miaowang123: OKC centre Kendrick Perkins (left

miaowang123

WASHINGTON - Bryce Harper has a suggestion for those looking for the perfect word to describe the Washington Nationals recent run of walk-off victories and nine straight wins overall. Heath Miller Jersey . Harper scored the winning run on pinch-hitter Anthony Rendons single in the ninth inning as Washington edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Wednesday night. "Its absolutely epic. Thats the best word I can put out there," Harper said. Five of Washingtons last six victories have been by a single run, with four coming in its last at-bat. "Its been incredible," Harper said. "This team has a lot of fight, a lot of heart. We never die." Harper opened the ninth with a single off Evan Marshall (4-3) and went to third base on Kevin Frandsens one-out single. Out of the starting lineup for the first time in 63 games, Rendon singled past third baseman Cliff Pennington to win it. "It was different to say the least, but it was awesome," Rendon said of pinch-hit. Neither epic nor awesome describes the feeling manager Matt Williams feels watching the slew of walk-off wins. "Its gratifying for (the players), its exciting for them," Williams said. "Its not a whole of fun in the dugout for the staff, but thats OK." The Nationals had last won nine in a row when they matched a franchise record by winning 10 straight in June 2005. The NL East leaders also extended their home winning streak to eight and opened up a seven-game lead over Atlanta. Rafael Soriano (3-1) pitched the ninth for the win. Arizona has lost five straight and is 5-13 in August. "In the end, they out-executed us in every phase of the game," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "They pitched good and we didnt pitch good enough. They outfielded us. They outhit us." Two of Washingtons wins in this series have come in its last at-bat after Arizona tied the game late. "Of course its disappointing," Gibson said. "Theyve got it rolling and they overtook us again." Tanner Roark threw seven scoreless innings for the Nationals and left with a 2-0 lead. He gave up five hits. Roark is 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA over his last eight starts. The Diamondbacks tied it in the eighth on Ender Inciartes two-run homer against reliever Tyler Clippard. Drew Storen replaced Clippard with one on in the eighth, eventually stranding the runner at third base. Arizona starter Trevor Cahill allowed two runs and six hits over 6 1-3 innings. Wilson Ramos RBI groundout in the second inning gave the Nationals a 1-0 lead. Asdrubal Cabrera and Jayson Werth hit consecutive doubles to put Washington up 2-0 in the sixth. Harper had three of Washingtons nine hits. The game started 12 minutes late due to rain. TRAINERS ROOM Nationals: Williams sounded hopeful that 3B/OF Ryan Zimmerman could return "sometime in September" from a hamstring injury. Zimmerman was placed on the disabled list on July 23. Diamondbacks: In his fourth rehab appearance, Daniel Hudson tossed one scoreless inning with two strikeouts Tuesday night in the Arizona Rookie League. The right-hander hasnt pitched at the major league level since 2012 after sustaining an elbow injury that resulted in Tommy John surgery twice. UP NEXT Arizonas Wade Miley (7-9, 4.46 ERA) faces fellow left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-9, 4.06) on Thursday in the finale of the four-game set. NOT JUST A PITCHER Leading 1-0 in the sixth, Roark deftly fielded Miguel Monteros grounder to start an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play after the Diamondbacks put runners on the corners with one out. Louis Lipps Jersey . Azarenka needed exactly one hour in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Austrian Yvonne Meusburger to start the night session at Laver Arena. Sharapova had a much easier time earlier in the day with cooler conditions and took full advantage in 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, while Radwanska had to rally for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Marcus Gilbert Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner.CLEVELAND -- As the score tightened, Kevin urant stayed loose. Sitting in his warm-ups on Oklahoma Citys bench, Durant knew he might be called upon again. And when he was, the NBAs leading scorer closed out Cleveland. "My minds always on the game so I didnt space out," he said. "I was instantly ready." Durant scored 35 points, finding his shooting touch after a rough start, and made five free throws in the final minute to shut down a furious, fourth-quarter comeback and give the Thunder their 50th win, 102-95 over the injury-riddled Cavaliers on Thursday night. Durant missed five of his first six shots, but finally got it going. He has scored 25 or more in 33 straight games -- the leagues longest streak since Michael Jordan did it 40 consecutive times (1986-87). With the win, the Thunder, who let a 24-point lead dwindle to five in the fourth, moved within 1 1/2 games of San Antonio for the best record in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City played without point guard Russell Westbrook, who rested his surgically repaired knee. Dion Waiters scored 30 and Spencer Hawes 20 for the Cavs, who trailed 95-71 with 6:34 left before going on a 21-2 run to pull within 97-92. Durant, though, who had re-entered with 3:34 to go, made his free throws to end Clevelands rally. When he took a seat after three quarters, Durant figured his night was done. "But that can happen in this league," Durant said. "Guys have pride and Cleveland plays extremely hard, so those guys made it a game late and we had to close it out." Cleveland played without injured star guard Kyrie Irving (strained biceps) and forward Luol eng (sprained ankle). Durants performance came two nights after LeBron James dropped 43 points on Cleveland, which lost its season-high fourth straight at home and has seen its playoff chances disappear. Durant added 11 rebounds and six assists, his biggest to Serge Ibaka for a dunk with 1:54 left after the Cavs had closed within eight. With the Thunder ahead by 17 entering the fourth, Durant grabbed a seat after scoring 30 in 32 minutes. Oklahoma Citys reserves were having their way with the Cavs, but Cleveland quickly reeled off 11 in a row, forcing Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks to bring Durant back. Waiters steal and layup got Cleveland within five, but the Thunder made sure the ball went to Durant, who then put it away at the linee. Alejandro Villanueva Jersey. But not before the Thunder had their nerves frayed. "You hate to talk about the last few minutes," Brooks said. "So Im not going to." Reggie Jackson started for Westbrook and added 13 points. Derek Fisher had 12 and Jeremy Lamb 10. Durant had a very un-Durant-like start. He started 1-of-6 from the field and grew more and more agitated with every missed shot. Late in the first quarter, Durant, who had complained to the officials about not getting a call on a drive, grabbed an offensive rebound, dunked in frustration and got called for a technical. "I just dont care if I miss," Durant said. "I had it in my mind that I was going to start the game off 1 for 10. Thats how quickly it can change, man. I thought I might be in for a tough shooting night, but I always stay aggressive." With Deng, Clevelands top wing defender, out and down to just nine dressed players, Cavs coach Mike Brown knew his team would struggle to handle the multifaceted Durant. And when Alonzo Gee picked up his second personal foul less than two minutes into the game, Brown brought in pesky guard Matthew Dellavedova to guard the leagues leading scorer. Dellavedova, generously listed at 6-foot-4, did all he could to pester Durant and it worked -- for a while. "He didnt get under my skin," Durant said. "He plays hard, you can respect a player like that but I didnt pay him any attention" Brown was proud of the job Dellavedova did on Durant. "One thing Dellys going to do for sure is fight," Brown said. "Hes going to get up in your chest and hes going to bother you, hes going to show his hands so hes not going to foul you. He makes you work for points." NOTES: Brooks has been impressed with Caron Butler, who has played in eight games since signing with Oklahoma City on March 1. Scott said Butler is tough, experienced and fearless. "He can make shots and hes not afraid to take shots," Brooks said. "We like that." ... OKC centre Kendrick Perkins (left groin strain) missed his 12th consecutive game and G Thabo Sefolosha (left calf strain) sat out his ninth straight. ... Brown boycotted filling out an NCAA bracket because Butler, where his son Elijah plays, didnt make the field. "Its my own protest," Brown joked. "Im loyal." ... Dellavedova had 11 points and 10 assists. Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Outlet Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys China NFL Gear NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL T-shirts From China ' ' '