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WASHINGTON -- When Dusty Baker first played in the minor leagues at age 18, he had only seen curveballs and never a slider.When I went to swing at it, it would like move right at the right time and I thought it was like an anti-bat repellant-type pitch, Baker said.Almost 40 years later, thats what the Washington Nationals manager sees in new closer Mark Melancons cutter. Melancon has continued to use that Mariano Rivera-inspired cutter, his curveball and fastball to near perfection since the Nationals acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.In his first five appearances for Washington, Melancon retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced, striking out seven and walking none. He has come precisely as advertised and looks to be the consistent solution to the Nationals closer problem.Hes not doing anything different than he was before we got him, Baker said. He doesnt give up a lot of hits. He gives up very few walks.Melancon is Mr. Steady and Dependable, having converted 30 of 33 save opportunities for the Pirates this season and now 2 of 2 for the Nationals. Thats a stark contrast to usurped Washington closer and 2015 trade deadline pickup Jonathan Papelbon, who allowed eight runs on seven hits in his final three outings before the trade and has three blown saves and a 4.37 ERA.In 50 games, Melancon has a 1.35 ERA, and hes spotless so far with the Nationals. He credits the seamless transition to catchers Wilson Ramos and Pedro Severino being on the same page with him.Im just attacking guys and trying to get ahead, Melancon said Wednesday. Its been smooth and great attitudes back there and willingness to learn on both ends of that. I think when you have those things, things usually click pretty well.Melancon knows a thing or two about adjusting to new catchers and new teams. The trade from Pittsburgh to Washington for left-handed reliever Felipe Rivero and pitching prospect Taylor Hearn was the fourth of his career.He was traded from the New York Yankees to Houston at the 2010 deadline, from the Astros to the Red Sox in the winter of 2011 and from Boston to Pittsburgh in the winter of 2012. As a pending free agent, the 31-year-old righty wasnt shocked he got traded.Pirates general manager Neal Huntington knew he was giving up a stable back-of-the-bullpen piece, saying, While we anticipate he will be very productive for the Nationals over the next two months, the reality is hes staring free agency in the face. Melancon is making $9.65 million and will almost certainly get a substantial raise this offseason.With Papelbons contract up after the season, the Nationals could be among the top suitors for Melancon. But for now, theyre in first place in the NL East and trail only the Chicago Cubs for the best record in baseball, so the 2016 World Series is their focus.Melancons stability is a big piece of the road there for a team with a history of playoff failures, but hes still in the process of tinkering and trying to improve his arsenal. He has a strong rapport with Washington pitching coach Mike Maddux stemming from a 2014 trip to Japan that featured a series of exhibition games, and the two are working on adding a change-up and discussing mental aspects of closing.Hes extremely knowledgeable and fun to listen to, Melancon said. Everybody has a different twist on things, but he brings things to light that you never even knew were out there. Its really cool to learn from him. His experience is as good as anybodys.Melancon, who led the majors with 51 saves last season, has plenty of experience himself and is arguably at his peak as a professional pitcher. Baker has seen plenty of closers in his decades in baseball and comes away impressed.He mixes it up: fastball, cutter, curveball, Baker said. Before he had a super curveball, which was his main pitch, but now you cant sit on any one of those pitches. And hes pretty smart about what hes doing.Melancon learned the smarts from Rivera during his time with the Yankees. Melancon has carried on the tradition of the dominant cutter that Rivera made nearly unhittable. Baltimore Orioles Gear . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Baltimore Orioles Store . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. https://www.cheaporioles.com/ . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Baltimore Orioles Pro Shop . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Wholesale Orioles Jerseys . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. WUHAN, China -- Angelique Kerber lost her second match as the worlds No. 1-ranked player, losing to Petra Kvitova in the third round of the Wuhan Open on Wednesday.Kvitova saved 17 of 22 break points on her way to the 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-4 win over Kerber, who committed eight double faults.Its always tough to play against Petra, Kerber said. I think we both played on a really high level over three hours. At the end, I think theres no loser. I did everything today. I was fighting until the end.Kerber replaced Serena Williams atop the rankings with her run to the US Open title, and took time off before coming to China to start her Asian swing in Wuhan, where she had a bye in the first round and eked past Kristina Mladenovic in the second.Kvitova last beat Kerber in the 2014 Fed Cup final, and had since lost to the German three times, including in the US Open fourth round.In the quarterfinals, Kvitova will face Johanna Konta of Britain, who beat seventh-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 7-5, 7-6 (6). Konta saved three set points in a maraathon ninth game, and recovered from 6-3 down in the tiebreak.ddddddddddddSvetlana Kuznetsova ousted defending champion Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2.I dont think Venus played her best game. But Ive been confident and Ive been playing well, Kuznetsova said. I didnt use a couple of my chances in the second set but I still could finish it 6-2.Kuznetsova dominated Williams from the outset, breaking the American five times. She improved to 5-4 against Williams, who struggled with her serve in the gusty conditions and had seven double faults.Kuznetsova next plays third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2.Simona Halep of Romania also advanced past Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-3.Halep, showing no sign of the hamstring injury that ruled her out of Tokyo last week, will face Madison Keys of the United States in the quarters. Keys beat Russian qualifier Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. ' ' '