a this year.The Nationals wasted a chance to rattle Collmenter in the second when he walked three of the first four batters bu

ATLANTA -- When he was pitching in the minor leagues earlier this month, Josh Collmenter didnt envision himself beating the Washington Nationals.He stayed focused, though, and got another chance in the major leagues with the NL-worst Atlanta Braves, who backed him up with timely hitting.Nick Markakis and Anthony Recker each drove in two runs, Collmenter won as an emergency starter and the Atlanta Braves beat the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Saturday.Aside from the two balls that left the yard, I feel good about most of my stuff, Collmenter said.Washington began the day needing a combination of six Nationals victories or six New York Mets losses to clinch its third NL East title in five years.Acquired Wednesday from the Chicago Cubs, Collmenter (2-0) struck out eight in five innings and allowed two runs, four hits and three walks. He was Arizonas opening-day starter last year and was making his first big league start since July 7, 2015 for Arizona.Collmenter had four starts at Triple-A Iowa before the trade. Atlanta needed a starter because Mike Foltynewicz has a bruised left calf and Williams Perez has an elbow impingement.Washington rookie Trea Turner hit a pair of solo home runs, is 7 for 9 in the series and has six homers, 16 RBI, 19 runs and seven steals in 12 games against Atlanta this year.The Nationals wasted a chance to rattle Collmenter in the second when he walked three of the first four batters but struck out Turner to escape the jam. Collmenter also stranded a runner at third in the third.I was able to retire him and, for the most part, kept them stringing some hits together and limit the walks, Collmenter said.Atlanta scored three runs in the fifth for a 6-2 lead against Gio Gonzalez (11-10). Markakis RBI single chased Gonzalez, Trevor Gott gave up Reckers RBI single and Gordon Beckhams bases-loaded walk.The Braves have won just 12 of the last 48 games in the series and their 29 losses to Washington since the start of 2015 are Atlantas most against one opponent in a two-year span.Maybe the law of averages were on their side to win one today, Nationals manager Dusty Baker said.Gonzalez allowed six runs and nine hits, dropping to 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in four starts against Atlanta this season.I got beat by a lot of singles, Gonzalez said. Some were by just inches. It was one of those unfortunate things. You want to show you can pitch in this rotation, and it was the way todays game went.ROTATION TURNSTILEAtlanta has used a big-league high 16 starters, a team record. The 1975 Braves used 15.HITTING MACHINEWashington 2B Daniel Murphy hit his NL-leading 47th double in the third to tie Ryan Zimmermans franchise record in 2006. Murphy stayed in the game after a hard head-first slide into the second base in the third.STREAKINGFreeman has a 21-game hitting streak and has reached safely in 37 straight games. Both are career highs and the longest active streaks in the majors. ... Braves CF Ender Inciarte went 3 for 4 and has 87 hits, most in the majors, since the All-Star break.BACK ON THE HILLBraves RHP Jose Ramirez threw an eight-pitch eighth. Ramirez has appealed a three-game suspension handed imposed for throwing at the head of Miami pitcher Jose Fernandez.UP NEXTJoe Ross (7-4) is to start Sunday for the Nationals and RHP Matt Wisler (6-12) for the Braves. Ross is on the 60-day DL and has been sidelined since July 2 with shoulder inflammation. Wisler is 2/3 with a 5.19 ERA in five career starts and one relief appearance against Washington. Stitched White Sox Jerseys . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Chicago White Sox Shirts . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. Fake White Sox Jerseys . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. White Sox Jerseys 2019 . 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. DEL MAR, Calif. -- The grass is definitely is where Mokat earns the green. She returned to her favorite surface, Del Mars turf, and looked better than ever with a dominating performance in the Grade 2, $201,725 San Clemente Handicap on Saturday.Mokat was given a chance to try the best races on dirt earlier this year, but after she beat just one of her 13 rivals in the Kentucky Oaks, she was freshened and pointed to the summer series of grass races for 3-year-old fillies here. She won a maiden race here last fall and was second in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante, but went to a new level in the San Clemente by romping by 3-3/4 lengths in her first try under Kent Desormeaux.I thought she might be a little short, said her trainer, Richard Baltas. Shes much better on grass. Her action is totally different. She gets lower.Baltas was fearful that Mokat ($16.40) might be a bit short, as she had just two workouts since a 30-day freshening following the Kentucky Oaks.I think she was 85-to-90 percent fit, Baltas said. But these horses, sometimes I think we overtraiin them.ddddddddddddThe manner in which she won this race makes her the one to beat in the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 20. Mokat was midpack midway through the race but knifed between rivals on the far turn and kept on motoring.She was full of run, Desormeaux said.Mokat completed one mile on firm turf in 1:35.23. Lady Valeur, who stalked the early pace, held on for second, three-quarters of a length in front of third-place Stays in Vegas. Be Mine, the 5-2 favorite, was fourth and was followed, in order, by Jade Princess, Corps de Ballet, Gone to Bali, Mirage, Princess Princess, and Belvoir Bay, who set the early pace but faded after getting out the whole way, according to jockey Florent Geroux.Mokat, a daughter of Uncle Mo, is owned by the JK Racing Stable of John Manni. She has now won 2 of 9 starts, and placed in three other graded stakes. The $120,000 winners share increased her lifetime total to $285,040. ' ' '