PHILADELPHIA -- The Washington Nationals are just where they want to be at the All-Star break: atop the NL East. Shoes NZ Nike . Jayson Werth homered and drove in four runs, and Tanner Roark pitched seven strong innings to lead Washington to a 10-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. Ryan Zimmerman also went deep and had two RBIs, Ian Desmond knocked in two runs, and Anthony Rendon had three hits and an RBI for Washington. "If you told us earlier wed be in this spot at this time, everybody would feel good," Werth said. "Were healthy now and we kept our heads above water. I like where we are." The Nationals (51-42) won the last two games of the series and entered the break in a virtual tie with Atlanta (52-43) for the NL East lead. "Were right in the thick of the division," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "This is a great way to finish up the first half. Its momentum for us." The Phillies finished a forgettable first half in familiar fashion, producing little offence against Roark and Ross Detwiler. Philadelphia scored two unearned runs off Aaron Barrett in the ninth to end with three runs or fewer for the 49th time this season. "We didnt get anything going on the offensive side of things," manager Ryne Sandberg said. The Phillies dropped to 8-41 overall and 2-29 in their last 31 games when failing to score four runs. Cody Asche had two doubles and an RBI for Philadelphia, which fell 10 games behind Washington. It was the second straight defeat for Philadelphia after a five-game winning streak in which the Phillies averaged 6.2 runs. They had no answers for Roark (8-6), who allowed a run and four hits. He struck out six and walked none. "I pitched with confidence," Roark said. "I didnt nibble." Kyle Kendrick (4-9) continued his pattern of struggling badly in the first inning and then pitching well. Werth followed consecutive singles by Denard Span and Rendon to lead off the game with an opposite-field shot that quickly made it 3-0. But Kendrick settled down and retired 14 straight batters until Roarks two-out single in the fifth. The Phillies couldnt recover. "It was a tough tone set for us early on in the game, and we didnt bounce back from that," Sandberg said. Kendrick ran into trouble in the sixth when the Nationals scored four runs off him and left-handed reliever Mario Hollands. Kendrick allowed Rendons single to start the frame and then hit Werth to put runners on first and second before getting Adam LaRoche to fly out. Zimmermans one-out sacrifice fly scored Rendon and chased Kendrick. Hollands then surrendered three straight hits, including Desmonds two-run double and Jose Lobatons RBI single, that broke open the game. Kendrick left after allowing five runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks in 5 2/3 innings. The focus was on his first-inning struggles. "Its just quality pitches," Kendrick said. "I just have to make pitches in that first inning. Thats what it comes down to." The Phillies got a run back on Ryan Howards groundout in the sixth. Werth remained hot in July, upping his average this month to .375 (15-for-40) with six homers and 19 RBIs. LaRoche went 0-for-5 with a strikeout to drop his average in July to .122 (5-for-41). He was the only Washington starter not to get a hit on Sunday. NOTES: Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard was selected to the All-Star game by NL manager Mike Matheny, replacing Braves starter Julio Teheran. Clippard will be the only Washington representative after starter Jordan Zimmermann had to bow out on Saturday because of a right biceps strain. Clippard, who earned the win for the NL in his only other All-Star appearance in 2011, is 6-2 with a 2.03 ERA in 40 innings. ... Desmond, who led major league shortstops in RBIs entering Sunday, raised his total to 57. ... Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee, on the DL since May 19 with a left elbow strain, will return to the mound on July 21 against San Francisco. ... Chase Utley will represent the Phillies at the All-Star game, making his sixth appearance. The only NL second basemen to make more All-Star starts than Utley are Hall of Famers Joe Morgan (seven) and Sandberg (nine). Shoes NZ Outlet .com) - The collective hearts of Chicago Bulls fans sank on Friday night when Derrick Rose went down with a leg injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cheap Shoes NZ . Kyle Shanahan was hired as offensive co-ordinator Monday after spending the previous four years in the same