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WASHINGTON -- Atlanta Braves left fielder Justin Upton saw the baseball nestle underneath some green wall padding and initially, instead of trying to make a play, threw his arms up and waited for a call from the umpires. jersyes nfl wholesale . All the while, Washingtons Ian Desmond kept running, making it all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park homer, apparently tying the game in the fifth inning. Hold on, though. This is a new era in the majors, where all sorts of plays can be reviewed and changed. So Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez challenged the non-call, and Desmonds home run was switched to a ground-rule double after a five-minute delay. Desmond then got caught stealing, capping a significant sequence Friday in Atlantas 2-1 victory over Washington. "These umpires, theyre good enough," Upton said. "But sometimes they need a little bit of help." The result spoiled the Nationals home opener and gave rookie manager Matt Williams his first loss following a 3-0 start. Williams did not agree with the way the review went, pointing out that Upton did eventually grab the ball and heave it toward the infield. "One of the reasons we have replay is to make sure that we get the calls right. I have a question with that one, though, because of what happened after the fact," Williams said. "The fact that when he had to, he reached down and threw it in." Upton said he paused while hoping for an umpire to say the play was dead, but eventually did go get the baseball because shortstop Andrelton Simmons "was panicking, telling me to throw the ball." Added Upton: "I made the play a little more confusing than it should have been." Some in the sellout crowd of 42,834 chanted "Home run! Home run!" during the review delay. And after the homer was overturned, fans booed Upton whenever he was involved in the action, whether he was catching a flyout or stepping into the batters box. Desmond, meanwhile, was determined to run until someone told him to stop. "With the replay stuff the way it is now, not going to leave anything to doubt," he said. As for this seasons expanded replay, Desmond said: "Everyones trying to figure it out." Desmond chided himself more for the subsequent running gaffe. It was one of a series of problems for Washington on the basepaths: Bryce Harper got caught because of a pitchout on a steal attempt, and Adam LaRoche was thrown out at the plate by Simmons on a relay. "We need to put pressure on the other team, as long as its intelligent," Washingtons Ryan Zimmerman said. "You dont want to run into outs." Washington did eventually even the score, but Atlantas Chris Johnson delivered a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth off reliever Tyler Clippard (0-1). Luis Avilan (1-0) got one out in the seventh for the win, and Craig Kimbrel earned his third save with a 1-2-3 ninth. In the eighth, Atlantas fourth reliever, David Carpenter, put two runners on with no outs. But he came back to strike out Washingtons 4-5-6 hitters, LaRoche, Zimmerman and Harper. "We had him where wanted him ... and just couldnt get the hit when we needed to," Zimmerman said. Atlantas first run came on Evan Gattis homer leading off the fifth against Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann, who was scratched Thursday because of a fever and upset stomach. A 19-game winner last year, Zimmermann allowed one run and four hits in five innings while striking out nine. Atlanta right-hander David Hale threw five scoreless innings in his third career start. In 2013, Atlanta went 13-6 against Washington in 2013 en route to replacing the Nationals as NL East champions. "Last year is last year. You get a nice pat on the back and its over with," Gonzalez said. "We play them six series. Every series is important. It doesnt matter if you play them in April of September." NOTES: Washingtons pitchers struck out 14, giving them 53 Ks, two more than the previous high for a seasons first four games, according to STATS. ... Washington LF Harper hit sixth and went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts. cheap jerseys . Louis Blues remain at the top spot of the TSN. jerseys from china . -- Ernie Els hardly ever catches a break at the Match Play Championship.LONDON -- At this point, the top Tour de France sprint star might be called Sir Marcel. Marcel Kittel, the German with a French first name, led a bunch sprint to win Mondays Stage 3 with a finish on the doorstep of Queen Elizabeths Buckingham Palace. Two days earlier, he courted royal