“If they’re getting mad at my guys in the fifth inning [for] swinging 3-0 or running, they better get used to it,” Nats manager Davey Johnson.

Cubs Catcher Steve Clevenger and homeplate ump Jerry Layne restrain Nats’ Bryce Harper after Lendy Castillo brushed him back in fifth inning. – Chicago Cubs v Washington Nationals, 9/6/2012. (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

The Washington Nationals finished a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs with a 9-2 victory Thursday night. In those four games, the pennant-chasing Nats outscored the cellar-dwelling Cubs 31-9, including 14 home runs. It’s not surprising that the Cubs would be frustrated at their plight, losers of 86 games already this season.

That frustration boiled over in the fifth inning, when Cubs bench coach Jamie Quirk had a heated discussion with Nats third base coach Bo Porter. Porter walked from the third base coaches box all the way over to the top step of the Cubs bench jawing with Quirk, who stayed in the dugout. The benches eventually emptied but tempers were held in check –for the time being – and Quirk was ejected from the game.

In the bottom of the inning, Cubs lefty reliever Lendy Castillo came way inside to leadoff batter Bryce Harper, prompting Harper to start yelling at the pitcher. The benches emptied again, and this time words turned into shoves as the players got tangled up between the pitcher’s mound and first base, with Cubs catcher Steve Clevenger initiating contact with Michael Morse and Ian Desmond in the middle of the fracas. In the end, Clevenger, Cubs reliever Manual Corpas and Nats reliever Michael Gonzalez were all ejected for their parts in escalating matters.

The original confrontation, according to Nats manager Davey Johnson, was Quirk complaining about Jayson Werth swinging away at a 3-0 pitch with a five-run lead. “Their bench coach [Quirk] was yelling all kinds of things. Swinging 3-0, blah blah blah. And really loud. It was totally uncalled for. It’s the fifth inning, we’re in a pennant race. We’re gonna swing 3-0. We ain’t stopping trying to score runs. And certainly a five-run lead at that time is nothing.”

“If they want to quit competing and forfeit, then fine. But we’re gonna keep competing.”

Crew chief, and home plate ump Jerry Layne told a pool reporter after the game, ”The obscenities that [Quirk] screamed out I just felt was inappropriate and that’s what caused everything.”

As for the game itself, it was another old-fashioned butt-whupping for the Cubs, who are trotting out rookies and journeymen as their season grinds to a close. Jordan Zimmermann was sharp, especially after the first two innings when the Cubs scored both their runs. Zimmermann (W, 10-8, 2.99) gave up five hits and a walk in seven innings, striking out nine in the process.

The hit parade continued as well. Kurt Suzuki hit a three-run homer in the second inning that practically sealed the Cubs fate right there, and Adam LaRoche went deep again, his fifth in five days and 29th of the season. Ryan Zimmerman added two hits and three RBIs.

The Nats (85-52) reduced their “magic number” for the division title to 18 with the win, but kept their division lead at 7 1/2 games as Atlanta defeated the Colorado Rockies 1-0 earlier in the day.

THE TAKEAWAY: You never really like to see the benches empty. There’s just too much chance for someone to do something stupid and hurt someone or someone get suspended in a pennant race. But these things can also be galvanizing, and the Nats showed that they had each others’ backs and are looking out for each other. Jayson Werth was the first one out of the Nats dugout to step in front of Harper when Castillo threw at him, quickly joined by Ryan Zimmerman.

Michael Gonzalez, one of the players ejected, on the Cubs throwing at Harper: “You come into our house and try to mess with our kid brother?” That sentiment was echoed around the Nats clubhouse Thursday night, as well as the nine-run lead they lost to Atlanta earlier this season. Davey Johnson has the Nats playing for every base, every run they can and it’s up to the opposition to stop them. If the other teams get bent out of shape because the Nats continue to play hard regardless of the score, Johnson doesn’t care.

PHOTO GALLERY: See our photo gallery, including the bench clearing brawls.

THE GOOD: Jordan Zimmermann. After a couple of less-than-stellar outings recently, this performance was good to see once he settled down. He was able to generate missed swings, something that has been missing from his arsenal lately.

THE BAD: Werth went 0-for-4 and stranded four runners.

THE UGLY: The Cubs pitching staff. It didn’t matter who they put on the mound this week, they all got pounded. Too bad they have to leave town already.

THE STATS: 12 hits, 7 BBs, 6 Ks. 6-for-14 with RISP, 11 LOB, 1 GIDP. No errors, no DPs.

NEXT GAME: Friday at 7:05 against the Miami Marlins. Stephen Strasburg (15-6, 2.94) hosts Jacob Turner (0-2, 6.55).