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Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker sat behind the desk of the visiting managers office at Citi Field in New York late Sunday afternoon and viewed the printout of the baseball standings.Im just glad that were in a position not to have an x by our name, Baker said, referring to the designation used for teams that have already been eliminated from their division races. Theres a couple xs already. We want to add some xs.The National League East-leading Nationals can do just that Monday afternoon, when they begin a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park.Washington comes home after losing the final two games of a three-game series against the New York Mets, including a 5-1 defeat Sunday night. Atlanta has won six straight, including a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies that concluded Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 victory at Citizens Bank Park.One win by the Nationals (79-57) this week will officially eliminate the Braves (54-83) from the National League East race. Of course, Atlanta has been out of contention since April, when it began the season on an eight-game losing streak and finished the opening month a miserable 5-18.Knocking out the Braves would allow the Nationals -- who are 8 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Mets -- to move one step closer to where they want to be. While Washington is closing in on its third division title in five years, the Nationals/Montreal Expos franchise hasnt won a playoff series since 1981, which is the longest drought among the four major North American pro sports leagues.Everybody keeps talking postseason -- lets win this (regular) season first, Baker said Saturday afternoon. We havent won this season yet. Somebody (said), If you go .500 the rest of the way ... Thats not going to satisfy me or satisfy us. You want to finish strong, and the postseason is something thats down the way. But right now, weve got to keep grinding.The Braves postseason hopes are long gone, but they will hope to continue laying the foundation that has been constructed over the past several weeks. Atlanta, which has its second six-game winning streak of the season, is 23-25 since the All-Star break and 17-15 since Aug. 1.The past month, the past couple of months, weve been playing really good baseball, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said Sunday. We got off to a really rough start. You knew it was going to turn around at some point.A 100-loss season once appeared to be unavoidable for the Braves, but they need to go just 9-16 down the stretch to avoid the franchises first 100-loss campaign since 1988.Were not the same team, quite honestly, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said Sunday. I feel good with everybody that goes up there.Nationals ace right-hander Max Scherzer (15-7, 2.89 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Braves rookie right-hander Ryan Weber (1-0, 5.24 ERA) on Monday.Scherzer, who had his start pushed back a day in order to get some extra rest, carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning in his previous start last Tuesday, when he earned the win after allowing two runs over eight innings as Washington beat the Phillies, 3-2.In three starts against Atlanta this year, he is 2-0 with a 4.66 ERA. Scherzer has a 3-3 record and a 4.01 ERA in 10 career games (eight starts) vs. the Braves.Weber will be making his first start of the season following 12 relief appearances. He has a 0-1 record and a 2.31 ERA in three career games (one start) against Washington. Cheap Giants Jerseys . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Custom Giants T-shirts . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. http://www.customsfgiantsjersey.com/ . JOHNS, N. Cheap Custom Giants Jersey .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. Mel Ott Jersey Large . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. LAS VEGAS -- Alec Peters scored 24 points, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed 10 rebounds and Valparaiso beat Alabama 68-60 on Monday night in the MGM Grand Main Event.Valpo will play BYU in the championship game on Wednesday.Peters made 7 of 12 from the field and all of his seven free-throw attempts. Jubril Adekoya added 16 points and Shane Hammink scored 10.After Alabamas Braxton Key hit a 3 to give Alabama (2-2) a 45-44 lead -- its first of the half -- with 11:50 to play. The Crusaders rresponded with a 17-6 run, capped by a Peters 3-pointer, to make it 61-51 with 2:51 remaining.ddddddddddddTwo free throws by Corban Collins trimmed the Tides deficit to four with 1:18 left, but Peters converted a 3-point play and Valpo (4-1) held on.Collins and Riley Norris scored 10 points apiece for Alabama. The Tide made of 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) second-half shots. ' ' '