WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals are trying to stay in the playoff race. Pitching performances like this one will surely help. Ross Ohlendorf pitched neatly into the sixth inning, Ian Desmond had three hits and the Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Tuesday night. "Nothing like a little laugher," Nationals manager Davey Johnson cracked. Washington kicked off a six-game homestand with its sixth victory in the last seven games. The Nationals began the day eight games behind Cincinnati for the second NL wild-card spot. Ohlendorf (3-0) pitched five innings of two-hit ball before Christian Yelich led off the sixth with his second homer, ending the starters outing. It was Ohlendorfs second start since he was sidelined by right shoulder inflammation. "Hes done that now several times," Johnson said when asked if Ohlendorf hit a wall in the sixth, when his velocity was noticeably lower. "I was kind of ready for it with (Tanner) Roark. He just kind of ran out gas like he did the game before." Roark, Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard each pitched a hitless inning before Rafael Soriano finished the four-hitter for his 34th save. Roark pitched out of trouble in the sixth after walking Giancarlo Stanton and Logan Morrison with one out. Clippard handled the top of Miamis order in the eighth, including three straight swinging strikes against the dangerous Stanton. "I just wanted to get ahead of him and once I threw strike one I wanted to go after him because he was going to be aggressive," Clippard said. "Thats what I did, and he chased a couple of fastballs and I got him." Yelich finished with two hits for Miami, which has lost six of seven. Nathan Eovaldi (2-5) allowed two runs -- both in the first -- and eight hits in six innings. "I thought Eovaldi looked good, he pitched a good game, he gave us a chance to win," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "The bullpen did a nice job and really had it laid out perfectly. Just didnt score the runs. Four hits, weve kind of seen this story before a few times this year." The Washington victory came in the opener of a stretch of 19 consecutive games against the Marlins, Mets and Phillies, all NL East teams below .500. "Nows the time," Johnson said before the game. "I still think we need to win close to 90 games (to make the playoffs). So every game we need to play well, we need to pitch well." Ohlendorf and the bullpen took care of the pitching, and the lineup did just enough damage in the first. Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper had consecutive one-out singles, putting runners on the corners. Zimmerman scored on Jayson Werths groundout and Desmond singled in Harper to make it 2-0. "Just ran into some trouble in that first inning," said Eovaldi, who is 0-5 with a 4.30 ERA in his last eight starts. "And if I can just avoid that one inning here and there, I feel like Id be a lot better off." Washington totalled seven baserunners after the first, but couldnt add to its run total. All nine Nationals hits were singles. Ohlendorf retired his first nine batters before Yelich singled to start the fourth. Stanton then doubled with one out and Logan Morrison was walked intentionally to load the bases. Ohlendorf then fanned Ed Lucas and got Justin Ruggiano to ground into a fielders choice, ending the threat. "He was great. He made pitches. He threw some good breaking balls," Johnson said. NOTES: Denard Span and Harper extended their hitting streaks to 10 and nine games, respectively. ... The Nationals recalled RHP Ryan Mattheus from Triple-A Syracuse and optioned LHP Xavier Cedeno to their top farm club. ... Redmond said RHP Jose Fernandez has two or three starts remaining before the club shuts the 21-year-old down. Fernandez has thrown 152 2-3 innings and could approach his team-imposed 170-inning limit during his next two starts. ... Johnson said an X-ray of LF Harpers left foot was negative after he fouled a ball off his leg on Sunday. ... Johnson said "probably not" when asked if LHP Ross Detwiler, on the DL since early July with a back strain, will return before the end of the season. Detwiler has begun playing catch, but hasnt thrown off the mound. ... The Marlins reinstated INF Placido Polanco from the 7-day concussion DL. ... Miami RHP Henderson Alvarez (2-3, 3.86 ERA) opposes Stephen Strasburg (6-9, 3.00 ERA) in Wednesdays game. Jeff Mathis Jersey . Head of clinic Josef Obrist tells the Austria Press Agency on Thursday that Morgenstern "is doing surprisingly well. ... He still has a memory gap but thats nothing unusual." Morgenstern has moved to a rehabilitation clinic in Klagenfurt for further recovery. Phillips Valdez Jersey . At 11:06 of the first period, Neal struck Marchand with his knee when Marchand was down on the ice. Marchand remained in the game. Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/122...ey-rangers.html. Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Nolan Ryan Jersey . -- D.A. Points was disqualified Friday from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for using a training device while waiting to play the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. Shin-Soo Choo Rangers Jersey . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit.Hes got some work to do but C.J. Gable hasnt given up on his goal to re-write the CFL record book this season. Prior to the opening kickoff, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats dynamic running back stated he wanted to become the first player in league history to register 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same campaign. Robert Drummond of the Toronto Argonauts came close to achieving the rare double in 97, running for 1,134 yards and registering 85 catches for 840 yards despite missing three games. A CFL player would have to average 56 yards rushing and receiving per game over the 18-game regular season to achieve the mark. The six-foot-one 208-pound Gable has 119 yards rushing and 169 yards receiving so far this year with Hamilton (1-4), but says the 1,000-1,0000 campaign remains very achievable. "Yeah, I think it can still happen," Gable said. "You never know, one game I might get 200 yards receiving or 200 yards rushing." The 26-year-old native of Sylmar, Calif., was certainly a big-play performer as a rookie last year with Hamilton. The first freshman to start an opener at USC -- he did so against Arkansas in 06 -- ran for 782 yards on 130 carries (six-yard average) and seven TDs while recording 54 catches for 598 yards and five touchdowns en route to being a finalist for the CFLs outstanding rookie award. Gable again showed his explosiveness Saturday night. He rushed for 62 yards and a TD on six carries while adding three catches for 105 yards in the Ticats 33-23 home win over Ottawa. The former Trojan turned a simple screen pass from Dan LeFevour into an 83-yard completion late in the game that set up LeFevours one-yard TD run that broke a 23-23 tie. "It felt good but Im always ready when my number is called," Gable said. "You never know in this game." Gable is a threat to do something big every time he touches the ball. Trouble is, Hamilton was playing catchup in its opening three games -- all losses -- which can limit just how many rushing touches Gable gets. Gable has 33 touches through four games this season (23 rushes, 10 catches). Another factor impacting how many times he gets the ball is Gables ability to provide solid protection on pass plays. Kent Austin, Hamiltons GM and head coach, has called Gable the leagues best blocking back. "In a couple of games I was getting impatient and frustrated with myself,"; Gable said.dddddddddddd "So I had to tell myself to relax, play the game and trust the coaching calls and when my time comes be ready." Another factor Saturday, too, was LeFevours running ability. In his first CFL start, LeFevour threw for 361 yards and a TD but also ran for a game-high 109 yards against Ottawa. LeFevour will be under centre Thursday night against Winnipeg and Gable said rival defences have to account for the quarterbacks ability to make plays with his legs, which in turn helps create running lanes for Gable. "They know that Dan can stretch the field to so if you key on me hes going to take off," he said. "If you key on him then that will leave me open." Winnipeg (4-1) looked very solid defensively in its 23-6 victory over the B.C. Lions. The Bombers intercepted Kevin Glenn twice, recorded five sacks and also recovered a fumble. "Theyre a really good defence," Gable said. "They fly around and we just have to play mistake-free." Winnipeg will also be minus its leading receiver as Nick Moore (22 catches for 320 yards) is sidelined with a foot injury. Moore had seven catches for 99 yards against B.C. but former Ticat Aaron Kelly -- who had five catches for 100 yards and two TDs in the Bombers season-opening 45-21 win over Toronto -- returns after missing two weeks. "Obviously he (Moore) is a good player," said Bombers rookie head coach Mike OShea. "Thankfully weve got Aaron Kelly to step in ... Aaron is going to make sure we dont miss anything." Willy said Kelly brings plenty to the Bombers offence. "His vertical routes are something we like to take advantage of," Willy said. "Hes done a good job of getting back into it and hes going to be great for us." Kelly is looking forward to facing his former team. He spent two seasons in Hamilton before joining the Bombers in 2013. "I had two weeks off to get healthy and get right," he said. "I definitely didnt want to miss this game and a chance to come back to Hamilton and play." Against Ottawa, Hamiltons offence really got going early. The Ticats had two touchdowns and 158 yards in their first five plays from scrimmage and Gable said the unit always wants to start fast. "Thats how we should be every game," he said. "Once we start going, its hard to stop us." ' ' '