attention as Prince William and Kate saw him win Stage 1 in Yorkshire in another sprint. The stage wrapped up the English debut to this 101st Tour edition, a rousing success among cycling-crazed British fans. Riders hopped on planes and bid "au revoir" to the UK before flying across the English Channel onto the races home turf. Rain in the City of London doused riders at the end of the 155-kilometre (96-mile) ride from the university town of Cambridge to a dramatic finish past landmarks Big Ben and Westminster. Italys Vincenzo Nibali retained the overall leaders yellow jersey with a 2-second lead over the most likely contenders to win the three-week race in Paris on July 27. Svein Tuft was the top Canadian in 138th place, 16 minutes 13 seconds off the lead. Christian Meier, also from Langley, B.C., was 17:31 back in 154th. Kittel, led out perfectly by Giant-Shimano teammates, made it look easy as he sped down a final wide approach on The Mall with Buckingham Palace behind him. Peter Sagan of Slovakia was second and Australias Mark Renshaw was third. "Im really, really happy I could win in front of Buckingham Palace," said Kittel, who won four Tour stages last year. "It was one of the greatest finishes Ive ever seen in front of this great scenery." FIRST PARIS, NOW LONDON The hulking German made it a tale of two cities. He added London glory to his record after also winning on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, in the Tour finale last year. His job in the sprints got a lot easier after Britains Mark Cavendish pulled out of the race after injuring his shoulder in a crash in Saturdays Stage 1. "Its one big opponent that is not in the race anymore," Kittel said. "Of course, that changes things for me, but also for the team." Kittel is no threat for the yellow jersey. Like many sprinters, he struggles on climbs and fell nearly 20 minutes behind Nibali in the overall standings in an up-and-down ride on Sunday through the hills and dales of Yorkshire. Nibalis biggest challengers for the prized leaders shirt remain title-holder Chris Froome of Britain and Spains Alberto Contador, who finisheed with the same time as the Italian and Kittel in an 84-rider bunch. wholesale nfl jerseys. . On Monday, the pack cruised nervously and let two breakaway riders go free on Monday. The duo was caught with about 6 kilometres (4 miles) left. EUROPEAN UNITY AMONG FANS? Tour officials estimated fans made nearly 5 million individual visits -- some may have attended more than one stage -- to the route in the first three stages. In signs of cross-Channel comity, Tour chief Christian Prudhomme took English lessons before the race; Britons waved both French tricolours and their beloved Union Jacks. But the teeming curbs, sidewalks and roadsides again caused trouble for the riders. With about 30 kilometres (19 miles) left, 2010 Tour winner Andy Schleck of Luxembourg was among riders who crashed briefly, and French TV showed a fan on the ground. Schleck, who gingerly returned to the race, said he didnt hit a spectator. "I guess it was my own fault," said Schleck, who collided with another rider and hurtled over his handlebars. His Trek Factory Racing teammate Jens Voigt said: "I saw about 15 crashes today. In the end there were two guys on the ground but I dont know what happened exactly ... Thats the Tour de France. The first week is always nervous." In other spills, Ted King of Cannondale and Jan Bakelants, a Belgian rider on Cavendishs Omega Pharma QuickStep team who wore yellow jersey two days last year, each scraped up their right elbows and knees. Some fans got political. A few held up placards imploring Prime Minister David Cameron not to back a U.S.-European Union free trade pact. Three topless protesters bearing slogans condemning female genital mutilation staged a brief protest near the Houses of Parliament before police bundled them away in fluorescent vests. The course route Monday notably bypassed Trafalgar Square, whose landmark Nelsons Column commemorates a British hero of the Napoleonic Wars. Stage 4 takes riders over 163.5 kilometres (105 miles) from Le Touquet-Paris Plage to Lille Metropole on the border with Belgium. Froomes Team Sky floated the idea that the pack might well ride under the sea rather than fly over it one day, if the Tour ever returns to the UK. The team released a glitzy video Monday saying that last month he became the first man to cycle through the Channel tunnel. In the video, Froome quipped: "This could be a really, really cool stage of a race." cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
