the first of five interleague games on T

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CHICAGO -- The Washington Nationals hit the halfway point of the season tied with Atlanta for the NL East lead. Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday. LaRoche and Wilson Ramos homered, Blake Treinen earned his first major league win and the Nationals beat Chicago 7-2 in a rainy nightcap. Gio Gonzalez pitched two-hit ball over seven innings in the opener for a 3-0 victory. In the second game, Washington tagged Jeff Samardzija (2-7) for six runs over five innings to salvage a four-game series split. LaRoche led off the second with a long drive to right for his 11th homer, and Ramos connected to start the fifth, sparking a four-run rally that made it 6-2. Making his fifth major league start, Treinen (1-3) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. The right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the 26th man on the roster for the doubleheader. "It means a lot," he said about the win. "Im definitely excited, thats for sure." Ross Detwiler pitched three perfect innings for his first career save. The only runs for the Cubs came on a two-run homer by Luis Valbuena that tied it at 2 in the fourth, right about when the rain started falling. With two outs in the inning and Nate Schierholtz batting, play was stopped for 55 minutes. Once the game resumed, it didnt take long for the Nationals to regain the lead. Ramos connected on the first pitch of the fifth for his second homer, and Washington sent up nine batters in the inning. With two outs and a man on first, three straight singles by Anthony Rendon, Kevin Frandsen and Jayson Werth resulted in two more runs. First baseman Anthony Rizzo then let LaRoches hard smash get by him for an error, bringing in Frandsen to make it 6-2. "Coming out of the rain delay they jumped on me right off the bat, and then they hit some fastballs over the plate and hit them up the middle," Samardzija said. "Made me keep throwing pitches. Like I said, they did a good job. They were ready out of the break." In the first game, Gonzalez dominated in his third start back from the disabled list, outperforming Dallas Beeler in the rightys major league debut. Rendon had three hits, including a two-out double against Beeler in the sixth before scoring the games first run on a wild pitch. Rendon added an RBI triple off Justin Grimm and came home on a sacrifice fly by LaRoche against Wesley Wright in a two-run eighth. Denard Span chipped in with two hits and scored a run, and the Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak. Gonzalez (5-4) struck out seven and walked two while improving to 2-0 in three starts after missing a month because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Tyler Clippard worked the eighth and Rafael Soriano finished for his 19th save in 21 chances. "Obviously, coming (off) the DL and trying to work your way back is going to be a process," Gonzalez said. "Its not going to happen overnight. Its good to see, little by little, using fastball and changeup at the same time. Its good to know when you need them theyll be there." Beeler was about as good as Gonzalez. Called up from Triple-A Iowa as the 26th man, he pitched four-hit ball while allowing an unearned run in six innings. Beeler also singled in his first at-bat when he lined the first pitch he saw up the middle in the third, drawing big cheers from the crowd. "I was a lot calmer than what I thought Id be," he said. "I walked out there, took a deep breath, threw my warmup pitches, kind of looked around again, exhaled and I was like, All right, same game Ive been playing for the last 20 years." NOTES: Nationals OF Bryce Harper hit three homers and drove in five runs in a rehab game for Double-A Harrisburg. The 2012 NL Rookie of the Year is working his way back from a torn ligament in his left thumb. He went 4 for 5 as the DH against the Cleveland Indians Akron affiliate. Washington manager Matt Williams said hes not sure if Harper will play another game for Harrisburg on Sunday. The Nationals are optimistic he will return early in the week, if not Monday, when they open a three-game series against Colorado. ... The Cubs have their first scheduled Sunday off in 82 years because of the annual Pride Parade in Chicago. The last one was on June 19, 1932. Chicago played the Giants in New York on a Saturday and then went to Philadelphia on a Monday. Russ Grimm Jersey . Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., fired 11 aces and did not have a double-fault as he comfortably advanced to the third round at the Masters Series event. Morgan Moses Jersey . Ramirez is still hitting behind Puig, only now they are in the third and fourth spots, and the change is starting to generate positive results for manager Don Mattingly. http://www.theredskinsshoponline.com/Mo ... ersey/.com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. John Riggins Jersey . And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. Tress Way Jersey . -- Theres nothing like winning to bring hope for a struggling team.SAN DIEGO -- Kevin Correia scattered three runs and four hits over six innings, Kurt Suzuki hit an inside-the-park home run and the Minnesota Twins defeated the San Diego Padres 5-3 on Tuesday night. Correia (2-5), a San Diego native, struck out six and walked a batter in winning for only the second time in his last six starts. Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances. Ian Kennedy (2-6) worked into the seventh for San Diego, giving up four runs as he lost for the seventh time in eight starts against American League teams. It was the second of Kennedys two wild pitches that helped the Twins score the go-ahead run in the seventh. His first wild pitch in the sixth let the Twins tie the game. Suzukis inside-the-park home run, the first by a Twin since Joe Mauers on July 21, 2007 against the Angels, made it 5-3 in the eighth inning. Eduardo Escobar walked to begin the Twins seventh, took second on Aaron Hicks sacrifice bunt and moved to third on a wild pitch. Pinch-hitter Josmil Pintos fly to right scored Escobar for the 4-3 lead. Correia, who pitched for the Padres from 2009-10, retired the first 12 batters before Chase Headley doubled to right in the fifth. During that stretch Correia struck out four, with only four balls hit out of the infield. Will Venable followed Headleys double with a single and Headley scored on Jedd Gyorkos grounder through the left side. After the runners advanced on Yonder Alonsos fly to right, Yasmani Grandals sacrifice fly scored Venable to tie the score at 2-2. Kennedys single gave the Padres the advantage as Gyorko scored the innings third run. The Twins tied the game in the sixth when Trrevor Plouffe scored on a wild pitch after reaching on a double and going to third on Chris Parmelees groundout.dddddddddddd In the third, Plouffe had extended the Twins lead to 2-0 when he singled in Brian Dozier. Dozier led off with a single, which extended his hitting streak to 10 games, tying a career-high. His 41 runs lead the AL. The Twins, who beat the Padres for the seventh straight time, took the early lead when Parmelee opened the second with 417-foot homer to centre, his third of the season. NOTES: Padres P Andrew Cashner, who is on the DL with right elbow soreness, isnt too concerned. An MRI on Monday didnt reveal significant damage. "I dont think it is anything serious," Cashner said. "Im going to rest for a week and well see where we are." RHP Donn Roach will make his second start in place of Cashner on Saturday against the Cubs. . OF Carlos Quentin is day-to-day with a groin injury he suffered on Sunday at Colorado. "Were trying to keep him off the DL," manager Bud Black said. Quentin was activated May 13 after hurting his left knee in camp. . With the first of five interleague games on Tuesday, the Twins recalled C/OF Chris Herrmann after Sundays game. "Its nice because hes able to catch a little for us and I can use him or (Josmil) Pinto in a pinch-hitting role," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You have that extra guy and you need that in this league.".. Mauer extended his interleague hitting streak to 14 games, the second-longest active streak to the Angels Mike Trout (15). . Twins RHP Phil Hughes (4-1, 3.61) faces Padres RHP Tyson Ross (5-3, 2.81) in Wednesdays series finale. NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Jerseys China China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2018 Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2018 China Jerseys Cheap ' ' '