DENVER -- Washington ace Max Scherzer never did find his groove Monday night.Not a problem, though -- the bullpen took care of this one.Five relievers combined for five scoreless innings and Bryce Harper doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh as the Nationals beat the skidding Colorado Rockies 5-4.Sammy Solis (2-3) got the win and Colorado-native Mark Melancon needed only four pitches in the ninth to earn his 34th save in 37 chances. The NL East leaders have won three straight and four of five.Our bullpen came in and bailed each other out, manager Dusty Baker said. Its hard to shut these guys out for the last four or five innings of a ballgame.Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos homered for Washington.Werth hit a two-run homer estimated at 444 feet in the third inning off Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa and reached safely three times to extend his on-base streak to a career-best 43 games.The stretch is the longest in the majors this season and it ties Werth with Ryan Zimmerman for the Nationals record.Its a product of my approach, Werth said. My focus has always been to get on base. If you get on base, good things can happen.DJ LeMahieu had the fourth four-hit game of his career and Charlie Blackmon hit his sixth home run in four games for Colorado. Blackmon was selected the NL player of the week after leading the majors with seven home runs last week.Still, the Rockies have lost eight of nine.We are dealing with multiple challenges at the same time right now, but the bottom line is you have to win games, Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. We are fighting, but we are coming up short.Jordan Lyles (3-4) took the loss.Scherzer allowed seven hits and four runs in four innings.Colorado scored three in a 35-pitch first inning. David Dahl hit a two-run double with the bases loaded and Daniel Descalso added a sacrifice fly.Blackmon made it 4-2 with his homer in the fourth.The Nationals bullpen pen shut down the Rockies from there as Matt Belisle and Solis combined for 2 1/3 innings. Blake Treinen needed just one pitch to induce Nolan Arenado into an inning-ending double play in the seventh, and Shawn Kelley struck out two in a hitless eighth.I just didnt pitch efficiently, Scherzer said. I just didnt do a lot of things right tonight. I just couldnt get in a groove.Im just glad I got picked up by the bullpen and the offense.Daniel Murphy hit an RBI single in the fifth, Ramos connected for a tying home run in the sixth and Harper hit his second double of the night in the seventh to give Washington a 5-4 lead.Harper played for the second straight day after missing five games with a neck injury.WITH HONORSBlackmon also led the majors with a .563 batting average and 42 total bases last week. In seven games, he topped the NL with nine RBI and a .600 on-base percentage.Chuck is having a great year, Weiss said. He is one of those guys who just continues to get better and I think that is directly related to his work ethic.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: Zimmerman (wrist) and C Jose Lobaton (elbow) began rehab assignments with Triple-A Syracuse. ... INF Stephen Drew (vertigo-like symptoms) has increased his participation in baseball activities. ... RHP Joe Ross (shoulder) will throw a bullpen at some point during the three-game series.Rockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (back spasms) could skip his next start or be placed on the 15-day disabled list, Weiss said. ... 1B Mark Reynolds (hand) had surgery to remove a fractured hook of the hamate bone in his left hand.UP NEXTNationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (8-9, 4.24 ERA) is 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two August starts. He has struck out 12 and walked two in 12 innings.Rockies: RHP Chad Bettis (10-6, 5.27) hasnt lost a start since July 2. In his last one, he gave up five runs over five innings in 100-plus-degree heat in Texas.Alex Reyes Jersey . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Austin Gomber Cardinals Jersey . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/1564t-steve-carlton-jersey-cardinals.html . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Michael Wacha Cardinals Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Harrison Bader Cardinals Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over .MINNEAPOLIS -- The Kansas City Royals will try and continue their dominance of the Minnesota Twins when the teams play the second of a three-game series on Saturday night at Target Field.Kansas City is 6-1 against Minnesota this season, including a 7-3 victory in the series opener here on Friday.The main reason for Kansas Citys success has been the play of catcher Salvador Perez, who has been a Twins killer over the years and was again on Friday.Perez had just one hit on Friday, but it was an important one, muscling through a Kyle Gibson curveball that snapped his bat and blooping it into shallow left, scoring two runs and giving Kansas City a lead it wouldnt relinquish.For the season, Perez is hitting .519 against the Twins and has a .322 career mark against them.Those are the kind of breaks that have been going against us a little bit, said Royals manager Ned Yost. To finally take the lead back, that was a big hit. But thats what happens when you put the ball in play. You got guys in scoring position and you find ways to put the ball in play. It doesnt have to be pretty, it just has to be effective and that certainly was effective.Minnesota got home runs from Miguel Sano and Brian Dozier on Friday. Both players have been red hot of late, but other than those two, the Twins have struggled to score consistently.ddddddddddddSano has five home runs in his last seven games and reached the 20 home-run plateau for the first time in his career.Doziers 17 homers since June 19 are more than any other player in baseball.Its unfortunate that (Dozier and Sano) has been the majority of our output it seems as of late, said Twins manager Paul Molitor. Runners in scoring position, opportunities, some of those things are still areas that need improvement.We like the home runs, they play for sure, but we need to find some other ways to score.Kansas City will turn to Dillon Gee in game two of the series, three days after he pitched two innings and earned the victory in the Royals 14-inning win over the Chicago White Sox. Gee had his worst outing of the season in a start against the Twins on May 25, allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits and a walk in five innings.Tyler Duffey will try for his third consecutive victory for Minnesota. He allowed just one run on four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in six innings against Houston on Monday. ' ' '