WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rain is not in the forecast for Sunday afternoon and that is good news for Chad Bettis, slated to start for the Colorado Rockies in Washington.In his first career start against the Nationals, Bettis went three innings in Denver on Aug. 16 before a two-hour rain delay prevented him from going any longer.The Rockies won 6-2 and took two of three games in the series against the National League East leaders earlier this month.Bettis is 10-7 with a 5.29 ERA this year and will make his 27th start of the season on Sunday, and that is tops among Colorado pitchers.The Lubbock, Texas, native has pitched three times against Washington, including two outings from the bullpen in 2014.It will be the last game of a road swing for the Rockies, who got second baseman DJ LeMahieu back in the starting lineup Saturday after he had missed three games with a left wrist injury.We missed some guys earlier in the road trip (because of injuries, said outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who had two home runs in a 9-4 win in 11 innings Saturday in Washington.Bettis is 5-5 with a 5.21 ERA in road games this year and in his last start, on Aug. 22 at Milwaukee, he went five innings and gave up four runs (three runs) and four hits with a career-high seven walks and three strikeouts.Bryce Harper is 2-for-3 against Bettis, and teammates Wilson Ramos and Anthony Rendon both are 2-for-4.The Rockies are expected to face rookie right-hander Lucas Giolito, who made his first three starts of his big league career earlier this year for the Nationals.Tomorrow its going to be Giolito, so Im hoping he throws up a gem against a very tough lineup, Washington manager Dusty Baker said after Saturdays loss.Giolito has been with Triple-A Syracuse the last few weeks and on Tuesday he was limited to one inning of work at Pawtucket, which seemed to indicate the Nationals would use him Sunday.Washington announced Saturday that right-hander Joe Ross, who has been on the disabled list since July 3 because of right shoulder inflammation, would make a minor league rehab start Sunday for Syracuse against Pawtucket.That is the spot in the rotation that Giolito held.Giolito made two big league starts earlier this year against the New York Mets. He entered this season as the top pitching prospect in the Washington system and one of the best in all of the minors.The Nationals bullpen has been taxed as of late, including extra innings Saturday.Well its been tough, Baker said. We knew it was going to be tough when we started out this streak. We didnt go very deep in that very first game which puts you behind the 8-ball.Boy that was a tough day, tough ending. We just have to come back and win the series tomorrow.Another possible pitcher for the Nationals in the coming weeks is veteran right-hander Mat Latos, who was slated to start Saturday for Syracuse after he had been signed to a contract by Washington.The Rockies have played well against Washington this year, with three wins in five games.They practice, too, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.Weiss said having Blackmon and LeMahieu at the top of the lineup makes a big difference.Both are getting on base at a really high rate, Weiss said. Having those guys changes our offense. It has been a domino effect the last few weeks, missing some guys one after another. Guys have stepped up and played pretty well. It is nothing like having your horses in there. Fake Adidas NHL Jerseys . McPhee said that Ovechkins father Mikhail is in stable condition after having the surgery this week and is no longer in intensive care. "Weve told him to stay as long as necessary with your dad," he said. Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Authentic .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/ . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. NHL Jerseys From China . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Fake Adidas NHL Jerseys . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. Its probably one of the most popular non-Brexit questions being asked around London -- what is wrong with West Ham United?Hammers manager Slaven Bilic is still searching for answers as his team tries to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat Saturday against Middlesbrough at London Stadium.Following a seventh-place finish and a Premier League era-record 62 points last season, much was expected of West Ham (1-0-5) given their move to their new London Stadium grounds as well as a Premier League that featured evergreens Manchester United and Chelsea in a state of flux. It appeared a top-four finish could be in the offering for the Hammers, who have burgeoning stars in French winger Dimitri Payet and fellow midfielder Michael Antonio.While Antonio has lived up to the hype, scoring five of West Hams seven league goals, the magic Payet created with his curling, bending and dipping free kicks in 2015-16 has yet to materialise. He has yet to open his scoring account this season, and the Hammers defence has been in tatters save their 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on Aug. 21.They were embarrassed 3-0 at home by Southampton on Sunday and have shipped 14 goals during their four-match skid. West Ham have not lost five straight Premier League matches since April 2-May 1, 2011, when they closed the season with seven losses and a draw en route to their last relegation to the ChampionshipI am concerned, Bilic admitted during his Thursday news conference. If we are talking about the last five Premier League games, its simply not the way we expected it to be, its definitely not good and thats why the only thing we are thinking about is the game on Saturday against Middlesbrough.Desperate times have called for desperate measures, and Bilic helped organise a team dinner Monday night to help alleviate some of the stress. That, however, sparked some controversy with rumours that striker Andy Carroll and goalkeeper Darren Randolph appeared intoxicated in public during the off-day Tuesday. The team said it was looking into the matter and both players reportedly denied they were drunk.Bilic, facing some scrutiny as Hammers manager for the first time since arriving in London last year, is confident a victory here could be a defining point to start a turnaround to an uunderachieving season to date.ddddddddddddWith one win we can build everything back and we have a good chance at home, he said. We are a team that is alive, the players are good together, they train, they listen, we talk about it a lot.But we need to do it in a game and not for half an hour, or an hour, or when we are one down or four down. But we have to do it for 90 minutes.Sunday loss was the first time West Ham were shut out this season, and Manuel Lazinis penalty in the 4-2 loss at West Bromwich Albion on Sept. 17 was the first goal scored by someone other than Antonio since James Collins tallied in the season-opening loss Aug. 15 at Chelsea. The Hammers have conceded eight first-half goals during their losing streak.New boys Middlesbrough (1-2-3) enter the weekend in 16th place on five points, two better than West Ham in the table. They have dropped three on the bounce in league play and are winless in five overall (0-1-4).Boro were unable to overcome a double by Tottenhams Heung-Min Son in the first 23 minutes and dropped a 2-1 decision at home to Spurs last Saturday. Ben Gibson pulled one back in the 65th minute, but offence is also a sore spot -- Middlesbrough have just six goals in league play.Like West Ham, Boro are consistently having lapses in the first 45 minutes, shipping six goals in the first half of their three league defeats.We need to improve our performances, manager Aitor Karanka said at his news conference Thursday. West Ham are not in their best moment but they are a good team. Our biggest mistake would be to think it is an easy game.The players need to know that we can compete, but we must compete from the first minute.Defender Fabio resumed training with the team and could be available to make his season debut in league play. He was forced off with an injury after the first 10 minutes of an EFL Cup loss to Fulham on Aug. 24.The teams have not faced each other since Middlesbrough took four of six points in the Championship during the 2011-12 season. Boro may also fancy their chances for success at London Stadium since they went 0-2-7 in their last nine matches at The Boleyn Ground. ' ' '
