NEWS » nds after Upshall took an ill-advised hooking penalty for St. Louis

PITTSBURGH -- The tag was clearly fake. What happened next was all too real for the NL East champion Washington Nationals: Bryce Harper got hurt and needs X-rays.Harper injured his left thumb making an awkward slide to avoid a pretend tag by Pittsburgh third baseman Jung Ho Kang, and the teams later cleared the benches Sunday in Washingtons 10-7 win.Nationals manager Dusty Baker said Harper was sore and would have X-rays on Monday. The reigning NL MVP had surgery to repair a torn ligament in the same thumb in 2014.Harper led off the third inning with a triple. As he neared third, Kang acted as if a throw was coming and feigned a tag.Harper went down, was checked by a trainer and stayed in. He scored on Anthony Rendons double and was replaced in the field in the bottom half by Chris Heisey.Kang insisted he merely intended to keep Harper from scoring when right fielder Josh Bells throw was way off line.First of all, I meant no harm, Kang said through a translator. During the relay play, I tried to hold the runner on third base. Thats all I tried to do.The next time Kang came up, Nationals starter A.J. Cole threw a fastball behind him and was immediately ejected by plate umpire Jordan Baker as the benches emptied.Cole said he was trying to pitch inside to Kang. Baker said the entire situation wasnt ideal for a team that is focusing on a playoff run.We dont want guys suspended, Baker said. But you know, boys will be boys, and youve still got to defend your teammates.Washingtons Jayson Werth was in the middle of the skirmish. Pirates outfielder Sean Rodriguez was ejected.I was very surprised I was the only one ejected considering, Rodriguez said. I got blamed for being the one that instigated, but you can watch the film yourself.Werth had a pinch-hit, two-run homer and Heisey had a go-ahead single during a five-run burst in the eighth. The Nationals rally came against former teammate Felipe Rivero (1-5).Rivero had allowed just four earned runs in his previous 25 innings since being traded from Washington to the Pirates.Kang hit a two-run homer off Koda Glover to give the Pirates the lead in the seventh.Shawn Kelley (3-2) wound up with the win. Former Pirates closer Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 43rd save.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: C Francisco Cervelli did not play after taking a foul ball off his wrist Saturday. ... RHP Neftali Feliz (arm) threw off flat ground but is not yet ready for a return to the mound.UP NEXTNationals: Tanner Roark (15-9 2.70 ERA) had his start pushed back one day after the Nationals clinched the NL East on Saturday night. Hell looking for his career-best 16th win as Washington hosts Arizona for a four-game series.Pirates: Chad Kuhl (5-3, 3.73 ERA) will start as Pittsburgh begins a four-game series against the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs. Kuhl has allowed seven earned runs in 7 1/3 innings in his two previous starts against Chicago this season. Wholesale Salomon Shoes . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. Salomon Shoes From China . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. http://www.cheapsalomon.net/ . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Cheap Salomon Shoes From China . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. Salomon Outlet Store .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena.Rory McIlroy said it had been a valuable week for him despite losing to Jason Day in the WGC-Dell Match Play semi-finals. McIlroy missed a couple of decent chances to extend the match against Day, who will become world No 1 on Monday, but eventually went down by one hole in Austin.The Northern Irishman battled back after losing three holes in four just after the turn, but a missed birdie putt at the 17th and Day holing a 12-footer for par at last meant it would be a third place play-off against Rafa Cabrera Bello for him instead of the final. Day beats McIlroy in thriller Jason Day marked his return to world No 1 by beating Rory McIlroy at the WGC-Dell Match Play I thought it was a good quality match. If I have to look back on it there were a couple of opportunities around the third and fourth where I did not convert and then not birdieing 12 or 13 was the real downfall, he told Sky Sports.Losing 12 and 13, I think the catalyst for that was that shift in momentum on 11 and I never really recovered. To go two down I knew I had an uphill battle on my hands and Jason was not giving me anything.I made a couple of birdies in the last five holes but it just was not good enough.I feel like I played well, did not make a bogey out there and I did not hand him anything, but obviously disappointed I am not in the final. McIlroy finished last years Masters with a 66 and victory next month at Augusta would complete a career grand slam And McIlroy is pleased with where his game is as he puts the finishing touches on his game ahead of thhe years first major, The Masters.ddddddddddddMcIlroy heads to Augusta for the eighth time in search of victory to complete the career grand slam - he finished fourth last year to claim his best Masters finish but was still six shots adrift of winner Jordan Spieth. Highlights from the WGC Dell Match Play semi-final between Jason Day and Rory McIlroy I was saying coming into this week that no matter if I play three, six or seven rounds, playing match play and feeling like you are in contention every time you step on the first tee is a great feeling and something you cant replicate in practice, he added.The week has been very positive overall; I wish I would have been able to get one more win under my belt, but I am very happy with my game going into Augusta. Also See: Day ends Rorys run The Masters is coming... Dream debut for Toledo Olly to miss Augusta ' ' '