CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Tanner Roark won the final spot in Washingtons rotation during spring training. Halfway through the season, hes the Nationals top winner. Roark allowed only three singles over seven innings on Friday night, and Denard Span matched Cincinnatis hit total with his four singles, leading the Nationals to a 4-1 victory that extended their surge and the Reds slump. The Nationals won for the seventh time in nine games. They are 56-44, the second-best mark after 100 games in franchise history. The 2012 club went 60-40 on its way to the NL East title. Roark (10-6) became Washingtons first 10-game winner and improved to 3-0 in his last three starts. The right-hander has allowed three runs over 21 innings during those three wins, lowering his ERA to 2.82 -- the best in the rotation. Nobody would have predicted that during spring training. "Its pretty cool just to think about," Roark said. "You dream ever since youre a kid of getting to the big leagues. I took the opportunity and tried to run away with it. "It is a little surprising. Its been a good ride so far. Keep it going." Rafael Soriano gave up a walk and a double in the ninth while getting his 24th save in 27 chances and finishing the combined four-hitter. The Reds remain stalled since the All-Star break, dropping all seven games for their longest losing streak in five years. Its the first time they have lost their first seven games after the All-Star break since 1991, when they dropped eight in a row. Span had four singles, stole a base and drove in a run off Alfredo Simon (12-5), who has lost both starts since his first All-Star selection. The Nationals piled up nine hits, two walks and three runs off Simon in only 4 1-3 innings. Span is 9 for 18 on Washingtons road trip with two four-hit games. "Hes been great," manager Matt Williams said. "The key for him is hitting the ball back through the middle. Weve seen that over the last week or so, hitting the ball up the middle or the other way." Heading into the All-Star break, the Reds won seven of nine at home, cutting their deficit in the NL Central from seven games to 1 1-2. Their worst road trip in five years wiped out most of their gains, but they had hoped to get their offence back in form at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. Roark allowed a run in the fourth when Billy Hamilton singled, stole second and came around on Ryan Ludwicks infield single. Otherwise, the Reds got only one other runner to second base. During the seven-game losing streak, Cincinnati has batted .176 as a team while scoring a total of 13 runs. "Its just really a mental game," manager Bryan Price said. "When we were going good before the break, nobody was pressing. Now, everybodys pressing. We cant get our offence going because were not getting a lot of baserunners." Washington had at least one hit in each of the first six innings, with four players having multi-hit games. The Nationals put five hits together in the fourth for three runs, including Zach Walters RBI double, Spans single and Anthony Rendons run-scoring single. Adam LaRoche singled home a run in the sixth off J.J. Hoover. Walters was called up Wednesday to fill in while Ryan Zimmerman is disabled by a pulled hamstring. NOTES: LHP Gio Gonzalez (6-5) starts Saturday for the Nationals. Hes 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in four career starts against Cincinnati. Johnny Cueto (10-6) had his worst start of the season in Washington on May 20, giving up eight runs in only 5 1-3 innings of a 9-4 loss. ... Nationals RF Jayson Werth was back after missing the last game with a sore right knee. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart was hitless, extending his slump to 0 for 17. ... 1B Joey Votto continues to do rehab for the strained muscles above his left knee. Hes been on the DL since July 8. "I think we need to let a few more weeks go by before we can really start to see that theres a point in time when we know hes going to be back," Price said. Air Jordan 1 Discount . - The Oakland Athletics say they are stopping negotiations to extend their lease at the Coliseum. Cheap Air Jordan 1 . Players suspended during the season for a performance-enhancing drug violation will not be eligible for that years post-season. In addition, discipline will increase from 50 games to 80 for a first testing violation and from 100 games to a season-long 162 for a second. A third violation remains a lifetime ban. https://www.cheapairjordan1outlet.com/ . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. Air Jordan 1 Outlet . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Georges Niang walked off the floor in the closing minutes with a bloody towel pressed tightly to his forehead, pumping his fist and riling up the Iowa State fans in the Sprint Center. Turns out he was just jumpstarting the celebration. Niang scored 25 points before leaving with that gash above his right eye, and the No. 16 Cyclones held on down the stretch to beat No. 10 Kansas 94-83 Friday night and reach their first Big 12 tournament title game since 2000. "We love competing for championships," Niang said later, a bandage over his wound. "Coach says take it one day at a time, but the Big 12 championship is one day away from us." DeAndre Kane had five 3-pointers and scored 20 points, and Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Cyclones (25-8), who will play for just their second tournament title Saturday night against the winner of Texas-Baylor. The victory for Iowa State represented its first in four tries against Kansas in the Big 12 tournament, and its first over the Jayhawks in Kansas City since March 10, 1996, when the schools were still part of the Big Eight. It also allowed Iowa State to match its 2001 team for the second-most wins in school history, trailing only the 32 wins piled up by the 2000 team. Incidentally, it was that team that won the Cyclones only Big 12 tournament title. "Its a great win for us, for the fact it gives us confidence we can compete with anyone in the nation," Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg said. "It was good to finally get one of these after struggling to close out games against Kansas the past few years." Relying on some hot outside shooting, Iowa State took charge in the second half, and then held on as the top-seeded Jayhawks (24-9) tried to make a late run to get back into the game. Perry Ellis led Kansas with 30 points. Andrew Wiggins finished with 22. The Jayhawks again were playing without 7-footer Joel Embiid, the leagues defensive player of the year, and his rim-protecting presence was sorely missed. The freshman has a stress fracture in his back and is likely out until at least the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. "Joel not being in there, he could probably guard Niang better," Kaansas coach Bill Self said, "but I think it was more a collection of everybody rather than just one individual.dddddddddddd" The Sprint Center was packed to the rafters with fans eager to see whether Iowa State could finally end its five-game losing streak against the Jayhawks, or whether Kansas could burnish what it hoped would be a resume worthy of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The teams got after it right from the tip, racing up and down the floor in what amounted to a series of 94-foot wind sprints. Iowa State got the better of it early, forging a 23-16 lead, but the Jayhawks countered with a brutally efficient 20-3 charge to take control. Things got so intense that the normally placid Hoiberg was rung up with a technical foul after Kane appeared to be hammered on the way to the basket and no foul was called. "I used a bad word," Hoiberg said sheepishly. "Im not going to say I didnt." The Jayhawks lead was also short-lived. Kane started the comeback by converting a three-point play, Ejim and Niang went to work inside, and the Cyclones tied it 46-all in the closing minutes of the first half when Kane knocked down another shot from the corner. Their hot perimeter shooting continued in the second half, when the Cyclones turned a 48-46 deficit into a 66-57 lead, the last points in the run on a deep ball from Naz Long. By that point, Iowa State was 11 of 16 from the 3-point line. "We were on our heels defensively throughout the game," Ellis said. "I felt in the first half we did a lot better. In the second half, we let too many straight-line drives to the basket." The Jayhawks eventually extended their defence to the perimeter, and thats when Iowa State started going to the basket again. Niang scored four straight baskets for Iowa State during one stretch that made it 81-72, and scored on three straight trips to make it 86-74. The lead never got much smaller, even after Niang was whacked in the face during a scrum under the basket, prompting him to start the party for the Iowa State fans in attendance. "We felt like we had these guys in the second half," Niang said. "We came out and threw the first punch and from there it was clear skies." ' ' '