DENVER -- Early on, Stephen Strasburg didnt have his best stuff and yet the powerful right-hander tried to bear down to keep his team close. Almost paid off, too. The Washington Nationals loaded the bases in the ninth before falling 6-4 to Jorge De La Rosa and the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. Strasburg (7-8) settled in after a shaky start, giving up four runs -- three of which were in the first -- and nine hits over 5 1-3 innings. "Giving up three runs early, I couldve easily shut it down," Strasburg said. "I didnt want to do that. I wanted to keep it as close as possible. Give the guys a chance to come back -- anything can happen here." And almost did. Closer LaTroy Hawkins got the first two outs in the ninth, before allowing RBI singles to Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon to make it a 6-4 game. With the bases loaded, Hawkins struck out Ian Desmond to end the rally. "You have to tip your cap sometimes. He did a good job," Desmond said. "He made some pitches on me. "We did a good job battling back right there. We kept on grinding away. Ill take us in that situation a lot of times." Denard Span had four hits for the Nationals, who finished the season series 5-1 against Colorado. He was one of the few to have success against De La Rosa, who gave the Rockies a badly needed boost as they snapped a seven-game skid. "Jorge, another great outing. He did it again," manager Walt Weiss said. "Were scuffling like crazy and he takes the ball and gives us a great performance and wins the game." The Rockies tried a little bit of everything to break out of their funk. They wore their socks high and even engaged in a pregame staring contest. Turns out, the best cure for their slump was simply the left arm of De La Rosa. De La Rosa (11-6) struck out a season-high 11 as he pitched efficiently into the eighth inning. He kept the Nationals guessing by effectively mixing in a changeup with his 89-mph cutter. "All my pitches were working really good today," said De La Rosa, who allowed two runs -- one earned -- before being lifted for a reliever with one out in the eighth. "My command of all my pitches was really good today." The Rockies decided as a team to wear their socks high, just to try something new. Even Weiss followed the trend. This helped ease the tension, too: Prior to the first pitch, Rockies outfielder Brandon Barnes and Nationals reliever Aaron Barrett engaged in quite a stare-down, with both players standing near the dugout holding their hats over their chest to see who would blink first. After several minutes, Barnes finally gestured toward Barrett that they settle it with a game of rock-paper-scissor. Right after De La Rosas warmup pitches, home plate umpire Paul Emmel told Barnes go into the dugout, with Barrett throwing his hands up in triumph. "Well do any stare-down to win games, for sure," joked Nolan Arenado. Once again, De La Rosa mastered a park that typically isnt friendly to pitchers. Hes 42-14 lifetime at Coors Field. "This is the perfect park for me," he said. Usually, its the hitters saying that. De La Rosa had his pitches dancing all day. He struck out Bryce Harper three times. The Nationals were just 1 of 14 with runners in scoring position off De La Rosa. "He knows how to pitch here," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "Hes got a surprising fast ball when he needs it, but he relies on his changeup a lot. Thats a great strategy here. "Hes a good pitcher. He pitches well." The Nationals were without infielder Ryan Zimmerman, who went on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained right hamstring. "Its a pretty substantial strain of the hamstring," Williams said. "You never know how its going to react, so well just take it day by day. Its going to be a couple of weeks at least. Well see where he is at the end of that and go from there. He pulled it good." NOTES: Werth wasnt in the starting lineup because of a tender right knee. ... The Nationals are off Thursday before opening a three-game series in Cincinnati. Reggie Miller Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. Paul George Jersey . Meanwhile, the Jets extended their winning streak to four and remain perfect under Paul Maurice. Its the Jets second four-game winning streak of the season, the other coming in mid-November. http://www.cheappacersjerseyssale.com/ki...ers-jersey/.com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. Domantas Sabonis Jersey . -- Albert Pujols is thrilled to have a reason to forget about his first two disappointing seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. Al Jefferson Jersey .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown.BOSTON -- Pitching, patience and the Atlanta Braves are bringing the Boston Red Sox back from their longest losing streak in 20 years. The defending World Series champions hope that three straight wins after 10 consecutive losses are just the start of their resurgence. John Lackey pitched neatly into the seventh inning and the Red Sox beat the Braves for the third straight day, 4-0 Wednesday night. "Were not looking too far ahead," Lackey said. "You cant make up 10 games in one day. Youve just got to keep grinding at it." On Tuesday night, the Red Sox won 6-3 in Atlanta as Jon Lester allowed three runs in six innings and broke a two-game personal losing streak. Lackey (6-3) got his turn and kept his stingy season going, giving up eight hits and no walks while striking out nine in 6 1-3 innings. He has permitted two runs or less in eight of his 12 starts. "Im going out there and trying to compete, trying to pitch the best I could every five days, regardless of whats going on," Lackey said. "As a starter, you only get 30-something chances a year, so youve got to respect those and take full advantage of them." The Red Sox honoured Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and other members of their 2004 World Series championship team before the game then put on another winning performance at Fenway Park. Jackie Bradley Jr., A.J. Pierzynski and Jonny Gomes each had had two hits and an RBI as the Red Sox extended their mastery over the Braves. Boston is 18-6 since 2005 against Atlanta. Lackeys performance, "on the heels of what weve come off of (was) much needed," Boston manager John Farrell said. "When you look at the last two nights, both John Lackey and Jon Lester have done an excellent job of getting deep in the game." Lackey combined with three relievers for Bostons first shutout of the season. He allowed more than one runner in just two innings and just one past second. "If you throw strikes, you have a tendency to get any hitters aggressive and you can expand" the strike zone, Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We got nine hits, left all kinds of people on base. We just couldnt get that next one." Gavin Floyd (0-2)) gave up two runs in five innings and took his first career loss against the Red Sox after seven wins.dddddddddddd He is 3-1 at Fenway Park. Boston went ahead 1-0 in the second inning when Gomes led off with a single and kept going to second on a throwing error by shortstop Ramiro Pena. "You just have to look past those things when those things happen and hope things will turn around," Floyd said. They didnt. Gomes took third on a wild pitch before Grady Sizemore walked, and scored when Daniel Nava grounded into a double play. The Red Sox added a run in the third on a double by Xander Bogaerts, one of his three hits, and singles by David Ortiz and Pierzynski. Boston made it 3-0 in the sixth against Alex Wood when Gomes walked, took second on a single by Sizemore and scored on a double by Bradley. In Tuesday nights win, Bradley hit a two-run single in a four-run seventh when Boston took the lead. The Red Sox reached Wood for another run in the seventh on an RBI single by Gomes. In each of his first six innings, Lackey had at least one strikeout and didnt allow a runner past second. He retired the first hitter in the seventh then allowed singles to Tommy La Stella and Pena that put runners at first and third. Lackey left after throwing 105 pitches. Chris Capuano retired Jason Heyward on a groundout as the runners advanced to second and third. Heywards bat broke and Capuano fell on his back as he just avoided being hit by a broke piece. Capuano walked B.J. Upton, loading the bases, before getting Freddie Freeman to end the threat with a grounder. Junichi Tazawa and Craig Breslow completed the victory with one scoreless inning each. NOTES: More than 30 members of the 2004 Red Sox attended the pregame ceremony. ... Atlanta C Evan Gattis returned to the starting lineup after missing Tuesday nights loss when he strained his right wrist during batting practice. ... Braves SS Andrelton Simmons missed the game after leaving Tuesday nights loss with an inflamed right ankle. ... Atlanta 2B La Stella made his major league debut by going 2 for 4. ... Bostons Jake Peavy (1-2) pitches the finale of the two-game series against Mike Minor (2-3) on Thursday night. 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