Crazyrebel(l)s ist umgezogen! » Houston was without World

WASHINGTON -- Doug Fister did the splits while covering first base and reached backward to make a how-did-he-do-that stab of a grounder while on the mound, adding a bit of gymnastics to another pinpoint outing. No one can accuse the 6-foot-8 righty of being either ungainly or inaccurate. He won his fourth straight start Thursday, another walk-free outing of seven innings with just two runs and four hits allowed as the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Fister (4-1) struggled in the Nationals debut last month after missing all of April with a lat strain. He hasnt allowed more than two runs in a game since. In six starts, hes walked only two batters. "Id rather them earn it," he said, "than give it away." And earning it is that much harder with a pitcher as flexible as Fister. The college first baseman did a full split while not quite hanging on to a throw to first that would have completed a double play in the first inning. "Yeah, thats not comfortable," Washington manager Matt Williams said. For the player or the manager? "For both," Williams said. Then there was the play in the third inning, when Fister flipped himself around to rob Ben Revere of a hit up the middle -- a play that proved more valuable when Jimmy Rollins followed immediately with a double. "Hes a cat out there on the mound," reliever Tyler Clippard said. "Hes getting everything." Sounds like hes the teams unofficial "pepper" champ. "I try to do a lot of work with groundballs up the middle and try to work on reaction time," Fister said. "Being able to field my position is something I take a lot of pride in." Fisters start is the latest in whats starting to look like the tough-act-to-follow rotation expected from the Nationals this season. Jordan Zimmermann threw eight scoreless innings in the series opener Tuesday, and Stephen Strasburg fanned 11 in Wednesdays win. Overall, the Nationals have won five of six. They have out-scored opponents 38-12 in those half-dozen games, including 19-6 in each of the three-game series against the Texas Rangers and the Phillies. Now comes a 10-game road trip to San Diego, San Francisco and St. Louis. "We have a really hard road trip coming up against some really good teams," Williams said. "Without going too far, were happy with where were at it right now and the way its gone. We have to continue to push." It would be easier if they could keep playing the Phillies, who have lost six straight, are an NL-worst 9-20 since May 5. A team meeting on Tuesday yielded nothing productive, and Rollins can already envision a possible lost season in which key players are traded away. "Its getting out of control now," Rollins said. "Weve got a chance to go out there and change that tomorrow. If not, then thats a decision theyre going to make either way. But wed like to put a streak together going the other direction. Be up in that left column, and find a way to win some games." Kyle Kendrick (1-6) allowed four runs over seven innings and walked a season-high five. He is 1-11 in his last 19 starts, has an 11-start winless streak on the road and hasnt won a day game since 2012, going 0-6 in his last nine starts in the sunshine. But the problems are team-wide. The Phillies are batting .224 over their last 29 games. "Its been time to straighten it out," Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. NOTES: With the matinee following a rain-delayed game the night before, Nationals SS Ian Desmond and Phillies OF Marlon Byrd were given a day off for the first time this season. Desmond had started every game up to Thursday, while Byrd had started all but one. ... Adam LaRoche hit a two-run homer, and Rafael Soriano picked up his 12th save for the Nationals. Marco Fabian Jersey . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. Hector Herrera Mexico Jersey .Mallais and his team out of Saint John defeated James Grattan 5-4 in Fredericton.The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier from Feb. http://www.nationalsoccermexico.com/rafael-marquez-mexico-jersey/ . - While a fast-paced offence has become more of a fixture in recent years, the San Antonio Spurs can still grind out games when needed. Hector Moreno Mexico Jersey .C. -- Panthers offensive tackle Jordan Gross is saying goodbye to the NFL after 11 seasons. Javier Aquino Mexico Jersey . Notes on Bergeron, Marchand, Gorges, Vanek, Gaborik, Doughty, Hiller and more. BRUINS STORM BACK TO TAKE GAME TWO The Boston Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit, scoring four unanswered goals, to win Game Two, 5-3 over the Montreal Canadiens.CARSON, Calif. - Robbie Keane scored a spectacular goal midway through the first half and Gyasi Zardes added another strike before halftime as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat FC Dallas 2-1 in Major League Soccer on Wednesday to end their winless streak at four games. Keane scored with a powerful 20-yard shot to the upper-left corner from a defence-splitting Zardes pass in the 23rd minute, his sixth goal of the season, and Zardes found space between three defenders to head home a chip from Juninho in the 44th. Rookie Tesho Akindele scored his first professional goal in the 65th minute for FC Dallas. At home for the first time in 5 1/2 wweeks, the Galaxy climbed out of last place in the Western Conference, pulling two points ahead of Chivas USA, San Jose and Portland.dddddddddddd FC Dallas is winless in six games. It lost for the fifth time in six games and sixth in eight. In the days other game, Chris Rolfe and Fabian Espindola scored in D.C. Uniteds 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo. Houston was without World Cup call-ups Brad Davis (United States) and Boniek Garcia (Honduras), and also lost forward Mark Sherrod to an apparent left knee injury in the 11th minute. United moved ahead of the Dynamo and into second place in the Eastern Conference. ' ' '