Thomas Godoj Thread » ve been worthy of a call. Instead hes bein

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals began Sunday with a ceremony honouring manager Davey Johnson. By the end of the night, their playoff hopes were just about dashed. Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich homered to lift the Miami Marlins to a 4-2 win in the opener of Sundays day-night doubleheader, a result that clinched playoff berths for the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. Washington gained a split by winning the nightcap 5-4 when Wilson Ramos ninth-inning grounder bounced off the leg of third baseman Chris Coghlan for a game-ending error that allowed pinch-runner Eury Perez to score. The Nationals trail NL wild-card co-leaders Cincinnati and Pittsburgh by five games with six to play. "We arent finished. I take nothing for granted," Johnson said. "I still think we got a good shot. We need to win them all. We do. Hey, Ive been one strike, two runs down, one strike away, and weve come back. So dont lose the faith." Rafael Soriano (3-3) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to win Washingtons regular-season home finale, and Denard Span drove in three runs. Jayson Werth doubled off Sam Dyson (0-2) leading off the ninth, and Perez pinch ran and stole third with one out. Coming back from right forearm tightness that had kept him off the mound since Sept. 8, Stephen Strasburg allowed three runs and six hits in six innings and left with a 4-3 lead. "He was actually awful," Johnson said. "He was. Every pitch he threw was up. Hes got such great stuff, but everything was belt high." Strasburg said: "I went out there and competed and thats all I can do." Stanton hit a tying double off Tyler Clippard in the eighth. With Washington trailing 3-2 in the sixth and runners on second and third, Span hit a smash past a diving Ed Lucas at first to make it 4-3. Miami had been 0-8 at Nationals Park this season coming in and starter Tom Koehler (4-10) had been 0-4 in eight starts since Aug. 1. Koehler allowed two runs and three hits in six innings of the opener, and Steve Cishek pitched a perfect ninth for his 32nd save in 34 chances, completing a four-hitter and a scoreless afternoon for the Marlins bullpen. "You cant score six, seven runs every game," Washingtons Ryan Zimmerman said. "(Koehler) pitched well and theyve got some good arms in the back of their bullpen." Cishek has converted 27 consecutive save chances, tying Todd Jones 2005 mark for the longest streak in club history. "You know its crazy. Out there I had a little more adrenaline pumping. It felt like a playoff atmosphere," Cishek said. "The fans are really into it and those guys are digging in there and every at-bat was huge for them. It felt good to come out and win a game like that." Dan Haren (9-14) lost to Miami for the third time this year, giving up three runs and eight hits in six innings. Stantons 24th homer, a two-run drive after Yelich doubled, put the Marlins ahead in the first. Yelich added a solo shot in the third. Koehler, who shut out the Mets for eight innings while earning a no-decision in his last start, limited Washington to two singles over the first five innings. Zimmerman homered in the sixth, his 26th of the season and 11th of September. "Like I said before, Im not very good at math, but Im good enough to figure out that losing makes it tougher," Zimmerman said between games. "But weve just got to keep playing and see what happens." Washington grounded into three double plays. Donovan Solano drove in Miamis final run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. NOTES: Ian Desmonds two stolen bases in the night game gave him his second straight season with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. ... Strasburg is the third fastest pitcher (426.1 IP) since 1900 to get to 500 strikeouts behind Kerry Wood (404.2) and Mark Prior (421.2). ... The Nationals won the season series 14-5. ... The ceremony honouring Johnson included a pair of video tributes and the presentation of an engraved Tiffany crystal keepsake. ... Stanton has hit safely in 23 of 29 games at Nationals Park with 13 home runs. ... Ian Desmonds two stolen bases in the night game gave him his second straight season with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. Cheap Nike Shoes . PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. Discount Nike Shoes .Y. - The New York Islanders are brimming with confidence these days, thanks to a standout goalie and a newfound winning attitude. http://www.cheapnikeshoesdiscount.com/. A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. Cheap Nike Shoes China . Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win.SEATTLE -- Snubbed from a World Cup camp invite by Nigeria, Obafemi Martins was determined not to sulk about missing out on a trip to Brazil. Martins said earlier this week his World Cup is the next two months playing for the Seattle Sounders. And it started with his finest goal since joining Major League Soccer. "I just want to score goals," Martins said. "Thats what I did and Im glad." Martins scored in the eighth minute to give the Sounders a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night as both teams began a possible two-month stretch with some of the top players in the league off competing at the World Cup. Martins goal will be in the discussion for best of the season as the year progresses. His goal came from a shallow angle just 4 yards off the end line. Instead of settling Gonzalo Pinedas pass, Martins chipped the one-hopper with his left foot over San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch and just inside the far post. It was the fifth goal of the season for Martins. Instead of the usual backflip that has accompanied his previous goals, Martins simply shook his head possibly a little surprised his difficult attempt found the net. "Its an athletic ability. You cant teach that. Its something that somebody has," Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. "Its definitely as good a goal thats been scored here." Busch said shots from that shallow an angle usually end up coming at the near post or end up on top of the net. "So now he finds the back post. Tip your hat to him. Nothing you can do," Busch said. "Doesnt matter who you are or where you play, thats a good goal." The Sounders (8-3-1), who remained the MLS points leader, opened the whole stadium for the firstt time this year and drew 49,746, the largest crowd for any MLS game this season.dddddddddddd Seattle was without three U.S. World Cup hopefuls, while the Earthquakes were minus two. Clint Dempsey, Brad Evans and DeAndre Yedlin were gone for Seattle and San Jose (2-4-4) played without Chris Wondolowski and Clarence Goodson. Also gone for the Earthquakes was Honduran hopeful Victor Bernardez. The Sounders could have been without Martins as well, but he was not selected to join Nigeria for its World Cup camp. Teaming with Dempsey at the top of Seattles attack, Martins has a resume this season that would have been worthy of a call. Instead hes being asked to be the offensive catalyst for Seattle with Dempsey gone. Seattle controlled the match and likely should have scored two or three more times if not for stellar goalkeeping by Busch. He stopped attempts from Lamar Neagle twice in a seven-minute span of the second half and turned away Osvaldo Alonsos attempt in the 84th minute. "My job is to make saves and keep us in the game. I did my job," Busch said. All the shots being peppered toward Busch made for a quiet night at the other end for Seattles Stefan Frei. With Wondolowski and Bernardez gone, the Earthquakes were missing seven of the 11 goals they have scored this season. The only player in San Joses starting lineup with a goal was midfielder Cordell Cato. San Joses only official shot on goal came on a free kick in the 90th minute from Khari Stephenson that Frei smothered. It was the second shutout of the season for Seattle and important after giving up five goals last Sunday to New England. "The commitment of the team this week after last week was playing to zero," Schmid said. ' ' '