DENVER -- The Washington Nationals turned their clubhouse into a postgame rave scene, complete with blaring music, fog machine and dancing lights. A dazzling display -- almost as eye catching as their performance on the field. Ian Desmond tied a career high with five hits, including a two-run homer, and Doug Fister threw effectively into the sixth to help the Nationals beat the sinking Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Monday night. They were in quite a festive mood, too, as they took over sole possession in the NL East with Atlantas loss. "Anytime we win, its a great day," Fister said as he explained the light show. "We want to make sure we get that winning feeling." The 6-foot-8 Fister (9-2) -- all "elbows and knees" as Charlie Blackmon described him -- allowed nine hits before being pulled with two outs in the sixth after running into trouble. Desmond had four singles -- including one off the arm of reliever LaTroy Hawkins in the ninth -- to go with his 17th homer of the season. His approach at the plate is quite simple: "I just look for the ball and swing as hard as I can." The last time Desmond had five hits in a game was Sept. 15, 2011, at the New York Mets. "Kind of the way its been going for me lately," Desmond said. Franklin Morales (5-5) didnt pitch all that bad, except for one inning. He surrendered all four of his runs -- three earned -- in the fourth. "Other than that, he threw the ball well," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. Ben Paulsen had two hits and drove in a run in his major league debut for the Rockies, whove lost six straight and fell into a tie with Texas for the worst mark in the majors (40-59). Fister was cruising along until the sixth when the Rockies rallied for two runs on RBI singles from Nolan Arenado and Paulsen to make it 4-2. With the bases loaded and two outs, Nationals manager Matt Williams summoned Aaron Barrett from the bullpen to face pinch hitter Brandon Barnes. Barrett struck out Barnes with a slider in the dirt. "That was kind of, in my eyes, the turning point in the game," Desmond said. The Rockies had a little bit of a scare in that inning when Carlos Gonzalez was tagged out trying to slide into third base. He stayed down on the dirt for several minutes, clutching both wrists after jamming them into the ground. Gonzalez had surgery on his left index finger earlier this season and missed more than a month. He stayed in the game, but had a scrape on his right arm. "I dont know what else can happen this year," Gonzalez said. Washington padded its lead in the seventh on an RBI single from Wilson Ramos. Desmond later scored on a wild pitch. Colorado was missing several big bats from its lineup as Troy Tulowitzki missed a second straight game with a sore left thigh. Earlier in the day, Justin Morneau was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained neck. Taking Morneaus place at first was Paulsen, who was called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Hes the ninth different player to make his debut with the team in 2014. Paulsen lined a single to left in his first plate appearance. After Fister received the ball on the mound, he tossed it to a bat boy as a keepsake for Paulsen. Washington finally solved Morales in the fourth, scoring four times. Desmond gave Fister all the run support the right-hander would require with a two-run homer to left. Danny Espinosa drove in another run with a double and later scored when Morales tried to pick off Fister at first and threw the ball down the right-field line. Blackmon led off the first with a double, but Fister managed to escape. Fister struck out Gonzalez with a 79-mph changeup to end the inning. "You know you have to keep the ball down," Fister said. "Thats something we focused on a lot tonight." NOTES: Williams called OF Bryce Harpers day off "a one-day thing." Harper entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh and struck out, then briefly argued with the home-plate umpire over whether he foul tipped the pitch. Williams pulled Harper away. ... RHP Jordan Zimmermann (6-5), who left his last start with a cramp in his right biceps, will start Tuesday. The Rockies will throw LHP Yohan Flande (0-2). ... A woman was hit in the head when the bat slipped out of Gonzalezs hands in the fourth. She was escorted from her seat. Clint Capela Jersey . Unfortunately for Toronto, that surge was too much to handle as the Stars scored six straight goals and ended the Marlies season with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Toronto had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Frazer McLaren and Peter Holland, but Texas charged back with a wild rally late in the second period to spark its trip to the Calder Cup final. DeAnthony Melton Jersey . Seriously. Seven years of losing has brought many different faces, players and management, to the annual pre-season get-to-know-the-team round up. https://www.rocketsrookiesshop.com/Gerald-Green-City-Edition-Jersey/ .com Tours season-opening Colombia Championship on Sunday, breaking the course record with an 8-under 63 in the completion of the third round before rain washed out play. Houston Rockets Jerseys . John Albert Elway, 24, was booked into jail early Saturday morning after an incident near a college campus in downtown Denver, according to jail records. Robert Horry Rockets Jersey . "Yes, Id like to get them in," Detroits rookie manager said. "Mother Natures going to have a say in that." Sure enough, the Tigers had their game against the Kansas City Royals postponed because of rain on Thursday.MILWAUKEE -- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau favours wins over style points. Given that two starters were getting over illness or injury and a third was lumbering through the second half with a new leg injury, Chicagos 81-72 win over the Bucks on Friday suits him just fine. Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back from a right knee injury and Mike Dunleavy Jr. added 18 points for the Bulls, who won their fourth straight. Joakim Noah had eight points, 10 boards and seven assists after missing practice while feeling under the weather. "You guys are into the esthetics. Im into the wins," Thibodeau said when asked about the scratch-and-claw victory after the Bulls nearly squandered a 15-point lead. Jimmy Butler finished with 10 points and said he was fine afterward after getting hit in the thigh. The Bucks opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to get to within three. A long jumper from Ersan Ilyasova (14 points) got the Bucks to 71-70 with 5:42 left. But the Bulls hung on, even after Boozer missed two foul shots with 3:42 left with his team up by three. The Bucks missed their final 11 shots, failing to hit after Brandon Knights bucket with 5:09 left. The Bulls havent allowed an opponent to score more than 87 in the four-game streak. "Tried to contest shots, trying to rebound, making them shoot over our hands and it worked out," Boozer said in relaying the reasons for the late defensive stand. He didnt look bothered by the sore right knee that kept him out two games. The Bucks missed two opportunities to tie it after Knight (12 points) and O.J. Mayo (16 points) misfired on open 3s on back-to-back possessions with under 3:30 left. Dunleavy answered with an off-balance layup to get the lead back to 77-72, then hit two foul shots to get to a seven-point lead with about 1 minute left. "We had some good looks but they just didnt fall for us," coach Larry Drew said. "We forced a couple down the stretch that probably werent the best selection but going down the stretch, if you make plays youll win if you dont, you wont win."t; After a slow start, Chicago gained traction in the third behind the bullish Boozer.dddddddddddd With both knees heavily wrapped in ice after the game, Boozer said he felt great and made it a point to thanks the trainers. Boozer grabbed eight rebounds alone in the quarter. Larry Sanders finished with one point and nine boards before fouling out with 1:16 left in the game. He was in foul trouble most of the night in large part due to the active Boozer. Boozer rebounded a missed 3 and saved the possession just before landing out of bounds. Chicago whipped the ball around the perimeter and Jimmy Butler (10 points) hit a 3 from the wing to make it 59-47 with about 6:50 left in the third. The energy and offensive rhythm that Milwaukee had in building a seven-point lead after the first quarter disappeared in the third before re-emerging to start the fourth. But once again, the NBA-worst Bucks (7-28) fell short trying to rebound from a second-half deficit. "Everybody might be a little down as far as the season has gone for us. Weve lost a lot of close games and it is building up on us right now but you cant think about that," forward Epke Udoh said. "We just have to be ourselves and be better the next game." Foul shooting and the long-range touch of former Dunleavy, who went 3 for 3 from 3-point territory in the second quarter, helped the Bulls turn a 27-20 deficit in the first quarter into a 47-45 halftime lead. Boozer had 15 first-half points and went 7 of 8 from the foul line. NOTES: Asked if he had spoken to injured guard Derrick Rose since the trade this week of Luol Deng, coach Tom Thibodeau said the two talked about the team in general all the time. "Derricks good. Derricks good. Hes locked into his rehab, dealing with things as he should be." Rose is out for the year with a right knee injury. ... Bucks C John Henson, who missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left ankle, is expected to join the team on a two-game road trip to Oklahoma City and Toronto. Henson leads the team in rebounding (8.0 per game) and blocks (2.3). ' ' '