Forum » four-game losing streak of the season

PITTSBURGH -- The Nationals stuck with their ace. The Pirates made them pay. Josh Harrison had a tiebreaking, two-out single two batters after Jose Tabata hit a sacrifice fly off of Stephen Strasburg in the seventh inning, and Pittsburgh handed Washington its fourth straight defeat, 3-2 Saturday night. Strasburg, who struck out 14 in a memorable major league debut against the Pirates almost four years ago, did not allow a hit Saturday until Walkers homer to centre with one out in the fourth. Pittsburgh managed just three more singles off Strasburg until the seventh, when Russell Martin led off with a single and went to third on a one-out double by Starling Marte before scoring on the sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Tabata. "(Strasburg) pitched very well," Washington manager Matt Williams said. "Of course, they got to him in that last inning but I want to give him a chance to get out of there with a tie game. He was still strong. Hes our ace, hes deserves a chance to get out of it and it didnt work out." Gerrit Cole left after six innings trailing by a run while facing Strasburg in the first matchup in the NL of No. 1 overall draft picks in nine years. Cole -- the top pick of the 2011 draft, two years after Strasburg went first -- allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. Strasburg (3-4) allowed three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings. Strasburg insisted he wasnt losing his stuff as he crossed the 100-pitch plateau in the seventh. "My command was still pretty good," he said. "I got a pitch in on Martin and he dumped it into the outfield. I tried to pitch around a couple of guys. The pitch that killed me was the hanging curveball to Marte. That really set up the inning for them." Of the Harrison at-bat, Strasburg said: "Hes the type of hitter whos going to put the ball in play and he put it in the right place." Harrison followed pinch-hitter Travis Snider, whom the Nationals intentionally walked after Strasburg fell behind 2-0. "I was pretty much telling myself, I feel like Im seeing everything hes throwing," Harrison said of his seventh-inning at bat against Stephen Strasburg. "I was just looking to barrel something up." Neil Walker hit his 10th home run for the Pirates, who tied their season-best winning streak of four. Jered Hughes (3-1), Jeanmar Gomez and Mark Melancon each worked a perfect inning of relief for Pittsburgh. Melancon picked up his ninth save when he finished the Pirates majors-best 14th one-run victory. Ian Desmond hit his ninth homer for Washington (24-25), which has lost six of eight and fell under .500 for the first time this season. "Its tough -- were all trying very hard, trying to get back on track," Strasburg said. "I do think weve probably reached the point where were trying too hard and need to take a step back and let the game come to us." The bullpen backed up Cole, who allowed 10 baserunners and threw 112 pitches in six innings, retiring the side in order only once. Still, Pittsburgh won for the fourth time in five May starts by Cole. Wilson Ramos sawed-off, bloop single in the sixth scored Anthony Rendon to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead. Greg Dobbs went 2 for 4 for the Nationals. NOTES: The Mets Kris Benson (the No. 1 pick of the 1996 draft) faced Cincinnatis Paul Wilson (No. 1 overall in 1994) on May 16, 2005 -- the most recent occurrence of top picks facing each other in the NL. It happened in the American League two years ago (Kansas Citys Luke Hochevar vs. Tampa Bays David Price on Aug. 21, 2012). . 1B Adam LaRoche joined the Nationals in Pittsburgh and will be activated for Sundays game. Infielder Zach Walters was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse after Saturdays game to make room for LaRoche, who has been on the disabled list since May 10 because of a right quad strain. ... SS Desmonds homer gives the Nationals 17 this season from their middle infielders, most in the majors. . The four-game series wraps up Sunday when Washington RHP Doug Fister (1-1, 3.93) faces Pirates LHP Francisco Liriano (0-4, 4.86). Despite his record, Pittsburgh has won five of Lirianos past six starts. China Shoes To USA . - Henrik Samuelsson and Curtis Lazar each had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings secured top spot in the Eastern Conference by defeating the host Red Deer Rebels 7-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. China Shoes Store https://www.chinashoes.us/. Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. China Shoes . Down 2-1 after Rick Nash scored on a penalty shot, the Oilers ran off four unanswered goals in the remainder of the second period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Sunday. Nike Shoes From China . The Rangers announced after Thursdays 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees that they would purchase Williams contract from Triple-A Round Rock. The 32-year-old Williams was released by Houston earlier this month after going 1-4 with a 6.(SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of Atlantic Division combatants return from the NHLs Christmas break, as the Florida Panthers welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs for Sundays clash at BB&T Center. The Panthers havent played since Monday when they salvaged the finale of a home-and-home series with Pittsburgh. Florida began a four-game homestand with the shootout triumph over the Penguins and improved to 8-4-2 as the home club this season. Toronto also was able to head into the brief break on a positive note, as it posted a 4-0 victory Tuesday night in Dallas. The shutout win halted an 0-3 slide for Randy Carlyles club and was the Maple Leafs seventh victory in 10 outings. This evenings test marks the first of four scheduled encounters between the Leafs and Panthers in 2014-15. Florida, which is five points in back of fourth-place Toronto in the division standings, won three of four meetings with Toronto last season and has claimed eight of the past 12 encounters in this series. The Panthers also have won two straight, seven of nine and nine of the past 12 meetings in the Sunshine State. Florida won its third consecutive home game with Mondays 4-3 decision over the Penguins, who had posted a 3-1 victory over the Panthers in the Steel City on Dec. 20. Aleksander Barkov provided the lone goal of a seven-round shootout as the Cats claimed the extra point in the finale. After Simon Despres had his chance deflected away by Roberto Luongo to open the final round, Barkov faked a move from forehand-to-backhand up the middle and casually flipped a shot past Marc- Andre Fleury which ended the game. Florida has been no stranger to lengthy shootout battles recently, as the club has endured four shootouts lasting a total of 35 rounds in its last six contests. Jimmy Hayes scored twice in regulation and Jussi Jokinen once for the Panthers, while Luongo came upp with 24 saves.dddddddddddd Weve been beating some good teams here, Hayes said. We have to continue to put pucks in the net. Florida will continue its homestand Tuesday against Montreal before completing the stay in Sunrise the following night against the New York Rangers. The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, are making the third stop on a seven-game road trip tonight. Toronto began the epic trek with last Sundays 4-0 setback in Chicago, but the Leafs rebounded two days later when they downed the Stars by the same score. James van Riemsdyk led Torontos offense with a goal and two assists, but Jonathan Bernier played an even bigger role in the victory, stopping all 43 shots to post his second shutout of the season. Berniers 43 saves included 19 in the third period. He picked up his ninth career shutout. The win allowed Toronto to avoid its first four-game losing streak of the season. You dont want losing streaks to linger and that one was lingering long enough for us, said Carlyle. Hopefully well use this as a little bit of a breather. It was the best Christmas present we could have given ourselves. Nazem Kadri added a goal and an assist for the Leafs, who also received goal from Tyler Bozak and Mike Santorelli. Phil Kessel contributed two helpers to the winning effort. Toronto, which is three points behind Montreal for the third and final automatic playoff bid in the Atlantic, improved its road record this season to 6-4-3. The Leafs will continue the swing with Mondays tilt in Tampa and that means both Bernier and backup James Reimer could draw starts over the next two games. Bernier is 1-1-0 with a 2.58 goals against average in his career against Florida, while Reimer has a lifetime 1-3-0 record and a 3.47 GAA in this matchup. Luongo boasts a 15-7-0 record and a 2.29 GAA against Toronto and is expected to start tonight. ' ' '