WASHINGTON -- By the time Stephen Strasburg reached back and threw a 96 mph fastball for a strikeout to end the top of the seventh with his 106th pitch, his usual first-inning struggles seemed long ago -- and his day seemed over. Michael McLeod Jersey . When the next inning rolled around Wednesday, though, Nationals manager Matt Williams sent Strasburg to the mound to face the top of the Dodgers order in what would become a 3-2 victory for Washington, the first time this season the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft pitched into the eighth. "Hes our horse," Williams said, indicating hed like to keep his ace in deep into games more often. "We dont want to do that every time," Williams added. "But in a game like today, hes got the lead and (you) want to show confidence in him that were willing to send him back out there to protect that lead." Said Strasburg, who improved to 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA: "Thats the position I want to be in." After waiting through a rain delay of more than 1 1/2 hours to throw his first pitch, the righty did what hes done all season: laboured to get the first three outs, then been fairly dominant. This time, he gave up four consecutive singles, including run-scoring hits by Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig, during a 28-pitch first as Los Angeles went ahead 2-0. "Ive been trying not to go out there and give up a crooked number early," Strasburg said. "But you can give up one or two early and just keep it close and give your guys a chance to get back into the ballgame or get the lead." Hes allowed eight earned runs in his eight first innings in 2014, a 9.00 ERA. From the second inning on, its 2.29. "Hes as good as anybody on any given day. Weve also seen that anybody can get beat on any given day," Williams said. "We want to get him to that point where he can finish that eighth inning, too. Thats important for him." In all, Strasburg allowed two runs and seven hits -- all singles -- in 7 1-3 innings. He faced the minimum three batters in each of the second through fifth innings, and threw a total of 114 pitches. In the sixth, he put two men on, but got Andre Ethier on a grounder for the third out. In the eighth, Strasburg also put two on, then was replaced by lefty Jerry Blevins, who got Gonzalez to pop out in foul territory. Righty Tyler Clippard then came in to retire Puig, who missed the two previous games after crashing into an outfield fence. Rafael Soriano threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save in seven chances. Adam LaRoches two-run single off the top of the wall in right off Dan Haren (4-1), who was with the Nationals in 2013, tied the game in the bottom of the first. Washington edged ahead on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the fifth from Wilson Ramos, playing his first game since opening day. Ramos earlier had a double on the first pitch hed faced in the majors since March 31, when he broke a bone in his left wrist against the Mets. He sat out 32 games. "Didnt take him long, did it? He pounded that ball," said LaRoche, who is hampered running the bases and on defence at first base by a left quad muscle problem. Ramos return is a boost for the Nationals. Theyre also eager to have right-hander Doug Fister come off the disabled list Friday to face the Oakland Athletics in his first start of the season. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have lost four of their past six games. "Were definitely," Haren said, "not playing to our potential." NOTES: Washington optioned 1B-OF Tyler Moore to Triple-A Syracuse to make room on the roster for Fister. ... After a day off, the Nationals open a three-game series at Oakland on Friday, with Fister on a pitch limit of about 100 while facing LHP Tommy Milone (0-3, 5.86). ... Los Angeles returns home to open a four-game series against San Francisco on Thursday, with Dodgers RHP Josh Beckett (0-1, 3.14) facing Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (1-1, 4.60). Miles Wood Jersey . According to Dave Stubbs of The Montreal Gazette, preliminary talks have begun between Markov - an unrestricted free agent this summer - and general manager Marc Bergevin. Nico Hischier Jersey . Kevin Martin and Kevin Love paced the Timberwolves like they do so often. Martin had 27 points with some key baskets down the stretch, Love had his usual double-double, and the Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-106 victory Saturday night over the suddenly slipping Dallas Mavericks. http://www.officialdevilsfanstore.com/authentic-sami-vatanen-devils-jersey/ . His right arm rested in a sling and was encased in a cast from above the elbow to his hand. "Im excited," Fernandez said with a grin.HOUSTON -- James Harden had 32 points and Chandler Parsons scored eight points in overtime to lift the Houston Rockets to a 130-125 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night. Denver led by one in overtime when Houston made three consecutive 3-pointers to make it 130-122 with less than two minutes left. Parsons made the last two and high-fived with fans on the front row as he ran down the court after sinking the second one. Houston had a franchise-record, 47-point second quarter, but Denver overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to tie it at 88 entering the fourth period. The Rockets then trailed by eight late in regulation before using a 9-1 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Harden under heavy pressure from Randy Foye, to tie it at 117 with 7.1 seconds remaining. Foye made one of two free throws for Denver before Hardens shot. Foye had a chance to win it in regulation, but his jump shot was short. Evan Fournier scored 26 points and Aaron Brooks added 24 points and 15 assists against his former team. Brooks, who was traded to Denver on Feb. 20 for Jordan Hamilton, started for Ty Lawson, who was out with a left ankle sprain. The game was still tied with about nine minutes to go when the Nuggets scored 11 straight points to make it 106-95 midway through the quarter. Fournier made two 3-pointers in that span and Brooks had one. Jeremy Lin scored 19 points, Omer Asik had a season-high 18 points and tied a career best with 23 rebounds, and Parsons finished with 155 points. Blake Coleman Jersey. Quincy Miller scored a career-high 19 for the Nuggets and Kenneth Faried added 16 points with 13 rebounds. The Rockets, who have already clinched a playoff spot, were playing without Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley, who both missed their fifth straight games. Howard has missed eight games recently because of a left ankle strain and Beverley is out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his right knee. The game was tied at 88 entering the fourth quarter. Houston was ahead by 15 when Denver took over, using a 13-2 spurt to get within 79-75 with four minutes left in the third. Miller led the Nuggets in that span, scoring the first seven points of that run. Houston missed three shots and had three turnovers as Denver cut into the lead. A 14-4 run by the Rockets to start the second quarter gave them a 36-31 lead. Omri Casspi and Isaiah Canaan both made 3-pointers in that stretch. Brooks made a layup after that before Casspi hit another 3-pointer to make it 39-33 with about eight minutes left in the first half. The Nuggets got within a basket after a jump shot by Brooks about 2 1/2 minutes later. But Houston responded with a 9-2 run, powered by five points from Harden, to extend the lead to 52-44. Lin had seven points in the last 42 seconds of the first half, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to push Houstons lead to 69-52 at halftime. NOTES: The Nuggets made 14 3-pointers, with six from Fournier. ... Canaan had a career-best 15 points. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '