third in assists and sixth in games played among all Czech Republic born

WASHINGTON -- By the time Danny Espinosa hit his two-run homer in the eighth inning, there were only a couple of hundred fans left in the ballpark, almost all of them congregated behind the two dugouts. A couple of times there was an ad hoc chant-off between the ones in red down the first base line and those in blue on the other side. "You can hear every word at that point," Espinosa said. "Its like a back-field spring training game." Anthony Rendon hit a two-run homer in the first inning Monday night, and -- thanks to an odd-moving storm that produced an interminable rain delay -- Espinosa and the Washington Nationals didnt finish off the Los Angeles Dodgers until some six hours later on Tuesday morning, holding on for a 4-0 victory and gaining sole possession of first place in the NL East. Jordan Zimmerman pitched four shutout innings before the game was halted, and five relievers threw an inning apiece after play resumed. In between, there was an interruption of 3 hours, 17 minutes while a narrow, cigar-shaped storm took its time soaking D.C. and not much else. "You certainly wait around that long, you want to win the game," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. Aaron Barrett (2-0) got the win mainly because he happened to be Washingtons first reliever when play resumed. Zack Greinke (5-1) got a hard-luck first loss of the season, and plate umpire John Tumpane became the MVP for calling strikes and getting the game done in a reasonable hurry once the tarp was removed. There were four strikeouts before the delay, 16 after it. "We dont get off to a good start, they get a couple quick runs, and then obviously a three-hour delay in there and lose Zack," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "Really, we had chances, we just didnt do anything." The rain limited Greinke to three innings, ending a streak that had been unmatched for a century. He had 18 consecutive regular-season starts of at least five innings while allowing two runs or fewer -- the longest such run in the majors since 1914. "Its not really like its an important streak; no one really cares about it anyway," Greinke said. "If it was like a consecutive win streak or something more important than that, it would mean a little more." Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig sat out the marathon, still sore after crashing into an outfield wall in the ninth inning of Sundays 5-4 road loss to the Miami Marlins. Manager Don Mattingly said Puig remained day to day and declined to say directly whether a concussion has been ruled out. Nationals left fielder Nate McLouth had his own crash-into-wall injury in the eighth inning, when he made a sliding backhand catch of a foul ball. Both hands and both knees hit the wall hard, and his right hand was bleeding as he walked off the field. Williams said McLouth wasnt seriously hurt. The cut didnt require stitches, although a banged-up knee will almost certainly be sore for a while. Zimmermann held the fort until the middle of the fourth, when the dozens of bags of sands poured on the infield by the grounds crew were no longer a match for the weather. The fans who stayed behind were treated to a scoreboard broadcast of their city-sports-brethren Washington Wizards winning an NBA playoff game. Also shown during the delay was the Atlanta Braves loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, which helped the Nationals vault into first in the division. The fans who remained when play resumed had unusually good odds when it came to chasing a foul ball, or catching a T-shirt tossed into the stands as part of a standard promotion. "Fans are going crazy," Zimmermann said. "Its a game, you have to play no matter how many fans are out there. The place wasnt exactly rocking, but it was a game we had to play." NOTES: Greinke had been unbeaten in his previous 13 starts (9-0) vs. NL East teams. ... The Nationals plan to promote RHP Blake Treinen from Triple-A Syracuse to start Tuesdays game. RHP Ryan Mattheus will be optioned to Syracuse. ... Clayton Kershaw (strained back) is scheduled to come off the disabled list Tuesday and start for the Dodgers. ... Kershaw is expected to take the roster spot held for a day by RHP Pedro Baez, who was recalled Monday from Double-A Chattanooga and made his major league debut in the eighth inning. RHP Stephen Fife, who started Sundays game, was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. ... Mattingly said LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, who missed Sundays start with a sore shoulder, did not need an MRI and would resume throwing Tuesday. ... Washington reinstated OF Scott Hairston (strained side muscle) from the 15-day DL and optioned OF Steven Souza Jr. to Triple-A Syracuse. ... Washington C Wilson Ramos (hand) caught nine innings for Double-A Harrisburg on Monday and could rejoin the team later this week. Michael Crabtree Ravens Jersey . A veteran of 16 NHL seasons, Prospals career was highlighted by him ranking fourth in points scored, third in assists and sixth in games played among all Czech Republic born players in NHL history. Kenny Young Ravens Jersey .