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MILWAUKEE -- Stephen Strasburgs fastball was on, but the changeup was off. Ricky Jean Francois Jersey . Minus one pitch in his arsenal, the Washington Nationals ace got shelled for one of the worst outings of his career. Scooter Gennett had a grand slam and five RBIs, Khris Davis added a solo shot and the Milwaukee Brewers roughed up Strasburg in a 9-2 victory Wednesday. Strasburg (6-6) was tagged for eight hits and seven runs in 4 2-3 innings. Strasburg also allowed seven earned runs in a two-inning start on July 12, 2013, in an 8-3 loss to Miami. Strasburg said he was having issues with his mechanics that were causing hitters "to see the ball a lot better. ... Still trying to figure that out. It just doesnt feel the same, it doesnt look the same." Manager Matt Williams said Strasburg was commanding his fastball, but the changeup threw him off. Thats not good news against the aggressive Brewers, even with top hitters Ryan Braun, Jonathan Lucroy and Aramis Ramirez all getting a day off. "So he couldnt go to it, he was missing with that," Williams said. "And then he got behind in the count and they took advantage of it. This team swings at fastballs and they hit them. If you get behind, you can get in trouble." Homer-prone starter Marco Estrada (7-4) allowed just two hits and pitched effectively into the seventh for the Brewers, who bounced back a day after falling 4-2 in 16 innings to Washington. Estrada has given up a major league-high 24 homers, but didnt allow a homer Wednesday. Estradas only other outing without a homer was during a 6-1 loss to St. Louis on April 15. On Wednesday, fans showered him with a standing ovation after he got lifted in the seventh. "The way the game was going, Im sure everyone was really excited about it -- but to get some cheers in that game, it made me feel really good," Estrada said. Gennett turned on a 2-1 fastball for his first career grand slam and fifth homer of the season that landed on the concourse above right-centre field in the second for a 4-1 lead. Davis opened the bottom of the fourth with a no doubt-about-it shot above the "Goodwill" sign in left-centre for his team-high 14th homer to make it 5-2. Davis swung at a first-pitch fastball. "A guy like Strasburg, you dont want to get to two strikes off him," Davis said. "You want be aggressive and get him early." The Brewers bats broke out after scoring just two runs in 25 innings in the first two games of a series between NL division leaders. Rookie Taylor Hill, making his major-league debut, allowed two runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings of relief. The benches did empty briefly after Carlos Gomez slid through second base on second basemans Kevin Frandsens relay on a double play to end the eighth inning. Gomez had reached after getting hit by a pitch. Shortstop Ian Desmond took issue with the slide and exchanged words with Gomez. No punches were thrown and the teams returned to their dugouts. "I respect the way he plays the game, but I got no respect for that," Desmond said. "In a World Series game, you slide like that. In a seven-run differential game, theres no time for that. If youre going to defend that, Ive got no respect if you can defend that." Manager Ron Roenicke said it was a hard but clean slide. "You get hit with a ball, you get a little adrenaline going, and youre going to go in hard," the skipper said. NOTES: Nationals OF Bryce Harper (left thumb) has joined Class AA Harrisburg for the next phase of his rehab stint for a left thumb injury. ... Williams said C Wilson Ramos (right hamstring) could rejoin the team in time for the start of Thursdays four game series in Chicago against the Cubs. ... Doug Fister (6-5) will start the opener of the Cubs series for Washington. Milwaukee opens a four-game set on Thursday at Miller Park with Wily Peralta (8-5) taking the hill. Donald Thomas Indianapolis Colts . Sotnikova trailed the 2010 Olympic champion by just .28 points after the short program on Wednesday, but had a brilliant free skate on Thursday. She earned a top score of 149. Authentic Andrew Luck Jersey . The Lakers will also visit Cleveland and Philadelphia, have lost four in a row on the road and are 8-18 as the guest this season. They are 3-12 on the road against Western Conference opponents.WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin was back on the ice -- and he put the puck in the net, too. Guys