HOUSTON -- After hitting just .136 last April, the Washington Nationals are certainly enjoying the way Adam LaRoche has started this season. LaRoche continued his hot start Tuesday night, hitting a tying double in the eighth inning and a go-ahead single in the ninth to lift the Nationals over the Houston Astros 4-3. "Its good for him because hes not traditionally a fast starter," manager Matt Williams said. "He really focused on it in spring training and really focused on driving one in. Hes going to hit homers with guys on base but that ones big for us as evidenced tonight. If he can do that the homers will come ... but when he can consistently drive runs in like that were a better team." Jayson Werth homered as the Nationals won the opener of the interleague series. Denard Span drew a leadoff walk in the ninth, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. He scored on LaRoches hit to right field off Josh Fields (0-3). "When Im feeling pretty good, one, Im taking some walks and two, Im using the whole field," LaRoche said. LaRoche is hitting .312 with four home runs, 17 RBIs and 16 walks in 2014. Tyler Clippard (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win. Rafael Soriano walked two in a scoreless ninth for his fifth save. Werth hit fourth home run in the first inning. Houston scored three times in the third for a 3-2 lead, helped by rookie George Springers two-run single. Houston manager Bo Porter was troubled that his team let another one get away late. "Its very concerning, because our starting pitcher did a very good job," he said. "You feel like you are in position to win the game, you have the right guys matched up, and you just dont get it done." Werth singled to start the eighth and scored on LaRoches double to left-centre field. Center fielder Dexter Fowler tracked the ball to the wall, but it glanced off his glove as he crashed to the ground. The Nationals went on to load the bases before Chad Qualls struck out Jose Lobaton. Washington starter Gio Gonzalez allowed five hits and three runs, striking out a season-high nine in six innings. Houstons Jarred Cosart gave up five hits, two runs and struck out six in six innings in his first career start against an NL team. Cosart hit Kevin Frandsen with a pitch to start the third inning and he scored on a double by Lobaton to make it 2-0. Houstons first hit was a double by Matt Dominguez to open the third and he moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Jonathan Villar. Fowlers two-out single cut Washingtons lead to 2-1 and extended his hitting streak to nine games. Jason Castro reached on a double when the ball bounced off the padding on the wall in left field -- Frandsen saved a run when he made a nifty no-look, backhanded stop on the carom. He said he simply got lucky on the play and shared what he told his teammates when they asked how he did it. "You stick your glove out and maybe some things go in there," he said with a laugh. Springers single on a line drive to left field put Houston ahead. The Nationals had another good defensive play when Span ran up Tals Hill in centre field and landed on his backside as he caught a fly ball hit by Dominguez for the second out of the fourth inning. NOTES: These teams wrap up the two-game series on Wednesday when Houston LHP Brett Oberholtzer opposes RHP Jordan Zimmermann. ... Washington OF Bryce Harper had surgery on his injured left thumb on Tuesday and will be out for an extended period of time. Harper was injured on Friday night against San Diego on a headfirst slide into third base on a triple. ... Houston RHP Scott Feldman, on the 15-day DL retroactive to April 18 with right biceps tendinitis, said he felt good after throwing 35 pitches in a bullpen session on Tuesday. He is eligible to come off the DL on May 3. Nolan Ryan Jersey . - Tom Brady and the Patriots routed the Bengals and quieted the doubters. David Fletcher Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. https://www.cheapangels.com/283j-patrick...sey-angels.html. -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of production he was looking for from the top of the lineup. Taylor Cole Angels Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Andrew Heaney Angels Jersey . Cleveland has won the first two of this set and has won six straight games since losing back-to-back tilts to open the year. Seattle, on the other hand, has now lost six in a row following consecutive wins to kick off its campaign. The chief prosecutor in Oscar Pistorius murder trial said Thursday in closing arguments that the athlete repeatedly lied during testimony in a crude attempt to defend himself against a murder charge for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel cited flaws in the defence, saying the Olympians legal team floated more than one theory about what happened on the night that Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a closed toilet door in his home. Defence lawyers had argued that Pistorius fired in self-defence, fearing an intruder, Nel said, but they also raised the possibility that he was not criminally responsible and accidentally shot because he was "startled." "Its two defences that you can never reconcile," Nel said as Pistorius sat behind him in the dock, occasionally flicking through documents. The once-celebrated double-amputee athlete appeared calm, in contrast to some past occasions during which he retched and wailed in apparent distress. The prosecution has argued that Pistorius intentionally shot Steenkamp before dawn on Feb. 14, 2013 after a quarrel, and argued he knew she was in the bathroom. Nel ended his closing argument by saying Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder because he then "made up his mind" to find his gun, walk through to the bathroom and shoot. "That, my lady, is pre-planning," Nel said to the judge. Yet Nel said Pistorius should still be convicted of murder even if the court accepts he did not know it was Steenkamp in the toilet cubicle, arguing the athlete intentionally shot at and killed a person with no reason to believe his life was under threat. Barry Roux, the chief defence lawyer, listened and checked files as Nel spoke for hours. Nel was occasionally questioned by Judge Thokozile Masipa and urged to speed up elaborations on written arguments of more than 100 pages that were submitted to the court last week. Roux began his final arguments before Masipa postponed proceedings until Friday for the defence to finish. Masipa will then adjourn the trial to deliberate with two legal assistants on a verdict, with Pistorius facing 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the main charge of premeditated murder. Roux noted that some of the evidence at the scene, which Nel referred to, had been moved around by investigators. "Were not talking about a conspiracy," Roux said, calling it unintentional tampering. Roux also noted that Hilton Botha, the former chhief investigating officer in the case, had acknowledged mistakes in police procedure but was not called by the state as a trial witness.dddddddddddd According to Nel, Pistorius was vague in allegations that police had possibly tampered with evidence around the scene of the shooting, including fans and a bedcover strewn on the floor of his bedroom. It was also improbable that the athlete, in his version, rushed with his gun to investigate a purported sound in the bathroom without first trying to talk to Steenkamp and confirm that she was safe, the prosecutor said. "We cannot argue that he was the worst witness ever, that honour belongs to someone else," said the prosecutions written argument. "The accused was, however, demonstrably one of the worst witnesses ever encountered." The prosecution said Pistorius also "used well-calculated and rehearsed emotional outbursts to deflect the attention and avoid having to answer questions." A psychologist who examined Pistorius during a court-ordered observation period concluded that the athlete had become severely traumatized since the killing and could become an increasing suicide risk unless he continues to get mental health care. The fathers of the Olympic runner and Steenkamp, a model and television personality, were in the Pretoria courtroom for the first time since the trial began in early March. They sat at opposite ends of a long bench in the gallery. Pistorius is said to be estranged from his father, Henke, and Steenkamps father, Barry, has been ill. Pistorius older brother Carl, who has regularly attended court sessions, was in an intensive care unit in a South African hospital and was on a ventilator because of injuries suffered in a serious car crash last week, the Pistorius family said in a statement. In addition to the murder charge, Pistorius faces three separate gun-related charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Because South Africa has no trial by jury, Judge Masipa will decide if Pistorius committed murder, is guilty of a negligent killing, or if he made a tragic error and should be acquitted. The runner also would be sent to prison for years if guilty of murder without premeditation or culpable homicide. Masipa told Nel and Roux that they had only until the end of Friday to complete their final arguments in court. "Unless, of course, you want to work on a Saturday and perhaps Sunday, after church," she said, smiling. ' ' '