Nationals end historic season with 5-1 victory over Phillies; clinch top seed Their 98 wins gave them an 18-win improvement over last year, a 29-win increase from 2010 and a 39-win leap from 2009. The Nationals gathered in February as an upstart and emerged seven months later as a juggernaut, primed to take on Washington's first major league postseason since 1933. The Cincinnati Reds can tie the Nationals at 98 wins if they win their regular-season finale Wednesday night, but the Nationals earned the top seed by virtue of beating the Reds, 5-2, in the season series. The Nationals, then, will avoid a cross-country flight to play the San Francisco Giants and will play the first ever playoff game at Nationals Park Oct. 10. For the first seven years after baseball's return to Washington, Wednesday would have ended their season. Now the reminders of October baseball, of more to come, surround them. Wednesday morning in the Nationals clubhouse, players were fitted for new hats with the official "Postseason" logo patch on the side. The Nationals seized their final victory of the season, and sealed a 9-9 split with the now-former NL East champion Phillies, behind Edwin Jackson's rebound start. After recording four outs Friday in St. Louis, Jackson allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings while striking out six. He left his final regular-season start to a standing ovation, waving to the crowd with his right hand. The Nationals" offense came after rare inspiration. Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee allowed the Nationals no runs for the first three innings. In the middle of the fourth came the daily President's Race, the moment when so often the home crowd pointed out how the strong man stumbles. The crowd still buzzed as the Phillies took the field. Ryan Zimmerman, the franchise third baseman who had watched more of the mascot races than any other National, stepped to the plate. After he fell behind Lee, 1-2, Zimmerman roped a 92-mph fastball down the right field line and into the Nationals" bullpen, a solo homer that tied the game at 1. The next hitter, Michael Morse, blasted a double off the very top of the right-center field wall, inches from another homer. Tyler Moore roped a double to left, and Morse raced home. In the immediate aftermath of the President's Race, the Nationals ripped three consecutive extra-base hits and took a 2-1 lead. Behind Jackson's powerhouse start, they didn't need any more. Moore added an insurance, solo homer off Lee in the sixth inning, his 10th this season in a part-time role despite spending a chunk of the year at Class AAA Syracuse. The blast let the Nationals relax. Bench coach Randy Knorr made the pitching changes. In the eighth, Zimmerman drew a leadoff walk. Bryce Harper pinch ran for him, and as Zimmerman walked backed to the dugout he doffed his helmet to the roaring 37,075 fans. They helped set a new Nationals Park attendance record with 2,370,794 on the season. With Harper on first, Morse crushed a home run deep over the scoreboard in right-center field. The exulting crowd would not stop cheering until Morse emerged from the dugout, helmet in one hand, and raised both arms over his head. After the game, the Nationals emerged from their dugout, finished with one season and ready to start another. They shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. But they have come to find the new sensation of victory suits them awfully fine.