PHOENIX -- Ian Desmond likes to be aggressive early in the count, often swinging at the first pitch. Discount Nike Shoes . Facing a side-arming right-hander, one who had not allowed a run in 19 games, Desmonds approach worked out quite well for the Washington Nationals. Desmond and Tyler Moore each lined two-run singles off Brad Ziegler in the ninth inning, helping the Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 on Wednesday to salvage what started as a difficult road trip. "Hes really good, has some good numbers over the past few years, has been effective," Desmond said of Ziegler. "I just wanted to make sure I got something up in the zone and let the hands do the work." Washington had a hard time solving Brandon McCarthy, who locked into a pitchers duel with Doug Fister for the first seven innings. Ziegler (0-1) hadnt allowed a run in 18 1-3 innings, so pulling off another late-inning victory appeared to be a daunting task. Denard Span got it started with a gritty at-bat, drawing a walk after fouling off four straight pitches. The Nationals loaded the bases and Desmond came through, lining a single through the left side. Moore followed with another two-run hit, breaking his bat on a single up the middle. Jayson Werth homered and Tyler Clippard (4-3) tossed one scoreless inning for Washington, which took two of three from Arizona after being swept in Oakland. "We needed this one," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "It salvages the road trip. It started off really bad and its nice to get this one and head home on a positive note." The Diamondbacks had just come off a solid road trip and McCarthy put them in good position to win four straight series for the first time in nearly three years. Arizona lost to Washington in the ninth inning Monday night, and then had a surprising meltdown in the series finale by one of baseballs best relievers over the past few seasons. Aaron Hill homered and made several spectacular plays at second base for the Diamondbacks. "I had a lot of swing and misses over the top and a lot of balls chopped foul," Ziegler said. "I felt like I had decent stuff. Just didnt execute pitches that well." Fister was sharp after a rough debut for the Nationals. Acquired from Detroit in an off-season trade, the right-hander spent the first six weeks on the disabled list with a back strain. He returned Saturday against Oakland and was hit hard, allowing seven runs and nine hits in 4 2-3 innings. Fister worked around a couple of baserunners the first three innings until Hill, swinging on a 3-0 pitch, hit a drive to left for his fourth of the season. Fister allowed five hits and struck out six before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. "Great job by Doug," Desmond said. "After his last start, Im sure he needed that one. He did an excellent job of keeping the ball down, using his sinker a lot." McCarthy was hit hard by the White Sox on Saturday, giving up seven runs and nine hits in 3 1-3 innings. The veteran right-hander was sharp against the Nationals. Keeping them off balance with big breaking curveball, McCarthy was perfect until Desmond led off the fifth inning with an infield single up the middle. Washington had a runner on third with one out in the sixth after an error on Arizona shortstop Chris Owings and a sacrifice bunt, but Hill saved a run with a diving stop in the hole on a hard-hit ball by Anthony Rendon to end the inning. Hill nor anyone else had a chance to reach Werths tying homer in the seventh inning, a screaming liner to right-centre that got out in a hurry. McCarthy continued to get outs after that and got some more help in the eighth from Hill, who dived and scooped the ball in the same motion on a slow roller by pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen. McCarthy allowed two hits and struck out seven in eight innings. "Some of the changes I wanted to make off last week I felt I was able to execute and do a better job, and make it a high priority," McCarthy said. "The results kind of followed after that." NOTES: Arizona LHP Randy Wolf exercised the out clause in his contract and was granted his release. The 37-year-old signed a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks after missing last season due to reconstructive elbow surgery. ... Washington leads the majors in run differential from the seventh inning on at plus-38. ... Arizona has Thursday off before RHP Wade Miley opens a three-game series against the Dodgers on Friday. ... Washington has Thursday off and has yet to announce a starter for the start of a three-game series against the New York Mets on Friday. Cheap Nike Shoes Authentic . Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford each scored 19 points, Bass added 15 points and had a game-saving block in the closing seconds Saturday, and the Celtics held on for a 103-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cheap Nike Shoes From China .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school.ST. LOUIS -- The longest winning streak in Saint Louis history ended Thursday night with a surprising loss at home to Duquesne. That was hardly the most disappointing part of it as far as forward Dwayne Evans was concerned. "The streak didnt really mean much to us," Evans said. "Its a tough loss because theres a championship on the line, not just because it broke the streak." Micah Mason had 22 points and Jerry Jones added 19, leading Duquesne to a 71-64 victory. Saint Louis (25-3, 12-1 Atlantic 10) had won 19 straight since dropping a 70-65 decision on Dec. 1 to unbeaten Wichita State, now ranked No. 2 in the country. With a win, the Billikens could have clinched at least a tie for the Atlantic 10 regular-season title. But it was the Dukes who looked like title contenders Thursday. "They did a really nice job and we just didnt play well enough," Saint Louis coach Jim Crews said. "Weve played well and weve been fortunate. Tonight, we didnt play well enough. "We have no license that were going to win. One teams going to win and one teams going to lose. Whoever plays the best (wins). Thats how it is, and they played better than us." Mason, who entered leading the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (.554), hit four of five from behind the arc for Duquesne (12-15, 4-10), which beat a top-10 opponent on the road for the first time since defeating No. 6 Bradley 73-72 on March 5, 1962. Duquesne improved to 5-28 on the road against top 10 teams. The Dukes, who were 14-point underdogs, are 25-55 overall against teams ranked in the top 10. Although it looked like a mismatch on paper, Jones said he and the Dukes could feel this one coming. "Really, this team was ready to get beat and I just wannted to be a part of it and so did everybody else," he said. Wholesale Nike Shoes. Evans had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Saint Louis. Mike McCall Jr. led the Billikens with 18 points, while Jordair Jett (13 points) and Rob Loe (12 points) also were in double digits. Saint Louis will try to rebound Saturday when it visits VCU. Crew said the team will not vary its approach after losing for the first time in nearly three months. "We do the same thing whether we win or lose," he said. "We just try to clean up what we did wrong. We address those things we did wrong, we keep working on our fundamentals and try to get better and move on with the next team. It doesnt make a difference win or lose. Our routine is pretty much the same." The Billikens appeared to be in good shape after Jetts layup with 13:44 remaining gave them a 42-35 lead. But the Dukes took command with an 18-2 run capped by a 3-pointer and then a layup by Jones that made it 53-44 with 7:41 left. Saint Louis fought back and had a chance to cut it to a one-possession game with under a minute remaining. Loe, however, missed a free throw and that led to Jones layup at the other end with 52 seconds left that made it 63-57. The Dukes played Saint Louis tough in their first meeting, losing 76-72 at home on Jan. 22. Duquesne was up for the challenge again Thursday and showed it early as Mason hit his first two shots from behind the arc to help the Dukes grab a 13-8 advantage. Mason was called for his second foul shortly thereafter and went to the bench, and the Billikens began to take advantage of his absence. Saint Louis went 1 for 7 from 3-point range in the first half, but Jake Barnetts 3 with 44 seconds left gave the Billikens a 29-25 halftime lead. 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