Allgemeines » Diego Costa scored his Spanish league-leading ninth

WASHINGTON -- After Jordan Zimmermann put the Washington Nationals in position to win on the mound, Denard Spans legs and Ryan Zimmermans bat made sure they beat the Chicago Cubs. Discount Vapormax . Zimmermans eighth inning single drove in Span for the go-ahead run as the surging Nationals capped a strong weekend with a 2-1 win over the Cubs on Sunday. The expected pitchers duel took place as Zimmermann outdueled Jake Arrieta over six innings and left with a 1-0 lead. "The starter for them today was as advertised, tough," Zimmerman said of Arrieta. "The way Jordan pitched, that was a game we needed to win." The Cubs tied it in the seventh on Starlin Castros sacrifice fly against Drew Storen. Spans hustle turned a soft hit to right field off Pedro Strop (1-4) into a double leading off the eighth. The Cubs challenged the play, but replay showed that the sliding Span avoided the tag. "The fact that he broke out of the box hard and thought two (bases) from the beginning of it was key for us," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. Two outs later, the Cubs intentionally walked Adam LaRoche to bring up Zimmerman, who ripped a single to left to score Span from second. Tyler Clippard (6-2) worked out of trouble in the eighth inning. Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth and earned his 21st save for the Nationals, who have won seven of eight. Washington moved within one-half game of NL East-leading Atlanta. The Nationals took two of three games in the series, including 13-0 on Saturday to break Chicagos four-game winning streak. Zimmermann allowed seven hits with one walk and struck out five. He has given up two earned runs or fewer in seven straight starts. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 1.26 ERA in that span. "I think he found his slider," Williams said. "Gives him another weapon." The Cubs had at least one hit in each of the first six innings, but couldnt generate a clutch one versus Zimmermann. Chicago left 12 runners on base and went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. "I fell behind hitters and wasnt able to throw first-pitch strikes," Zimmermann said. "Guys got on base, and I had to work out of a few jams. Other than that I threw the ball well." Following this weekends blockbuster trade that sent starters Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Oakland As, Arrieta inherited the No. 1 role in the Cubs rotation. He has pitched to that level lately. The righty won his four previous starts and flirted with no-hitters in his last two. Arrieta carried a perfect game into the seventh inning on June 24 against Cincinnati and went 7 2-3 innings without allowing a hit at Boston on June 30. Washington ended such hopes immediately. Span hit a fly ball that sailed over the outfielders for a double leading off the first. One out later he scored on Jayson Werths groundout for a 1-0 lead. Arrieta allowed four hits and one run over six innings with three walks and five strikeouts. He gave up two singles to open the fifth, but escaped the jam. Zimmermann struck out while attempting to bunt the runner over. "It was a dogfight," Arrieta said. "I really had to grind it out there. I had guys on base. I had to make pitches in big situations. I was able to do that." Storen entered having allowed only three earned runs this season and only one in 17 appearances since May 17. The Cubs threatened in the eighth, putting runners at second and third with one out against Clippard, but didnt score. Pinch-hitter Wellington Castillo struck out looking, and Ryan Sweeney grounded out. Justin Ruggiano, Anthony Rizzo, and John Baker all had two hits for the Cubs. NOTES: The Cubs recalled RHP Blake Parker from Triple-A Iowa before the game. Parker takes the roster spot created by the trade with Oakland. ... Chicago hasnt announced who will replace Samardzija and Hammel when their rotation spots come up Wednesday and Thursday. Edwin Jackson (5-8, 4.99) will open the five-game series at Cincinnati on Monday against fellow RHP Mike Leake (6-7, 3.47). ... Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg (7-6, 3.53) will face RHP Chris Tillman (7-4, 4.21) on Monday when Baltimore visits Washington. Cheap Vapormax Womens . The matchup will be made up in Minnesota at a later date. The arena was evacuated about 45 minutes before the scheduled 9:30 p.m. EST tipoff when a generator malfunction outside the arena sent smoke pouring into the building, according to NBA spokeswoman Sharon Lima. Cheap Off White Vapormax . LOUIS -- To stay a step ahead of goaltenders, T. