WASHINGTON -- If Dusty Baker had gotten the sign to his catcher faster, the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates might still be playing.Instead, Baker was slow on the trigger in asking for an intentional walk, and the Nationals lost to the Pirates 2-1 in 18 innings Sunday on Starling Martes solo home run off Oliver Perez.Baker took responsibility for the mistake of not getting his four fingers up in time to alert Wilson Ramos and Perez to intentionally walk Marte with pitcher Jonathon Niese on deck and Pittsburgh out of hitters.Before I could, he hit the first pitch out of the ballpark, Baker said. It hurts to make a mistake like that. I was aware of the situation, before I could get Wilsons attention.The 18-inning marathon, shorter than only the 19 innings Cleveland and Toronto played July 1, took 5 hours, 48 minutes. Seventeen pitchers combined for a total of 540 pitches, but it was the one Perez (2-3) shouldnt have thrown that the Nationals lamented afterward.It is a good idea in that case to walk him, but they gave me an opportunity to pitch against him, Perez said. In that case I tried to make a difficult pitch for him to hit. Unfortunately he made good contact o that pitch. It was my mistake.Martes seventh home run of the season, which went into the mostly-empty left-field seats, was enough of a boost to help Niese (8-6) get through a third inning of relief. Whether it was Niese, starter Chad Kuhl or the relievers in between, the Nationals couldnt get much going at the plate and finished with eight hits.The biggest of those came on a 2-2 count with two outs in the when with injured infielder Daniel Murphy took Pittsburgh All-Star closer Mark Melancon deep. Murphy was out of the lineup for a third consecutive day with a sore left hamstring, but his drive led to the Nationals and Pirates playing two.I was trying to get a good pitch to hit and get my `A swing off, said Murphy, whos unsure if hell be able to play Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. I got a pretty good pitch to hit and put a pretty good move on it.Murphys home run took Max Scherzer off the hook for what wouldve been his second 1-0 loss in three starts. Scherzer gave up one run and six hits and struck out seven in seven efficient innings.As impressive as Scherzer was, Chad Kuhl outdueled him with six innings of one-hit baseball. The Pirates righty allowed one hit and two runners and struck out five in six shutout innings.It was a start we needed out of him, and I think its a start he expected out of himself, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.By the time the game dragged into extra innings, the starts by Scherzer and Kuhl felt like distant memories.It was so long I dont even remember Scherzer even pitching, Baker said.Even with all the other twists and turns, a perfect 16th-inning relay from center fielder Michael A. Taylor to shortstop Danny Espinosa to Ramos to get Eric Fryer out at the plate was a cause for some amazement. Hurdle accurately called it a crazy game.How about the relay they had in the 16th inning? Hurdle said. Its the best relay in the history of the game in the 16th inning. Ever. Its fantastic baseball.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: OF Gregory Polanco remained out with a sore left hamstring, but general manager Neal Huntington hopes hell play Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. ... C Francisco Cervelli was set to play another inning on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis, and Huntington said well see about him being back as soon as Tuesday.Nationals: 3B Anthony Rendon was scratched with flu-like symptoms. Baker said Rendon was sick as a dog. ... LHP Sammy Solis will be placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a right knee injury.UP NEXTPirates: After an off-day Monday, top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon (2-1, 3.86 ERA) is expected to start Tuesday at PNC Park against the Brewers. RHP Chase Anderson (4-10, 5.44) is scheduled to start the series opener for Milwaukee.Nationals: With RHP Joe Ross not ready to come off the disabled list, RHP Reynaldo Lopez will make his major league debut Tuesday against Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Scott Kazmir (7-3, 4.52). Wholesale Stan Smith . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. 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The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Welcome to the final Power Rankings for October. Next week, Pierre LeBrun takes over the rankings reins, which is a little like waking up to find that the extras from The Walking Dead are in charge of the operation. So enjoy the last semblance of order and logic to the weekly listings, where I once again give a nod to elite teams north of the border and a guy named Sidney Crosby, and send my heartfelt good thoughts to Craig Anderson and his family.?1. (Last week: 1)?Montreal Canadiens, 8-0-1The Habs continue to roll, racking up their seventh consecutive win Saturday against Toronto. They are the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss and Shea Weber has been a force, leading Montreal with 10 points. Three of Webers four goals have been game winners. Never mind the Norris Trophy -- Weber for MVP, anyone?2. (2) Edmonton Oilers, 7-2-0The Oilers continue to make magic with impressive play on both sides of the puck -- in spite of their 2-0 defeat at home against Ottawa on Sunday. Connor McDavid remains the leagues top scorer, and the Oilers have the Western Conferences second-best goal differential, at plus-10.3. (19)?Minnesota Wild, 6-2-1The Wild have made immediate improvement under head coach Bruce Boudreau, including winning three in a row, all courtesy of Devan Dubnyk shutouts. Minnesota owns a Western Conference-best plus-13 goal differential, not to mention the leagues best penalty-killing unit. The loss of Zach Parise, who is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, is a major one, though.4. (10)?Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-2-1I guess Crosby is OK. The Pittsburgh captain has lit it up since returning to action following a concussion. He has four goals and an assist in three games -- all wins for the Penguins.5. (16) San Jose Sharks, 6-3-0The Sharks have won three in a row, reaffirming that they are the team to beat in the Pacific Division. Last season they were the masters of the road win. This season, they are 4-0 at the Shark Tank. Captain Joe Pavelski?is second in the NHL in scoring with 11 points.6. (4) St. Louis Blues, 5-2-2The Blues keep rolling along, with points in four of their past six games. St. Louis offense has gone a bit dry, but its all about the points. Good on the Blues for retiring the number of Bob Plager, a Day 1 member of the organization. Classy move.7. (6) Washington Capitals, 5-2-1Washingtons offense hasnt exactly been Capitals-like in the early going, but allowing two goals per game is very much what we expect from Braden Holtby and his crew. And the Caps have won two in a row.8. (8) New York Rangers, 6-3-0A nice bounce-back effort from the Rangers, who were dumped by Carolina in Raleigh on Friday night but then whipped Tampa Bay 6-1 two nights later at Madison Square Garden. New York has great balance up front and continues to give little away defensively.9. (21) New Jersey Devils, 4-2-2The Devils are quietly making their presence known in the Metropolitan Division, including a big win over Tampa. New Jersey allows two goals per game on average, tied for second fewest in the NHL.10. (14) Ottawa Senators, 5-3-0Our thoughts go out to Sens netminder Craig Anderson and his wife, Nicholle, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Anderson had left the team last Thursday but rejoined the Sens with Nicholles blessing after Andersons backup Andrew Hammond was injured --?and pitched a 37-save shutout against Edmonton.11. (5) Detroit Red Wings, 6-4-0The Red Wings saw their six-game win streak come to an end on Saturday in a 1-0 loss to Boston and then followed that up with a 5-2 whipping at the hands of the Florida Panthers. Its been feast or famine for the boys from the Motor City.12. (3) Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-4-0The Lightning have stumbled on the road, losing to Montreal, New Jersey and then to the Rangers 6-1. As head coach Jon Cooper keeps saying, you cant fall behind every night and have success.13. (13) Chicago Blackhawks, 5-3-1Captain Jonathan Toews got his first goal of the season (no, thats not a misprint), and the Blackhawks won their second in a row with a nice 3-0 effort against Los Angeles Sunday. Corey Crawford?has been holding the fort as the Blackhawks work out early-season kiinks.dddddddddddd4. (11) Colorado Avalanche, 4-3-0The Avs have played five of seven on the road and have showed resilience in cobbling together a winning record.15. (17) Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-3-1The Blue Jackets are showing backbone, rebounding from an 0-2 start. Zach Werenski, 19, has been a revelation on the blue line, with two goals and four assists in seven games.16.(7) Florida Panthers, 4-4-1The defending Atlantic Division champions are off to a disappointing start, although they arrested a three-game losing streak on Sunday with an emphatic win over red-hot Detroit.17. (26) Los Angeles Kings, 4-5-0The Kings dropped their second in a row and were shut out for the second time in two nights -- this time by Chicago -- as L.A. dropped to 29th in goals scored per game.18. (22) Buffalo Sabres, 3-3-2Kyle Okposo led the way as Buffalo came up with back-to-back key victories after a four-game winless stretch.19. (25) Winnipeg Jets, 4-5-0The Jets two-game winning streak ended on Sunday with a disappointing 3-1 home loss to the struggling Sabres. Traction is apparently not in the Jets handbook.20. (30) Calgary Flames, 4-5-1The Flames are still not out of the woods, as their 3-1 loss to Washington at home Sunday reiterated. Calgary is a dismal 2-4-0 at home and is still giving up way too much to opposing teams. It ranks 25th in goals allowed per game, even with improved play from starting goalie?Brian Elliott.21. (18) Dallas Stars, 3-4-1The defending Central Division champions are banged up, and their offense is sputtering early on, as evidenced by their desultory start to the season.22. (12) Boston Bruins, 4-4-0The Bruins came up with huge win over Detroit on Saturday with Tuukka Rask back in the fold, but their offense is in neutral and their power play ranks dead last in the NHL. That needs to change if Boston is going to be anything more than a one-step-up, one-step-back kind of team.23. (15) Philadelphia Flyers, 4-5-1The Flyers are giving up almost four goals a game, ranking them 29th, but they keep bouncing back, as they did on Sunday with a nice win over Carolina.24. (24) Anaheim Ducks, 3-4-2Anaheim finally has its roster issues resolved with the signing of Hampus Lindholm, although itll be a week or so before he finally suits up for the up-and-down Ducks. Will it help them finally get on track?25. (23) New York Islanders, 4-5-0The Islanders came up with a nice win at home Sunday, but problems still persist. Newcomer Andrew Ladd has just one assist after signing a seven-year deal in the offseason, and now there is controversy over New Yorks three-goalie conundrum. Is Jaroslav Halak?on his way out?26. (9) Vancouver Canucks, 4-4-1Water finds its own level as the Canucks have lost four straight after a torrid start. Theyve been outscored 14-4 during their current slide -- allowing most of the leagues prognosticators, who had Vancouver at or near the bottom of league standings -- to heave a sigh of relief.27. (28) Carolina Hurricanes, 2-4-2An early, road-heavy schedule has not been kind to the Hurricanes, who were dumped Sunday by Philadelphia and who have yet to win two in a row thus far -- which explains their place at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.28. (20) Nashville Predators, 2-5-1Did we all overestimate just how good the Predators are? Its hard to argue that we didnt, as the Preds are just 0-4-1 on the road, and their offense is in pop-gun mode with just 19 goals in eight games. Nashville is tied for the worst goal differential in the league.29. (27)?Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-4-3The Leafs -- who got waxed 5-1 by the Islanders Sunday -- are following a familiar pattern of (a) not winning (their two victories are tied for the lowest total in the NHL) and (b) giving up tons of goals (they rank 28th in goals allowed per game).30. (29) Arizona Coyotes, 2-6-0The Coyotes, who couldnt build on a rare win over Philadelphia and fell to Colorado on Saturday, are 1-5 on the road and their minus-9 goal differential is tied for the worst in the league with Nashville and Toronto. ' ' '