Raul Ibanez belted a two-run homer and drove in three runs as the Philadelphia Phillies captured their third straight National League East title by beating the Houston Astros 10-3.
Eight starting players posted either a hit or an RBI as the Phillies won their third consecutive division title for the second time in franchise history.
"It can never get old when you win and you're happy," said the Phillies' centre fielder, Shane Victorino.
"We're going to another postseason. We've got an opportunity to be World Series champs again. We have to take it one step at a time. We can't worry about the World Series. This is the first step toward a repeat, and hopefully this is the first of many celebrations we're going to have."
Philadelphia actually clinched the title moments before the Wednesday win was in the bag because of the Atlanta Braves' 5-4 loss to the Florida Marlins.
The Phillies will now have an opportunity to defend their World Series title after winning the crown for the second time by beating the Tampa Bay Rays last season.
"It was a rougher year for us this year because everybody was gunning for us," said the Phillies' shortstop, Jimmy Rollins.
"The last couple of years we were kind of a dark horse. We were right there, but we were never out in the lead. We were just trailing in and catching everybody at the end. We stood up to the test in the regular season and now we have to stand up to the test in the postseason."
The Phillies will start their National League division series next Wednesday.
Ibanez hit his 34th home run of the season, Victorino added his NL-leading 13th triple, and Pedro Feliz had two hits and an RBI for Philadelphia.
Starting pitcher Pedro Martinez allowed three runs in four innings, while Kyle Kendrick (3-1) registered the win after three innings of relief.
In other National League action, the Braves and the Chicago Cubs did nothing to help their play-off chances. The Braves' home defeat by the Marlins not only ended their division title hopes, it hit their wild-card ambitions hard, leaving them three games behind with four to go.
The Cubs were on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline in the first of a double-header at home to the Pittsburgh Pirates before going on to lose the second game 8-2.
In the American League, the Detroit Tigers moved a step nearer to clinching the Central Division by beating their only rivals for the title, the Minnesota Twins, 7-2.
The Kansas City Royals beat the East Division winners, the New York Yankees, 4-3, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 just hours after it became known that their manager, Eric Wedge, will be allowed to leave, but were beaten 1-0 in the second game of a double-header.
* With agencies
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%20turbo%204-cylinder%20%2F%202.0%20turbo%204-cylinder%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20148bhp%20%2F%20328bhp%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20250Nm%20%2F%20420Nm%20(S3)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20TBA%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
EMILY%20IN%20PARIS%3A%20SEASON%203
%3Cp%3ECreated%20by%3A%20Darren%20Star%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Lily%20Collins%2C%20Philippine%20Leroy-Beaulieu%2C%20Ashley%20Park%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202.75%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Easter%20Sunday
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Jay%20Chandrasekhar%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Jo%20Koy%2C%20Tia%20Carrere%2C%20Brandon%20Wardell%2C%20Lydia%20Gaston%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
