Group: User
Level:
Posts: 276
Joined: 12/17/2014
IP-Address: saved
|
ATLANTA -- Freddie Freeman insists the Atlanta Braves have no special insight when playing the Washington Nationals. Rams Jersey . "I dont know if its about getting in their heads," Freeman said. "You just want to go out there and win series. It doesnt matter who its against." Freeman and Justin Upton each hit a two-run homer off Gio Gonzalez and the Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Nationals with a 10-2 victory on Sunday. Beating Washington for the 18th time in the last 25 series matchups, Atlanta is hoping to use another fast start against the Nationals to win a second straight NL East title. The Braves have won five of six against the Nationals this year. "We have a 19-game stretch against division opponents," Freeman said. "This is where you can get off to a good start and get off to a good lead and hopefully well keep playing well when we get to" Philadelphia to begin a four-game series Monday. Washington began the day by placing third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right thumb. Hell be out four to six weeks. With Zimmerman and leadoff hitter Denard Span sidelined, the Nationals lineup managed just five hits off Aaron Harang (2-1), who allowed one run, one walk and struck out five in six innings. Gonzalez (2-1) continued his struggles against the Braves, giving up nine hits, six runs and four walks and striking out six in six innings. Despite ranking second in the majors among left-handers with 34 wins since the start of 2012, Gonzalez is 2-7 with a 5.31 ERA in 10 starts against the Braves during that span. He hasnt received more than one run of support in any of his seven winless starts against Atlanta. "We were catching bad breaks," Gonzalez said. "We were making some big mistakes, and as a starting pitcher youve got to learn to adjust and keep the ball down." Harang, making his 322nd career start and third with the Braves, improved to 2-4 with a 3.72 ERA in 10 starts against Washington. Gus Schlosser, Atlantas fourth pitcher, gave up Adam LaRoches third homer in the ninth to make it 10-2. Ross Detwiler, Washingtons second pitcher, allowed four unearned runs in the eighth on Freemans RBI double and Andrelton Simmons first homer, a three-run shot that put the Braves up 10-1. Gonzalezs struggles began in the first. After walking leadoff hitter Jason Heyward, Gonzalez made an errant underhanded throw to first baseman LaRoche on B.J. Uptons bunt single. The ball rolled away from LaRoche, allowing Heyward to advance to third and B.J. Upton to second. Freemans sacrifice fly scored Heyward, and Justin Upton homered to make it 3-0. Over his last six games, Justin Upton is hitting .590 with four homers in 22 at-bats. "We know what were capable of and what we want to achieve," Justin Upton said. "If everybody can contribute every day, I think well be fine." Atlanta added three more runs in the second. Tyler Pastornicky led off with a triple and scored on Heywards RBI double. Freeman followed with his fourth homer to give the Braves a 6-0 lead. Washingtons first run came on Jose Lobatons RBI groundout, scoring Kevin Frandsen from third to make it 6-1 in the fifth. Freeman, who has hit .470 in his last 34 at-bats, avoided a scare in the fourth when Gonzalezs 92 mph fastball hit the outer right side of his right hand. Like the rest of the day, everything seemed to go Atlantas way. "It pinched my pinkie into the bat," Freeman said. "It was more a scare than an injury. I got really lucky. I think if I didnt choke up, Im done. By choking up, it got some fat right there. I kind of lucked out, I think." NOTES: Washington RF Jayson Werth returned after a sore groin forced him from the lineup on Saturday. Werth went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and stranded three runners. ... Simmons hit in the No. 5 spot for the first time in his career, going 2 for 5 with three RBIs. ... Nate McLouth was supposed to start in CF and bat second for Washington, but manager Matt Williams said he tweaked his left knee while shagging flyballs during batting practice and was held out. ... Nationals LF Steven Souza Jr. made his major league debut in the seventh as Frandsen moved to second base and Danny Espinosa left the game. Souza struck out in the eighth. ... The Nationals called up INF Zach Walters from Triple-A Syracuse to take Zimmermans spot on the 25-man roster. Walters struck out as a pinch-hitter to end the game. ... Span, on the seven-day DL with concussion symptoms, missed his second straight game. Kurt Warner Rams Jersey . The Oilers have the third selection in Friday nights first round, a year after taking Darnell Nurse seventh and two years removed from a streak of three consecutive No. Joe Namath Womens Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two.LOS ANGELES -- The Lakers have been giving playoff-contending teams more