East Coast, so playing Game 1 and 2 at Chavez Ravine could ensure the teams can do their part in keeping the postseason on schedule.