and July 1.Nationals: Jayson Werth has reached base in 36

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Jose Ortiz, aboard the front-running Ectot, came to the quarter pole of Saturdays Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic with a clear lead and plenty of horse. He took a peak to his inside and then to his outside as he braced for an expected challenge from the overwhelming favorite, Flintshire.I knew I had something left. I was waiting a little bit for him, Ortiz said. I dont want him to get the jump on me because the turn of foot that horse has been showing is amazing, so I didnt want him to surprise me.The surprise, at least to those who made Flintshire the 1-5 favorite, was that Flintshires turn of foot was nonexistent, perhaps compromised by the soft Belmont turf. Meanwhile, the ground was a nonissue for Ectot, who kept right on going and galloped to a five-length victory over Flintshire in the Joe Hirsch.It was 1-3/4 lengths farther back to Twilight Eclipse in third. Money Multiplier finished last in the four-horse field.The win was the first for Ectot in two years and his first in three starts in this country since being transferred to trainer Todd Pletcher by Al Shaqab Racing. The win also earned Ectot a fees-paid berth in the $4 million Breeders Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 5.The connections of Flintshire feared that soft turf would be kryptonite to their multiple Grade 1 stakes winner. That fear was realized as jockey Javier Castellano said the horse struggled when he asked him to run with three furlongs to go.Usually, when you ask him, hes got great acceleration, and he didnt, Castellano said. He struggled the last part with the soft ground. Nothing you can do. I felt the ground was really soft, I dont think he liked it much.Chad Brown, the trainer of Flintshire, said he knew there was a chance his colt wouldnt replicate his prior efforts -- wins in the Manhattan, Bowling Green, and Sword Dancer -- over soft turf.I knew the risks going in; his records poor on soft ground, Brown said. I didnt feel entirely comfortable just training him up to the [Breeders Cup Turf], so we elected to run him, and unfortunately it didnt work out for him today. Hopefully, hell be able to rebound in the Breeders Cup.Pletcher felt the soft ground would help Ectot -- a Group 1 winner in France three years ago -- but a bigger key would be if the 5-year-old Britain-bred son of Hurricane Run would be able to settle early.Ortiz said Ectot was a bit headstrong while running a quarter-mile in 24.78 seconds and a half-mile in 49.78 before relaxing on the backside.In the middle of the turn, I put my hands down, and he relaxed himself, Ortiz said. After that, I tried not to move on him. I knew I was going a nice rhythm -- not too fast, not too slow. When he switched to his right lead on the backside, he pricked his ears and relaxed very well for me.Ectot received token pressure from Money Multiplier through six furlongs in 1:15.03 and a mile in 1:39.78. But at the quarter pole, Money Multiplier was done. Joel Rosario, on Twilight Eclipse, was all out. And Flintshire was not where Ortiz expected him to be.He didnt have it today, Ortiz said. My horse gave me a good enough run, good enough to win.Ectot covered the 1-1/2 miles in 2:28.76 and returned $20.80.It is likely the top two finishers will meet again in the Breeders Cup Turf at Santa Anita, where the turf likely will be firm.We dont anticipate well get a lot of rain in California, but at the same time, hes run well on firm ground, Pletcher said. Were delighted with his effort today. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Cheap Air Max 97 Black . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. http://www.airmaxsneakersonsale.com/cheap-air-max-90.html . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Wholesale Air Max 270 . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Cheap Air Max Tn . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals already have an impressive starting rotation. If Gio Gonzalez returns to form, the NL East race may soon develop into a runaway.Gonzalez pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, Trea Turner and Wilson Ramos homered and the Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Friday night in a matchup of first-place teams.Washington jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Jeff Samardzija (9-8), and Gonzalez made it stand up in arguably his finest outing of the season.Coming off a tough 3-1 loss in San Francisco on Sunday, Gonzalez (7-9) struck out seven, walked one and had five three-up, three-down innings.Gonzalezs ERA grew to 4.81 at the end of June, but hes brought it down to 4.13 after four consecutive starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed. Hes won three of those four starts.In a rotation that features Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer and 11-game winner Tanner Roark, Gonzalez knows he has to be good to compete.Im just trying to keep up with the rest of the guys, Gonzalez said.On this night, the left-hander was as effective as any of them. The only hits he allowed were a solo homer by Angel Pagan in the fourth and a single by Denard Span in the sixth.He had good command, had his changeup working, an occasional breaking ball and he threw his fastball in and out, manager Dusty Baker said.Sammy Solis gave up two hits in the eighth and Mark Melancon got three straight outs to complete the four-hitter.It was the fourth straight win for the Nationals, who came in with a seven-game lead over Miami in the NL East.The Giants remain atop the NL West, though their lead is dwindling. Since the All-Star break, San Francisco is 5-14 and has scored two runs or fewer in nine of those games.Theyre going to come out of it, manager Bruce Bochy said. It better be sooner rather than later. We better get some good swings.Samardzija has certainly contributed to the slide. The right-hander gave up five runs in seven innings and is 0-3 with a 6.85 ERA in his four starts since the break.dddddddddddd.They got some good at-bats out there and definitely put the ball in play, Samardzija said.Two of the balls were knocked completely out of play: the fifth-inning homer by Turner and Ramos career-high 17th in the sixth.San Francisco pitchers have allowed 32 homers in the last 19 games.Daniel Murphy picked up his 81st RBI with a first-inning single, and Ramos followed with a sacrifice fly.Washington made it 3-0 in the third when Turner doubled and scored on a fly ball by Bryce Harper.Pagan got the Giants first hit with one out in the fourth, a drive into the left-field seats.SHORT HOPSGiants: Span has eight hits in his last 15 at-bats. ... San Francisco hasnt won two straight roads game since June 30 and July 1.Nationals: Jayson Werth has reached base in 36 straight games. ... Murphy has a hit in 17 of his last 19 games, batting .422 with 22 RBI.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: RHP Cory Gearrin (right shoulder strain) was scheduled to make his third rehab appearance with Triple-A Sacramento on Friday night. ... LHP Josh Osich (left forearm strain) threw in the bullpen Friday and could start his rehab assignment Monday.Nationals: INF Ryan Zimmerman missed a fourth straight game after being hit in the left wrist with a pitch Sunday in San Francisco. We hope hes better in a day or two, Baker said, adding that the team has not discussed putting Zimmerman on the DL. ... The Nationals are perplexed about RHP Joe Ross, whos been out for a month with shoulder inflammation and is still experiencing soreness. Were trying to figure out what to do, Baker said.UP NEXTGiants: Matt Cain (3-6, 5.53) starts Saturday in the second game of the series. In his last outing, he pitched five hitless innings against the Nationals in San Francisco.Nationals: Strasburg (15-1, 2.63) has allowed one run and six hits over 13 innings in his last two starts. ' ' '