WASHINGTON -- There will be plenty of raw emotion at Nationals Park on Friday when the Miami Marlins begin a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.The series opener comes a day after a memorial service in Florida for Jose Fernandez, the ace of the Marlins who died in a boating accident Sunday.Among those on hand for the Thursday service was Washington pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who grew up in the Miami area and like Fernandez has Cuban heritage.Gonzalez started at home Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks and was tagged with the loss.The starting pitchers Friday will be Nationals right-hander A.J. Cole (1-2, 5.09 ERA) against Marlins right-hander Andrew Cashner (5-11, 5.13).Cole has never faced Arizona. Cashner, who last opposed the Nationals in 2015, is 2-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 11 games (six starts) against them.Washington (93-66) enters play Friday with a two-game edge over the Los Angeles Dodgers (91-68) in the race for the home-field advantage in the National League Division Series. The NL East and NL West champions will face off beginning Oct. 7. The Dodgers own the tiebreaker after going 5-1 against Washington this year.The Nationals beat the Diamondbacks 5-3 Thursday in a light rain. If the game had been rained out, Arizona may have had to return to play Monday if the game had a bearing on the home-field edge.We just feel fortunate we got the game in, Washington manager Dusty Baker said. Im glad we got the game in. It was a blessing we got the game in.Cole was ejected Sunday in Pittsburgh when he threw a pitch behind Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang. That led to Major League Baseball suspending Cole for five games, but he appealed the penalty.Cole will be making his eight major league start of the year. He made his big league debut in April 2015 but spent most of the 2016 season at Triple-A Syracuse, where he went 8-8 with a 4.62 ERA in 22 starts.Washingtons Bryce Harper is 4-for-6 in his career against Cashner. Harper has been out since Sunday with a sore thumb but could see action this weekend. Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth is 6-for-10 against Cashner.Washington MVP candidate Daniel Murphy (buttocks strain) is not slated to start during the series, though he could see action off the bench. Baker said he hopes to get Murphy healthy for the postseason.Miami (78-80) was eliminated from playoff contention with home loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday. The Marlins were off Thursday as they attended the Fernandez service.It was tough to have a lot of emotion out there, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after the Wednesday defeat. I know our guys were trying. We owe that to the Cardinals and Giants (who are chasing the Mets in the NL wild-card race). Our guys did the best they possibly could, but it was a tough game to play.Marlins standout Martin Prado echoed those thoughts.Its going to take a long time for our Fish family to recover from this, he said of losing Fernandez. Its a devastating loss for everybody. I feel sorry for his mother and family because Jose was one of the biggest reasons why they came to America. Wholesale Air Jordan 11 . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Wholesale Jordan 11 Cheap . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. http://www.airjordan11outlet.com/ . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Air Jordan 11 Shoes For Sale . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Air Jordan 11 For Sale Cheap . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . In show business, its how you leave em that counts -- laughing, crying, wanting even more. Last Saturdays Day 2 of the Breeders Cup provided all that and then some.Brilliant races from Arrogate, California Chrome, Highland Reel, and Tourist marked the day, while Peter Eurton, Phil DAmato, Seamus Heffernan, and Flavien Prat joined the company of Breeders Cup winners.Even the fans, 72,811 strong, got into the act by the end of the long, dramatic afternoon, although with varying effects. As the soft twilight settled and the dying sun glowed in the distance, those heading for the exits near the walking ring were greeted by a woman wearing a red dress and a broad grin proudly waggling a homemade banner that read, Hillary for Prison.Times change. In 1996, signs at the Cup shouted Cigar for President. In 2009, it was Girl Power! Go Zenyatta! When someone suggested that perhaps this of all places on this of all days might be considered temporary sanctuary from the all-too-real concerns of the election, the woman declared her First Amendment rights, which apparently include freedom from good taste.A