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DENVER -- Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu gets little national recognition, despite having won a Gold Glove in 2014 and starting for the National League All-Star team the following year.LeMahieu had his third four-hit game of the season and the fourth of his career Monday night in a 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals. Hes hitting .337 with a .410 on-base percentage and moved into second place in the race for the NL batting title.When the series continues Tuesday, LeMahieu will try to make up ground on Nationals infielder Daniel Murphy, who went 1-for-4 on Monday and leads the league with a .347 average. He lost one point on his average Monday, while LeMahieu added six points to his.Hes a really good player, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. He gets on base. He has one of the highest averages in the league. Hes had a great year, and hes worked real hard to turn himself into this kind of player.LeMahieu has a career-high eight homers among his career-high 38 extra-base hits and has scored 76 runs and driven in 43. He has nearly as many walks (52) as strikeouts (62) and is hitting .288 (62-for-215) on the road and .390 (78-for-200) at Coors Field.He uses the whole field, Weiss said. Those are the guys that typically you think of as a guy who can win a batting title.The Rockies have lost four straight games and 10 of their past 12 and at 56-63 have slipped seven games below .500 for the first time since July 21. Chad Bettis will start Tuesday for the Colorado Rockies, which might be a good omen. The Rockies have lost just one of the past six games he has started and are 15-9 when he takes the mound. The Rockies are 10-2 in his past 12 starts with Bettis going 6-1 with a 4.96 ERA in those games.This will be Bettis first start and second career appearance against Washington.Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez, who will oppose Bettis, is 8-9 with a 4.24 ERA. In his last start Wednesday against Cleveland, Gonzalez allowed four runs in five innings but earned the victory in Washingtons 7-4 win. Gonzalez is 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA in his past seven starts, limiting opposing hitters to a .221 batting average and a .684 OPS in that span.Gonzalez is 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts against the Rockies and 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in one career start at Coors Field.Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth, who had a day off Sunday, went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a walk in Mondays win. He has reached base in 43 consecutive games, tying Ryan Zimmerman for the Nationals longest on-base streak. Zimmerman reached base safely in 43 straight games from April 8-May 25, 2009.During his current streak, Werth is batting .263 (40-for-152) with 31 walks and a .384 on-base percentage.Its a product of my approach, Werth said of his on-base streak. And my approach has been pretty solid now since the early part of June or late May, somewhere in there. I got away from it at the beginning of the season. My focus has always been to get on base. If you get on base, good things can happen to you. NFL Jerseys Outlet . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. http://www.authenticwholesalejerseys.net/ . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Wholesale Jerseys For Sale . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. Wholeslae Jerseys China . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. CLEVELAND -- The guest list for Ryan Merritts upcoming wedding could be growing.Clevelands rookie pitcher has made a lot of new friends.A most improbable October hero for the Indians, Merritt has been overwhelmed by the generous outpouring from some Cleveland fans for sending wedding gifts to him and his fiancee, Sarah, after the 24-year-old pitched so well in the AL pennant-clinching victory over Toronto on Wednesday.Not long after Merritt worked 4 1/3 scoreless innings and the Indians earned their first World Series trip since 1997, fans found the couples wedding registry online and flooded them with gifts.Now Merritt is up to his neck in blenders, wine glasses, oven mitts and muffin tins.At first I thought it was all a joke, the soft-spoken Texan said Friday as the Indians prepared for Game 1 on Tuesday night. Its the last thing I thought was going to come out of all of this. Its pretty emotional. Awesome.As he met with reporters, Merritt, an unknown to most Cleveland fans days ago, nervously struggled to express his gratitude toward the strangers, who have made him feel so welcomed even though he just joined the team.Merritt was a late addition to the ALCS roster following a series of setbacks to Clevelands starting rotation. But handed the ball to start Game 5, Merritt, who pitched just 11 innings for the Indians during the regular season, shook off stomach butterflies and shut down the Blue Jays on two hits before manager Terry Francona turned things over to Andrew Miller and the rest of his devastating bullpen.Merritt gave all he had, and Indians fans repaid him with dozens of gifts. Hes been humbled by their expression of thanks.Sarah checked our registry this morning and I think we only have three gifts left to go, he said shyly with a smile. I hope theres some things left for my friends to buy. I might have to register for some other stuff for them to buy something. Its great. You just get the support that Im getting from the Cleveland fans, and that they nnot only care about my career but they care about my personal life, too.ddddddddddddMerritt was introduced to Sarah Brushaber by a minor league teammate, pitcher Mitch Brown. The couple has set Jan. 27 as their wedding date in her home state.Minnesota. So were going to have a cold wedding, Merritt said with a shiver.There will certainly be some nerves that day, but the left-hander has already shown that he can handle big moments.Francona said the team had no hesitation in using Merritt in the most critical game this season.That was a lot to ask of that kid, Francona said. We all thought he could handle it or we wouldnt have done it. But for him to kind of come through the way he did. I remember before the game, I told the guys that were up there, hes going to grow from this game, whether he does well or not. The experience he got in 4 1/3 innings is going to help him down the road for sure.Merritt, who was selected with the 488th overall pick in the 2011 draft, said he found out something while pitching under pressure unlike anything he had ever felt.I think you learn that you can handle the stress of the game, he said. You can handle those types of moments. That its really tough to stay calm in. And I guess I can get hitters out. Can probably name off a lot more things, I just cant think of them at the moment.Merritts performance may have earned a larger role in the World Series, but he hasnt been told what the Indians have in mind.Im just here if they need me, he said. If they want me to start, Ill start. If they want me to come out of the `pen, be a long guy, its fine. Whatever they need me to do, Im here.And if he comes through again, Merritt and his bride-to-be might have to consider sending out more wedding invitations.Thats fine with him.If more people want to come, I guess they can come, he said. I dont care who shows up, I guess. ' ' '