players to step up

MIAMI -- With a game-changing swing, Michael Morse achieved one milestone, edged closer to another and gave the Washington Nationals a comeback victory. jerseys from china . Morse hit his 30th home run, a three-run shot with two out in the ninth inning, to rally Washington past the Florida Marlins 6-4 Monday night. The hit boosted Morses average to .303, helping his bid for his first .300 season. The native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., earned a curtain call from friends and family seated behind the Nationals dugout. "This was great," he said. "The curtain call was unreal, and to help the team win today, it was a big game." The Nationals clinched third place in the NL East. Theyre the first team from Washington to finish as high as third since 1945. With two games remaining, the Nationals (79-80) still have a chance at the franchises first winning season since 2003. "We havent accomplished anything unless were fighting for a pennant," manager Davey Johnson said. "Were moving in that direction." Washington improved to 16-9 in September. "A lot of these guys wish there was another month left," Morse said. "Were jelling together and pushing forward and showing teams that we can turn this division around soon." His homer came off Edward Mujica (9-6), who was trying to earn the first save for the Marlins since closer Leo Nunez returned last week to his native Dominican Republic and admitted playing under an assumed name. Florida led 4-3 when pinch-hitter Laynce Nix and Ian Desmond started the ninth with singles. Mujica retired the next two batters before Morse homered on a 1-1 pitch. The game marked the start of the final series at the stadium the Marlins are leaving for a new home near downtown. Two games remain in the stadium that has been their home since their first season in 1993. Jack McKeon announced before the game hell retire as Floridas manager at the end of the season after a three-month career comeback at age 80. The defeat dropped his team deeper into last place in the NL East. "Tough one," McKeon said. "I thought we had it in the bag. I guess its one of those years." Logan Morrison hit his 23rd home run off Washingtons Tommy Milone, who allowed three runs in 4 1-3 innings. Floridas Anibal Sanchez needed 104 pitches to get through five innings in his final start. He allowed three runs, two earned, and walked five. "Something really weird happened with my mechanics," Sanchez said. "Thats not the way I wanted to finish the season." Rookie Atahualpa Severino (1-0) earned his first career win. Henry Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save in five chances. The Marlins took a 4-3 lead in the seventh. Omar Infante reached on a two-out infield single, Mike Stanton walked and Gaby Sanchez followed with an RBI single. Washington then came from behind for the third time. The final series in the ballpark notorious for wet weather got off to an appropriate start with a 57-minute rain delay. The Nationals scratched out an unearned run in the third. Ian Desmond reached on an error by shortstop Emilio Bonifacio, stole second, took third on a balk and came home on a groundout by Rick Ankiel. Florida took a 2-1 lead in the third when Omar Infante tripled and scored on a single by Mike Stanton. The Nationals went ahead 3-2 in the fourth thanks to an RBI double by Desmond and a run-scoring single by Ankiel. Washingtons Craig Stammen retired all five batters he faced, but his wild pitch allowed the tying run to score in the fifth. NOTES: Marlins RHP Javier Vazquez takes a streak of 25 consecutive scoreless innings into his final start Tuesday. The start could be the last for Vazquez, 35, who says hes leaning toward retirement. ... Miami native Chris Marrero drew a big cheer when he singled for the Nationals in the eighth inning. ... The Marlins chose RHP Michael Brady as their minor league pitcher of the year and OF Christian Yelich as their minor league player of the year. ... With a single, Jayson Werth improved to 4 for 27 against Anibal Sanchez. ... Sanchezs balk was his fifth, most in the majors. cheap jerseys . The top-ranked player twisted his ankle while representing Serbia in the Davis Cup in April then appeared to hurt it again in a second-round loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the Madrid Open on Tuesday. cheap jerseys from china . Pau Gasol had 23 points and 17 rebounds, and injury-riddled Los Angeles used its sixth different starting point guard of the season in a 110-99 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night. http://www.cheapjerseyscanada.ca/ .C. -- Gerald Henderson is enjoying the best streak of his four-year NBA career, and the Charlotte Bobcats are playing better, too.TORONTO -- Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons leaned back in his chair Monday afternoon, spat some chewing tobacco juice into a cup and smiled as he answered questions from the dozen reporters gathered in his office for a pre-game media availability. Gibbons knows most of the scribes by name and is quick with a joke and a laugh. He seemed as relaxed as ever even though the optimism that reigned here last spring is long gone. The Blue Jays are mired in last place in the American League East and are playing out the string on what playoff-starved Toronto fans had hoped would be a turnaround campaign. Some columnists have written the time is right for a managerial change while calls to the local all-sports radio stations have been getting angrier by the day. Gibbons has been an easy target given that his club took a poor 58-73 record into Mondays series opener against New York. The 51-year-old manager still has the same laid-back demeanour that he had back in April when Rogers Centre was abuzz after an expensive off-season roster overhaul. Naturally Gibbons is disappointed that his team has underperformed. But he doesnt seem the least bit bothered by the stories or calls for him to be replaced. "I dont get into whats fair and whats unfair," Gibbons said in his friendly Texan drawl. "Its a tough business man, and youre in the arena. So its open season. So have at it, I guess you could say." His supporters point to the fact he has been hamstrung by an injury-riddled roster throughout the season. His critics question his teams ability to execute basic fundamentals on a consistent basis. Toronto struggled out of the gate this season and never really recovered. The much-hyped starting rotation was largely a disappointment, making things all the more challenging in one of the toughest divisions in the major leagues. Gibbons previously managed the Blue Jays for parts of five seasons before being fired in June 2008. He ssaid he doesnt fear the possibility that a managerial change could be made again. nfl jerseys china. "My life is good. I enjoy competing every day out there," he said. "You play to win that game and in the end, people make decisions on things like that. I mean really, whats there to fear?" The Blue Jays struggled mightily over a 2-8 road trip that wrapped up Sunday. The team is back home for a six-game homestand at Rogers Centre, beginning with a three-game set with the Yankees. New York is fighting to stay in the American League wild-card hunt. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have to settle for their usual late-summer role of spoiler. Gibbons, who is reportedly signed to a two-year deal with options, is expecting his players to step up and play hard over the last few weeks of the season. "Its easy when things go bad to tuck your tail and run, no question about it," he said. "And its easy to play when things are going good. Its tough to play when things are going bad, youre feeling the heat and everybody is breathing down your neck. "But youre a professional, getting paid good money, a lot of people are still coming to watch and they expect a good effort." The manager can be an easy scapegoat when the results arent there. The calls for the Blue Jays to make a change will only get louder if the losing continues. Gibbons doesnt pay much attention to it. "I dont read a whole lot (of reports), occasionally I might," he said. "I watch highlights and stuff on TV. But that goes with the business. Everybody gets fired in this business sooner or later. You really havent done anything if you havent." The Blue Jays still have a decent foundation in place and some solid prospects in the system. Many of those minor leaguers will get a look over these last few weeks. "We think this team could play better in the future," Gibbons said. "Were banking on that." ' ' '