WASHINGTON -- Last season was rough as could be for Adam LaRoche: He tried to play through a torn labrum in his left shoulder, wound up hitting .172 with three homers in 43 games, then relented and had surgery. The off-season that followed was filled with talk in Washington about whether the Nationals would sign free-agent Prince Fielder to replace LaRoche at first base. Nowadays? Fielder ended up in Detroit, LaRoche is healthy and batting cleanup -- and carrying the NL East-leading Nationals. On Wednesday night, LaRoche broke open a tight game with a three-run double for his 1,000th career hit after homering for No. 999, Gio Gonzalez took over the NL strikeout lead from teammate Stephen Strasburg by fanning 10 in seven innings, and Washington beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4. "Shoot, I feel like Ive been playing 50 years to get 1,000. Im serious," said the 32-year-old LaRoche, whos in his ninth season and with his sixth club. "To look at some of these guys -- 3,000-plus hits is just unbelievable." Batting fourth while slugger Michael Morse is on the disabled list, LaRoches .339 batting average, seven homers and 29 RBIs all pace Washington. Talk about a turnaround. "Hes only human. I want to show everybody: What were you thinking about, with the Prince (talk)? We sure missed him last year," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "Hes making that (Fielder) move look real good -- that lack of move." LaRoche, for his part, said he isnt motivated by any of that sort of chatter as much as by an inner desire to make up for a lost 2011. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could come back from this surgery and do what I know Im capable of doing," he said, moments after his 10-year-old son cradled a baseball with the number "1,000" written in blue ink. "To come out and do it is nice reassurance." LaRoche and Xavier Nady -- teammates in Pittsburgh in 2007-08 -- hit consecutive homers off Erik Bedard (2-5) in the sixth. It was Nadys 100th career homer. The next inning, facing reliever Evan Meek with the bases loaded and two outs in a 4-3 game, LaRoche lined the first pitch down the right field line. "Hitters know that theyre probably going to see a fastball. He was sitting on it," said Meek, who was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday and walked two batters and hit another before LaRoches big moment. "I served it up -- and he did what he should have done." LaRoche, who also singled in the first inning, didnt realize exactly where his total was until he turned to see the scoreboard noting his milestone. "That caught me a little off-guard," said LaRoche, who doffed his cap while the announced crowd of 25,942 gave a standing ovation. "Always, in my opinion, Mr. Clutch," said Gonzalez (5-1), who allowed three runs and four hits. His 60 strikeouts are four more than Strasburgs total. Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard let in one run in the eighth, and struggling fill-in closer Henry Rodriguez overcame an error by shortstop Ian Desmond for his ninth save in 12 chances. With another reliever warming in the bullpen just in case, Rodriguez struck out Clint Barmes with a 99 mph fastball, then got Josh Harrison to ground into a double play. "We believe in Henry 100 per cent," Gonzalez said. "The only one who can hurt Henry is himself." In Bedards six innings, he gave up four runs, three on solo shots. In his previous outing, a week earlier against Washington, Bedard lasted eight pitches before departing because of back spasms. This time, the second batter Bedard faced, 19-year-old Bryce Harper, barely missed connecting for a homer in the third consecutive game, sending a shot high off the out-of-town scoreboard on the wall in right field and ending up with his first major league triple. Ryan Zimmermans groundout drove home Harper. Desmond made it 2-0 in the third with his fifth homer, and LaRoche and Nady made it 4-0 in a three-pitch span three innings later. In the seventh, Gonzalez walked Barajas, then gave up Harrisons first homer of the season, a two-run shot to left that cut Washingtons lead to 4-3. That ended Gonzalezs streak of 58 innings without allowing a homer. Still, the Pirates offensive woes continued: Theyve gone a dozen games without scoring more than five runs in any. "Some days youre going to feel good. Some days, youre not," Harrison said. "Its a matter of fighting through it." NOTES: Nationals RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-3) faces Pirates RHP James McDonald (2-2) on Thursday to close the two-game series. Emmitt Smith Jersey . The unrestricted free agent blueliner played last season for the Winnipeg Jets. The move came one day after the Hurricanes learned that defenceman Joni Pitkanen will be out for the season with a broken heel. J.J. Watt Jersey . Dont miss any of the action live on TSN2 at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Bryant wasnt happy after the Lakers fell behind by as many as 27 points before losing the back end of a home-and-home set to Phoenix, 102-90, on Sunday in the desert. http://www.nflofficialauthentic.com/nfl-jerseys/chicago-bears/walter-payton-jersey-c-1_67_69.html . Durant had 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in his return from a shoulder injury to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their seventh straight win, a 103-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. Rob Gronkowski Jersey . The end of this mess of a season for the Minnesota Twins still mattered to the veteran