Hood, Telis hit first homers, but Marlins drop finale

WASHINGTON — Max Scherzer battled through some trouble on the mound in his final tuneup before the postseason begins, but he collected two hits and a career-high four RBIs at the plate as the Nationals closed the regular season with a 10-7 victory over the Marlins on Sunday at Nationals Park.

Scherzer allowed five runs on a season-high nine hits — including two homers — in five innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. But the Nationals’ offense broke out for double-digit runs for the 14th time this season to help Scherzer earn his 20th win. It’s the second time in Scherzer’s career that he has won 20 games, the other coming in 2013, the year he won the American League Cy Young Award. He has put together a strong case to win the National League version of the award this season.

The Nationals completed the season 95-67, winners of the NL East for the third time in five years. They will host the Dodgers for Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Friday, and although Washington has not officially announced its rotation, Scherzer almost certainly will take the mound against Clayton Kershaw.

The Marlins finished a disappointing and emotional season at 79-82, their seventh consecutive losing season. A bright spot Sunday afternoon came from a pair of rookies, Dustin Hood and Tomas Telis, who both hit two-run homers off Scherzer for their first career home runs.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDScherzer completes Cy Young resume: Scherzer struggled through 96 pitches in five innings, but finished as one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award this season, completing the year 20-7 with a 2.96 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 284 strikeouts (the most in a single season by a right-hander since 2002). His 6.5 WAR entered Sunday leading all NL …

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