hander to retire as a member of team with which

WASHINGTON -- Max Scherzer wasnt about to leave his start Monday afternoon any earlier than necessary.Scherzer pitched seven strong innings to earn his 16th victory of the season, and the well-traveled Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 6-4 in the opener of a three-game series.Hes full of determination, Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. We were going to take him out after the sixth because they had some dangerous hitters coming up and they were starting to hit the ball pretty well and Scherzer said, `Hey, man, I want to go back out there, and he had a great short inning.Scherzer (16-7) scattered seven hits and yielded two runs to win his fourth consecutive start. He needed only eight pitches to navigate his final inning.I just said two words: `Im good, Scherzer said. You just know where youre at physically. You know how the balls coming out of your hand. I just knew even at 98 pitches I was still strong. I knew I had 115 in the tank, so I knew I was good to go out there for the seventh.Washington maintained an 8 1/2-game lead in the NL East over the New York Mets, who won 5-0 at Cincinnati.Trea Turner and Chris Heisey both homered during a five-run third inning for the Nationals, who won for the 12th time in 14 meetings against Atlanta this season.That one inning got away from us real quick, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. It kind of happened before you knew it happened a little bit.Ryan Weber (1-1) lost in his first start of the season for Atlanta. Weber allowed five runs in three innings as the Braves had a six-game winning streak snapped.Washington created problems for Weber the second time he went through the order. Turner smacked a two-run homer to left with an out in the third to give the Nationals the lead. Weber put the next two men on and, after a pop out, Heisey blasted his ninth home run to left to make it 5-1.I left one just middle-in, right in (Turners) wheelhouse and after that my ability to limit the damage was not that good, Weber said. I made another bad pitch to Heisey and then it was really out of hand.Turner, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, added an RBI single in the fourth.Atlanta scored twice in the ninth off closer Mark Melancon to pull within 6-4, but the right-hander ended the threat by getting catcher Anthony Recker to fly out with a man on first.RESTING REGULARSThe Nationals fielded a lineup that did not include OFs Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth, 2B Daniel Murphy, C Wilson Ramos and 1B Ryan Zimmerman. Washington arrived home early Monday morning after a Sunday night loss at the New York Mets.Some of my guys are walking around like zombies, and thats the reason why, Baker said. Im not overlooking the Braves at all. Im just trying to preserve and take care of my guys. Who I feel sorry for are the fans who came out today to see their favorite players play. I cant help it. You have to blame the schedule-makers and the TV-makers for that.INCIARTE STREAK TO 16Atlanta CF Ender Inciarte extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a pair of singles in five at-bats. He is 30 for 70 (.429) since Aug. 19 and owns the longest active hitting streak in the majors.TRAINERS ROOMBraves: Snitker said he hopes RHP Matt Wisler (sore side) can return to the rotation next week. Atlanta skipped his turn Monday. Id like to get him back out there, obviously, Snitker said. I want him to finish the season.Nationals: RHP Joe Ross allowed one run and three hits in three innings during a rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse. Ross, on the DL since July 3 with right shoulder inflammation, struck out two and walked none. ... IF Stephen Drew (vertigo-like symptoms) went 1 for 2 during a rehab appearance at Class A Potomac.UP NEXTBraves: RHP Williams Perez (2-2, 4.62), who has not appeared in the majors since June 6 because of a rotator cuff strain, returns to the rotation and will face Washington for the first time this season. Snitker said Perez is unlikely to throw more than 100 pitches Tuesday.Nationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (10-9, 4.14) looks for his first win against the Braves this season. He has a 2.31 ERA in two starts against Atlanta. Nike SF Air Force 1 Mid Nz . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Air Force 1 Sale Nz . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. http://www.airforce1salenz.com/ . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Air Force Ones Wholesale Bulk .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. Air Force Ones Nz . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career.Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata is a doubt for the Scottish Premiership clash with Ross County on Sunday. The Hoops defender came off with a knock in last weekends Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Championship winners Rangers at Hampden.Nir Bitton suffered a hamstring problem and played no active part during extra-time when he remained on the pitch as Celtic had used all their substitutes. Bitton is expected to be available along wwith Stefan Johansen and Patrick Roberts, who both suffered knocks during the match.ddddddddddddCentre-back Jozo Simunovic remains out of action as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.Ross County team news to follow ... Also See: Celtic video Celtic fixtures Celtic stats Get ￡10 free bet! ' ' '