WASHINGTON -- With the uncertainty surrounding Stephen Strasburg, theres increased pressure on the Washington Nationals other starters, including veteran Gio Gonzalez.On Sunday, he met the challenge.Gonzalez pitched seven sharp innings, Anthony Rendon doubled home the tiebreaking run and the NL East-leading Nationals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2.Gonzalez (11-9) gave up one run on four hits, striking out five with one walk.We talked the other day and I told him that hes very important in this equation, especially with Stras out, and he responded, manager Dusty Baker said.Gonzalez rebounded from a rough outing against Atlanta in his last start when he allowed six runs in three innings and matched his longest outing of the season.Since July 10, Gonzalez is 7-1 with a 3.51 ERA in 12 starts, a welcome development for Washington.Washington turned three double plays, including in the eighth inning when the Phillies had runners on first and second with one out.As long as I can keep going deep in the game like that, Ill take some groundball double plays and some groundballs to the middle infield anytime, Gonzalez said. These guys play great back there.It was 1-all when Bryce Harper drew a leadoff walk from starter Adam Morgan (2-10) to open the seventh. Rendon then doubled to the wall in left-center on 2-0 off reliever Edubray Ramos.I mean, 2-0 is a hitters count, so youve got to be aggressive in those situations and he just happened to leave the ball over the plate, Rendon said.Rendon later scored on a passed ball by catcher A.J. Ellis.Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his 41st save and 11th with Washington.Tommy Joseph hit a tying homer for the Phillies in the seventh. Freddy Galvis homered in the eighth, but the Phillies left six runners on base.We need consistent at-bats rather than 15 to 20 to 25 home runs, manager Pete Mackanin said. Those are sexy stats, but getting a man in from third base with the infield back requires a groundball to short and thats the type of thinking they need.The Nationals took the final three games of the four-game series.Gonzalez had retired nine straight when Joseph connected for his 18th home run of the season.He was dealing. He had that changeup working, Baker said. He was ahead in the count most of the time with his fastball. It was well-located and he seemed like a guy on a mission.Morgan was looking to win back-to-back starts for the first time in his career. He allowed two runs on three hits over six innings plus one batter in his third straight solid effort and credited his recent success to mixing his pitches better.Thats the name of the game, changing speeds and keeping guys from cheating, Morgan said. Im just going to keep throwing like Ive been throwing.Washington took a 1-0 lead in the first. Trea Turner led off with a single and scored on Daniel Murphys major league-leading 42nd double.REMEMBERING 9/11Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus threw out the ceremonial first pitch as part of the Nationals 9/11 remembrance. The ceremony also included Midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy, first responders from the region, and service dogs and their owners. The Naval Academy Mens and Womens Glee Club & Gospel Choir performed the national anthem, which was concluded by a flyover.WELCOME TO THE SHOWPhillies OF prospect Roman Quinn, a second-round pick in 2011, made his major league debut and went 0 for 3 with a walk.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: 3B Maikel Franco (jammed right thumb), who pinch hit Saturday night, was out of the starting lineup for a fifth straight game.UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Jeremy Hellickson (10-9, 3.90 ERA) starts when the Phillies host the Pirates Monday in the first of four games. Hellickson is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in his last three starts. Hes 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two career starts versus the Pirates.Nationals: Mat Latos (1-0, 7.71 ERA) makes his first start since being recalled by the Nationals. In his career, hes 2-4 with a 3.11 ERA in 12 games against the Mets.Cheap Nike Shirts China . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Shirts China Outlet . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. http://www.cheapshirtschina.com/ . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Cheap Shirts From China . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Wholesale Shirts China . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta.BOSTON -- With 2:31 left to play, Brooklyns Trevor Booker made a layup to cut the Celtics lead to 10 points and Boston coach Brad Stevens pointed at his resting starters and told them to get back on the floor.The Nets had erased most of a 23-point deficit against the Boston backups, and they would make it an eight-point game before Stevens got his first team back in.Its a reminder of how quickly things can turn in this league, Stevens said after his starters preserved a 122-117 victory in the season opener on Wednesday night. I probably will be less likely to leave them in that long if were in a similar scenario. Hopefully we learn from it, and were not.Isaiah Thomas had 25 points and nine assists, Jae Crowder added 21 points and Al Horford pitched in 11 in his Boston debut for the Celtics.Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 for Brooklyn, including a 3-pointer to make it 120-117 with 47 seconds left. But he missed another 3 with a chance to tie it after Joe Harris intercepted Thomas cross-court pass, and the Celtics were able to hold on.Justin Hamilton came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points and grab 10 rebounds for the Nets.Very pleased that we didnt give up and we kept on fighting, coach Kenny Atkinson said after his debut.The Celtics led 112-89 with 8 minutes to play, and they led by 19 with 5:28 left when Avery Bradley went to the bench to join the rest of the first teamers, who started the quarter there. Brooklyn scored 11 straight points before Stevens decided hed seen enough.Thomas, Crowder, Horford, Bradley and Amir Johnson re-entered the game with an eight-point lead and 2:07 left and did just enough to protect it. Bradley had nine rebounds, the biggest after Hamiltons missed 3-point shot with 15 seconds left on another attempt to tie it.Hamilton gave the credit to the Nets bench for closing the gap.They came in with the energy that we nneeded to have the whole game, he said.ddddddddddddONEY WELL SPENTHorford added five rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who signed him during the NBAs offseason spending spree to a four-year, $113 million deal.The Celtics are hoping he will help lead them to an Atlantic Division title this season, one year after they finished eight games behind Toronto with the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.Hes the same the same old Al, Atkinson said, doing the stuff and hitting the big shots.NEWCOMERSCeltics No. 3 overall draft pick Jaylen Brown was pleased to hear that he didnt seem to have any nerves in his NBA debut. Brown scored nine points on 3-for-4 shooting, and he added two blocked shots in 19-plus minutes.How nervous was he?On a scale of 1-10, I was a seven or eight, he said with a smile. You want to have a lot of energy, and its hard to suppress your energy.FIRING AWAYThe Nets shot 44 3-point attempts, making 15. Atkinson said he wanted them to shoot more this season, but that number may be a little more than he planned.Yeah, 44 is a lot, but well look at them, he said. We said we want to take them, but they have to be open 3s.TIP-INSNets: Earlier in the day, Jeremy Lin donated $1 million to Harvard, where he graduated in 2010. The money will be used for undergraduate financial aid and to help renovate the schools basketball arena.Celtics: Injured guard Marcus Smart gave the traditional season-opening thanks to the crowd for the Celtics.UP NEXTNets: Thursday host Indiana. The Nets open their fifth season in Brooklyn.Celtics: Thursday visit Chicago. The Bulls will try to hold onto the citys attention on an off-night for the World Series, where the Cubs are trying to win their first championship since 1908. ' ' '