Wichtig » he Wallabies will unveil their bench on Friday.Wallabies: Israel

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals took a commanding lead in the NL East this season with Dusty Baker steering the way. They moved one step closer to clinching a postseason berth without their manager in the dugout.Tanner Roark pitched seven scoreless innings and Wilson Ramos homered in the seventh inning for the games only run as the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 1-0 on Wednesday.With one out in the seventh, Ramos hit his 21st home run deep over the center-field wall on the first pitch from Fernando Salas (0-1).It was a pitchers duel and Willie came through again, Roark said.Baker was not with the team in the series finale because of a death in the family. Bench coach Chris Speier managed team in Bakers absence.As we got into the ninth inning with that one-run lead, I got emotional, Speier said. I was saying some powerful prayers. This one is for Dusty.The Nationals have won five of six while lowering their magic number to seven.I think everybody is excited about it, being very close, Ramos said. I think thats part of why weve been playing very well ... You can tell were all tasting it a little bit.Roark (15-8) allowed three hits with seven strikeouts and four walks, one intentional.Reliever Blake Treinen pitched the eighth and Mark Melancon got the final three outs for his 42 save.New York lost two of three in Washington to finish 6-3 on its nine-game road trip. The Mets had won eight of 10 and were 17-6 over their previous 23 games.Entering Wednesday, the Mets were the second NL Wild Card, one-half game back of the Giants and one-half game ahead of the Cardinals. San Francisco and St. Louis also lost Wednesday.Weve got ourselves right where we need to be, Mets manager Terry Collins said. Yeah, todays tough when the other two teams lose. But theyre saying the same thing.Roark threw at least seven shutout innings for a major league-leading ninth time this season.Salas, who was 3-6 with the Angels, had not allowed a run in seven appearances since being acquired from Los Angeles on Aug. 31.Mets starter Robert Gsellman tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing five hits with four walks.New York opened the game with back-to-back singles and loaded the bases with one out, but Roark escaped by striking out Jay Bruce and getting T.J. Rivera on a fly ball.We had a chance, Collins said. But, you know, hes good, and we didnt get it done.Bryce Harper struck out looking against reliever Josh Smoker with two runners on to end the sixth and finished 0 for 2 with a walk. He was also thrown out stealing to end the fourth as part of a double play.Washington won the season series 12-7.Daniel Murphys single in the first inning extended his hitting streak to 12 games overall and meant at least one hit in all 19 games against his former team this season.TRAINERS ROOMMets: LHP Steven Matz (left shoulder tightness), on the disabled list retroactive to Aug. 15, felt fine throwing a 20-pitch bullpen session for Single-A Port St. Lucie, Mets manager Terry Collins said. ... Noah Syndergaards turn in the rotation comes Sunday, but Collins said he prefer giving the ace extra rest. Syndergaard struck out 10 over seven innings in New Yorks 4-3 win in 10 innings Tuesday. ... INF Wilmer Flores has been sitting out because a right wrist injury sustained Saturday in Atlanta, not because of neck soreness. The neck is fine, Flores said. I couldve played with the neck. But its just my wrist.Nationals: Baker is expected to rejoin the team on Friday night for the series opener with the Atlanta Braves.MARK YOUR CALENDARMajor League Baseball released the 2017 schedule Wednesday. New York hosts Atlanta April 2. Washington opens April 3 at home against Miami.DRESSED FOR SUCCESSWashingtons veterans headed out on the road trip wearing showy golf attire, including Kangol hats and plaid sweaters. The rookies were given ladies tennis clothing as part of some light hazing.UP NEXTMets: New York returns home with RHP Bartolo Colon (13-7, 3.27 ERA) to open a three-game series Friday against Minnesota.Nationals: Max Scherzer (16-7, 2.78) aims for his fifth straight winning decision overall as Washington faces Atlanta on Friday.Custom AC Milan Jerseys . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Custom Soccer Jerseys Outlet . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.customjerseyssoccer.com/ . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Discount Custom Soccer Jerseys . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. Custom Soccer Jerseys China . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session.Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says Sean McMahon is the clear long-term frontrunner to replace David Pocock after winning selection for Saturdays Rugby Championship clash against South Africa.McMahons inclusion for the injured Pocock (broken hand) is the only change made by Cheika to the starting side that beat Argentina in their last outing two weeks ago.The 22-year-old workhorse also filled in for Pocock when he suffered a fractured eye socket during Junes three-Test series against England.Cheika said McMahons improved lineout play and strong ball-carrying ability made it a clear choice, believing he will be perfectly suited to the high-altitude conditions at Loftus Versfeld.Its nice for us to be able to add a strong ball carrier into the back-row, Cheika said.Hes maybe not as tall as your traditional eight, but hes starting to get some of the qualities that a traditional eight has - ball carries, a strong tackle, which Poeys got as well.Pocock is taking a break from rugby in 2017, meaning his regular position at the back of the scrum is up for grabs.Cheika said the likes of Ben McCalman and Lopeti Timani were also in the mix but McMahon now has the inside running.At the moment hes playing in the Test so hes going to be thhe frontrunner, he said.ddddddddddddTimani, who made his Test debut off the bench against Los Pumas, is the only other player in the current Wallaby squad who was being considered at No.8.Weve been feeling pretty comfortable with him on the finishing bench to play that role and hes been working hard on it, Cheika said.Hes done a lot of work on his jump so we feel confident for him to be able to perform on the lineout as well.Meanwhile, young prop Allan Alaalatoa has overcome a knee strain and is fit enough to face the Springboks but there is a strong possibility Tom Robertson will keep him out of the side after an impressive debut in Perth.Fijian-born wingers Sefa Naivalu and Henry Speight are also in a head-to-head battle for a likely bench spot, assuming Cheika opts for a 5-3 configuration.The Wallabies will unveil their bench on Friday.Wallabies: Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Samu Kerevi, Bernard Foley, Reece Hodge; Quade Cooper, Will Genia; Michael Hooper, Sean McMahon, Dean Mumm; Adam Coleman, Rob Simmons; Sekope Kepu, Stephen Moore (capt), Scott Sio. (Note: bench to be named on Friday) ' ' '