right-hander, who wanted no part of 100 losses. Peyton Manning Jersey . -- The Denver Nuggets have proved they can win regularly at home. DUBLIN, Ohio -- Rory McIlroy only gets to play three regular PGA Tour events this year. He showed Thursday why the Memorial Tournament was one of them. On a Muirfield Village course that already ranks among his favourites, McIlroy had a birdie putt on his last eight holes and converted half of them on his way to a 6-under 66 to join Chris Riley in the lead after the first round. McIlroy hit the ball so pure that he shot 32 on the front nine despite missing three birdie putts inside eight feet. "A great way to start the tournament," McIlroy said. The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland narrowly made the cut at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship and wound up in a tie for 24th. Asked the difference between last week and this week, he replied, "Its about 30 degrees warmer." A tournament known for its sloppy weather has been spectacular, and it showed in the scoring on a well-manicured course. Chris DiMarco and Josh Teater were at 67, followed by a large group at 68 that included Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Stewart Cink and Rickie Fowler, the runner-up at the Memorial last year. Fifty-one players in the 120-man field broke par. Luke Donald, ii his debut as the No. 1 player in the world ranking, recovered from a slow start by making four straight birdies toward the end of his round for a 70. He played with Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and four-time major champion Phil Mickelson, who each had a 72. Mickelson did that without making a single birdie on the par 5s. Riley was in the first group to play in the morning and relied heavily on his putter to take advantage of the smooth greens, although scoring conditions were not much different in the afternoon. "The less I think, the better I play," Riley said. "And today, I didnt have time to think. The pace of play was so good and I didnt stand around and think about shots. I just played golf." This is the last tournament for McIlroy before the U.S. Open, a chance for the No. 6 player in the world to atone for his 80 in the final round that cost him a chance to win the Masters. That collapse hasnt stayed with him long. He was third the next week in Malaysia, and while he missed the cut while defending his title at Quail Hollow, he reached the quarter-finals of the World Match Play in Spain. And now, the U.S. Open beckons -- along with a chance to win on another stronger course in America. "This is one of my favourite weeks of the year, one of my favourite courses," McIlroy said. "I feel as if it really does set up well for me. I like these sort of golf courses, the likes of here and Akron (Firestone) and Quail Hollow. And Im swinging well, Im hitting it good and Im holing a few putts.ddddddddddddHopefully, I can keep it going for the next three days." McIlroy likes to play the game through the air, the brand of golf most often seen in America. But he doesnt get out as often. By giving up his PGA Tour membership, he is allowed to play only 10 tournaments. That includes the four majors and three World Golf Championships, with The Players Championship not counting against his number -- although McIlroy chose not to play this year. And thats probably not going to change soon. "Even if I did win, I still probably wouldnt take my card up," McIlroy said. "As a European and playing in some European events over the summer, like the French Open and the Irish Open, we have a very busy summer of golf. And I felt like after the PGA last year at Whistling Straits, I wanted to take a couple of weeks off just to refresh. You couldnt really do it. You had a week off and then straight to the (FedEx Cup) playoffs. It was a lot of golf over a short period of time." Theres a lot of golf left in this tournament, as McIlroy knows well. And there are plenty of players behind him. Riley, Teater and DiMarco, who all played in the morning, are all ranked out of the top 250 in the world. Fowler is off to a slow start this year, but he looks right at home at the Memorial. Stricker has never had a top 10 at Muirfield Village in 11 tries, a strange statistic he would like to change. And then theres Johnson, who feels his game is about where it was last summer, when he nearly won two majors. Mike Weir from Brights Grove, Ont., shot a 4-over 76, while Eugene Wong, an amateur from North Vancouver, B.C., was 8 over. Donald has nine consecutive top 10s and is off to a solid start. For the 33-year-old from England, it felt slightly different from other tournaments, just because of the ranking attached to his name. "It feels good," Donald said. "Im excited to be there and looking forward to the challenges. I heard a few No. 1 shouts and stuff like that, so you feed off that." DIVOTS: Nick Watney, the No. 15 player in the world, had to withdraw because of an illness. He was replaced by Kevin Stadler, who didnt bring his regular caddie with him fearing he might not get in. Stadler turned to Rich Schlaack, who once caddied for Bob Estes and Steve Flesch until retiring years ago. "Ill lose 20 pounds by the weekend," Schlaack said. ... The tournament is down to 118 players because Derek Lamely withdrew after he was 10 over through 12 holes, and Joost Luiten of the Netherlands was disqualified. ... Kenny Perry, a three-time winner at the Memorial, was among four players who shots in the 80s. cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '