miaowang123: San Antonios 118-103 Game 3 victory on

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WASHINGTON -- Anthony Rendon homered to spark a three-run seventh inning, and pinch-hitter Nate McLouth came through with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly as the Washington Nationals rallied past the Houston Astros 6-5 Wednesday night for a two-game sweep. Ray Nitschke Jersey . Washington extended its NL East lead to 1 1/2 games over Atlanta and Miami. The Nationals open a four-game series against the Braves on Thursday night in Washington. Rendon led off the seventh against Josh Zeid with his 10th home run, cutting the deficit to 5-4. Jayson Werth walked and went to third on Adam LaRoches single off Darin owns (1-1). Kyle Farnsworth came on to face Ryan Zimmerman, who grounded into a fielders choice, beating the relay to first as Werth scored to tie it. Ian esmond then doubled Zimmerman to third. After Danny Espinosa was intentionally walked, McLouths long fly to left field scored Zimmerman with the go-ahead run. Aaron Barrett (3-0) got one out for the win and Rafael Soriano earned his 15th save. Matt ominguez drove in two runs for the Astros, who have lost three straight. Rendon, a Houston native, is 9 for 18 against the Astros with seven RBIs. For the second night in a row, neither starter made it past the fifth inning. Astros right-hander Scott Feldman left after five innings with a 4-2 lead. He gave up six hits and three walks while striking out five. Gio Gonzalez, activated Wednesday after missing 29 games due to left shoulder inflammation, pitched five innings, allowing four runs and five hits. He struck out six and walked three while throwing 93 pitches. Gonzalez has allowed 16 earned runs over 12 1-3 innings in his last three starts, including his last two before going on the disabled list. His ERA climbed to 4.94, the highest it has been in June or later since 2009. A replay review helped Washington take a 1-0 lead in the first. Denard Span walked and was called out attempting to steal second. Nationals manager Matt Williams challenged the call, and after a replay review it was overturned. Span then moved to third on an infield single by Rendon and scored on LaRoches sacrifice fly. In the third, Werth walked, stole second and scored on Desmonds single. With Houston trailing 2-0 in the fourth, five straight Astros reached safely. After a walk and a hit batter, Jon Singleton singled to load the bases. With the count 2-1, Dominguez lined Gonzalezs fastball to left field for a two-run single. Jason Castro followed with an RBI double and Jonathan Villar added a sacrifice fly to put Houston ahead 4-2. The Nationals cut the deficit to one when Spans two-out double in the sixth scored Espinosa. The Astros got it right back in the seventh. Robbie Grossman went from first to third on a single by Jose Altuve and scored on Ross etwilers wild pitch. NOTES: The Nationals stole a season-high five bases, all in the first three innings. ... Houston RHP Brad Peacock (stomach virus) didnt make the trip to Washington and will rejoin the team Thursday when it opens a four-game series at Tampa Bay. ... RHP Jordan Zimmermann (5-3, 2.98 ERA) opposes Atlanta RHP Gavin Floyd (1-2, 2.98) in Thursdays series opener. ... Houston RHP Collin McHugh (4-4, 3.03) faces RHP Chris Archer (3-4, 3.40) on Thursday at Tampa Bay. Brett Favre Youth Jersey . While coach Doc Rivers high-fived fans and pumped his fist at the crowd, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul quietly congratulated each other. Green Bay Packers Jerseys .com) - Longtime Senators star Daniel Alfredsson returned to Ottawa on Thursday to officially announce his retirement.PORTLAND, Ore. - Nicolas Batum had a simple question for his Portland teammates: "Why not us?" No other team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series. But the Trail Blazers took the first step Monday night by beating the San Antonio Spurs 103-92 to stave off elimination and narrow the Western Conference semifinal series to 3-1. "Why not us? No, its never been done before," Batum said. "We know its going to be tough. It wont be easy, especially against this team. The French forward had 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists and pestered fellow countryman Tony Parker all night. Damian Lillard had 25 points to lead the Blazers, who won their first second-round playoff game since a victory over Utah in the 2000 conference semifinals. "We had nothing to lose tonight. We had no pressure. It was do or die," Batum said. "So we just go out there and play." Portland held Parker to 14 points after he had scored 29 points or more in three of his last four playoff games. Coach Gregg Popovich sat Parker and Tim uncan after Portland built a 20-point lead in the final quarter. The Spurs are looking to advance to the conference finals for the third straight season. Game 5 is Wednesday night in San Antonio. "The energy was weird tonight," Parker said. "You have to give a lot of credit to Portland. They played great. They came out of the gates and I thought Batum was great tonight. He gave them a big boost." The Blazers were the last team to take a series to seven games after dropping the first three. Portland rebounded in the first round against Dallas in 2003, but ultimately lost the deciding game in the first-round series. The Blazers have been hurt by the loss of backup point guard Mo Williams to a groin injury for the past two games. Williams provided both energy and points off the bench all season in relief of Lillard. Portland got just six points off the bench in Game 3, but Will Barton provided a spark with 17 points on Monday night. Barton became the first Blazer with 17 points and six rebounds off the bench in a playoff game since Briian Grant in 2000 against Utah. Rashan Gary Jersey. "Any time you get a boost off the bench its always good for a momentum swing," San Antonios Danny Green said. "When he comes in and gets the crowd into it, they pretty much get it going, and it helped them a lot. " Coach Terry Stotts promised that the Blazers would play with pride in Game 4 and they did from the start. Lillards pull up jumper gave Portland a 14-8 lead. He extended it to 20-14 with a layup. But the Spurs answered with a 9-2 run and took a 24-23 lead on Patty Mills 3-pointer. Portland, which had only led twice in the previous three games, quickly reclaimed the lead and held on until Tiago Splitter tied it at 46 with a free throw. The Blazers had a 50-48 lead at the half. "I though with the way Nico (Batum) played, the game came a lot easier," Lillard said. "He was attacking, making plays. He was pushing the ball." Lillard opened the second half with a 3-pointer. Batum hit a 3 and added a free throw to push the lead to 69-61. Batum added another 3 before Thomas Robinsons dunk and Lillards 3 made it 77-63 to cap a 12-2 Portland run. Lillards layup put Portland ahead 90-72 in the fourth quarter. He added another to make it 94-74. "If they lost today it was a sweep, but theyve got pride and they played good," Manu Ginobili said. "They played the game more desperately than we did. We didnt bring the same emotions the first three games. The bottom line is they played better than us in every aspect of the game. Parker scored 29 points in San Antonios 118-103 Game 3 victory on Saturday night. The Spurs had routed the Blazers 116-92 in the series opener after their grueling seven-game series against the Mavericks, then built a 20-point lead and won Game 2, 114-97. NOTES: Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll watched the game sitting next to Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder who owns both the Super Bowl-winning Seahawks and the Blazers. ... It was Batums first double-double in the playoffs. ... It was Portlands first playoff victory against the Spurs since May 1, 1993, in the first round. ' ' '