such as Jason Chimera, Mathieu Perreault and Joel Ward contributed goals. Goalie Michal Neuvirth allowed only one. And lo and behold, the Washington Capitals actually managed to avoid falling behind early. Yes, the Capitals were at home, where they are a vastly different team. And yes, they were facing the lowly Montreal Canadiens. Still, what mattered most was that Washington began what could be a pivotal few days for the future of the franchise by beating Montreal 4-1 Friday night to snap a three-game losing streak. "Our guys try and win. They play hard most nights. We were due for one, maybe. We were due for a good hockey game," Capitals forward Brooks Laich said. "And we got one at a good time." Given that the Capitals won only one of their past seven games, and four of their past 15 -- dropping them from first place to third in the Southeast Division, and to 10th in the Eastern Conference entering Friday -- they were in need of a strong performance. They delivered against Montreal, which has lost three games in a row, is in last place in the East and isnt exactly playing inspired hockey. "Taking penalties at bad times. The power plays ineffective. Its frustrating, for sure," Montreal forward Erik Cole said. On Saturday, Washington plays at the Toronto Maple Leafs -- the teams are tied with 65 points, on the outside looking in at a playoff berth. And then on Monday, the NHL trade deadline arrives. Laich insisted that last part is far from his mind. "If we were 20 points up on everybody, then we would watch it a little bit," Laich said. "But weve got hockey games to win." Capitals general manager George McPhee still needs to decide whether he wants to be a buyer or a seller. McPhee already tried changing coaches this season, firing Bruce Boudreau -- whos found success jump-starting his new employer, the Anaheim Ducks -- and handing the team over to Dale Hunter. "Everybody wants to make their team better. But its somebody elses decision whos going to be traded, whos not," Ovechkin said. "If George is going to do something, I think its going to be better for our club." One thing Washington did better Friday was start welll. Arthur Jones Jersey. Some casual defence by the Canadiens allowed Chimera to send a pass across the ice to Perreault, who was pretty much left alone to make it 1-0 at 6:58. That ended a run of six consecutive games in which Washington trailed 1-0 -- in four of their previous five games, the Capitals fell behind 2-0. "We talked about it before the game," Neuvirth said. "We needed a good start." He made 30 saves, although he did allow the first goal Montreal has scored against Washington since March 15, 2011. Rene Bourques short-handed breakaway goal 3:42 into the third period ended a drought of 260 minutes 14 seconds for the Canadiens against the Capitals, stretching over five games, including three shutouts. Bourques goal came after Ovechkin turned over the puck. "A stupid mistake," Ovechkin called it. He missed Washingtons previous game, at Ottawa on Wednesday, with a lower-body injury. As it is, the two-time MVP is having what might wind up as his worst NHL season, with only 25 goals and 21 assists so far. He went into Friday with all of four goals in the preceding month. But Ovechkins slapshot from the left circle off Dmitry Orlovs pass got past goalie Carey Price at 8:58 of the second period, while the official scoring for Chimeras breakaway goal still was being announced over the loudspeakers. Ovechkin dropped a knee to the ice and punched a glove to celebrate. "He felt good out there," Hunter said. Asked whether Alex the Great looked 100 per cent fit, Hunter replied: "Oh, yeah. Hes good." After the game, McPhee carried a bag of popcorn as he rode in an elevator from the press box down to the floor where the locker-rooms are. A reporter asked McPhee whether hed be willing to answer questions. McPhee smiled, shook his head, then grabbed a handful of popcorn and walked away. Should be an interesting few days coming up. NOTES: Bourque was with the Calgary Flames when he was suspended for five games after elbowing Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom in the head Jan. 3. Backstrom hasnt played since. ... Washington RW Mike Knuble was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in the past eight games, and D Roman Hamrlik was held out for the second straight game. ... Wards empty-netter with 35.1 seconds left was his first goal since Jan. 7. ' ' ' |