trouble over the past week than clubs that are way out of contention -- like themselves. Chris Kaman had a season-high 28 points along with 17 rebounds while starting at centre for the vertigo-stricken Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks scored 22 points, and Los Angeles snapped the Phoenix Suns six-game winning streak with a 115-99 victory Sunday night. It came just five days after the Lakers put a crimp in the New York Knicks post-season plans with a 31-point drubbing at Staples Center. In between that game and this one were a pair of road losses to the league-worst Milwaukee Bucks and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who beat the Lakers by 36 points Friday night. "Were trying to be the player-haters of the year. Thats definitely what were trying to do, and we embrace it," said point guard Kendall Marshall, who had 13 points and 11 assists. "We want to keep teams out of the playoffs and mess up seedings. Thats our motivation right now. Any type of motivation we can get to grow as a team is good for us right now." The undermanned Lakers shot 53 per cent from the field, avoiding what would have been Phoenixs first season sweep over them since 2004-05. The Suns won the first three meetings by an average margin of 13.3 points, including a 117-90 rout on Dec. 23 at US Airways Center. This was the first meeting between the teams in 2 1/2 months. "I dont know if we had a single guy who came with the energy that they usually have," coach Jeff Hornacek said. "Weve had games like this before, where they think theyre just going to show up and win a game. Were not good enough to do that. These guys have been winning games lately because theyve been focused in, but tonight they just werent." The 25-48 Lakers beat a team with a winning record for only the eighth time all season. Gasol missed his fourth straight game because of his ailment, joining Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Xavier Henry and Jordan Farmar on the inactive list. Gerald Green scored 22 points off the bench and Goran Dragic added 17 for the Suns, who missed their first 11 shots from 3-point range and finished 8-for-36 from behind the arc against a defence that came in having allowed an average of 119.1 in their previous 16 games and 108.9 overall -- second-worst in the league behind Philadelphia. The Suns shot 38.5 per cent overall. "Theyre not shooting them to miss them," an agitated Hornacek said. &quuot;They all thought they were going to make them, and its not always going to be there. Joe Namath Rams Jersey. So at that point, quit shooting them and drive to the basket." The Suns first loss since March 17 at Brooklyn dropped them to 44-30 and put them into a tie with idle Dallas for seventh place in the Western Conference standings, a half-game ahead of Memphis. "Our schedule gets a lot harder after this," Hornacek said. "Play all the top teams now in the next six or seven games, so thats why this game was so important. I mean, if this happens against Oklahoma City or the Clippers, then fine. But this team is not a playoff team, so thats why its disappointing." Kaman, an 11-year veteran in his first season with the Lakers, secured his sixth double-double of the season before halftime with 18 points and 10 rebounds to help Los Angeles build a 61-43 lead at intermission. "Chris can do that. He has talent, and he came ready to play," coach Mike DAntoni said. Dragic, who came in with a team-best 20.6 scoring average, got seven of the Suns first 13 points -- but didnt get another until his driving layup with 8:39 left in the third quarter trimmed the Lakers lead to 70-48. The Suns, who came in fifth in the league in 3-point shooting at 37.7 per cent, didnt get their first one until Markieff Morris ended their drought with 8:45 left in the second quarter. His brother Marcus drained another one 34 seconds later and Green made a three-point play with 7:41 left in the half, tying it at 31 after Suns trailed by 13. But the Lakers responded with a 28-9 run that included nine points by Meeks, and Ryan Kelly capped the rally with a pair of free throws to give Los Angeles a 59-40 cushion with 1:06 left in the third. The Suns got no closer than 11 points with 3:43 to play. "They made a few runs and killed us. We didnt know how to stop them," Dragic said. "I think our intensity was really bad. Its like no one wants to play in the playoffs -- or at least it seems like that. " NOTES: The longest winning streak in Suns history was 17 games in 2006-07, under DAntoni. ... Kaman received a technical foul from referee Derrick Stafford after getting called for an offensive foul with the Lakers leading 80-55. ... The last time the Lakers hosted Phoenix on Dec. 10, they lost 114-108. That game was one of only six that Bryant has played in this season.
|
Search 
Calendar 
Gallery
Auctions 
Global 
Top
Members 
Stats
Chat (0) new 
send Password 
Register
