WASHINGTON -- By the time Stephen Strasburg reached back and threw a 96 mph fastball for a strikeout to end the top of the seventh with his 106th pitch, his usual first-inning struggles seemed long ago -- and his day seemed over. When the next inning rolled around Wednesday, though, Nationals manager Matt Williams sent Strasburg to the mound to face the top of the Dodgers order in what would become a 3-2 victory for Washington, the first time this season the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft pitched into the eighth. "Hes our horse," Williams said, indicating hed like to keep his ace in deep into games more often. "We dont want to do that every time," Williams added. "But in a game like today, hes got the lead and (you) want to show confidence in him that were willing to send him back out there to protect that lead." Said Strasburg, who improved to 3-2 with a 3.42 ERA: "Thats the position I want to be in." After waiting through a rain delay of more than 1 1/2 hours to throw his first pitch, the righty did what hes done all season: laboured to get the first three outs, then been fairly dominant. This time, he gave up four consecutive singles, including run-scoring hits by Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig, during a 28-pitch first as Los Angeles went ahead 2-0. "Ive been trying not to go out there and give up a crooked number early," Strasburg said. "But you can give up one or two early and just keep it close and give your guys a chance to get back into the ballgame or get the lead." Hes allowed eight earned runs in his eight first innings in 2014, a 9.00 ERA. From the second inning on, its 2.29. "Hes as good as anybody on any given day. Weve also seen that anybody can get beat on any given day," Williams said. "We want to get him to that point where he can finish that eighth inning, too. Thats important for him." In all, Strasburg allowed two runs and seven hits -- all singles -- in 7 1-3 innings. He faced the minimum three batters in each of the second through fifth innings, and threw a total of 114 pitches. In the sixth, he put two men on, but got Andre Ethier on a grounder for the third out. In the eighth, Strasburg also put two on, then was replaced by lefty Jerry Blevins, who got Gonzalez to pop out in foul territory. Righty Tyler Clippard then came in to retire Puig, who missed the two previous games after crashing into an outfield fence. Rafael Soriano threw a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save in seven chances. Adam LaRoches two-run single off the top of the wall in right off Dan Haren (4-1), who was with the Nationals in 2013, tied the game in the bottom of the first. Washington edged ahead on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the fifth from Wilson Ramos, playing his first game since opening day. Ramos earlier had a double on the first pitch hed faced in the majors since March 31, when he broke a bone in his left wrist against the Mets. He sat out 32 games. "Didnt take him long, did it? He pounded that ball," said LaRoche, who is hampered running the bases and on defence at first base by a left quad muscle problem. Ramos return is a boost for the Nationals. Theyre also eager to have right-hander Doug Fister come off the disabled list Friday to face the Oakland Athletics in his first start of the season. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have lost four of their past six games. "Were definitely," Haren said, "not playing to our potential." NOTES: Washington optioned 1B-OF Tyler Moore to Triple-A Syracuse to make room on the roster for Fister. ... After a day off, the Nationals open a three-game series at Oakland on Friday, with Fister on a pitch limit of about 100 while facing LHP Tommy Milone (0-3, 5.86). ... Los Angeles returns home to open a four-game series against San Francisco on Thursday, with Dodgers RHP Josh Beckett (0-1, 3.14) facing Giants RHP Ryan Vogelsong (1-1, 4.60). Air Max 97 Off White Wolf Grey Menta . Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema scored two goals each Wednesday night in a 6-1 rout of Schalke in the first leg of their second-round matchup. "We played a very, very good match," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We got well into the match, scored two early goals and that opened the game and left us able to counter and to use the speed of our players. Air Max 97 Fake For Sale . - The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent centre Brian de la Puente. http://www.outletairmax97.com/air-max-97-2019.html. That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. Air Max 97 Plus Black Shock Orange . -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. Fake Air Max 97 Plus .com) - Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri is expected to miss the next two weeks because of a thigh injury.The New Orleans Saints arent kidding themselves about their current situation. Sure, theyre right at the top of the NFC South and involved in a jumbled race for what almost assuredly will be the divisions lone playoff berth. But that 4-6 record? Thats a different story. We cant escape the reality of where we are right now, quarterback Drew Brees said. You are what your record says you are. Were a 4-6 team right now. None of us feel that because were still in contention that thats good enough. We still have a lot of work to do. New Orleans hasnt lost three straight home games since a six-game slide in 2005, but that would change if they cant bounce back against the Baltimore Ravens tonight. You can watch the game live on TSN1, TSN3 and TSN GO at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. The Saints lost 27-24 in overtime to San Francisco on Nov. 9 before last weeks 27-10 defeat to Cincinnati, a contest during which they appeared flat, according to coach Sean Payton. New Orleans has lost by three points or fewer four times but certainly doesnt care about moral victories. Each team in the division is below .500, with Atlanta owning an identical 4-6 record but having won the teams first meeting. If they can turn around their season, the Saints could wind up with a home playoff game despite the current struggles. There have been a number of tough losses, close losses, and what that means is at this point in the season, that margin for error becomes that much more slight, Payton said. Were playing a six-game season right now. The emphasis will shift very quickly to Baltimore and our preparations. We have to find a way to get a win this week. New Orleans will have to do that without two starters, though. Rookie receiver Brandin Cooks had surgery to repair a broken right thumb, and safety Rafael Bush is out with a broken leg. Both were placed on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday. We have to be physically and mentally prepared for whats obviously a very important game against Baltimore, Payton said. The Ravens (6-4) are involved in a tight division race of their own, as each team in the AFC North has at least six victories. They ended a two-game skid with a 21-7 win over Tenneessee on Nov.dddddddddddd 9 and have gotten a nice late-season rest due to last weeks bye. Players took some time off and kind of emotionally and physically recharged a little bit, coach John Harbaugh said. You dont realize how exhausted you are until you get a chance to take a deep breath and relax. Harbaugh emphasized, though, that Baltimore has to quickly get back into game mode to be prepared for a hungry New Orleans team. Were going to have a tough environment, Harbaugh said. Theyre coming off two losses, theyre a very proud team, very well coached, very talented. Great quarterback, aggressive defense. Were going to have our hands full and wed better be ready to go. Id like to think our guys understand that, but well find out Monday night. Justin Forsett had another solid effort against the Titans, rushing for 112 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Hes averaging 5.4 yards per rush, tops among all running backs. Forsett could be in for another big day against the Saints, who are allowing 4.8 per carry and 146.3 rushing yards per game over the last three weeks. New Orleans has struggled against the pass virtually all season, ranking 24th at 255.2 yards per contest, and is tied for the fifth-fewest takeaways (10) - factors that could bode well for a slumping Joe Flacco. Flacco threw 12 touchdowns and three interceptions through the first six games, but hes thrown five of each over the last four. The Ravens arent much better against the pass, allowing an average of 251.2 yards (21st), and have an equally low number of interceptions as the Saints (six). Brees leads the league with a 69.5 completion percentage after connecting on at least 80 percent for the second time last week, finishing 33 of 41 for 255 yards and a score without an INT. Hes one TD pass shy of his 11th straight season with at least 20. We know what were up against, said cornerback Danny Gorrer, who had an interception against the Titans. ... Were getting ready to face a Hall of Fame quarterback, and weve got to rise up to the occasion. Baltimore has won four of five all-time meetings, most recently overcoming three TD passes from Brees in a 30-24 victory in 2010. ' ' '