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WASHINGTON -- If Dusty Baker had gotten the sign to his catcher faster, the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates might still be playing.Instead, Baker was slow on the trigger in asking for an intentional walk, and the Nationals lost to the Pirates 2-1 in 18 innings Sunday on Starling Martes solo home run off Oliver Perez.Baker took responsibility for the mistake of not getting his four fingers up in time to alert Wilson Ramos and Perez to intentionally walk Marte with pitcher Jonathon Niese on deck and Pittsburgh out of hitters.Before I could, he hit the first pitch out of the ballpark, Baker said. It hurts to make a mistake like that. I was aware of the situation, before I could get Wilsons attention.The 18-inning marathon, shorter than only the 19 innings Cleveland and Toronto played July 1, took 5 hours, 48 minutes. Seventeen pitchers combined for a total of 540 pitches, but it was the one Perez (2-3) shouldnt have thrown that the Nationals lamented afterward.It is a good idea in that case to walk him, but they gave me an opportunity to pitch against him, Perez said. In that case I tried to make a difficult pitch for him to hit. Unfortunately he made good contact o that pitch. It was my mistake.Martes seventh home run of the season, which went into the mostly-empty left-field seats, was enough of a boost to help Niese (8-6) get through a third inning of relief. Whether it was Niese, starter Chad Kuhl or the relievers in between, the Nationals couldnt get much going at the plate and finished with eight hits.The biggest of those came on a 2-2 count with two outs in the when with injured infielder Daniel Murphy took Pittsburgh All-Star closer Mark Melancon deep. Murphy was out of the lineup for a third consecutive day with a sore left hamstring, but his drive led to the Nationals and Pirates playing two.I was trying to get a good pitch to hit and get my `A swing off, said Murphy, whos unsure if hell be able to play Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. I got a pretty good pitch to hit and put a pretty good move on it.Murphys home run took Max Scherzer off the hook for what wouldve been his second 1-0 loss in three starts. Scherzer gave up one run and six hits and struck out seven in seven efficient innings.As impressive as Scherzer was, Chad Kuhl outdueled him with six innings of one-hit baseball. The Pirates righty allowed one hit and two runners and struck out five in six shutout innings.It was a start we needed out of him, and I think its a start he expected out of himself, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.By the time the game dragged into extra innings, the starts by Scherzer and Kuhl felt like distant memories.It was so long I dont even remember Scherzer even pitching, Baker said.Even with all the other twists and turns, a perfect 16th-inning relay from center fielder Michael A. Taylor to shortstop Danny Espinosa to Ramos to get Eric Fryer out at the plate was a cause for some amazement. Hurdle accurately called it a crazy game.How about the relay they had in the 16th inning? Hurdle said. Its the best relay in the history of the game in the 16th inning. Ever. Its fantastic baseball.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: OF Gregory Polanco remained out with a sore left hamstring, but general manager Neal Huntington hopes hell play Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. ... C Francisco Cervelli was set to play another inning on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis, and Huntington said well see about him being back as soon as Tuesday.Nationals: 3B Anthony Rendon was scratched with flu-like symptoms. Baker said Rendon was sick as a dog. ... LHP Sammy Solis will be placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a right knee injury.UP NEXTPirates: After an off-day Monday, top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon (2-1, 3.86 ERA) is expected to start Tuesday at PNC Park against the Brewers. RHP Chase Anderson (4-10, 5.44) is scheduled to start the series opener for Milwaukee.Nationals: With RHP Joe Ross not ready to come off the disabled list, RHP Reynaldo Lopez will make his major league debut Tuesday against Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Scott Kazmir (7-3, 4.52). Portugal Gelson Martins World Cup Jersey . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Portugal Beto World Cup Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. http://www.cheapworldcupportugaljerseys.com/portugal-cristiano-ronaldo-world-cup-jersey/ . