NEWS » ot played this season because of a strained left calf. ...

WASHINGTON - Bryce Harper has a suggestion for those looking for the perfect word to describe the Washington Nationals recent run of walk-off victories and nine straight wins overall. Vapormax Plus White Sale . Harper scored the winning run on pinch-hitter Anthony Rendons single in the ninth inning as Washington edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Wednesday night. "Its absolutely epic. Thats the best word I can put out there," Harper said. Five of Washingtons last six victories have been by a single run, with four coming in its last at-bat. "Its been incredible," Harper said. "This team has a lot of fight, a lot of heart. We never die." Harper opened the ninth with a single off Evan Marshall (4-3) and went to third base on Kevin Frandsens one-out single. Out of the starting lineup for the first time in 63 games, Rendon singled past third baseman Cliff Pennington to win it. "It was different to say the least, but it was awesome," Rendon said of pinch-hit. Neither epic nor awesome describes the feeling manager Matt Williams feels watching the slew of walk-off wins. "Its gratifying for (the players), its exciting for them," Williams said. "Its not a whole of fun in the dugout for the staff, but thats OK." The Nationals had last won nine in a row when they matched a franchise record by winning 10 straight in June 2005. The NL East leaders also extended their home winning streak to eight and opened up a seven-game lead over Atlanta. Rafael Soriano (3-1) pitched the ninth for the win. Arizona has lost five straight and is 5-13 in August. "In the end, they out-executed us in every phase of the game," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "They pitched good and we didnt pitch good enough. They outfielded us. They outhit us." Two of Washingtons wins in this series have come in its last at-bat after Arizona tied the game late. "Of course its disappointing," Gibson said. "Theyve got it rolling and they overtook us again." Tanner Roark threw seven scoreless innings for the Nationals and left with a 2-0 lead. He gave up five hits. Roark is 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA over his last eight starts. The Diamondbacks tied it in the eighth on Ender Inciartes two-run homer against reliever Tyler Clippard. Drew Storen replaced Clippard with one on in the eighth, eventually stranding the runner at third base. Arizona starter Trevor Cahill allowed two runs and six hits over 6 1-3 innings. Wilson Ramos RBI groundout in the second inning gave the Nationals a 1-0 lead. Asdrubal Cabrera and Jayson Werth hit consecutive doubles to put Washington up 2-0 in the sixth. Harper had three of Washingtons nine hits. The game started 12 minutes late due to rain. TRAINERS ROOM Nationals: Williams sounded hopeful that 3B/OF Ryan Zimmerman could return "sometime in September" from a hamstring injury. Zimmerman was placed on the disabled list on July 23. Diamondbacks: In his fourth rehab appearance, Daniel Hudson tossed one scoreless inning with two strikeouts Tuesday night in the Arizona Rookie League. The right-hander hasnt pitched at the major league level since 2012 after sustaining an elbow injury that resulted in Tommy John surgery twice. UP NEXT Arizonas Wade Miley (7-9, 4.46 ERA) faces fellow left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-9, 4.06) on Thursday in the finale of the four-game set. NOT JUST A PITCHER Leading 1-0 in the sixth, Roark deftly fielded Miguel Monteros grounder to start an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play after the Diamondbacks put runners on the corners with one out. Air Max Plus 3 For Sale . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Tns Black Cheap . Sijsling, ranked 74th in the world, was leading 6-0, 4-1 when his Italian opponent called it quits after just 39 minutes on court. In a match pitting together two qualifiers, Michal Przysiezny of Poland defeated local favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) for only his second Tour win of the season. http://www.airmaxplusstoresale.com/air-max-plus-tn-cheap/tns-ultra-discount.html .com) - Jahlil Okafor erupted for 25 points and 20 rebounds as No.INDIANAPOLIS -- Detroit beat Indiana at its own game Monday night. The Pistons were tougher inside, tougher on defence and tougher at fending off challenges. On a night the Eastern Conferences best team looked like anything but, Josh Smith scored 30 points and Greg Monroe had 13 points and 12 rebounds to