r for granted. Jeter has dated some of the biggest stars and models, yet

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. Stitched NHL Jerseys . But defending champion Elena Vesnina of Russia held off a strong challenge to beat Shuai Peng of China 6-3, 6-4, and there was another hard-fought victory for 2012 runner-up Angelique Kerber of Germany, who defeated Alison Riske of the United States 7-6 (6), 6-4. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Online . - Kentucky freshmen Stanley Boom Williams, Dorian Baker, Drew Barker and Tymere Dubose have been charged with disorderly conduct for their involvement with air pistol shots being fired near a residence hall on the South campus Sunday night. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/ . - Alex Dostie scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Gatineau Olympiques to a 5-3 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Sunday. NHL Jerseys From China . At 11:06 of the first period, Neal struck Marchand with his knee when Marchand was down on the ice. Marchand remained in the game. Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Although taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles wasnt nearly as uplifting as winning the World Series, it still felt pretty darn good. Felix Doubront and four relievers combined kept Baltimores potent lineup in check, and David Ortiz had three of Bostons 12 hits off Wei-Yin Chen in a 4-3 victory Thursday night.TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. This week, topics include fallout from Marcus Stroman throwing at Caleb Joseph, whos primed to bounce back in the AL East in 2015, the Los Angeles Angels emerging as American League favourites and Derek Jeters exit from the game. 1. Did Torontos Marcus Stroman have to throw at Caleb Joseph on Monday after it appeared Jose Reyes overreacted to the play at the plate? And why would he appeal the decision now, when youre out of the race, rather than just get it over with before next year? It is so hard being a major league pitcher, sometimes. Those darn unwritten rules can bite you in the behind. Nobody has to say anything - you just know. When one of your stars has a beef with the other team and he has been attacked, it is up to the pitcher to show he is a good teammate. The way a pitcher shows he is a good teammate is to throw at the individual player involved in the beef or the other teams star. When Jose Reyes believed he was intentionally stomped on when sliding in to the plate, Orioles catcher, Caleb Joseph, suddenly had a target on his back. Fortunately, Marcus Stroman missed his target and the pitch soared past the head of Joseph. That is a no-no. Pitchers should never throw at an opponents head. A beaning can end someones career or even kill them. Based upon the circumstances, I understand why the umpires and Commissioner Bud Selig believe the pitch was intentional and why he was suspended. When there is a bad blood, the primary participants are the focus of the umpires attention and protection. Stroman has remained steadfast in his claim that there was no intent in the pitch that almost domed Joseph. He is appealing because he truly didnt mean to throw at Joseph. It makes no sense otherwise. If he intended to do it, he should just accept the respect of his teammates and his punishment. Missing six games when you have already been eliminated is painless. If you do the crime, you have to serve the time. He will lose his appeal and sit for six games sooner or later. 2. Aside from Baltimore, the entire AL East underperformed this year. Who among the Blue Jays, Yankees, Red Sox and Rays is best suited to turn it around in 2015? This has been a down year for the AL East. It has long been the best division in basebal,l but not this season. Over the years, the spending and success of the Yankees and Red Sox caused every other AL team, particularly in the AL East, to spend more and add power. For almost two decades, everyone in the AL chased the Yankees and Red Sox. The last time the Yanks and Sox both missed the playoffs in the same season was 1993. The Rays, before this season, have had nice run of competitiveness for a small market team and the Jays have the power bats to slug with anyone. Every team has flaws of some sort. Teams that make the playoffs tend to have fewer flaws or they have enough impact in some areas of the game to compensate for their weakness in another. Of the four AL East non-playoff teams the one with the best chance to sit on top next year is very difficult to predict. It will take good general managing to fix all of these teams. The Rays are going to depend upon the growth and development of their young players. They are hoping for a healthy season for key players like Matt Moore, Wil Myers and Desmond Jennings. They wont have money to spend in the free agent market, so they have to hope Joe Maddon can rebuild the young roster into a competitive one. The Red Sox started the reconstruction process early. The Jon Lester and John Lackey trades brought them Yoenis Cespedes and Allen Craig that immediately improved an offence that lacked punch from the right side. But by trading Lackey, Lester and Jake Peavy, they left themselves with huge holes in a rotation that already wasnt good enough. I expect the Sox to be players in the free agent market for Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields for sure. The Yankees need an overhaul. Joe Girardi gets as much out of his roster as any manager. The reality is that the Yanks need offence, defence and pitching. They will have gaping holes at second base and shortstop, as well as an aging Mark Teixeira and a returning Alex Rodriguez to third base. The pitching staff has fallen off significantly, as CC Sabbathia is half the pitcher he used to be and Masahiro Tanakas great first half and career is now clouded by a tear in his elbow. The Yanks have money to spend, but too many holes to solve all their needs in one off-season. That leaves the Jays. The Jays are in their window to win. They have a first-place offence and some first-place pitchers. They need an ace, though. They need the guy who will keep them out of the losing streak because he is the stopper. He wins after a loss. That pitcher will cost money and lots of it. It seems remote that the Jays will be big spenders in the free agent market, but if they get an ace they have a legitimate chance to win the division. So, here are my predictions for next year. The team that is closest to being the team to beat next year is the Jays. They have balance and depth in every component of the