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Portugal Anthony Lopes World Cup Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Portugal Pepe World Cup Jersey . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. NEW YORK -- All these intentional walks to David Ortiz are becoming a good move -- for Mike Napoli and the Boston Red Sox, that is. Napoli hit a grand slam right after Ortiz got a free stroll, Felix Doubront stifled the Yankees once again and the Boston Red Sox sent New York to its sixth loss in seven games, 11-1 Saturday night. Napoli has batted four times this season after intentional walks to Ortiz. Hes produced in those spots, homering twice and driving in eight runs. "My job is to be his protection," Napoli said. "I like protecting him and maybe giving managers another thought." Daniel Nava added a three-run homer in the eighth inning that emptied the crowd. The aisles were full of fans streaming to the exits by the time Nava touched the plate, and a "Lets go, Red Sox!" chant erupted when Stephen Drew homered in a three-run ninth. The Red Sox stopped Phil Hughes recent run of success against them and evened this three-game series going into Sunday nights wrapup. Boston won on a warm evening, with Yankees catcher Chris Stewart leaving after the fourth inning because of dehydration. Napolis second slam of the season capped a five-run burst in the third and followed the one-out walk to Ortiz. Stewart and shortstop Jayson Nix visited Hughes when the count reached 2-2 -- Hughes said it was to change signs -- and Napoli lined the next pitch over the right-centre fence for his fifth career slam. "Maybe a little bit of an extra challenge," Boston manager John Farrell said. "He responded well." Napoli admitted he was extra eager, and swung too hard at first. He then took a deep breath, relaxed and connected. "You got one guy thats struck out 75 times in 200 at-bats, one guy thats struck 22 times in 150 at-bats coming into this series," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "To me, youre looking for a strikeout in that situation." "Its a situation where I dont necessarily want to do it, either," he said. "I dont want to start putting people on base, but youre trying to shut down an inning. Im going to do what I think is the best thing to do. I thought the best thing to do was to try aand get Napoli.dddddddddddd" The Red Sox had been outhomered by the Yankees 4-0 in their first four meetings this year. Napoli and Nava provided pop, and more -- Nava got four of Bostons 18 hits and had an RBI grounder in the ninth, Napoli had three hits. Doubront (4-2) won for the first time in five starts since his last victory on April 27. He permitted one run and six hits in six innings, striking out six. The 25-year-old lefty with the slow, big-breaking curve has a 2.52 ERA in 10 career outings against the Yankees, including four straight quality starts last year. "The adrenaline, facing those guys," he said. Robinson Cano was hitless in 12 career at-bats against Doubront before solving him for a single. The next time up, the All-Star took a wild swing and missed a 72 mph breaking ball by a lot. Hughes (2-4) was pulled in the fifth when Napoli came up. The right-hander won his final three starts against Boston last year while allowing a total of three earned runs. NOTES: Girardi said Stewart got "lightheaded" but was OK. ... Napoli hit Bostons fourth slam of the year. ... Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira singled for his first hit of the season after coming off the disabled list a day earlier. ... Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury missed his second straight game because of tightness in his left groin. Farrell says he hasnt ruled out Ellsbury returning Sunday night. ... RHP Clay Buchholz (7-0, 1.73) is set to start for Boston in the series finale vs. RHP Hiroki Kuroda (6-3, 2.39). ... The Yankees will host a day-night doubleheader (1:05 p.m./7:05 p.m.) on Aug. 20 against Toronto to make up for a rainout on May 19. ... Bernando LaPallo, who says at 111 that hes the oldest Yankees fan, was on the dirt near the dugout during batting practice and injured star Derek Jeter came over to greet him. "Hit some home runs," LaPallo told Jeter. "I got to start playing first," the All-Star answered. Born on Aug, 17, 1901, LaPallo says he first saw the team in person when it was called the Highlanders and played at Hilltop Park, its home until 1912. LaPallo says he met Babe Ruth even before he played for the Yankees or Red Sox. China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Authentic Jerseys ' ' '