role with the Washington Redskins. https://www.shoesnzonline.com/ . -- The Atlanta Braves added to their extensive wave of long-term deals with their young stars on Sunday by agreeing to a $42 million, four-year contract with All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel.DENVER -- Minnesota built up a big advantage at the free throw line throughout the game, and it was just enough to hold off Denvers furious rally. Kevin Love scored 33 points and tied a season high with 19 rebounds for his NBA-best 50th double-double this season, and the Timberwolves withstood Denvers 45-point fourth quarter to beat the skidding Nuggets 132-128 on Monday night for their third win in a row. Kevin Martin added 22 points for the Timberwolves, including four clutch free throws in the final 11.7 seconds. Martin made 16 of 17 foul shots, helping Minnesota rack up NBA season highs in attempts (64) and makes (52) from the line. Denver, meanwhile, went 16 of 25 (64 per cent). "Sixty-four free throws is a lot of free throws," Love said. "It was unbelievable. There were a lot of things that went on in that game that were just nuts, particularly the free throw situation and the 3-pointers at the end. K-Mart made some great plays, hit some big free throws, and that ultimately gave us separation." Love did his part as well, topping 30 points for the 11th time in his last 14 starts, including 11 of 13 from the free throw line to help Minnesota wrap up a 4-1 trip out west. "Thats major," Martin said of Minnesotas successful road swing. "Tonight was a must-win for us. You dont have too many must-wins in the beginning of March, but we understand where were at right now and guys had the mindset that we had to do anything we had to do to get the win." The Nuggets got a huge boost from the return of Ty Lawson, who scored a season-high 31 points with 11 assists in his first game since breaking a rib Feb. 8 at Detroit. But it wasnt enough to reverse their sagging fortunes. Denver lost its sixth straight and has dropped 11 of 12 overall. "You give a team 52 points at the free throw line and another 54 points in the paint, it is going to be tough to beat them," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. Trailing by 22 after a layup by Nikola Pekovic midway through the third quarter, the Nuggets responded with a 13-2 run that Randy Foye finished with a 3-pointer to pull to 85-74 with 4:10 remmaining in the period. Shoes NZ 2020. Minnesota, though, got its transition game going, getting successive breakaway baskets by Corey Brewer and a driving dunk from Dante Cunningham to take a 98-83 lead into the fourth. Just 3 minutes later, the Timberwolves were in front by 20 on a 20-foot jumper by Shabazz Muhammad. Denver made another push, pulling to 117-107 on Aaron Brooks 3-pointer with 3:25 left and then cutting it to 128-125 on Wilson Chandlers 3 with 12.6 seconds left. After Martin was fouled and made a pair of free throws, Evan Fournier hit another 3 with 7.2 seconds remaining to bring Denver to 130-128. Martin was fouled and again made both free throws, securing the win for the Timberwolves after Chandlers 3-point try in the final seconds hit the rim and bounced away -- though Minnesota was outscored 45-34 in the final period. "They were making everything, banking stuff in," Brewer said. "But its all about getting the win. Nights like that, you have to hold on. "For us to go 4-1 on the road trip means a lot. Now we get to go home, four games at home, and we need all four games at home." The Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets 40-25 in the first quarter and led 66-49 at halftime. Chandler had a pair of baskets, cutting Minnesotas lead to 58-47, but the Timberwolves scored eight of 10 points in the last 2:18 of the second to rebuild their lead. "We gave up too many points in the first quarter," Lawson said. "When youre playing uphill like that, its tough to come back and actually get the win. We got it down to two, but they just hit their free throws at the end." NOTES: Timberwolves C Ronny Turiaf missed his fifth game because of a bone bruise on his right knee. ... Minnesota improved to 27-14 when scoring more than 100 points. ... Denver lost to Minnesota at the Pepsi Center for just the fourth time in 18 games since the start of the 2005-06 season. ... Love has scored 30 or more points a team-record 21 times this season. ... Minnesotas point total represented a season high. ... Lawsons previous season high was 29 points against Oklahoma City on Nov. 18. ' ' '