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because were not getting a lot of baserunners.
MADRID, Spain -- Perhaps the Champions League success for Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid was the best thing that could happen to Barcelona -- at least as far as the domestic title race is concerned. Justin Smoak Jersey . The Madrid clubs stumbled in the Spanish league on Sunday as they looked sapped of energy following their wins in the Champions League semifinals to set up a city derby in the final. That has provided Barcelona with renewed hope after the defending champion wrote itself off. Leader Atletico lost 2-0 at Levante, while Madrid needed a stoppage-time goal from Cristiano Ronaldo to draw 2-2 against Valencia at home. That came after Atletico beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge and Madrid routed Bayern 4-0 in Munich in midweek. Chelsea went on to draw 0-0 on Sunday against Norwich to virtually fall out of contention in the Premier League race. "Specifically on the physical front. Atletico and Chelsea had the same problem (as us)," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the teams draw. "You cant give your maximum intensity like that and not pay the price for it." Atletico is still the front-runner as it needs only four points from its final two games -- against Malaga at home this Sunday before the trip to Barcelona on May 18. Atletico leads with 88 points and Barcelona is second with 85. Madrid has 83 points but with three games remaining, starting with Wednesdays match at Real Valladolid that will see the standings set for the last two rounds. "We cant forget that we depend on ourselves," Atletico captain Gabi Fernandez said. "Were 15 days from tasting glory, so weve got to keep fighting." Atletico holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Madrid, so even wins for Real at Valladolid, at Celta Vigo, and home to Espanyol wouldnt be enough unless Atletico drops points. "I only trust in Madrid and no other team. We have to do our job and see what happens," Madrid defender Marcelo said. "First off, we have to win our games. We cant worry about other teams, we need to worry about ourselves, win, and then see." Ronaldos turn-of-his-boot volley to stab in a 92nd-minute cross allowed Madrid to remain in the race. "Cristianos goal was very, very important because if we had lost it would have meant we lost any chance of winning the league," Ancelotti said. "It was a key play. Weve got three games left, and on Wednesday well play better." Barcelona looked to have given up on winning a fifth title in six years after conceding a stoppage-time equalizer to relegation-battling Getafe in a 2-2 draw on Saturday. Now, suddenly, Barcelona remains in the hunt, but needs Madrid to drop points to have a chance to avoid a first season without a major trophy since 2007. If Atletico and Barcelona end up tied on points, Barcelona will hold the head-to-head advantage as that scenario will arrive only with the titleholder beating Atletico on the final day. "One day someone said this league was boring, and now its very fun," Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said. "What we have left is a couple of rounds of pure football." J.A. Happ Jersey .Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. Paul Molitor Jersey . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Tanner Roark won the final spot in Washingtons rotation during spring training. Halfway through the season, hes the Nationals top winner. Roark allowed only three singles over seven innings on Friday night, and Denard Span matched Cincinnatis hit total with his four singles, leading the Nationals to a 4-1 victory that extended their surge and the Reds slump. The Nationals won for the seventh time in nine games. They are 56-44, the second-best mark after 100 games in franchise history. The 2012 club went 60-40 on its way to the NL East title. Roark (10-6) became Washingtons first 10-game winner and improved to 3-0 in his last three starts. The right-hander has allowed three runs over 21 innings during those three wins, lowering his ERA to 2.82 -- the best in the rotation. Nobody would have predicted that during spring training. "Its pretty cool just to think about," Roark said. "You dream ever since youre a kid of getting to the big leagues. I took the opportunity and tried to run away with it. "It is a little surprising. Its been a good ride so far. Keep it going." Rafael Soriano gave up a walk and a double in the ninth while getting his 24th save in 27 chances and finishing the combined four-hitter. The Reds remain stalled since the All-Star break, dropping all seven games for their longest losing streak in five years. Its the first time they have lost their first seven games after the All-Star break since 1991, when they dropped eight in a row. Span had four singles, stole a base and drove in a run off Alfredo Simon (12-5), who has lost both starts since his first All-Star selection. The Nationals piled up nine hits, two walks and three runs off Simon in only 4 1-3 innings. Span is 9 for 18 on Washingtons road trip with two four-hit games. "Hes been great," manager Matt Williams said. "The key for him is hitting the ball back through the middle. Weve seen that over the last week or so, hitting the ball up the middle or the other way." Headingg into the All-Star break, the Reds won seven of nine at home, cutting their deficit in the NL Central from seven games to 1 1-2. Custom Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys. Their worst road trip in five years wiped out most of their gains, but they had hoped to get their offence back in form at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. Roark allowed a run in the fourth when Billy Hamilton singled, stole second and came around on Ryan Ludwicks infield single. Otherwise, the Reds got only one other runner to second base. During the seven-game losing streak, Cincinnati has batted .176 as a team while scoring a total of 13 runs. "Its just really a mental game," manager Bryan Price said. "When we were going good before the break, nobody was pressing. Now, everybodys pressing. We cant get our offence going because were not getting a lot of baserunners." Washington had at least one hit in each of the first six innings, with four players having multi-hit games. The Nationals put five hits together in the fourth for three runs, including Zach Walters RBI double, Spans single and Anthony Rendons run-scoring single. Adam LaRoche singled home a run in the sixth off J.J. Hoover. Walters was called up Wednesday to fill in while Ryan Zimmerman is disabled by a pulled hamstring. NOTES: LHP Gio Gonzalez (6-5) starts Saturday for the Nationals. Hes 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in four career starts against Cincinnati. Johnny Cueto (10-6) had his worst start of the season in Washington on May 20, giving up eight runs in only 5 1-3 innings of a 9-4 loss. ... Nationals RF Jayson Werth was back after missing the last game with a sore right knee. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart was hitless, extending his slump to 0 for 17. ... 1B Joey Votto continues to do rehab for the strained muscles above his left knee. Hes been on the DL since July 8. "I think we need to let a few more weeks go by before we can really start to see that theres a point in time when we know hes going to be back," Price said. Cheap Jerseys 2019 Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL JerseysDiscount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 ' ' '
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