game, except starting pitching. The Red Sox and Yankees need starters too but they both have other significant offensive needs as well. The one advantage that the Yanks and Sox have is that they have money to get what they need. The Jays most likely do not have money to spend. The Rays will be competitive, but they dont have enough offence to support their good young arms. 3. Since June 6, the Los Angeles Angels have been on fire, posting a 63-29 record (.684 winning percentage) and have skyrocketed to an 11-1/2 game lead in the AL West over the Oakland Athletics. Their overall record of 95-57 is the best in the majors as well. Are the Angels the favourites to win the World Series this year or are they a team who has a lot of success in the regular season and then falters in the playoffs? The Angels had huge expectatiions in 2012 after signing Albert Pujols.dddddddddddd They had even bigger expectations last year when they added Josh Hamilton. But both years, they were dismal failures. This season has been absolutely remarkable. The Angels are playing Angels baseball again. They are fundamentally sound. They take the extra bases. The Angels are the best at going first to third on a single. They score from first on doubles. They are a solid defensive team. They make plays. They have pitched better than expected. I knew Jared Weaver and CJ Wilson would be high quality starters, but there were real questions about the rest of the rotation. Garrett Richards took advantage of the opportunity that he finally got and became the ace of the staff. When Richards went down to injury, Matt Shoemaker emerged and rounded out the rotation. In fact, after the loss of Richards, the Angels played even better than they had already been playing. Mike Scioscia reconfigured and developed his bullpen on the fly during the season and he is one of the best at managing the bullpen. Offensively, the Angels are the highest scoring offence in the AL. They have the AL MVP in Mike Trout and a former MVP in Pujols. They have gotten significant contributions from veteran middle infielders Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar, as well. Sciosca has done a nice job blending in some young players, as well. Youngsters, CJ Cron and Kole Calhoun are important to their line-up as they add length, depth and power. They clearly have a potent offence. The Angels will end up with the best record in the AL and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. That is certainly a big leg up, as they have the best home record in all of baseball. But I do have a concern about the Angels: starting pitching depth. Without Richards and, possibly, his replacement Shoemaker (strained oblique,) Games 3 and 4 of the playoff series will put them at a disadvantage. I believe the Angels will get to the ALCS and lose to the Detroit Tigers. 4. The Blue Jays lost to the Yankees last night 3-2. Both teams are still mathematically alive for a wild card spot, but the odds are remote that either will get there. So, effectively, both teams are just playing out the string. In Thursday nights one-run win, the Yankees got a solo home run from Derek Jeter. In and of itself, not a huge deal, since he has hit 260 in his career, but it does exemplify Jeters career. This is the final road trip of the Jays season or, more appropriately, the final homestand of Derek Jeters career. It is only fitting that he gives Yankee fans something to cheer for. On Wednesday in Tampa, Jeter broke an 0-for-28 slump just in time for his return to New York. He cant finish his final season in pinstripes in a funk. Jeter always seems to get it right and his finishing his career in a flurry sure feels right. Everywhere New York teams go, they are despised by the opposition. They have been the villains in baseball for decades. They win too much or they spend too much or they are too smug or they are just from New York, etc. People found reasons to hate them. Yet the face of baseball has been Derek Jeter over the last two decades. He has endured and been bigger than every distraction. He is bigger than the game. Jeters on-field performance has been remarkable. He has the most hits ever by a Yankee - more than Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. In fact, he has more hits (3,453) than all but five players in the history of the game. He has won five World Series championships. He was the AL Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP. He won the Gold Glove five times and was second in MVP balloting in 2006. Once can make the argument that he was the best shortstop ever. Even for those unwilling to give him that moniker, he is in the top five all-time. He is and always will be a legend in Yankee lore. But Jeters most significant accomplishment is that he has been respected by every teammate and opponent he has ever known. Jeter always did the right thing. He respected the game. He respected umpires and teammates. He respected his closest competitors. He never got caught up in his own hype. He never took the bait to respond inappropriately to any situation. He maintained a respectful and friendly relationship with the media. He has done everything right. There are no perfect people, let alone baseball players, but Jeters career has been perfect. He couldnt have played better. He couldnt have represented the Yankees or the game of baseball better. He is simply amazing. In this day and age of social networking, with Twitter and cameras on phones and all of the other ways that we invade each others privacy, he has never had a misstep. He is always classy and appropriate. He is grateful for what he has and has never taken any aspect of being a big leaguer for granted. Jeter has dated some of the biggest stars and models, yet never a scandal. He treats women with he same respect he treats everyone else. It is not only Yankee fans that will miss Derek Jeter - it is all baseball fans. I will be at Jeters last home game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, September 25. I for one will stand and applaud to show my respect and gratitude for how he played and his success. I will mostly be standing, though, out of gratitude for his representing the game I love with class and dignity. I applaud him for being a role model for so many young kids. We all wish our kids could grow up and be just like him. So please join me in saying, “Thank you, Derek for 20 great seasons. You broke our hearts many times, but we never held it against you because you beat us with grace, class and dignity.” Oh, and by the way, “Good riddance!! Maybe we can win a championship now, too.” ' ' '