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/Youth-Mark-Andrews-Ravens-Jersey/ . Its a blessing and a burden for nine sons of former NHL players who are all expected to be taken in the first four rounds of the draft this weekend. Hayden Hurst Ravens Jersey . -- Jim Furyk was 10 shots worse and right where he wanted to be Saturday in the BMW Championship. Lamar Jackson Jersey . -- Oakland Athletics third baseman Scott Sizemore has undergone surgery on his left knee to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- It was tough to tell what Remi Dibo enjoyed more: being the centerpiece of West Virginias 3-point show against No. 11 Iowa State, or clamping down on Big 12 scoring leader Melvin Ejim. Dibo scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Mountaineers to a 102-77 victory Monday night, the Cyclones most lopsided loss of the season. Dibo went 6 of 8 from beyond the arc as West Virginia tied a season high with 13 3-pointers. A native of France who finished his high school career in southern West Virginia and played last season at Wyomings Casper College, the 6-foot-7 Dibo made his fourth straight start and fifth overall. "I think my teammates did a great job of finding me," Dibo said. "I think its been a while. Theyve been doing a good job finding me and I was not responding. But I did today." Juwan Staten added 19 points and Eron Harris and Terry Henderson each had 16 points for the Mountaineers (15-10, 7-5 Big 12). Iowa State (18-5, 6-5) had five players in double figures, led by Georges Niangs 17 points. But Ejim, coming off a Big 12-record 48 points and a career-high 18 rebounds against TCU, was guarded by Dibo and held to six points -- 12 below his average -- on 1-of-9 shooting. "We just knew we couldnt let him score 40 points on us," Dibo said. "We had to make an effort on him." The Cyclones fell behind by double digits midway through the first half and trailed by as many as 32 points late in the game. It was the most lopsided loss for Iowa State since a 23-point setback at Texas in January 2011. "It was pretty much, start to finish, just a poor effort on our end," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. West Virginia shot 54 per cent (35 of 65) from the field, hit a season-high for points and improved to 2-1 amid a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents heading into a matchup Saturday at No. 19 Texas. Iowa States outside scoring was virtually nonexistent until it was too late. The Cyclones were held to 37 per cent shooting (26 of 71) in losing their fourth road conference game.dddddddddddd West Virginia coach Bob Huggins called it "by far the best" defensive effort from his team this season. Dustin Hogue added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cyclones while Deandre Kane had 14 points, Matt Thomas 13 and Monte Morris 10. Kane, a Pittsburgh native, had more than 50 relatives and friends in attendance. He went 1-2 against the Mountaineers while he played at instate rival Marshall and was booed and taunted whenever he touched the ball. "Tonight we just didnt have it," Hoiberg said. "I dont know what it was. This group has been very focused and given everything all year." West Virginias lack of bench scoring had stood out in a double-digit loss to No. 7 Kansas on Saturday. On Monday, the Mountaineers reserves outscored Iowa States 27-15. "We had pretty much the same shots against Kansas, but we didnt make them," Huggins said. "Today, we made them." Trailing 52-33 at halftime, Iowa State put together its best stretch and closed the gap to 58-44 5 minutes into the second half before West Virginia again pulled away. The Cyclones went 4 minutes between field goals after that, and West Virginia got a big boost from its bench to keep the pressure on. Freshman Nathan Adrian made two baskets and two free throws, and Kevin Noreen doubled his season scoring average with a layup and two free throws. Dibos 3-pointer with 6:53 left gave the Mountaineers their largest lead, 86-54. "We just stuck to the game plan," Dibo said. "We couldnt let them make a run to come back. We knew from the past every time we had a lead, we had let teams come back, and we knew we couldnt let that happen." The only drama for West Virginia came when Harris was ejected for a flagrant foul with 4:25 left. After the game, West Virginias players went into the student section to celebrate. Authentic Steelers Jerseys Authentic Cowboys Jerseys Authentic Raiders Jerseys Authentic Chiefs Jerseys Authentic Eagles Jerseys Authentic Redskins Jerseys Authentic Falcons Jerseys Authentic Ravens Jerseys Authentic Browns Jerseys Authentic Cardinals Jerseys Authentic Bills Jerseys Authentic Panthers Jerseys Authentic Bears Jerseys Authentic Bengals Jerseys Authentic Texans Jerseys Authentic Broncos Jerseys Authentic Lions Jerseys Authentic Packers Jerseys Authentic Jets Jerseys Authentic Dolphins Jerseys Authentic Patriots Jerseys Authentic Jaguars Jerseys Authentic Titans Jerseys Authentic Chargers Jerseys Authentic Giants Jerseys Authentic Saints Jerseys Authentic Buccaneers Jerseys Authentic 49ers Jerseys Authentic Seahawks Jerseys Authentic Rams Jerseys Authentic Vikings Jerseys Authentic Colts Jerseys ' ' '