DENVER -- The Washington Nationals pitching staff is getting healthy, and with the way Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond are hitting, the defending NL East champions are hitting their stride just as summer heats up. Zimmerman homered, doubled and drove in three runs, Desmond got four hits and the Nationals beat the depleted Colorado Rockies 5-4 on Thursday. Washington has been beset by injuries to its rotation, but with the return of starter Ross Detwiler on Thursday and Stephen Strasburg expected back Sunday, the Nationals feel confident heading into the last 97 games of the season. They trail Atlanta by 5 1/2 games in the division. "For us as a team right now, with the things that have gone on and the things that have happened, we just need to grind it out and stay where were at and stay within striking distance," Zimmerman said. "And then hopefully once we get going or maybe this is the start of that, where we can have a good 20-game span. Then all of a sudden were right back in it." The immediate future isnt as rosy for the Rockies, who lost four players and a coach, as well as the rubber match of the three-game series. Outfielders Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler were injured early and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left with a rib injury in the eighth inning. Reliever Wilton Lopez and pitching coach Jim Wright were ejected in the seventh. Tulowitzkis injury appears to be the most serious. He left Coors Field to have an MRI done on his ribs, which manager Walt Weiss said have been sore for "about a week." The Rockies hoped to get the results of the MRI later Thursday. "Just hope the MRI doesnt show any damage and hopefully hell be day to day also," Weiss said. " Craig Stammen (4-2) threw two scoreless innings and Rafael Soriano got his 17th save after giving up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Todd Helton with two outs. Zimmermans RBI double off reliever Matt Belisle (4-3) in the eighth broke a tie, and he later scored on Desmonds infield single to make it 5-3. Tulowitzki, who was injured trying to make a play on Desmonds single, was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the eighth, straining an already short Rockies bench. Gonzalez was hit near the ankle by a foul ball while on deck in the first inning and exited with a bruised left foot. The Rockies said X-rays were negative and listed the All-Star left fielder as day to day. Fowler was hit on the right hand by a pitch from Detwiler after squaring to bunt in the third. A team trainer looked at Fowler, and the centre fielder stayed in for another inning. Weiss said X-rays on Fowlers hand were negative and he is also day to day. "It was numb, I felt it swelling up," Fowler said. "Obviously I couldnt grip the bat so I couldnt hit. I just know it was hurting and swelling up. I dont think I had a chance to grip the bat." Detwiler was activated from the 15-day DL and made his first start since May 15. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and striking out two. He was in line for the loss until the seventh, when things got heated between the umpiring crew and the Rockies. Desmond led off with a single and stole second. With two outs, Lopez was called for two balks, scoring Desmond to tie it at 3. The first balk was called by home plate umpire James Hoye and second base ump Bob Davidson. Jim Reynolds at third base called the second one. Crew chief John Hirschbeck said both balks were because Lopez used a stop-start motion with the hands. "Actually, he did it three times. They only called it twice," Washington manager Davey Johnson said. "He kept going toward his glove, and then he would stop. They called two out of three. But you cant be moving toward your glove and stop. Its an automatic balk." Lopez shouted at Hirschbeck at first base as he left the field after the inning ended and was ejected. Wright was tossed by Reynolds when he was giving Reynolds "the crazy gesture from the dugout," Hirschbeck said. "If youre going to call it once, you got to call it twice," Desmond said. "You got to keep on calling it. Consistency. They did a good job. Thats what we expect." The Rockies were in control before then. Tyler Colvin, who replaced Gonzalez, had an RBI single in the first and Michael Cuddyer drove in a run with a double in the fourth and later scored on a groundout to give the Rockies a 3-2 lead. Zimmerman had given the Nationals a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer in the third, his seventh of the season, the only blemish in an otherwise strong start for Jeff Francis. Francis entered Thursday with a tenuous hold on his spot in the Rockies rotation. He had a shaky start against San Diego on Saturday in his first outing since coming off the 15-day DL because of a groin strain. He needed 93 pitches to get through four innings against the Padres, and with veteran Roy Oswalt pitching well in the minors, Francis role with the Rockies was in question. Francis made his case with a solid outing against the Nationals. He allowed two runs on five hits and struck out eight, his most since May 24, 2008. "Its hard to be really happy when dont win the game," Francis said. NOTES: Desmond extended his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games. ... Strasburg (strained lat muscle) threw a successful bullpen session Thursday and is on track to start Sundays game at Cleveland. ... Cuddyer returned to the lineup after missing five games with a strained rib cage. ... To make room for Detwiler, the Nationals optioned RHP Erik Davis to Triple-A Syracuse. Cheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Cheap Nike Air Max 95 Online .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. http://www.airmax95outlet.com/ . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Air Max 95 Cheap Free Shipping . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Nike Air Max 95 Sale Outlet . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis beat Taiwans Hao-Ching Chan and Yung Jan Chan 7-6 (12-10), 7-5 to enter the semifinals of the WTA Finals Singapore on Friday.They will face the winner of the match between top seeds Caroline Garcia-Kristina Mladenovic and Bethanie Mattek-Sands- Lucie Safarova, who are set to play later in the day.Both pairs held their serves in the first ten games, and Sania-Hingis were the first to be broken in the 11th. But they broke back in the following game to make it 6-6. The tie-breaker was tightly fought, and the Indo-Swiss pair saved three set points. They dropped two set points of their own, but held on to their third to take the first set in just over an hour.The second set was similarly tight as both pairs lost two serves each by the eighth game. At 5-5, Sania-Hingis secured a crucial break and then held their serve on thhe next one to book a place in the last four.ddddddddddddhis is Sania and Hingis first competition since their reunion. They had split following an early exit at Montreal in July, but had assured themselves of a place in the elite field of eight teams by continuing their sparkling run from 2015 into the early phase of this year..@mhingis & @MirzaSania chat with @AndrewKrasny after a big win!#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/pMCYT75drB- WTA (@WTA) 28 October 2016Mirza, who has been ranked number one for 80 weeks, can be displaced if she fails to win the event.Even if I lose the number one ranking, thats not going to change anything. I will just be inspired to come back and work harder, Mirza had told ESPN before the tournament. ' ' '