NEWS » ndi.De Villiers could now be fit for the

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.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. Wholesale Asics Shoes . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Asics Wholesale China . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. http://www.asicscheap.com/ . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Asics Shoes For Cheap . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Clearance Asics Shoes . PAUL, Minn.AB de Villiers job as South African skipper appears safe despite Faf du Plessis impressing with his leadership as stand-in captain during back-to-back Test wins over Australia, according to the selectors. Key batsman De Villiers was ruled out of the series with a left elbow injury that required surgery but Du Plessis has performed well in his absence as stand-in skipper.His vision has been praised in steering the team to an unassailable 2-0 lead. A win in the final day-night Test in Adelaide next week will consign Australia to their first home series whitewash in history. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price Despite this, selectors are not considering promoting Du Plessis to do the job full-time.At the moment its clear to us that Faf is stand-in captain and AB is the current captain when he comes back, said chairman of selectors Linda Zondi.De Villiers could now be fit for the home series against Sri Lanka, which begins oon December 26 at Port Elizabeth.dddddddddddd Du Plessis celebrates a crushing victory over Australia We will be guided [as to when he can play] by the medical team in terms of where he is and in terms of match fitness, Zondi added.He has been away for five months, a long time. For starters, he has to be match fit.South Africa thrashed Australia by 177 runs in the opening Perth Test and followed that up with an innings and 80 run demolition of the hosts in Hobart this week.It was a fifth consecutive defeat for Australia which saw chairman of selectors Rod Marsh quit, with Trevor Hohns temporarily replacing him.The third and final Test starts on November 24 in Adelaide.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: ICC look at du Plessis footage Abbot clinches series for SA Petersen charged with fixing Cricket on Sky ' ' '