2012 » He also said he wasnt unhappy with the teams

WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harpers return had an immediate impact on the Washington Nationals lineup on Monday night. Adam LaRoche homered, Ryan Zimmerman had three hits and Ian Desmond added two doubles and three RBIs batting seventh as the Nationals welcomed back Harper with a 7-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. Harper, who missed 57 games because of a torn ligament in his left thumb, went 1 for 3 with an RBI single -- on Bryce Harper bobblehead night. "Having such a deep lineups huge," Harper said. "One through eight, pick your poison because youre going to get a guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark or hit a double or anything like that." Jordan Zimmermann (6-4) allowed two runs in six innings as Washington won its third straight. The Nationals trailed 2-1 before a five-run sixth. With runners on first and second and one out, Zimmerman doubled to left off reliever Rod Scahill, scoring Anthony Rendon. "I tried to go in on Zimmerman, I missed two times in," Scahill said. "The third time in, it was a little bit more down than I wanted it to be and thats where he can get to that ball. And he got to it." Harper was walked intentionally and Desmond followed with a bases-clearing double into the left-field corner. "Thats the kind of decision-making and pressure we want to apply," manager Matt Williams said. "Bryce is a very good hitter, hed come through earlier in the game against the lefty for a base hit and an RBI and those are the decisions you have to make in that regard." Monday night marked the first time since opening day -- when catcher Wilson Ramos left the game with an injury -- that this starting eight had taken the field. Desmond is 6-for-6 with the bases loaded this season and, for his career is 11-for-17 with 16 RBIs when the batter before him is walked intentionally. "I just try to do the same thing I do every other time," said Desmond, who stole third and scored on Ramos grounder to second. Zimmermann, who finished June with a 3-2 record and a 1.43 ERA in six starts, allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked one. Hed been a victim of poor run support while going 0-2 in his last three outings. "Im just locating really well right now," he said. "Nothing really has changed, just locating well and the sliders really good. (If) I have those two things working together, I can usually string some pretty good starts together." Justin Morneau had three hits for the Rockies, who have lost 12 of 14 and finished the month of June 8-20. Yohan Flande (0-1), making his second start, was charged with three runs on six hits. He left with a 2-1 lead and runners on first and second in the sixth. "I think Flande was throwing the ball really well, but the first two guys got on in the inning," manager Walt Weiss said. "A guy making his second major league start, you want to be out in front of stuff before it happens to a kid like that. "Wasnt real comfortable with the Zimmerman matchup and went and tried to play a matchup that didnt work out." Harper, batting sixth and playing left field, was given a standing ovation when he batted in the second after LaRoches one-out single, but grounded into a double play. In the fourth, however, after Zimmerman doubled with two outs, Harper brought him home with a sharp grounder up the middle. "Its a strong lineup and I dont think theres too many opposing pitchers out there that want to see it," Desmond said. "It was nice to have Bryce back." The Rockies took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Drew Stubbs and Troy Tulowitzki, a line-drive single by Morneau that moved Tulowitzki to third, and sacrifice fly by Ryan Wheeler to short centre. NOTES: To make room for Harper, the Nationals optioned LHP reliever Xavier Cedeno to Triple-A Syracuse. ... Colorado placed RHP Jhoulys Chacin (inflamed shoulder) on the 15-day DL. Manager Walt Weiss said Franklin Morales will make Chacins scheduled Thursday start, giving the Rockies five left-handers in their starting rotation. The Rockies recalled RHP reliever Chad Bettis from Triple-A Colorado Springs. ... Rockies OF Corey Dickerson, who left Sundays game with a hamstring cramp in the eighth inning, was not in the starting lineup, but entered as part of a double switch in the sixth. ... Washingtons Stephen Strasburg (6-6, 3.70) opposes Christian Friedrich (0-2, 8.10) Tuesday. Jay Novacek Cowboys Jersey . 