more poignant endnote played out a short time later at the west end of the paddock gardens. The tableau included a stretch limousine, a befuddled chauffeur, a solicitous security guard, and a woman clearly over her prescribed alcoholic intake. The guard was gently urging her into the limo, but she resisted, shouting, Im being arrested! Im being arrested! I wanted California Chrome to win!Ah, well, so did a whole lot of other people, for whom the $6 million Breeders Cup Classic was a more sobering moment. Heroes die hard -- Tepin, Found, and Lady Eli also bit the dust in valiant efforts -- and California Chrome went down with a ferocious fight, stretching Arrogate to be every inch of the colt he was in his breathtaking Travers last August.The margin was half a length at the end of the Classics 1-1/4 miles, with the first two nearly 11 lengths afield of the third horse (Keen Ice). But whether it was the 3-year-olds fresher legs that made the difference or a ride of wary calculation from Victor Espinoza, the verdict remains: The 2016 season may have been wall to wall California Chrome, but the Breeders Cup belonged to Arrogate.Thats a relief, Bob Baffert said earlier in the day, after the 3-year-old Drefong defeated the favored Masochistic in the $2 million Breeders Cup Sprint. You want to make sure you dont get that doughnut.To that point, Baffert had run only four horses, but Dortmund and American Gal had been favored, and Bafferts main chance in the Sprint, Lord Nelson, had been scratched. Drefong, a son of champion grass horse Gio Ponti, gave Baffert his fifth Sprint title dating to the 1992 running with Thirty Slews.When he won the Breeders Cup Sprint, I thought that day at Gulfstream Park I had reached the pinnacle of my career, Baffert said. That was it. I never had that feeling again until I won a Kentucky Derby.Baffert had to wait just five years for that -- when Silver Charm won at Churchill Downs in 1997-- but it was 22 years, a new family, a heart attack, and nine more Breeders Cup titles before the trainer scored his first win in the Classic.ddddddddddddBayern was the horse who couldnt break straight but could run very fast - fast enough to hold off the British colt Toast of New York and the 3-year-old version of California Chrome in 2014. Baffert rolled to his second straight Classic win last year with American Pharoah, while California Chrome was chilling at Taylor Made Farm ? and 2-year-old Arrogate was nothing more than a gleam in Bafferts eye.The son of Unbridleds Song clearly was designed by the same people who dreamed up the AT-ATs from The Empire Strikes Back. Time was required before his long legs and powerful torso struck a workable balance. It was April before Baffert dared unleash Arrogate -- the result was a promising third -- after which he worked his way through his conditions.When Arrogate won the Travers by 13-1/2 lengths in his stakes debut, the 3-year-old picture was turned on its head. Preakness winner Exaggerator and Belmont winner Creator were among the humbled that day, while Derby winner Nyquist was a no-show.By the time the Breeders Cup came around, all three had been retired. That makes Arrogate the latest in a select line of late-blooming 3-year-olds -- including Kelso, Wajima, and Tiznow -- who ended up champions of their generation without touching a Triple Crown event.Arrogate is a fast-track version of the imposing Tiznow, with fewer starts and a limitless trajectory. Baffert had been convinced that his colt could climb buildings and swat biplanes, but even he had lingering doubts about the Classic.Going in, we knew we had a great horse, Baffert said. We thought we could be competitive. But down deep, I really wasnt sure if we could beat California Chrome because I still have total respect for the horse. Hes a great horse.Unfortunately, the great horse did not get a comparable ride. At least that was the concession of Espinoza, whose work this year aboard California Chrome had been flawless. This time around, instead of cutting Chrome loose around the turn and into the stretch, he allowed the champ to idle briefly while looking for the oncoming Arrogate and Mike Smith.I could have maybe let him run sooner, opened up more, Espinoza said.Still, California Chrome took Arrogate deep, and Arrogate was best in only the final yards. Back at the barn, in the corner of the Santa Anita stables, California Chrome returned to an outpouring of affection from friends and family.Its not your fault, said assistant trainer Alan Sherman, giving the chestnut an affectionate pat.Look at him, said trainer Art Sherman, Alans dad. Just ran maybe the best race of his life, and hes recovered already. What a horse.And what a horse race. How could anyone ask for more? ' ' '