Kellermann-Strauss Forum » day, we may have to do that," Will

WASHINGTON - After Adam LaRoches two-run homer in the eighth tied the game, and Wilson Ramos ground-rule double in the ninth won it, Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams called his club "tenacious." Kevin Frandsen, whose RBI single in the eighth started Washingtons rally from a three-run deficit, went with the word "relentless." No matter what you call it, these NL East-leading Nationals are showing a knack for coming through late in games, and their fifth walkoff win of the season came by the score of 4-3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. "When youre on a streak, when youve got a little lead in the division, its easier to go relax and play," said LaRoche, who hit his 18th homer, "and not get too uptight late in games, regardless (of whether) youre down or not." Trailing 3-0 heading into the eighth, Washington grabbed its fifth consecutive victory to stay six games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Braves. The Pirates, meanwhile, dropped their fourth straight and have fallen to third place in the NL Central. "Its never good for the club, especially the position were in right now, pushing hard," said Tony Watson, who came on in the eighth and gave away the lead. Watson began his appearance by walking pinch-hitter Michael Taylor, then giving up singles to Denard Span and Frandsen that made it 3-1. After a double play, Watson faced the lefty-hitting LaRoche, who drove a 1-0 pitch into the home bullpen. Reliever Drew Storen, who was warming up, caught the ball on the fly. Watson said he followed the same pitch sequence against LaRoche on Saturday as he had Friday. "Yeah," Watson acknowledged, "it was dumb." In the ninth, with another lefty in for Pittsburgh, Justin Wilson (3-3), Bryce Harper checked his swing at a 3-1 pitch and went about halfway down the first-base line, figuring he had a leadoff walk. But plate umpire Mark Wegner had called the pitch a strike. Harper eventually paused, turned around, got back in the batters box — and walked on the next pitch. After Harper took second on a wild pitch, Ramos hit a ball that sailed over right fielder Gregory Polancos head and bounced into the home bullpen to win it. Helped, too, that Washington got four innings of scoreless relief after starter Gio Gonzalez allowed three runs and departed after 102 pitches in five innings. Craig Stammen got nine outs — "Just carving," Harper said — before Matt Thornton (1-0) earned the win with a 1-2-3 ninth, getting a pair of strikeouts on 96 mph fastballs. "They believe that they can come back, they believe that they can string hits together and we can score runs, and thats a good thing to have," Williams said. "That belief system is good." TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: CF Andrew McCutchen, last seasons NL MVP, ran the bases and hit before Saturdays game as he works his way back from a broken rib that put him on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 4. McCutchen had run before, but manager Clint Hurdle said "this was just a little bit more; closer to 100 per cent." ... Hurdle said RHP Gerrit Cole "passed all the tests" during a minor league rehab start Friday and should be ready to come off the DL within the next week. Nationals: RF Jayson Werth sat out a fifth consecutive game because of a bothersome right shoulder. Williams, who initially hoped to have Werth back Sunday, said the outfielder was "a little tender" after doing a full workout Saturday. "So if we have to take another day after today, we may have to do that," Williams said. UP NEXT In the series finale, Nationals RHP Doug Fister (12-3, 2.34 ERA) faces Pirates RHP Edinson Volquez (10-7, 3.67 ERA). Fister has won six of his last seven starts; Volquez has won six of his last seven decisions. WHAT A PLAY Pirates LF Travis Snider made a head-first, all-out, diving catch to rob Harper of a hit with a man on in the fifth. NMD Shoes Clearance . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). NMD Cheap Authentic . Dumont, a fifth round draft pick of the Canadiens in 2009, has four assists and 20 penalty minutes in 12 games with the Bulldogs this season. The 23-year-old split last season between Hamilton and Montreal, recording 16 goals and 15 assists in 55 regular season games with the Bulldogs. http://www.cheapnmd.net/. Yet now its time for the most important pick of them all; the Grey Cup. The thought of going 5-0 with the correct choice is quite intoxicating, I dont think I have ever gone perfect in my CFL futuristic playoff speculations and would take great pride in guessing - I mean analyzing - correctly. NMD Cheap Real . -- Cole De Vries had a couple of key strikeouts during what could have been the inning that doomed him to defeat against the Kansas City Royals, allowing him to escape further damage and keep the game tied up. Cheap NMD Shoes For Sale . DETROIT LIONS AT CHICAGO BEARS, 1:00 PM (ET) Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, CB Mohammed Seisay, DE Larry Webster Chicago - S Chris Conte, DT Brandon Dunn, QB David Fales, K Robbie Gould, CB Terrance Mitchell, OT Michael Ola, DE Trevor Scott GREEN BAY PACKERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Green Bay - LB Carl Bradford, DT Bruce Gaston, C Garth Gerhart, CB Davon House, WR Jeff Janis, TE Justin Perillo, QB Scott Tolzien Tampa Bay - OT Anthony Collins, CB Isaiah Frey, WR Robert Herron, RB Mike James, WR Solomon Patton, FB/TE Evan Rodriguez, LB Lawrence Sidbury KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Kansas City - WR Donnie Avery, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL Eric Kush, QB Aaron Murray, RB Charcandrick West, DT Nick Williams Pittsburgh - WR Justin Brown, DE Clifton Geathers, G Chris Hubbard, QB Landry Jones, S Troy Polamalu, TE Matt Spaeth, CB Ike Taylor MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1:00 PM (ET) Minnesota - LB Anthony Barr, OT Carter Bykowski, DB Ahmad Dixon, OT Charlie Johnson, FB Zach Line, CB Shaun Prater, TE Kyle Rudolph Miami - G Nate Garner, WR Matt Hazel, S Don Jones, WR Rishard Matthews, LB Chris McCain, G Dallas Thomas, RB Daniel Thomas NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT NEW YORK JETS, 1:00 PM (ET) New England - CB Kyle Arrington, RB LeGarrette Blount, OL Dan Connolly, CB Alfonzo Dennard, OT Jordan Devey, WR Julian Edelman, RB James White NY Jets - DT T.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Royals are sticking with left-hander Jason Vargas and the Orioles with right-hander Miguel Gonzalez for Game 4 of their AL Championship Series on Wednesday.Rain on Monday night pushed each game in Kansas City back one day, creating a dilemma for Royals manager Ned Yost and Baltimore counterpart Buck Showalter.Game 1 starters James Shields of the Royals and Chris Tillman of the Orioles would be on regular rest if they pitched on Wednesday.ddddddddddddInstead, the two managers decided to stick with their original Game 4 plans.Vargas will be pitching for the first time since the Royals beat the Angels in the AL Division Series on Oct. 2, while Gonzalez will start for Baltimore for the first time since Sept. 28, his final outing of the regular season. 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