2015 Oscar nomination pending. Here is an open letter from Steven Stamkos to his fans: When I shot this final Moment Zero film last August, it was a fun few days on set with Coke Zero and Jordan Eberle in my hometown of Markham. Demarcus Lawrence Cowboys Jersey . They never thought it would take some blood, too. 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Tristan Walker and Justin Snith will represent Canada in doubles, while Gough, will be joined by Kimberley McRae in womens singles. MANAUS, Brazil -- With Cristiano Ronaldo on the field, a one-goal lead is never safe. The world player of the year rarely sparkled on a hot and humid night in the jungle, but his inch-perfect stoppage-time cross set up Varela for the equalizing goal Sunday in Portugals 2-2 draw against the United States at the World Cup. The Real Madrid winger, who has been playing despite a left knee injury, showed flashes of his best, but his impact was minimal until the final seconds of the match. He curled the ball in to a diving Varela, who headed past Tim Howard to give the Portuguese team a slim hope of advancing to the second round and deny the Americans instant advancement. "He made a great cross," said Howard, Ronaldos former teammate from their days at Manchester United. "Footballs cruel sometimes." The United States now has four points in Group G, the same as Germany. Both Portugal and Ghana have one point. The Americans will face Germany on Thursday in Recife, while Portugal takes on Ghana at the same time in Brasilia. "Obviously were disappointed, but at the end of the day youve got to look at the positives, we got a point," said United States captain Clint Dempsey, who scored to give the Americans a 2-1 lead in the 81st. "Its going down to the last game and hopefully we get the job done." Nani scored first for Portugal, shooting past a sprawling Howard in the fifth minute. But the Americans responded in the second half as Portugal seemed to wilt in the stifling heat. Jermaine Jones made it 1-1 with a curling shot in the 64th after a cross from Graham Zusi made its way through the Portugal defence. And Dempsey, playing with a broken nose, then put the Americans ahead, using his stomach to direct the ball into the net from a cross by Zusi. "Now we have to go out and beat Germany, thats what we have to do," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "We have to play Germany, we have one less day to recover, we played in the Amazon, they played on a place with less travel. We hhave to do it the tough way.dddddddddddd" Dempseys goal was his fourth at a World Cup and second at this years tournament. Jones scored his third goal for the United States national team and first in almost two years. It was all Portugal for much of the first half, with Ronaldo in the starting lineup but getting less involved as the match progressed. The Americans, however, started to get more and more chances and even had a shot from Michael Bradley cleared off the line by Ricardo Costa in the 55th. "There didnt seem to be any problem with Cristiano Ronaldo," Portugal coach Paulo Bento said. "What happened during the game has something to do with our other players." The heat in the Amazon rainforest, however, seemed to slow the Portuguese as the match wore on. In the 39th minute, referee Nestor Pitana of Argentina called for a cooling break, the first such decision to be taken at this World Cup. At the start of the match, FIFA listed the temperature at 30 degrees C (86 degrees F) with 66 per cent humidity. FIFA uses the "Wet Bulb Globe Temperature" to determine when official cooling breaks should be added, and says the WGBT must be above 32 degrees C (90 degrees F) for them to be considered. The breaks are supposed to occur in the 30th and 75th minutes. There was no break in the second half, but that didnt stop Ronaldo from creating the final goal. "It was a thriller," Klinsmann said. "Everybody who had a chance to be today in Manaus will talk about this game for a long time." ------ Lineups United States: Tim Howard; Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron, Matt Besler, DaMarcus Beasley; Kyle Beckerman, Jermaine Jones, Alejandro Bedoya (DeAndre Yedlin, 72), Michael Bradley, Graham Zusi (Omar Gonzalez, 90); Clint Dempsey (Chris Wondolowski, 87). Portugal: Beto; Andre Almeida (William Carvalho, 46), Ricardo Costa, Bruno Alves, Joao Pereira; Miguel Veloso, Joao Moutinho, Raul Meireles (Varela, 69th), Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo; Helder Postiga (Eder, 16th). ' ' '