The Washington Nationals have been riding their dominant starting pitching to the top of the TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings. Its not just starting pitching, but the Nationals have improved so dramatically in that area over the past couple of seasons (from a 4.61 ERA in 2010 to 3.10 this season) that Washington has climbed to first place in the National League East, with a three-game lead on Atlanta (ranked third, incidentally). Whether the Nationals can keep this up could depend on how willing they are to extend the workload of Stephen Strasburg, who is in his first season coming back from Tommy John surgery and could have his innings limited down the stretch -- not an easy decision for a team in the playoff hunt. This might have been considered a rebuilding year for the Chicago White Sox, but with Chris Sale and Jake Peavy leading a starting rotation that has received a boost from rookie Jose Quintana, they are suddenly atop the AL Central and now ranked second. Seven wins in the last eight games helped lift the Detroit Tigers from 20 to 11 in this weeks rankings and the As jumped from 18 to 13 with nine wins in the last 10 games. Going the other way, the Mets fell from six to 15 with injuries and R.A. Dickey starting to come back to earth. The Orioles, still, clinging to second in the AL East, dropped from 14 to 18, while the Houston Astros miserable play, which includes an 11-33 record in the last 44 games, earns them the 30th spot in the rankings. An injury-plagued pitching staff has the Toronto Blue Jays 20th, and hoping that Carlos Villanueva and Aaron Laffey can keep them above .500. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. cheap jerseys . 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Victor Bernardez, Simon Dawkins and Ramiro Corrales popped up with the goals that helped San Jose (16-6-5) improve to 53 points on the season, seven points clear of second-place Real Salt Lake. Bernardez opened the scoring in the 11th minute, curling a free kick from distance around the wall and into the lower corner.GENEVA -- Udinese and Rubin Kazan earned the draws they needed to advance to the Europa League knockout stage on Thursday, as Tottenham was eliminated despite beating Shamrock Rovers 4-0. Needing to avoid defeat at home against Celtic, Udinese drew 1-1 after talismanic striker Antonio Di Natale levelled the score in first-half stoppage time. The Scottish club had led through Gary Hoopers 29th-minute goal. Udinese go into Fridays last-32 draw with group winner Atletico Madrid which had already qualified before beating Rennes 3-1. Rubin got its point by overcoming the early dismissal of goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov to draw 1-1 away to PAOK. The Russians thereby eliminated Tottenham, who needed to overturn a deficit of three points and five goals at the start of play. Bruges drew 1-1 with 10-man Braga as both progressed from Group H, edging out Birmingham which beat Maribor 1-0. AZ Alkmaar also advanced thanks to a 1-1 draw. The Dutch side earned its point at home to Group G winner Metalist Kharkiv, and progressed ahead of Austria Vienna which beat last-place Malmo 2-0. Udinese and Celtic both chased a victory that would ensure progress amid heightening tension in the final 20 minutes. Udinese midfielder Kwadwoh Asamoah somehow missed from three yards (meters) in the 72nd minute, and Di Natale was denied by Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forsters excellent back-to-back saves. Celtic struck a post in the 75th, and Ch Du-Ris shot rebounded, ricocheted off Samir Handanovics back and was spinning toward goal when the keeper reached out to grab the ball. Atletico cruised to victory against Rennes after Radamel Falcaos penalty opened the scoring in thhe 38th.dddddddddddd Alvaro Dominguez scored four minutes later and Arda Turan struck in the 79th. Tottenham looked well set to advance when leading 3-0 in Dublin while Rubin trailed 1-0 at Group A leader PAOK. The Russians also had Ryzhikov sent off for conceding a 16th-minute penalty scored by PAOK winger Vieirinha. But Rubin levelled in the 48th through Paraguay forward Nelson Valdez and held on to draw 1-1. That result made it academic when Harry Kane scored Tottenhams fourth in stoppage-time, adding to first-half goals from Steven Pienaar, Andros Townsend and Jermain Defoe. Tottenham reached the Champions League quarterfinals last season, but paid the price for fielding under-strength teams in Europes second-tier competition. "We havent not gone through for lack of trying," Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said. "It was disappointing. I want to win every game." Redknapp also drew attention for apparently directing a gesture toward Shamrock fans who had targeted him with taunting chants for much of the match. Redknapp denied making an obscene gesture, adding that opposing fans "get together and shout a load of nonsense and that is football. Thats life. I dont hold any grudges." Standard Liege and Hannover go into Fridays draw from Group B, and PSV Eindhoven and Legia Warsaw had already progressed from Group C. Liege got a 1-0 win at FC Copenhagen through Michy Batshuayis 31st-minute goal, while Hannover won 3-1 against Vorskla Poltava after goals from Konstantin Rauch, Didier Konan Ya and Artur Sobiech. PSV beat Rapid Bucharest 2-1 at home, and Legia lost 2-0 away to Hapoel Tel-Aviv. ' ' '