WASHINGTON -- There will be plenty of raw emotion at Nationals Park on Friday when the Miami Marlins begin a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.The series opener comes a day after a memorial service in Florida for Jose Fernandez, the ace of the Marlins who died in a boating accident Sunday.Among those on hand for the Thursday service was Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who grew up in the Miami area and like Fernandez has Cuban heritage.Gonzalez started at home Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks and was tagged with the loss.The starting pitchers Friday will be Nationals right-hander A.J. Cole (1-2, 5.09 ERA) against Marlins right-hander Andrew Cashner (5-11, 5.13).Cole has never faced Arizona. Cashner, who last opposed the Nationals in 2015, is 2-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 11 games (six starts) against them.Washington (93-66) enters play Friday with a two-game edge over the Los Angeles Dodgers (91-68) in the race for the home-field advantage in the National League Division Series. The NL East and NL West champions will face off beginning Oct. 7. The Dodgers own the tiebreaker after going 5-1 against Washington this year.The Nationals beat the Diamondbacks 5-3 Thursday in a light rain. If the game had been rained out, Arizona may have had to return to play Monday if the game had a bearing on the home-field edge.We just feel fortunate we got the game in, Washington manager Dusty Baker said. Im glad we got the game in. It was a blessing we got the game in.Cole was ejected Sunday in Pittsburgh when he threw a pitch behind Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang. That led to Major League Baseball suspending Cole for five games, but he appealed the penalty.Cole will be making his eight major league start of the year. He made his big league debut in April 2015 but spent most of the 2016 season at Triple-A Syracuse, where he went 8-8 with a 4.62 ERA in 22 starts.Washingtons Bryce Harper is 4-for-6 in his career against Cashner. Harper has been out since Sunday with a sore thumb but could see action this weekend. Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth is 6-for-10 against Cashner.Washington MVP candidate Daniel Murphy (buttocks strain) is not slated to start during the series, though he could see action off the bench. Baker said he hopes to get Murphy healthy for the postseason.Miami (78-80) was eliminated from playoff contention with home loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday. The Marlins were off Thursday as they attended the Fernandez service.It was tough to have a lot of emotion out there, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after the Wednesday defeat. I know our guys were trying. We owe that to the Cardinals and Giants (who are chasing the Mets in the NL wild-card race). Our guys did the best they possibly could, but it was a tough game to play.Marlins standout Martin Prado echoed those thoughts.Its going to take a long time for our Fish family to recover from this, he said of losing Fernandez. Its a devastating loss for everybody. I feel sorry for his mother and family because Jose was one of the biggest reasons why they came to America. Wholesale Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Australia always had the belief, and have now convinced the mighty United States they can win a historic Olympic mens basketball medal in Rio.The Boomers nearly became the first team to knock off the world No.1 side at a Games since 2004 on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEDT).Thats if it wasnt for Carmelo Anthony and his record 31 points.A masterclass late in the fourth quarter from the Americans most experienced player turned a two-point deficit into a scarily close 98-88 victory for the U.S. - their 18th straight at an Olympics.While the United States put China and Venezuela away with ease, Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova made them work hard for the win.The Australians, who earlier toppled top-six nations France and Serbia, led for large periods of the game and did not trail by more than eight points until the dying seconds.Mills finished with 30 points and Bogut added 15 points, while Dellavedova had 11 points plus 11 assists and six rebounds.That was the first real international game weve had, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said.Australia have probably played the best of anybody in the Olympics.They just play lights-out basketball.Theyre going to vie for a gold medal.Winning gold - not just a maiden medal - was a goal they set after quaalifying for the Rio Games last year.dddddddddddd.I know many have laughed at us along the way, but perhaps tonights performance will help some others believe it, Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis said.Kevin Durant believes it, predicting Australia will go pretty far this tournament after what he came up against.But Bogut, despite being surprised by his own performance in just his third game back from a knee injury, wasnt all smiles.Were disappointed, he said.We lost. Were not going to take small moral victories.Theyre the best team in the world, we battled them and we thought we shouldve been in a position to try and grind out a closer game.In the past, you get within 10 or 15 and you get a birthday cake in the locker-room and everyone thinks its the best day ever.We have a different mindset this Olympics and hopefully we can keep that grit and determination.Having been drawn in the same group for Rio, the two teams wont be able to meet again until the gold medal match should they finish in the top two.The Boomers next play China, while the U.S. face Serbia.Anthony overtook LeBron James as the Americans alltime leading scorer midway through the match. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '