DENVER -- Jon Gray and Stephen Strasburg both will be trying to rebound from two poor starts when they oppose each other Wednesday in the rubber game of a three-game series between the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals.Gray, who is 8-6 with a 4.55 ERA in 21 starts for the Rockies, will be facing the Nationals for the first time in his career.While losing his past two starts against the Miami Marlins and at Philadelphia, the right-hander pitched a total of eight innings while allowing 16 hits and 15 runs, 14 earned, with five walks and nine strikeouts.Grays slider has been a vaunted pitch for him this season, one he has relied heavily on to get many of his 129 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings. However, that pitch was highly ineffective in his most recent starts. Miami right fielder Giancarlo Stanton walloped a poor slider for a two-run homer on Aug. 7.Against the Marlins, the action (on the slider) was so bad, really bad, Gray said. It was really flat. It didnt have an effect at all. It was an easy, hittable pitch. The one (Stanton) hit was a terrible slider. I dont think I threw any good ones that day. Zero.Strasburg is 15-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 22 starts with 108 hits allowed in 143 2/3 innings, 41 walks and 176 strikeouts. While losing his past two starts to the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves, both at home, Strasburg has allowed 15 hits and 10 runs in 10 innings.The Washington right-hander is 4-3 with a 2.35 ERA in seven career starts against the Rockies. He is 1-2 with a 3.44 ERA in three starts at Coors Field, where he has not allowed a home run in 18 1/3 innings.Strasburg hopes to lift the Nationals to a series win after they scored a 5-4 win Monday before Colorado rebounded for a 6-2 victory Tuesday.Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper went 3-for-3 with two doubles, one RBI and two walks in the series opener. He drove in a run with a groundout Tuesday while going 0-for-3 with a walk, giving him a major-league-leading 86 walks.Harper is the reigning Most Valuable Player in the National League, an award he won unanimously after his memorable 2015 season. He hit .330 last year with 42 home runs, 99 RBI, a .460 on-base percentage and a .649 slugging percentage.This season, Harper is hitting .238 with 20 homers, 60 RBI, a .381 on-base percentage and a .447 slugging percentage.Dusty Baker is in his first season as the Nationals manager, so he didnt witness Harpers 2015 feats on a daily basis. Nonetheless, Baker said he has been impressed by Harpers team-first attitude all season.What struck me is he wants to win, Baker said. Very rarely have I heard any talk about any personal accomplishments or anything like that. I know in his heart and his mind its hard to go from MVP to not having a good year. But I think these last six weeks, hell rise to the top because he has a lot of pride and a lot of game.After a game, you cant tell if he got five hits or zero hits. And thats what I admire about him. A lot of guys, you can tell if the team won and they got hits, and if the team lost, theyd be kind of happy if they got their hits.Julian Edelman Youth Jersey . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Julian Edelman Jersey .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. http://www.shoptheofficialpatriots.com/Elite-Stephon-Gilmore-Patriots-Jersey/ . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Stephon Gilmore Jersey .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Rob Gronkowski Patriots Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murrays patience is growing thin after forward Evander Kanes latest off-ice legal problem.In his strongest comments to date, Murray on Friday said Kane needs to behave better whether or not hes cleared of harassment complaints filed against him by two women following an alleged altercation at a Buffalo nightclub last week.Hes going to have to pick and choose his spots when he goes out a lot better than he does, and hes going to have to behave himself a lot better than he has obviously, Murray said.Whether he has done these things or not, or he is guilty of these things or not, its not something I like getting up in the morning and reading about thats for sure.According to a police report, Kane allegedly grabbed one woman by the throat. The second woman accused the 6-foot-2, 204-pound Kane of trying to force her from the bar. Police are still investigating what happened, and no charges or arrests have been made.Kanes attorney, Paul Cambria, has said the player did nothing wrong.This is the 24-year-old Kanes second run-in with legal trouble in six months. In March, prosecutors announced after a three-month investigation that Kane would not face a sexuual assault charge stemming from a December incident because there was no evidence to support the allegation.dddddddddddd.The Sabres have already disciplined Kane once by suspending him for one game in February after the player slept in and missed practice.Kane spent the previous night attending the NBA All-Star game in Toronto, which is about a two-hour drive from Buffalo. Pictures of Kane celebrating following the game surfaced on the players Instagram account before they were deleted.Kane apologized and accepted full responsibility for what happened.The fourth player selected in the 2009 draft, Kane completed his first season in Buffalo after being acquired in a multiplayer trade with Winnipeg in February 2015. He has two years remaining on his contract, and scored 20 goals and added 15 assists in 65 games last season.Murray intends to meet with Kane to discuss his concerns once the legal process is completed.Certainly, we dont like the fact that this is twice now that hes been in incidents like this, Murray said. Its not good for the organization. Its not good for him. ' ' '
