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JUPITER, Fla. -- Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper was ejected Wednesday after being called out at first base in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Harper led off the fourth inning with a slow roller that second baseman Mark Ellis barehanded and flipped to first. The throw appeared to beat Harper and umpire Jeff Gosney called him out. The 21-year-old Harper kept his head down, screaming his displeasure as he passed Gosney on his way to the third-base dugout. Gosney threw out Harper, who didnt seem to initially realize hed been ejected. Nationals manager Matt Williams said he asked third base umpire C.B. Bucknor whether they could wait until the end of the inning before Harper had to leave the dugout. Williams said the crew wanted the All-Star outfielder to go immediately. "I just didnt want him to be embarrassed by him having to walk in front of everybody down the line," Williams said. The game was briefly delayed while Harper gathered his belongings and walked to the visiting clubhouse beyond the left-field wall. Fans extended their pens and papers requesting autographs as Harper passed the corner of the left-field bleachers that sit about 10 feet from the foul line. "We love the way he plays the game because he plays all out and he desperately wants to win so we love that about him," Williams said. "In a situation like that, he has to not take it too far, thats all." "The umpire told me that (Harper) said something to him," he said. "The question I had is, Did he say something? I didnt see him make a gesture to him or anything, but he said the magic word." The Nationals didnt make Harper available for comment. "I dont know what (Harper) said to him, but as he was walking off the field I said to him, That was a great at-bat, because it was," Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright said. "He fouled off a bunch of pitches," he said. "He kind of turned away and started walking off, then he looked back and said, Thanks, by the way." Yadier Molina drove in all three Cardinals runs. Trevor Rosenthal worked around a two-out triple to earn the save. STARTING TIME Nationals: Washington has yet to make a decision on its fifth starter. Tanner Roark and Taylor Jordan, the two competitors for the spot, will both pitch in the Nationals exhibition against Detroit on Sunday in Washington. Cardinals: Wainwright threw five scoreless innings of one hit ball to cap his spring. The Cardinals opening day starter allowed four runs in 22 2-3 Grapefruit League innings, striking out 18 while walking one. "Im ready for them to start counting," he said. "I feel good. Spring has flown by. Ive had a lot of fun down here and now its time to get going." TRAINERS ROOM Cardinals: Manager Mike Matheny doesnt expect injured pitchers Jaime Garcia and Jason Motte to make the trip north with the club for the Cardinals exhibition game at Triple-A Memphis on Friday. Matheny also wasnt sure whether the two pitchers will be part of St. Louis home-opener festivities. Nationals: Washington pitcher Doug Fister will start a minor league game on Thursday as he tries to build up his pitch count. He battled elbow inflammation earlier this spring but is scheduled to start the season with the major league club. AARDSMA ABOARD Newly signed reliever David Aardsma made his first appearance for St. Louis, allowing one hit and walking one in a scoreless inning of work. The Cardinals have spent much of spring searching for their final bullpen arm and the 32-year-old right-hander likely leaps to the front of a list of candidates that includes Kevin Butler, Scott McGregor and Jorge Rondon. Aardsma began the spring with Cleveland as a non-roster invitee. He is 23-15 with 69 saves and a 4.23 ERA during a seven-year major league career. EXTRA SWINGS Washington left third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and first baseman Adam LaRoche at their spring training complex so that the pair could get multiple at-bats in minor league games. . And, just for good measure, lets say the lottery team finishes the game short-handed because two starters come down with the very same injury. . -- Creighton apparently has Villanovas number. . Anything less than gold for either nation is considered a disappointment. Yet for Switzerland, advancing to the semifinal might be a victory in itself. . After the loss, White refused to make good on the bet, instead offering Hoyt tickets to a Bears game. . Power had a two-lap average of 218.896 mph in qualifying Friday at the high-banked, high-speed 1 1/2-mile track for his 34th career pole.DENVER -- Randy Foye hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer, and the Denver Nuggets overcame a 36-point performance by Blake Griffin to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-115 on Monday night. Kenneth Faried had a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who denied the Clippers their sixth win in seven games. Ty Lawson, who missed the last four games with a shoulder injury, added 27 points and J.J. Hickson had 17 points and 12 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan had 19 points and 12 rebounds. It was his team record 28th consecutive game with at least 10 rebounds. Jamal Crawford added 19 points for the Clippers, who fell to 0-11 on the road when trailing after the third quarter. No more than five points separated the teams in the third quarter with the Nuggets taking an 82-81 lead into the fourth quarter when Quincy Miller stole the ball from Crawford and swept down the court for a layup, beating the buzzer. With 3:37 left, Griffin made two free throws to put the Clippers up 107-101 but the Nuggets scored eight straight points, getting six on free throws, and went in front by two. The Clippers answered, regaining the lead on a fast-break dunk by Griffin 111-109. Two free throws by Lawson re-tied it at 111-all with 1:21 left. Griffin made oone of two from the line and Wilson Chandler made a pair and the Nuggets led 113-112 with 50.dddddddddddd7 seconds remaining. Both the Clippers Crawford and the Nuggets Lawson missed jumpers before Matt Barnes connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining. But after a timeout, the Nuggets worked the ball to Foye who heaved a 3-pointer for the winner. Though the Clippers led by as many as 13 points early on, the teams battled to a 60-all tie at the half. Barnes and Darren Collison finished consecutive fastbreaks with layups to give the Clippers a 55-46 lead with 2:46 left in the second quarter. Chandler answered with a 3-pointer that was offset by a three-point play by Griffin, who then drew a foul, his third, while guarding Foye. Griffin spent the final couple minutes of the second quarter on the bench, during which the Nuggets closed with an 11-2 burst, including a jumper by Lawson with 29.7 seconds remaining that evened the score at the half. NOTES: Jordan has played in 209 consecutive games, longest active streak in the NBA. ... Faried has 55 career double doubles, including 12 this season. ... Jordan has 11 double doubles in his last 15 games. ... Griffin has 23 games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season. ' ' '
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