WASHINGTON -- The Baltimore Orioles hated giving up a day off to face the Washington Nationals on the road before heading to Toronto. A victory over their neighbouring rivals made the detour much more tolerable. Caleb Joseph homered and drove in three runs, J.J. Hardy had four hits and Baltimore beat Washington 7-3 on Monday night in a duel between first-place teams. Nick Markakis homered for the Orioles, who trailed 3-1 before rallying for their eighth win in 11 games. The game was a makeup of the July 8 contest that was postponed by rain. A sellout crowd of 42,181 -- many of them wearing Oriole orange -- showed up to watch teams located just 38 miles apart on I-295. The Orioles wanted the makeup game to be played in the afternoon, but the Nationals nixed the request. So Baltimore planned on taking a red-eye to Toronto for a three-game showdown between the top two teams in the AL East. "It was a tough one, and then again tomorrow and the next day," manager Buck Showalter said. "These guys get to sleep around 5 or 6. Its part of what we have to go through to get what were trying to get done." Hardy and Ryan Flaherty opened the seventh with successive doubles off Tanner Roark (11-7) to tie it at 3. Delmon Young followed with an RBI single -- making him 9 for 17 as a pinch-hitter this season -- and Adam Jones capped the uprising with a run-scoring single, Baltimores sixth hit of the inning. Young has been a significant contributor in his first season with the Orioles, whether starting or coming off the bench. "He got a big hit," Showalter said. "He works so hard at it. I see him rattling in the cage from the first or second inning on." Joseph singled in two runs in the eighth to make it 7-3. Kevin Gausman (6-3) gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings for the Orioles. "I definitely had to grind through that one," he said. "I think it was kind of huge to get through six there." Washingtons lead over Atlanta in the NL East slipped to three games and Baltimore increased its margin over Toronto to four games. Roark allowed five runs, the most he yielded in 16 starts since May 3. He won his previous four starts, allowing only one run in each game. "The ball was up, elevated, I wasnt hitting my spots," he said. "If the balls up and Im not hitting spots, Im going to get hit hard." He gave up seven hits, including two homers. Roark hadnt allowed more than one home run in a game since that May 3 game against the Phillies. "Theyre in first place for a reason," he said of the Orioles. "They hit the ball, and they showed it tonight." Wilson Ramos put the Nationals up 1-0 in the second inning with his first home run since July 9, against the Orioles. Joseph homered in the third, the first run against Washington in 23 innings. In the bottom half, Jayson Werth hit a sacrifice fly after a double by Denard Span, who has reached via a hit or walk in 30 straight games. Markakis made it 3-2 in the fifth with his 10th home run, matching his total of last season. TRAINING ROOM: Orioles: Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (right ankle sprain) has completed his rehabilitative work in the minors and could be activated from the DL as soon as Friday. Nationals: Washington placed outfielder Nate McLouth on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. Outfielder Steven Souza Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. ON DECK: Orioles: Baltimore will start right-hander Bud Norris on Tuesday night in Toronto. Hes 2-0 with a 1.83 ERA against Toronto this season. Nationals: Gio Gonzalez (6-7) starts Tuesday for Washington in the opener of a three-game series against the New York Mets, who are 1-5 against the Nationals this year. JOHNSON RETURN? Released by Oakland over the weekend, former Orioles right-hander Jim Johnson worked out for Baltimore at the teams training complex in Florida. If signed by the Orioles, Johnson would likely receive a minor league deal. "Hes certainly got a good pedigree and history of having success," Showalter said. "Hes got himself a tough decision to make, but a good one. Hes got some people interested in him." NFL China Jerseys .com) - Guard Greivis Vasquez and forward Patrick Patterson, two key pieces to the Toronto Raptors run to an Atlantic Division title in 2013-14, were both given qualifying offers by the team on Saturday. Wholesale China Jerseys . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted that its believed the Flames are working towards a new contract with the defenceman. https://www.chinajerseysreview.com/. By then it was clear: The 76ers were going to win for the first time in two months, and they were going to do it with ease. The 76ers snapped their NBA record-tying, 26-game losing streak, routing the Detroit Pistons 123-98 on Saturday night to avoid establishing the longest skid in U. Cheap China Jerseys .S. military base for UFC: Fight for the Troops 3. This fight card, which takes place in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has had a number of changes, including headliner Lyoto Machida replaced by fellow Brazilian Rafael Natal. Stitched China Jerseys . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Peyton Manning wants to clear up a couple of things about his recent visit to Tuscaloosa, Ala., that raised eyebrows at NFL headquarters and the hackles of some Tennessee fans. The five-time MVP said hes always been driven to improve, a quality thats even more essential at age 38, and thats why he met with Alabama coach Nick Saban a couple of weeks ago. Saban shared defensive tips with Manning, who gave him pointers on the hurry-up offence that has befuddled the Crimson Tide. Saban said Denver offensive co-ordinator Adam Gase also visited his staff that week. NFL rules prohibit players and their coaches from meeting before the start of off-season workout programs, and thats why the NFL said it would look into the matter. Following the Broncos first organized workout Monday, however, Manning insisted that he and Gase didnt break any rules because they didnt meet with each other in Tuscaloosa. "Yeah, that didnt happen. We know what the rules were. Like I said, I was there on an independent project, and Adam was as well," Manning said. Saban has also said that Manning and Gase didnt meet with his coaches at the same time. Gase and Saban go way back: Gase got his start in coaching under Saban in the 1990s at Michigan State and followed him to LSU as a graduate assistant. As for fans from the quarterbacks alma mater who might be upset that he met with a rival coach from another SEC team, Manning said he still bleeds orange. "Obviously, I have been to Tennessee doing the same thing for the past 16 years. Ill do that, going to make it 17 years in a row, going back to Knoxville. Hopefully that covers me as far as being loyal to my university," Manning said. "Most of the other places, I go just one time. So Ive got 17 years at one place, so I think its pretty clear where my loyalties lie. "The projects I did this year were to help the Denver Broncos and to help me. That still is what my job is, to make myself a better player." The NFL rule prohibiting players and coaches from meeting before the start of the volunntary off-season workouts, the first two weeks of which are limited to strength and conditioning work and rehabilitation, were installed with the latest collective bargaining agreement a few years ago.dddddddddddd. Its designed to prevent players from feeling pressured to meet with coaching staffs during whats supposed to be their free time in the off-season. Players and coaches often get together in casual settings and NFL coaches often meet with college coaches. Mannings appetite for improvement is what led to his trip this off-season to Alabama. He also visited Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. "Theres different things that Ive done throughout my career in the off-season that Ive sought out someone to talk to, something to study to try to make myself a better quarterback," he said. "I believe in this league you either get better or you get worse -- you dont stay the same. I know that has gotten a lot of attention, but that is something Ive done throughout my career. "I certainly know the rules, but I know theres no rule that says a player cant get better -- at least I havent read that one. Thats what I was trying to do and I believe that is important, especially as you get older, in the off-season to try to seek out some things to try to make yourself a better player." Seeing the leagues only five-time MVP trying to improve impressed new defensive end DeMarcus Ware, who was lured to Denver by a three-year, $30 million offer from general manager John Elway and the chance to play with Manning, whos intent on getting back to the Super Bowl this season following the Broncos 43-8 loss to Seattle in February. "Sometimes it doesnt matter about accolades, it doesnt matter if you were MVP or not, its what can I do to really get better for next season?" Ware said. "Peytons one of those types of guys that puts in that effort, not just on the field but off the field, trying to figure out, What can I do to get better? Because he has a bad taste in his mouth from the last season and he doesnt want it to happen again." ' ' '