help Detroit send Indiana to a 101-96 loss -- the Pacers first at home this season. "Its impressive the way we came in and competed with the way the Pacers have been playing," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We have a good basketball team." Detroit (12-14) proved it with a nearly perfect game. The Pistons dominated on the glass with a 55-40 overall advantage and a 20-9 edge on offensive rebounds. They matched the Pacers shooting percentage of 43.2 per cent, had one more 3-pointer and nearly an identical shooting percentage on 3s (35.3 to 35.0), outscored Indiana 44-38 in the paint and 22-14 on second-chance points. For a Pacers team that prides itself on defence and rebounding, it wasnt even close to their best. Detroit also finished with nearly as many blocks (seven) as turnovers (eight) and made five of six free throws during the final minute to hold off Indianas last charge. The most surprising element was that Indiana never tied the score in the second half and never took the lead on its home floor, where it had gone 11-0 before Monday night. The loss leaves the Pacers (20-4) with the second-best record in the league, percentage points behind Portland (21-4). The Pistons knew that to end their six-game losing streak in this series and their nine-game losing streak at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, they needed to execute the game plan flawlessly. They did. "Were forming an identity ourselves," said Smith, who went 13 of 29 from the field after meeting with Cheeks about getting more opportunities. "That has to be being a physical team, try to dominate the paint." Indianas uncharacteristic certainly helped the cause. Paul George was 4 of 14 from the field, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds and four turnovers. Roy Hibbert had six points and four rebounds. Even the energetic Lance Stephenson couldnt get his flustered teammates righted. Stephenson scored a career best 23 points and Luis Scola added a season high 18 points. What went wrong for the usually unflappable Pacers? George said the offensive rebounds got Indiana out of sync. Others wondeered if the Pacers may have been looking past Detroit, which has won just two of their last six games, and ahead to Wednesday nights rematch with Miami. Air Max Plus Tn White. Indiana beat the two-time defending NBA champs on their home court 90-84 last week and have made no secret that theyre out to get the Eastern Conferences No. 1 seed. Indiana coach Frank Vogel quickly discounted that notion, calling Detroit a good team. "I dont think we were looking ahead at all," Vogel said. "Weve got to lick our wounds and see what we need to do better." Whatever the explanation, these Pacers didnt even resemble the team that set one franchise record with its perfect 9-0 start and another by opening the season 11-0 at home. Oklahoma City is the last unbeaten team at home this season. Detroit took charge quickly, using a 10-3 first quarter to take a 23-14 lead -- a lead it never relinquished. Even in the second half, when the Pacers typically dominate, the Pistons refused. Detroit scored the last eight points of the first half, turning a 49-49 tie into a 57-49 lead. Then Smith scored Detroits first eight points in the second half, and the surging Pistons took advantage of Indianas growing frustration by extending the lead to 72-61 on Brandon Jennings layup with 5:20 left in the third quarter. Jennings finished with 18 points and eight assists. Indiana rallied again, getting within 79-73 after three, but the Pistons answered with a 7-2 spurt that made it 89-79 with 7:01 to go. Scolas layup with 4:55 remaining ended an 8-0 run that got the Pacers as close as 89-87, but the Pistons ran off five straight points. Stephenson gave it one final push, hitting a 3 with 1:17 to go to cut Detroits lead to 96-94, but the Pistons closed it out at the free-throw line. "We had a lot of confidence coming in here tonight. We played Portland (Sunday) night in a game we should have won," Jennings said. "Tonight we knew were playing the best team in the Eastern Conference and we were able to give them their first home loss." NOTES: Indiana is the NBAs only team that has not been in a game decided by fewer than five points. ... Guard Chauncey Billups was inactive for the Pistons. ... Vogel said swingman Danny Granger is on track to return to the lineup Friday night against Houston. He has not played this season because of a strained left calf. ... Indiana fell to 10-3 when trailing at halftime. ' ' '