with a mild herniated disc.I think that obviously when you look at the standings, theres something to hang your hat on a little bit, manager Da

WASHINGTON -- When Anthony Rendon hit a three-run home run to put the Washington Nationals ahead, Dusty Baker couldnt contain his excitement. The veteran manager was so excited about Max Scherzer being in line for his 19th win that he celebrated in the dugout with the Cy Young Award candidate.Thanks to Rendon and his own in-game adjustments, Scherzer got that 19th win as the Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-2 on Tuesday night. Scherzer gets the chance at win No. 20 in his final start Sunday, something Baker was thinking about all along.He really cared about it, Scherzer said of Baker. You could just tell that he really wanted it. That just shows you how great our team is that when were down two runs in the sixth inning we find a way.Scherzer (19-7) shook off a leadoff home run by Jean Segura and third-inning doubles by Jake Lamb and Welington Castillo to get through six innings with just two runs allowed and six hits. He struck out 10 batters for the 13th time this season and 49th time in his career, reaching 277 strikeouts in 2016 to break his own Nationals record set last year.As pumped as Baker was about Scherzer strengthening his Cy Young Award case, the right-hander knew this was an important game, with the Los Angeles Dodgers chasing Washington for home-field advantage in their NL Division Series. The Nationals lead Los Angeles by two games with five to play, after the Dodgers lost 7-1 at San Diego.Thats what were playing for, said Scherzer, who mixed in his slider, curveball and changeup to strike out six consecutive batters at one point. I know the 19 wins, yada, yada, yada, but the most important thing is the team wins. I would love to have Game 5 here at Nationals Park facing the Dodgers. In a short series, home-field advantage matters.After Arizonas Matt Koch held the Nationals without a hit through five innings of his first major league start, Rendon hit his 19th home run of the season, depositing a fastball from Randall Delgado (4-2) into the visiting bullpen in left-center field. That set off Baker and Scherzers emotional celebration and earned Rendon a curtain call from the crowd of 24,297.It was pretty cool, said Rendon, whose home run was his 500th career hit. Its definitely humbling, too. It doesnt happen too often, so enjoy it.Rendon stepped up with power in the Nationals first game without all-star catcher Wilson Ramos, out for the rest of the season and playoffs after tearing the ACL in his right knee Monday. Backup catcher Jose Lobaton also contributed at the plate like Baker needs him to, and Rendon supplied the big hit at the start of what the manager referred to as hero time with so much at stake.With Ramos out, reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper still not ready to return from a thumb injury and Daniel Murphy out with a strained glute, Rendon is needed more than ever and he delivered.Hes a guy that can hit second, third, fourth, fifth depending on who we have out there, Baker said. Hes virtually unfazed by almost any situation. You cant tell when hes excited and that helps him at the plate.KOCH COMES THROUGHKoch impressed manager Chip Hale by being so aggressive and effective in his first start after five relief appearances. Lobatons single in the sixth ended the no-hit bid, but the 25-year-old probably wouldnt have been able to go much longer with a pitch limit around 75.The right-hander finished with 69 pitches, 47 for strikes.This was a guy who has already shown in the relief appearance that we gave him that hes not afraid and he goes right at guys, Hale said.TRAINERS ROOMDiamondbacks: Hale said RHP Rubby De La Rosa successfully had stem cell injections in his elbow. De La Rosa is trying the stem cell procedure in an attempt to avoid a second Tommy John surgery.Nationals: LHP Sammy Solis threw a perfect seventh inning in his first appearance since Aug. 15 after a stint on the DL with shoulder inflammation.UP NEXTLHP Gio Gonzalez (11-10, 4.51 ERA) starts the third of the four-game series for the Nationals against Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller (2-12, 6.47). Nike Air Force 1 Ale . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Air Force 1 Kengät . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. http://www.airforce1suomi.com/nike-air-huarache-ale.html . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Nike Huarache Naiset . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Nike Huarache Ale . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers powered their way back to the top of the NL West on Tuesday night.Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal and Justin Turner homered, and the Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-3 to tie the San Francisco Giants atop the division after being eight games back on June 26 -- the last time ace Clayton Kershaw pitched.Thats just a testament of hard work throughout the season, Kendrick said.The Giants lost 2-0 to the Miami Marlins earlier Tuesday to drop to 64-49. San Francisco had been alone in first place since breaking a tie with the Dodgers on May 15.Los Angeles is a season-high 15 games over .500 and has won four in a row despite a rash of pitcher injuries, including Kershaw, who is on the 60-day disabled list with a mild herniated disc.I think that obviously when you look at the standings, theres something to hang your hat on a little bit, manager Dave Roberts said. I think the picture is how were going about every day. Like I always say, the wins are a byproduct of our preparation and how were playing the game.Kenta Maeda (11-7) yielded six hits and three runs in five innings.Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez (8-4) has not won in his last five starts. He gave up nine runs on 11 hits, including all three Dodgers homers.The mentality coming in here was to attack the hitters, said Velasquez, who grew up 30 miles east of Dodger Stadium in Pomona. I mislocated some pitches tonight and when you do that, they put them over the wall.They got the best of me tonight. Its a learning experience and I have to check the video and learn from this.Aaron Altherr put Philadelphia ahead 2-0 with a two-run homer in the second, but then Los Angeles scored four runs in its half of the inning.Joc Pederson drilled an RBI single, Kendrick smacked a two-run homer -- his seventh -- and Corey Seager followed with an RBI single. Kendrick got a third RBI with a double in the fifth.If you handle your business, youll be there at the end, Seager said. Its one of those things, you just have to keep going. Yeah, thats what we need. Keeep winning games.dddddddddddd Keep winning series.Grandal homered for the second night in a row -- this one a two-run shot -- in the third to extend his career-high homer total to 18 and his hitting streak to nine games.Grandal leads the NL with 12 home runs since June 30.Freddy Galvis belted his 10th homer in the fourth to cut it to 6-3, but Turners homer in the home half increased the lead to 8-3. Turners 21 homers are also a career high.The Dodgers currently have the second-best home record (37-21) in the NL this season behind the Cubs. Los Angeles improved to 20-10 against Philadelphia since 2012 and has beaten the Phillies four straight and six out of the last seven at Dodger Stadium.In the first two games of the series, the Dodgers have 24 hits, including seven home runs, and 18 runs. The series concludes with an afternoon game Wednesday.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: RHP Zach Eflin was placed on the 15-day disabled list with patellar tendinopathy in both knees. Eflin, the losing pitcher in Monday nights 9-4 game, allowed seven runs and seven hits, including three homers. ... LHP Elvis Araujo was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... LHP Brett Oberholtzer was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels.Dodgers: OF Scott Van Slyke was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with right wrist irritation and IF Chris Taylor was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. This is Van Slykes second trip to the DL after spending most of April and May there with lower back irritation. ... LHP Rich Hill and RHP Brandon McCarthy threw bullpen sessions on Tuesday and are on schedule to make their respective starts on Friday and Saturday.UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Jeremy Hellickson (9-7, 3.72) pitches Wednesday and is 4-1 in his last seven games with a 2.64 ERA.Dodgers: LHP Scott Kazmir (9-5, 4.51) pitches Wednesdays series finale. He went 5 1/3 innings against Boston on Aug. 5 and gave up five hits and five runs, including two homers. ' ' '