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-womens-clearance.html .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. BARCELONA, Spain -- Diego Costa scored his Spanish league-leading ninth and 10th goals of the season to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo on Sunday, extending its club record with an eighth straight win to start the domestic campaign. The win at its Vicente Calderon Stadium kept Atletico level on points with Barcelona at the top of the table and five points ahead of Real Madrid after both rivals won on Saturday. Diego Costa was born in Brazil but holds a Spanish passport, and his latest performance will surely give Spain coach Vicente del Bosque even more reason to stick to his plan of calling him up to join the world champions for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Diego Costa made up for a missed penalty by tapping in Filipe Luis cross three minutes before halftime and he added another goal with a move that combined finesse and power in the 62nd. His double gave him two more goals than Barcelonas injured Lionel Messi and three more than Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. "I dont like missing penalties. Thats normal. The good thing is that I had the chance to score the other goals," Diego Costa said. "I dont think about my number of goals. I just want to go step by step and hope I can keep scoring. The important thing is that we win, not who scores." Diego Costa also added that he was ready to play for Spain, a country that had "given him everything" professionally during the past five years. Celta substitute Manuel "Nolito" Agudo halved the deficit in the 71st and the forward threatened to grab the equalizer late, but a tiring Atletico held on to the three points. Elsewhere, Valencia drew 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla edged Almeria 2-1 at home, and Getafe beat visitors Real Betis 3-1. Valencia went in front through Ever Banegas 43rd-minute penalty after Sofiane Feghouli was fouled in the box by Aymeric Laporte, but Bilbaos Mikel Rico equalized in the 76th to leave both teams four points behind fourth-place Villarreal. Ivan Rakitic headed in Marko Marins short cross in injury time to give Sevilla the dramatic win over last-place Almeria, which remained the only winless team in the first division. Getafe eased to its third win in a row thanks to Pedro Leons two goals and a third from Adrian Colunga. Leon caught Betis goalie Guillermo Sara off his line expecting a cross from his free kick, with the attacking midfielder instead lobbing the ball over the keeper and into the net to open the scoring before he headed in a second goal. Fake Vapormax 3. Atletico coach Diego Simeone and his players may insist they are not contemplating a challenge for the league title with their mantra of "just going forward game by game," but Celta coach Luis Enrique is one of many who considers them a contender. "Its not for me to talk about them, but they are the most dangerous opponent we have faced so far," Enrique said. "If they keep playing at this level it would be silly not to consider them for the title." While Diego Costa continued to impress, his strike partner David Villa had a game he will likely want to forget. Celta goalkeeper Yoel Rodriguez turned back a number of his shots before Villa wasted a pass from Diego Costa that had left him alone with only the goalkeeper to beat. The 31-year-old Villa aggravated a case of arthritis in his left ankle just before the miss and immediately asked to be substituted in the 58th. Atletico also lost captain Gabi Fernandez to a left knee sprain late, leading to the debut of French midfielder Joshua Guilavogui. Rodriguez was particularly outstanding in the 25th when he blocked two clear opportunities following teammate Hugo Mallos foul of Filipe Luis in the area. Diego Costa stepped up to take the resulting penalty, but Rodriguez smothered his shot and was quick enough to retreat to his far post to swat away Villas attempt to poke in the rebound. But Rodriguez could do nothing when Celtas Alex Lopez knocked the ball back into his own area where Filipe Luis squared for both Diego Godin and Diego Costa to push the ball in. The goal was awarded to Diego Costa. Diego Costas second goal came when he neatly chested down a long pass, used one arm to brush off last defender David Costas, and fired the ball under Rodriguez. "Costa is our soul," said Simeone. "He played a great game. He is constantly growing and can get even better." Both Atletico and Barcelona can match Madrids record start of nine consecutive wins to start the season in 1968 in the next round after the international break. ' ' '