e able to play Saturday night. ... Baker said RHP Joe Ross continues to toss but remains on the DL with no definitive timeline.FATHERS DAYSThis is the Pirates fourth annual dads trip,

LONDON -- Serena Williams came to Wimbledon this year in need of replenishment among all those hydrangeas, Pimms sipping swells and ivy-covered walls. Cheap Bruins Jerseys . She hoped that the legend-friendly ambiance of the All England Club and the soothing, lime-green lawns that are so welcoming to her explosive serve would help her overcome torments that have been plaguing her.It isnt working out quite that way, as Williams second-round clash with Christina McHale on Friday demonstrated.In yet another volatile episode in her quest to win Grand Slam singles title No. 22 and equal Steffi Grafs career record, Williams fell behind spirited challenger Christina McHale and was lucky to escape 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 29 minutes.I was out there playing for my life at that point, Williams said of the close third set. I felt like I was definitely in warrior mode. Trying to play to stay in the tournament.The sunny skies under which Williams smoothly opened her title defense on Tuesday against qualifier Amra Sadikovic were gone by the time the WTA No. 1 met the No. 65 McHale. Also gone was the easy command and composure Williams had shown throughout that first match.McHale is a few classes above Sadikovic and was at (or close to) her best on Friday. McHale is quick around the court. Her consistency is the product of great technique, and shes a fighter. All the parts were moving in unison, and it rattled Williams. McHale bolted to a quick 4-2 lead, and it was touch-and-go the rest of the way, with a few stomach-churning episodes for both women.Williams had a set point with McHale serving at 4-5 in the first set, but McHale challenged an out call at the baseline and won the overrule to remain alive. She went on to hold. Williams lost the ensuing tiebreaker after leading it 3-1, partly because she threw in two double faults. As she sank to her chair, she repeatedly smashed her racket on the turf and then tossed it over her shoulder.The racket landed in the lap of a cameraman. Williams landed a big fine.Its definitely a fine [up to $20,000], she said later. She tried to make light of the incident. Ive gotten fined a number of times for cracking racquets. In fact, I look at it like I didnt crack one at the French Open or Rome, so I was doing really good. I try to crack a certain amount a year. Im a little behind this year, so it was good.It was a facetious remark, but there was nothing funny about the struggle that created the incident. The defending champion has become a profligate player. Prodigious winners and errors pour off her racket, often at unpredictable times. Often in equal measure. Shes tugged by invisible forces, prey to mystifying pressures that have become her omnipresent companions.After the match, when a reporter began to ask about Williams moth-to-flame dance with Grafs record, she abruptly cut him off: That is another thing Im not talking about anymore.Williams deserves plenty of sympathy. Shes so obviously struggling. But shes also yielding valuable psychological turf in almost every match with her body language and by communicating her frustrations so vividly. And that must make her life tougher. When she makes a fist, doubles over and screams, Come on, she might as well be yelling across the net, telling her opponent that if she just keeps her cool and hits some shots she has an excellent chance to win.But it would be naive to assume Williams doesnt know this. Its more likely shes aware of it but couldnt care less. A career spent dominating, expressing herself however she pleases, must be a hard habit to break.Besides, players do have trouble keeping their cool and hitting shots. McHale did. After her second-set lapse, McHale jumped to a 2-0, 40-15 third-set lead. Curtains for Williams -- until McHale whacked a double fault and made a forehand error, eventually losing the game and her advantage.It was good for me to get through that, Williams said. There were times where I was down and out. I just kept fighting. Thats what I know I can do best. I knew that I could count on that, rely on that. I think my form, obviously it has to be better. I hope to play more matches to get better. Im ready for it. Im ready for any challenge.Williams finished her match just slightly later than her sister Venus, who also had a seesaw battle, with No. 29 seed Daria Kasatkina. Venus won in two hours and 42 minutes, 10-8 in the third set, and might have been speaking for both Williamses when she said: Well, at the end, the goal is to be at the net shaking hands, the winner. So however you get that done is usually how you get it done. Jack Gelineau Jersey . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Pete Peeters Jersey . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. https://www.cheapbruins.com/1772m-jaromi...sey-bruins.html . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. WASHINGTON -- Stephen Strasburg so badly wanted to start the Washington Nationals first game after the break that he gave up the chance to pitch in the All-Star Game in his hometown of San Diego.His 13th victory was a reward for that.Strasburg allowed one run and three hits with six strikeouts in eight masterful innings as the Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Friday night.Strasburg (13-0) has won 16 consecutive decisions dating to September, a franchise record for starting pitchers.He got probably some grief by not pitching in the All-Star Game, but he was doing what he thought was best for us and for him, manager Dusty Baker said. Boy, that sets the tone for the rest of the series.Strasburg has allowed a total of five hits in three starts since coming off the disabled list July 3. Catcher Wilson Ramos said this is the best he has ever seen Strasburg pitch, and eight innings matched the right-handers season high.At the plate, Strasburg drove in what turned out to be the winning run on a sacrifice bunt attempt in the seventh inning. He reached safely because of an error by Pirates first baseman David Freese.I was just telling myself Im going to stick in there, Strasburg said. I wasnt going to walk away without getting it down.First baseman Clint Robinson, who drove in a run in the fifth, scored in the seventh on the combination of a wild pitch by reliever Neftali Feliz and a throwing error by catcher Eric Fryer. Center fielder Michael Taylor broke the game open with a two-run homer, his seventh of the season, off Feliz.Pittsburgh starter Francisco Liriano (5-9) got the loss after allowing three runs and five hits in six-plus innings.I thought he pitched a very competitive ballgame, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. Its good to see him move it deeper into the game.Competitive wasnt enough against the Nationals lineup, which was strong even without Daniel Murphy, who was scratched with a sore left hamstring. Robinson, who didnt learn he was starting unntil batting practice, went 2-for-4. Zachary Senyshyn Jersey. Big Robinson, hes always ready, Baker said. He got some big hits for us, he tied the game up off Liriano and then he got another hit that started a rally. Clint has been a life saver for us and especially in [Ryan Zimmermans] absence.The Nationals keep chugging along atop the National League East in large part because of starting pitching. Strasburg has been the best, and on Friday, he lowered his ERA to 2.51.I felt pretty good, said Strasburg, who threw 69 of 105 pitches for strikes. Im trying to go out there with the same game plan, the same plan of attack and focus on executing pitches.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Ryan Vogelsong, who has been out since May 23, when he was hit by a pitch and suffered three facial fractures, threw six scoreless innings in a rehab start for Double-A Altoona. ... C Francisco Cervelli, who has been on the DL since June 11 with a broken bone in his wrist, doubled and singled in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Indianapolis.Nationals: Murphy said he felt tightness in his hamstring after sliding into second base during the All-Star Game on Tuesday. The team listed him as day-to-day, but he wasnt sure if hed be able to play Saturday night. ... Baker said RHP Joe Ross continues to toss but remains on the DL with no definitive timeline.FATHERS DAYSThis is the Pirates fourth annual dads trip, and almost 20 fathers of people throughout the organization are taking part.Its an absolute blast for everybody, Hurdle said. Its kind of like revisiting Little League but backwards because then weve got to follow our fathers around and make sure they havent left stuff behind.UP NEXTPirates RHP Gerrit Cole (5-4, 2.77 ERA) returns from the DL and starts Saturday against Nationals RHP Tanner Roark (8-5, 3.01). Cole has been out since June 11 with a strained right triceps muscle. ' ' '