WASHINGTON -- Tanner Roark won his fourth straight start, Denard Span had an RBI double and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 Sunday for a split of the four-game series between NL East rivals. Nike Air Huarache Sale . Span, Danny Espinosa and Adam LaRoche had two hits apiece as Washington won the final two games of the series. The Nationals improved to 3-7 against Atlanta. They increased their division lead over the Braves to 1 1/2 games. Roark (7-4) went 5 1-3 innings, allowing a run and four hits. Craig Stammen came on to end a sixth-inning Braves rally, and Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his 17th save. Washington relievers retired all 11 batters they faced. Freddie Freeman had two hits for Atlanta. Evan Gattis went 0 for 3 to snap his 20-game hitting streak. Ervin Santana (5-5) went six innings, giving up three runs and six hits. He walked one and struck out nine. Atlantas Chris Johnson was ejected for arguing a checked-swing call in the sixth. Teammate Justin Upton was ejected for arguing after a swinging strikeout in the ninth. With Washington leading 3-0, the first two Braves reached against Roark in the sixth. Manager Matt Williams visited the mound but left Roark in to face Jason Heyward. Roark got Heyward on a fly to right, but Justin Upton singled home Freddie Freeman to make 3-1. Stammen came on to pitch to Johnson, who attempted to check his swing on a 1-2 pitch. Nationals catcher Sandy Leon appealed the ball call, and first base umpire Tim Welke ruled Johnson had gone around for strike three. Johnson immediately began yelling and gesturing at Welke and was ejected by home plate umpire Mark Carlson. Stammen retired Andrelton Simmons to end the inning. Anthony Rendon made it 4-1 when he doubled in the eighth, went to third on a ground out and scored on Luis Avilans wild pitch. Washington got to Santana in the first, getting and RBI single from LaRoche that deflected off diving shortstop Simmons glove. Ryan Zimmerman had a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Atlanta threatened in the third. With one out, LaRoche misplayed Freemans grounder down the first base line for a two-base error. But Roark got Gattis on a grounder to third, and, after Heyward walked, Justin Upton hit into a fielders choice. The Nationals made it 3-0 the fifth. Sandy Leon opened with a single and Roark sacrificed him to second. Span then lined a double to left, scoring Leon. Span is 6 for his last 11 against Santana. NOTES: Nationals C Wilson Ramos (left hamstring strain) went 1 for 3 with a homer and three RBIs in his first rehab game with Double-A Harrisburg Saturday night. Hes expected to rejoin the Nationals this week. . Freeman began the day as one of only three NL players to start all of their teams games, along with Starlin Castro (Cubs) and Hunter Pence (Giants). . Atlanta is off Monday before opening a 3-game series Tuesday in Houston. . Gio Gonzalez (3-4, 4.85) opposes Matt Garza (4-4, 4.02) Monday when Washington opens a 3-game series at Milwaukee. Air Jordan 22 Sale . And Richard Bachman, their rookie goalie, is facing a penalty shot a few seconds after the opening face-off. No pressure, right? Bachman stood his ground against Zack Kassian and saw the puck dribble off the Canuck rookies stick, then settled in and backstopped the Stars to a 5-2 win over Vancouver Tuesday that put Dallas in first place in the Pacific Division. Vapormax Sale .com) - Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the struggling Bucks 114-101 on Tuesday.WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - Billy Hurley III has been waiting for a breakthrough moment on the PGA Tour. On Independence Day, the former U.S. Navy officer might have set himself up for one this weekend in the Greenbrier Classic. Hurley shot a season-best 7-under 63 on Friday to take the second-round lead. Hurleys bogey-free round included a chip-in from 29 feet on No. 4 in cool conditions before the wind picked up considerably late in his morning round. "You know, anytime you play good, its great, right?" Hurley said. "Theres special days of the year for our country, and having served ... adds something to it. Its kind of pretty cool, I guess, to shoot 7 under on the 4th of July." Its a nice storyline. Then again, having military experience wasnt on his mind in jumping to the top of the leaderboard. "I was just trying to keep getting the ball in the hole," he said. Hurley was at 9-under 131 at Old White TPC. Eleven players were within four shots of him. Kevin Chappell (65) and Chris Stroud (66) were a stroke back. Troy Matteson Troy Matteson had a 61 to vault into fourth place at 7 under. He has made the cut in all five years of the Greenbrier Classic. Brice Garnett (66), Steve Stricker (68) and Chris Kirk (69) were another stroke back at 6 under. Hurley graduated from Annapolis in 2004 and spent five years in the Navy. He playing golf sparingly while stationed in Hawaii and worked out as much as he could. Being mentally tough on the course comes easy for Hurley, whose missions included steering a Navy destroyer through the Suez Canal. Playing partner Chris Stroud said it was "special" for a former military man to be leading the tournament and was amazed at how Hurley could recapture his golf game. "Theres a lot to be said about that," Stroud said. Hurley rejoined the PGA Tourr this season and has three top 10 finishes so far, including a tie for eighth at Congressional last week. Air Max Plus Sale. His best career finish is a tie for fourth in the AT&T National two years ago, also at Congressional. A solid ending at The Greenbrier resort would get him into the British Open later this month. The four best finishers not previously eligible among the top 12 on the final leaderboard will earn spots in the July 17-20 tournament at Royal Liverpool. Playing alongside good friend Hurley, Stroud birdied four of his first five holes but gained no more ground. Chappells round included holing a 35-yard pitch on the par-3 15th after a poor tee shot. Chappells only top 10 finish of the season came at Colonial. But this week, hes at ease amid the mountains, Howards Creek running through the Old White TPC and the rest of the resorts atmosphere. "You know, the course has a great flow to it, just at peace out there," he said. "All the running water and all the good scenery just puts me in a good spot." Matteson holed a 35-yard pitch on the par-3 15th and needed just 19 putts — one shy of the PGA Tour record held by eight players. "It was unlike any day Ive had this year," said Matteson, who had missed the cut in 11 of his previous 13 tournaments. "I just havent been getting it in the hole all year, and to have a day like this really kind of turns things around." Bubba Watson was among five players at 5 under. He shot 67. First-round leader Jonas Blixt had three early bogeys and shot 73 to drop into a tie for 25th at 3 under. FexEx Cup points leader Jimmy Walker (75) was among those who missed the cut. He finished 5 over. Ninety players advanced to weekend play at even par or better. Patrick Rodgers shot 75, but at even par for the tournament he made his third straight cut since turning pro. ' ' '
RSS Feed
RSS Feed