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T.J. Oshie returned to the Washington Capitals‘ lineup Sunday, getting back just in time for the ceremony honoring his milestone of playing in 1,000 NHL games.

And more importantly, at a crucial juncture of the season, with his team trying desperately to make the playoffs. Oshie had two assists in a 3-0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets that pushed Washington back into a playoff position.

“We found a way to get the job done,” Oshie said. “That was my message to them before the game is how much I absolutely appreciate all this stuff, but we need to get a win, that is focus No. 1.”

Oshie was back against the Jets for Game No. 70 of 82 after missing the past two because of injury. The 37-year-old winger has been out off and on in recent months dealing with nagging back problems that have threatened to derail his career. He reached his 1,000th regular-season game March 16 at Vancouver.

“I know he’s had a lot of injuries, but he’s a big part of, especially their success when they won the Cup,” said Jets assistant Scott Arniel, who was on staff with Washington for four seasons coaching Oshie. “He’s an unbelievable professional to work with, a first-class person, first-class father, teammate, all that stuff.”

On Sunday, Capitals players wore No. 77 jerseys during pregame warmups that will be autographed and auctioned, with proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. Oshie’s dad, Tim, died of the disease, which he was living with when father and son shared an emotional moment on the ice in Las Vegas when Washington won the Stanley Cup in 2018.

Master of ceremonies Joe Beninati called Oshie “the heart of the Capitals” as he and his teammates, including sidelined center Nicklas Backstrom, gathered for a photo. Oshie’s goal song, John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” played over the arena speakers.

Oshie had told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski this past week that the 1,000-game plateau was his career measuring stick.

“There’s no other milestones that I really set for myself in my career,” Oshie said. “I looked up to the guys that came before me that reached the thousand-game mark, seeing the ceremonies and the silver sticks they’d receive. It’s a pretty cool thing, and it’s tough to do.”

The ceremony came just over 10 years after Oshie gained fame for his shootout performance at the Sochi Olympics, when he made 4 of 6 attempts in a U.S. victory over host Russia.

The Capitals could use a healthy Oshie down the stretch, especially with Tom Wilson serving a six-game suspension. Their next game, Tuesday at home against Detroit, is pivotal in the Eastern Conference playoff race as the Capitals chase the Red Wings for a wild-card spot.

“I find even of late, we’re missing a little bit of his poise with the puck, his veteran presence on the ice when things get a little bit scrambly,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “He can calm things down because he can find a way out of a situation with a lot of poise and calmness. … He handles those situations as good as anybody I’ve been around with his poise.”

Oshie is in his ninth season with the Capitals after playing his first seven with the St. Louis Blues.

“I was really excited to just get to No. 1,000,” Oshie said. “I guess you don’t really think about the support and the love that comes after, so I can’t thank everyone here enough.”

Master of ceremonies Joe Beninati called Oshie “the heart of the Capitals” as he and his teammates, including sidelined center Nicklas Backstrom, gathered around him for a photo. Oshie’s goal song, John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” played over the arena speakers.

The ceremony came just over 10 years after Oshie gained fame for his shootout performance at the Sochi Olympics when he made four of six attempts in a U.S. victory over host Russia.

“He’s one of the elite players in the league,” Arniel said. “A lot of people [know about him], not only his NHL career but what he did at the Olympics, the shootout stuff that happened, him scoring all those goals in all the different ways.

“He’s got some unbelievable hands – some of the best I’ve seen in some of the guys I’ve coached. His ability to do things with that stick is amazing, not only just the shootouts but tipping pucks. You watch him in practice tip pucks with the blade of his stick and the knob of his stick, and you get about 10 for 10. He has an elite set of hands, and he has a great personality, too.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Yelich fuels rally, Brewers extend win streak to 13

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Yelich fuels rally, Brewers extend win streak to 13

CINCINNATI — Christian Yelich had two homers among his four hits and drove in five runs as the Milwaukee Brewers overcame a seven-run deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-8 Friday night for their club record-tying 13th straight victory.

The Brewers became the first team in 94 years to extend a double-digit win streak with a comeback win of seven or more runs, according to ESPN Research.

The Reds chased Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski – making his first start since July 28 – with a seven-run seventh inning to take an 8-1 lead.

Yelich homered leading off the second against Nick Martinez for Milwaukee’s first run. He had an RBI double in the third before Andrew Vaughn hit his 14th homer – a three-run shot – and Brice Turang‘s RBI double to cut it to 8-6. Yelich had a two-run single in the fourth to tie it at 8-all and then hit his 26th homer – a one-out, solo shot off Scott Barlow (6-1) in the sixth to give the Brewers the lead.

