here in the desert. So if I can stick around for the weekend,

WASHINGTON -- Marlon Byrd called his shots during batting practice, when he was chatting away with teammate Anthony Recker. "I told Reck I was feeling good in BP," Byrd said. "And I was joking around with him, I said, Hey, if I get some pitches tonight, Im going to hit two home runs." Sure enough, Byrd planted a pair beyond the left-field wall Wednesday night, maintaining his mastery of Dan Haren as the New York Mets snapped a four-game skid with a 10-1 rout of the Washington Nationals. "Thats teammates talking trash," Byrd said. "And that it happened is something crazy. It doesnt happen too much, Ill tell you that." The win put the Mets above .400 and the Nationals below .500 -- a succinct reflection of the mixed fortunes of both clubs -- and also dropped preseason favourite Washington to third place behind Philadelphia in the NL East. The Nationals trail division-leading Atlanta by eight games. For the Mets, it was their best run output since early April, a rare comfortable win in a challenging season. "We needed one very bad," manager Terry Collins said. "We have certainly been in our share of close games all year, on both ends of it. To have a game where we just take a deep breath and relax a little bit was certainly welcomed and needed." Byrd hit a two-run homer in the second and a solo shot in the third, making him 10 for 18 in his career against Haren (4-7). David Wright, in a 1-for-18 slump entering the game, also homered in the third inning and singled and scored in New Yorks two-run fifth. Recker doubled his season RBI total from three to six with a pair of hits, and rookie centre fielder Juan Lagares had his first three-hit game in the majors. Even pitcher Dillon Gee joined in the hitting fun. When he singled in the seventh, it meant that all nine Mets starters had at least one hit. On the mound, Gee (4-6) allowed one run over seven innings in his second consecutive solid start after his spot in the rotation had been put in doubt by a series of short outings. The run came in the first inning when Byrd misplayed a double by Denard Span, who then scored on a single by Ian Desmond. "I cant be satisfied," Gee said. "Ive got to continue to do it. It feels good to do it again, give the team a chance to win, but the guys did an awesome job, scored a bunch of runs." The Nationals felt buoyed by a ninth-inning comeback in the series opener Tuesday, the first time they had come from behind to win this season when trailing after the sixth inning. Manager Davey Johnson was clean-shaven Wednesday, ending a razor boycott he had said would last until his team started hitting. But Washingtons bats remained cold. The Nationals scored 11 runs while hitting .197 with 42 strikeouts over six games. They had men on second and third with one out in the fourth inning, but Span struck out swinging and Jayson Werth struck out looking. "Boy, its been difficult," Johnson said. "But it seems like they were swinging the bats a little bit better tonight. Just didnt hit with men on base. Its frustrating." The Nationals lost for the ninth time by six or more runs, passing last years total of eight with more than 100 games to go. Meanwhile, the starting rotation that has performed so well is showing some cracks. Stephen Strasburg, sidelined with a strained back muscle, joined Ross Detwiler on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday. And Haren? His ERA is now 5.45. "I feel bad for the guys, letting them down. I cant be this inconsistent," he said. "Im the same guy five days ago that went through one of the toughest lineups in baseball and kept us there. And then lay another egg tonight. Its just -- I gotta be better." NOTES: Black smoke was visible beyond the right-field bleachers throughout the game, the result of a fire at a hardware store about a mile away. The smoke wafted over the dome of the nearby U.S. Capitol nearby but did not drift over the ballpark and had no effect on the game. ... Nationals LHP Ian Krol made his major league debut by pitching a scoreless sixth, and Anthony Rendon made his first major league start at second base, taking over the position now that Danny Espinosa is on the DL. ... Mets LHP Jonathon Niese threw a bullpen session and said he feels on target to return to the rotation Saturday after missing one start with a sore shoulder. ... Collins said RHP Jeurys Familia might be done for the season after having surgery to remove bone spurs and loose bodies in the right elbow. "I dont think well have him this year," Collins said. Basketball Shoes 2020 . 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. Basketball Shoes Sale . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. https://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.com/ .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Fake Basketball Shoes .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Discount Basketball Shoes . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. When Smylie Kaufman thinks back to his victory in last years Shriners Hospital for Children Open, it makes him, well, smile.That would be the appropriate and expected response for the memory of ones first PGA Tour victory and is a natural for a golfer who goes by Smylie.As soon as I walked in the door, I had good memories being in the media room, Kaufman said Wednesday.Kaufman returns to defend his title at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas beginning Thursday, but hell have to fend off the challenge of 143 other competitors in a field thats one of the best of the autumn portion of the Tours 2016-17 wraparound season.Kaufman (whose first name is Carter; Smylie is his middle name) carded a final-round 10-under-par 61 to finish the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at 16-under 268, winning by one stroke over six players. He finished his round 2 1/2 hours before the final group holed out.His closing 61 is the lowest finish on the PGA Tour by a winner since Tommy Gainey ended the 2012 RSM Classic with a 10-under 60. His seven-stroke, come-from-behind victory was the best on Tour in the 2015-16 season.Kaufmans victory in Las Vegas was one of four top-10s in his rookie season. He also tied for 10th at both the Safeway Open and the Quicken Loans National and tied for eighth at World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (then played at Trump-Doral in Miami).The field features three players from the victorious United States Ryder Cup squad -- Brooks Koepka, Ryan Moore and Jimmy Walker -- as well as and U.S. team captain Davis Love III.Love III returns to competition for the first time sincce hip surgery in July.dddddddddddd. The 1993 champion will make his 23rd start in Las Vegas, where he has just three missed cuts.The courses were shorter back then, and I was hitting it longer, the 52-year-old Love said. It was a time where I was playing well, and I had a good week.Loves expectations for this week arent lofty, a sentiment based on the time off caused by his surgery and his other commitments.Id like to play well and make the cut, he said. I love playing out here in the desert. So if I can stick around for the weekend, Ill be pleased.The event is the fifth tournament in the PGA Tours schedule that bridges two years with 43 events. Seven of those tournaments are during the fall of 2016. After a seven-week break, the season resumes in January with the traditional swing through Hawaii before moving to the West Coast.Nine major winners are in the field: Ernie Els of South Africa, Vijay Singh of Fiji, Keegan Bradley, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, Webb Simpson, Love III and Walker.The top 10 finishers from the 2015 tournament have returned this season and nine other former Shriners Hospitals for Children Open champions will also compete for the $6.6 million purse ($1,188,000 that goes to the winner. They are Ben Martin (2014), Webb Simpson (2013), Ryan Moore (2012), Kevin Na (2011), Jonathan Byrd (2010), Martin Laird of Scotland (2009), Stuart Appleby of Australia (2003), Bob Estes (2001) and Love III (1993). ' ' '