Infos » then took a 79-75 lead when W

ators down, from 20 to 25, and WASHINGTON - Aaron Harang outdueled Stephen Strasburg, Justin Upton drove in three runs and the Atlanta Braves avoided a series sweep in Washington with a 6-2 win over the Nationals on Wednesday. The Braves snapped a three-game losing streak as Harang (11-10) held the NL East leaders to one unearned run over seven innings. Uptons RBI single in the sixth broke a 1-all tie, and he added a two-run double off reliever Ryan Mattheus during a three-run seventh. Strasburg (11-11) allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings. Bryce Harper homered for Washington, which had won three straight. B.J. Upton homered for the wild card-contending Braves. Washington leads Atlanta by eight games in the division. Washington won the opening two games of the series, and success against Atlanta has been historically difficult for the Nationals and Strasburg. The Nationals dropped to 6-10 this season against the Braves, though they had won five of the previous seven games. They have not swept Atlanta in Washington since 2008. Strasburg has not earned a win against the Braves since Aug. 21, 2012. In four starts this season against Atlanta, the righty is 0-2 with a 7.18 ERA. The NL strikeout leader fanned eight, but lost for the first time since August 8. Strasburg entered with a 3-0 record in his previous five starts. Harang struggled recently, going 0-3 with a 7.98 ERA in his last three starts. That version didnt show Wednesday. He struck out nine and surrendered six while improving to 2-0 with an 0.90 ERA versus Washington this season. Kevin Frandsen had three singles for the Nationals. TRAINERS ROOM Braves: C Evan Gattis (strep throat) returned to the locker room after spending the previous two days at the teams hotel. Manager Fredi Gonzalez kept him out of Wednesdays lineup and said Gattis will likely serve as Atlantas designated hitter for the upcoming series in Texas. Nationals: 3B Anthony Rendon (illness) and SS Ian Desmond (back tightness) were kept out of the starting lineup. Desmond left Tuesdays game after five innings with back tightness. Nationals manager Matt Williams said the shortstop could have played Wednesday. UP NEXT Braves: LHP Alex Wood (10-10, 2.90) starts Friday against the Rangers. Nationals: Tanner Roark (12-10, 2.97) faces Bartolo Colon (13-11, 3.96) on Thursday as the Nationals begin a four-game series at the New York Mets. Ken Daneyko Jersey .com) - Its fair to call Mike McCarthy one of the best coaches in the NFL but its also more than objective to point out that the veteran mentor bookended the Green Bay Packers season with two, truly awful game plans in Seattle. Kyle Palmieri Jersey . Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz. http://www.authenticdevilspro.com/Miles-wood-devils-jersey/. Clevelands manager had just watched his team lose 5-3 to Kansas City, which completed a 2-6 homestand and dropped the Indians 2 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central. Martin Brodeur Jersey . made a diving catch in left field for the final out in a 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins in a regular-season finale Sunday. Zimmermann (14-5) allowed only two baserunners, finishing with 10 strikeouts and one walk in the fifth no-hitter in the majors this year. Marcus Johansson Jersey .com) - The Winnipeg Jets got over one hurdle by snapping their longest losing streak of the season. PORTLAND, Ore. -- San Antonio stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker took the night off Wednesday. No matter. As is usual when the Spurs are without their stars, the rest of the team got the job done. Patty Mills came off the bench to score 29 points, Marco Belinelli hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining and San Antonio rallied in the second half to pull out a 111-109 victory over the Trail Blazers. San Antonio has won two of three games this season when Duncan and Parker were both absent from the lineup. Mills helped fill the void with a 24-point second half. The fourth-year guard from Australia came off the bench to hit 13 of 26 shots against the Blazers. Belinelli had 20 points and Manu Ginobili 16 for San Antonio. Mills has been on a hot streak since the All-Star break concluded, scoring 25 and 29 points in the Spurs first two games back. "If it wasnt for him the last couple nights, we would have really struggled," San Antonio forward Danny Green said. "Hes doing what Tony usually does, in taking over in that fourth quarter." Mills explained his recent stretch in humble tones, saying "for me, its just been learning from great guys. Weve got three future Hall of Famers and a great coach, so Ive just sat back and learned." It wasnt just Mills, though. Belinelli hit four 3-pointers, and Tiago Splitter had 15 points and six rebounds in returning to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 6. "I thought the effort was fantastic," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. Portland was without leading scorer and rebounder LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed the game with a groin injury and is expected to be out at least a week. Also sidelined were forward Joel Freeland (knee) and centre Meyers Leonard (ankle). Aside from Duncan and Parker, the Spurs also were without guard Kawhi Leonard (right hand). Damian Lillard scored 31 points, including 15 during the fourth quarter, for Portland. Coming off his first All-Star game appearance, Lillard hit 13 of 21 shots aand handed out six assists.dddddddddddd Mo Williams had 19 points and Wesley Matthews 18 for the Blazers. Without Aldridge, Freeland and Leonard, the Blazers had to resort to playing a small lineup. It resulted in erratic play, with stretches when the Blazers offence went missing. "We tried to beat San Antonio at their game and they did it better than us," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "San Antonio is used to playing these games without their guys and they plug guys in and they play well." Trailing 81-79 after three quarters, San Antonio took command when Green hit back-to-back 3-pointers to fuel a 10-0 run at the fourth quarters outset. The Spurs led by as many as 10 points, but the Blazers eventually pulled even at 101-101 on Matthews steal and dunk with 1:52 remaining. On San Antonios next possession, Belinelli hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:34 left to put the Spurs back on top. Portland led by as many as eight points during the first half, and settled for a 52-51 halftime lead. Both teams had big runs during a free-flowing third quarter. Mills finished an 8-2 run with a layup to give San Antonio a 69-61 lead. Portland responded with seven consecutive points,illiams scored six consecutive points late in the quarter. NOTES: Portland was the last NBA team to use the same starting lineup this season until Wednesday, when Dorell Wright replaced Aldridge against San Antonio. The Blazers are the first team since the 2010-11 Spurs to start the same lineup during its first 53 games. . Splitter returned to the lineup after missing the past four games with a calf injury. . Blazers forward Victor Claver, who hasnt played since Nov. 15 and has logged just three minutes of playing time this season, made a first-quarter appearance and played seven minutes . San Antonio concludes a nine-game road trip that began Feb. 3 on Friday at Phoenix. . Before Wednesday, San Antonio was 1-9 in its past 10 games at Portland. ' ' '