Yelich did his damage with a bat honoring the late Bob Uecker. It had the home run call of the former catcher and longtime Brewers’ announcer written on it.

This was also Yelich’s third career game with four hits and two home runs, tying Ryan Braun and Willy Adames for most in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

Brandon Lockridge went 3 for 5 and doubled off Sam Moll with two outs in the seventh before scoring on a wild pitch for an insurance run.

Misiorowski loaded the bases with one out in the second on a hit batter and two walks and left after walking Spencer Steer to force in a run. Elly De La Cruz had the first hit in the inning – a two-run double off DL Hall for a 4-1 lead. Four straight singles increased the lead to 8-1.

Misiorowski was charged with five runs on four hits and three walks in 1 1/3 innings hours after coming off the injured list. Nick Mears (4-3) pitched a scoreless fifth. Trevor Megill struck out two in the ninth for his 29th save. Six relievers combined to retire the final 23 Reds in order.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Slumping Dodgers lose 3B Muncy (oblique) to IL

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Slumping Dodgers lose 3B Muncy (oblique) to IL

LOS ANGELES — Third baseman Max Muncy was diagnosed with a Grade 1 oblique strain and landed on the injured list Friday, a major blow to a Los Angeles Dodgers team that finds itself fading in the standings.

Muncy was originally a late scratch from Wednesday’s lineup after feeling soreness in his right side during pregame batting practice. The Dodgers’ hope was that sitting out for the finale from Angel Stadium, then getting extra rest during the Thursday off day, would allow Muncy to return for a critical series against the division-rival San Diego Padres, who have taken a one-game lead in the National League West.

But Muncy will miss this weekend’s series from Dodger Stadium, as well as the following series from San Diego’s Petco Park next weekend.

“I don’t think anyone expects it to be season-ending,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “but hopefully it’s sooner than later.”

Roberts doesn’t believe the current oblique injury is as bad as the one that forced Muncy to miss about two months last year, but even in a best-case scenario, the Dodgers might be without their third baseman and left-handed power hitter until around mid-September.

Muncy got off to a bad start this year before turning it on in the middle of May, slashing .312/.438/.616 with 11 home runs in a stretch of 41 games. Muncy then injured his left knee during a scary collision at third base and wound up missing most of July. He returned Aug. 4, went 8-for-23 with four home runs over the course of eight games, and now he’s out again — at a time when the reigning World Series champs could really use some reinforcements.

The Dodgers held a nine-game lead in the NL West as of July 3 and have since gone 12-21 to fall a game back of a surging Padres team that arrived in L.A. on the heels of a five-game winning streak. As many as six high-leverage relievers reside on the Dodgers’ IL, though three of them — Michael Kopech, Kirby Yates and Tanner Scott — are nearing returns. The offense, meanwhile, has been mostly unproductive over the past six weeks, posting an 0.708 OPS that ranks 22nd in the major leagues.

During Muncy’s absence, the Dodgers will use Alex Freeland, a switch-hitting rookie who’s batting .176 in his first 12 games, and Buddy Kennedy, a right-handed-hitting journeyman with a career .193 batting average. Other potential reinforcements like Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim and Enrique Hernandez remain on the IL and aren’t close enough to a return.

“It’s certainly a tough loss,” Roberts said. “I think it’s just guys got to continue to perform to their abilities. It’s hard to kind of backfill Max, what he means, as far as the plate discipline, the slug, the on-base, all that stuff. I feel good about our lineup, the guys that we have, and they just have to go out there and take good at-bats. That’s all we can do right now.”

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Phils’ Duran takes liner off foot; X-rays negative

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Phils' Duran takes liner off foot; X-rays negative

WASHINGTON — Philadelphia Phillies closer Jhoan Duran was carted off the field after he took a comebacker off his right foot in the ninth inning of a 6-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

The Phillies said that initial X-rays were negative and that Duran would be evaluated further Saturday.

Pitching in a non-save situation after four days off, Duran began the ninth by facing Paul DeJong, who hit a sharp grounder to the mound on his fourth pitch. The ball deflected off Duran’s foot and into foul territory for a single.

Duran ran toward the ball but began limping as he approached the foul line. After a lengthy visit by team trainers, he took a seat in the Nationals’ bullpen cart and was driven off the field.

“He ran like a shot to retrieve the ball, and once he got there, I think the adrenaline wore off and the pain set in,” Thomson said. “But before the cart came out, he said, ‘I actually feel better, I think I can walk over to the dugout.’ But we got all these steps up here, so we just wanted to use the cart and take him all the way around, so he didn’t have to go up the steps.”

Acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, Duran is 4-for-4 in save opportunities with the Phillies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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