n of his right ankle. The Avalanche were without two offensi | Forum

PITTSBURGH -- Jayson Werths wide grin belied the fact that the Washington Nationals right fielder is an old hand at clubhouse celebrations, having played on eight division-winning teams during his 14-year big league career. Alex Smith Youth Jersey .Werths latest crown came Saturday night when the Nationals clinched their third National League East title in five years, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 behind 5 1/3 scoreless innings from rookie reliever Reynaldo Lopez.Its never gets old, Werth said. Never.Stephen Drews two-run single capped a three-run first inning for the Nationals, who return to the postseason after a one-year absence. Their win ensured a playoff berth, and they won the division about 20 minutes later when the second-place New York Mets lost to Philadelphia.Its such a hard thing to accomplish, Werth said. You spent six months trying to do it. Its why you go to spring training early, so you can do everything possible to put yourself in positon to win the division.The Nationals won the division in Dusty Bakers first season as manager. He replaced Matt Williams, who fired following a 2015 season that began with high hopes of Washington reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history.Baker had been out of the game for two years after being fired by the Cincinnati Reds following the 2013 season, four days after they lost to the Pirates in the NL wild card.Thats what I came here for, Baker said, standing in a corner of the clubhouse and watching his players celebrate. Im telling you -- let these young men have a great time tonight, back to work tomorrow. First step in a four-step process. This step is the hardest to get. Im just so happy for these guys. I love them. I love this team.Lopez (4-3) came on to the start the bottom of the fourth inning with a 6-1 lead and allowed three hits while striking out five and walking one. He was removed a runner on first and one out in the ninth inning.He was really impressive, Werth said. We still have some questions about our roster going into the postseason. Hes a great talent and if he pitches like he did tonight he can really help us.Marc Rzepczynski and Blake Treinen got one out each to end the game, and a pocket of Nationals fans behind the visiting dugout cheered.Joe Ross allowed one run and five hits over 2 2/3 innings in his second start since missing 2 1/2 months with right shoulder inflammation.Drews single came after Bryce Harpers sacrifice fly. Harper also drove in a run with a grounder during a three-run fourth that included three errors and increased the Nationals lead to 6-1. Jayson Werth hit into a run-scoring forceout and Anthony Rendon had a sacrifice fly.Wilson Ramos had three hits for the Nationals, and Drew and Werth added two each.Pittsburgh lost for the just the third time in 10 games but fell four games out of the second NL wild card with eight games remaining.Rookie Josh Bell homered in the third.Ivan Nova (12-8) lost his second straight start, giving up six runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in four innings. He had gone 5-0 in his first eight starts after being acquired from the New York Yankees on Aug. 1 in a trade.I thought he was getting into a nice spot going into the fourth inning and we more or less took him out of the game with our defense, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: Drew was taking the place of 2B Daniel Murphy (strained glute), who did not start for the sixth game in a row.Pirates: RF Gregory Polanco (facial bruise) sat out a day after being injured while running in the fence while chasing a fly ball. . LF Starling Marte (back strain) was not in the starting lineup for the 17h time in the last 18 games. . SS Jordy Mercer (right forearm discomfort) did not start for a third consecutive game.UP NEXTNationals: Rookie RHP A.J. Cole (1-2, 4.68 ERA) will start Sunday in the finale of the three-game series.Pirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-2, 4.11) will make his third career start and first since July 23. The rookie was placed on the disabled list the following day with shoulder inflammation and has made three relief appearances since being activated Aug. 28. Art Monk Womens Jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Sam Huff Redskins Jersey . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Montez-Sweat-Jersey/ .  Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The fact that the Minnesota Wild have scored just one goal in the last seven periods of hockey at home would be a cause of great concern for most NHL teams. And while theres always a desire for more offense, when youre getting goaltending on the level of what Devan Dubnyk is doing lately, you can keep your head above water.The Wild head into their Saturday night home meeting with the Colorado Avalanche as Dubnyk is coming off his NHL-best fourth shutout of the season -- a dramatic 1-0 win vs. the Boston Bruins on Thursday -- and leading the league in all the statistical categories. So the recent lack of goal support is less concerning for a goalie thats allowed nine goals in his past nine games.Its not my job to score, Dubnyk said after blanking the Bruins for the second time this season. Its my job to work with the guys and defend. I have zero complaints with how the guys have been defending for me and playing. You take pride in that. This is a fun group to be out on the ice with right now in our end. You enjoy that time while theyre playing as well as they are for me. I got no question in here that these guys can put the puck in the net.Although when they played the Avalanche in Denver two weeks ago, it was one of only two times this season that the Wild didnt score, suffering a 1-0 loss when Colorado goalie Calvin Pickard stopped all 32 shots he faced. The Avalanche are just 2-4-1 since then, and aare coming off a loss in Dallas where they fell behind 3-0 early, rallied to pull within a goal, but fell short anyway. Montez Sweat Redskins Jersey. The nearly-complete comeback didnt draw many words of praise from Colorados first-year coach.I loved our guys effort for the final 40 minutes, but unfortunately 40 minutes doesnt get the job done on many occasions, he said. Especially when youre that poor in the first, that was frustrating to watch.The frustration is starting to show for Avalanche star forward Nathan MacKinnon as well, who has just three goals after 16 games. That lack of offense comes after his star turn for Team North America in Septembers World Cup games which had expectations raised among the Colorado faithful.While both teams are battling nagging injuries, the Wild are possibly getting closer to full health, as defenseman Marco Scandella has returned to skating with the team and may be cleared to return to the lineup soon. He has missed the last eight games with a high sprain of his right ankle. The Avalanche were without two offensive stalwarts -- Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene -- in the loss at Dallas, but that did free up ice time for others, and rookie A.J. Greer notched his first NHL point versus the Stars after having been recalled from Colorados AHL team in San Antonio on Thursday. ' ' '