WASHINGTON - After Adam LaRoches two-run homer in the eighth tied the game, and Wilson Ramos ground-rule double in the ninth won it, Washington Nationals manager Matt Williams called his club "tenacious. Chicago White Sox Gear ." Kevin Frandsen, whose RBI single in the eighth started Washingtons rally from a three-run deficit, went with the word "relentless." No matter what you call it, these NL East-leading Nationals are showing a knack for coming through late in games, and their fifth walkoff win of the season came by the score of 4-3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. "When youre on a streak, when youve got a little lead in the division, its easier to go relax and play," said LaRoche, who hit his 18th homer, "and not get too uptight late in games, regardless (of whether) youre down or not." Trailing 3-0 heading into the eighth, Washington grabbed its fifth consecutive victory to stay six games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Braves. The Pirates, meanwhile, dropped their fourth straight and have fallen to third place in the NL Central. "Its never good for the club, especially the position were in right now, pushing hard," said Tony Watson, who came on in the eighth and gave away the lead. Watson began his appearance by walking pinch-hitter Michael Taylor, then giving up singles to Denard Span and Frandsen that made it 3-1. After a double play, Watson faced the lefty-hitting LaRoche, who drove a 1-0 pitch into the home bullpen. Reliever Drew Storen, who was warming up, caught the ball on the fly. Watson said he followed the same pitch sequence against LaRoche on Saturday as he had Friday. "Yeah," Watson acknowledged, "it was dumb." In the ninth, with another lefty in for Pittsburgh, Justin Wilson (3-3), Bryce Harper checked his swing at a 3-1 pitch and went about halfway down the first-base line, figuring he had a leadoff walk. But plate umpire Mark Wegner had called the pitch a strike. Harper eventually paused, turned around, got back in the batters box — and walked on the next pitch. After Harper took second on a wild pitch, Ramos hit a ball that sailed over right fielder Gregory Polancos head and bounced into the home bullpen to win it. Helped, too, that Washington got four innings of scoreless relief after starter Gio Gonzalez allowed three runs and departed after 102 pitches in five innings. Craig Stammen got nine outs — "Just carving," Harper said — before Matt Thornton (1-0) earned the win with a 1-2-3 ninth, getting a pair of strikeouts on 96 mph fastballs. "They believe that they can come back, they believe that they can string hits together and we can score runs, and thats a good thing to have," Williams said. "That belief system is good." TRAINERS ROOM Pirates: CF Andrew McCutchen, last seasons NL MVP, ran the bases and hit before Saturdays game as he works his way back from a broken rib that put him on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 4. McCutchen had run before, but manager Clint Hurdle said "this was just a little bit more; closer to 100 per cent." ... Hurdle said RHP Gerrit Cole "passed all the tests" during a minor league rehab start Friday and should be ready to come off the DL within the next week. Nationals: RF Jayson Werth sat out a fifth consecutive game because of a bothersome right shoulder. Williams, who initially hoped to have Werth back Sunday, said the outfielder was "a little tender" after doing a full workout Saturday. "So if we have to take another day after today, we may have to do that," Williams said. UP NEXT In the series finale, Nationals RHP Doug Fister (12-3, 2.34 ERA) faces Pirates RHP Edinson Volquez (10-7, 3.67 ERA). Fister has won six of his last seven starts; Volquez has won six of his last seven decisions. WHAT A PLAY Pirates LF Travis Snider made a head-first, all-out, diving catch to rob Harper of a hit with a man on in the fifth. White Sox Jerseys China . Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane came up big when it counted, tallying two goals and an assist. He scored the game-winner with 4:45 remaining in the third period, stopping on the right hashmarks, carrying the puck up through the top of the Kings zone, then firing a wrist shot from the top of the circles past Jonathan Quick, who had his view obstructed by Andrew Shaw. Custom Chicago White Sox Jerseys . After all, the No. 8 seed is chasing far loftier goals. Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., defeated American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in Wimbledons second round on Thursday. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . Cincinnati has lost back-to-back games in overtime, wasting a chance to take a commanding lead in their division.Tuscaloosa, AL (SportsNetwork.com) - Devin Booker headed a strong Kentucky shooting effort with 13 points and the No. 1 Wildcats kept on rolling with a 70-48 pasting of Alabama at Coleman Coliseum. Kentucky (17-0, SEC 4-0) dominated in all facets en route to its second straight blowout win after a pair of narrow overtime triumphs to begin SEC play. The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the floor, knocked down 8-of-17 attempts from 3-point range and finished 16-of-18 from the foul line. They controlled the glass as well, outrebounding the Crimson Tide by a 30-21 margin, while forcing 15 turnovers to deal Alabama its first home loss of the season. Booker finished 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and Tyler Ulis hit 3-of-4 from long distance in an 11-point effort. Dakari Johnson also tallied 11 points for Kentucky, which remained one of the nations two lone unbeatens along with Virginia. Alabama (12-5, 2-2), which entered Saturdays matchup 10-0 in Tuscaloosa, received 13 points from Levi Randolph and 10 out of Rodney Cooper in its second straight conference setback. Kentucky took control early, putting forth a 10-0 run capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by twin brothers Aaron and Andrew Harrison to jump out to a 12-4 lead. An 8-0 stretch, in which Booker and Ulis each buried treys, not long afterward had the Wildcats up by a 21-9 count nearing thee midway mark of the first half. Chicago White Sox Pro Shop. The Wildcats, who held Alabama to a 7-of-22 effort from the field for the opening period, continued to stretch the lead prior to the close of the frame. Consecutive jumpers by Marcus Lee and Johnson had the Tide down 33-15 two minutes prior to the intermission, and Kentucky cruised into the break owning a comfortable 33-17 advantage. Kentucky missed its first five shots of the second half, though, enabling Alabama to cut the deficit to 11 via a 7-0 spurt. The lead was whittled down to nine with 13:14 left when Ricky Tarrant followed Coopers 3-pointer with a steal and layup to bring the Crimson Tide within 39-30. The Wildcats then reasserted themselves by embarking on a 16-2 tear to put the game out of reach. Ulis drained two more triples during the back-breaking run, which Booker capped with a 3-pointer of his own to extend the margin to 55-32 with nine minutes to play. Game Notes Kentucky is the first top-ranked team to enter Coleman Coliseum since the Tide downed No. 1 Arkansas 66-64 on Jan. 8, 1994 ... The Wildcats had lost in their two most recent visits to Tuscaloosa, but have now won nine of the last 11 overall in the series ... Alabama, which went just 3-of-7 from the free throw line, fell to 2-4 this season when its opponent attempts more foul shots. ' ' '