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MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez allowed his first two walks of the season, and they came back to back. When his foot slipped on a delivery, the pitch bounced several feet in front of the plate. One frustrating inning ended with the Miami Marlins precocious ace shaking his head and screaming angrily into his glove. Fernandez was at less than his best Saturday, but still good enough to beat the San Diego Padres. He struck out eight in 6 2-3 innings while lowering his ERA to 0.71, and Miami beat the punchless San Diego Padres 5-0. The Marlins improved to 5-1, their best start since 2009. Last year their fifth victory came in their 21st game, and they finished with 100 losses. "Another win. Its incredible," Fernandez said. "To be 5-1 is pretty amazing." Fernandez (2-0) improved his career record at home to 11-0 despite being miffed about a high pitch count early in the game. "Hes such a great competitor," manager Mike Redmond said. "He wasnt as sharp as Ive seen. But his stuff is so good, he still has the ability to make his pitches when he needs to." Fernandez, who threw 108 pitches, left the game annoyed after throwing a wild pitch on a strikeout that allowed Alexi Amarista to reach base with two outs in the seventh. But he allowed only three hits and two walks. "I threw a lot of pitches -- not what I wanted to do," Fernandez said. "But we won. Thats what I care about." Three relievers followed to complete a five-hitter. Giancarlo Stanton had two RBIs to increase his season total to 11, one more than teammate Casey McGehee, who began the day leading the NL. Four of the Marlins runs scored with two outs. "Theres a lot of good stuff going on right now," Redmond said. Andrew Cashner (0-1) allowed only two runs in six innings, but the offensively challenged Padres reached a new low -- for the first time, they were shut out. Theyve scored eight runs this season, worst in the majors, and have lost four in a row since a win on opening day. The Padres went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and are batting .108 (4 for 37) in those situations. "Collectively as a group, were not swinging the bats well," manager Bud Black said. "We are in a team-wide situation that were not swinging. We dont have one guy thats swinging the bat well. Inversely, you look at the Marlins they have guys who are swinging well. And thats what happens. Its cyclical during the course of a season." San Diegos best threat against Fernandez came when he walked two to load the bases with the score 0-0 in the third, but he escaped when Seth Smith hit into an inning-ending double play. The game drew a crowd of 35,188, including Miami Heat owner Micky Arison and president Pat Riley, who chatted briefly with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. Stantons run-scoring single in the third gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead, which looked hefty with Fernandez on the mound. "We knew once we got that one run, we had a good chance," catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. Notes: Marlins 2B Rafael Furcal (hamstring) is scheduled to report Monday to extended spring training in Jupiter, Fla., with rehabilitation assignments to follow. He likely wont be activated until April 20 at the earliest. ... Padres RHP Casey Kelly was scheduled to pitch in a simulated game Saturday, but the workout was postponed at least two days because he was feeling discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow, Black said. The setback isnt believed to be significant. ... Padres RHP Tyson Ross will get an extra day of rest before his next start Tuesday at Cleveland. Black said he made the move in part so the two left-handers in the rotation wouldnt pitch back to back. ... Stanton has two homers in eight at-bats against RHP Ian Kennedy (0-1, 5.40), who is scheduled to start Sunday for the Padres. RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 3.00) will start for Miami. Mark Prior Jersey . Team officials travelled to Los Angeles on Thursday night to meet with the free agent, a person with knowledge of the plans said. Ben Zobrist Jersey . None of them was better than playing with LeBron James again. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1220t-keith-moreland-jersey-cubs.html . Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card, are in the drivers seat as they open the final series of the regular season, but they face a large task in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies. Nicholas Castellanos Cubs Jersey .James scored 29 points, including 16 in the first quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers broke a four-game losing streak with a 106-74 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. Ryan Dempster Jersey . -- Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at 8 under Friday in the suspended second round of the Kingsmill Championship.NEW YORK -- The NFL will discuss expanded playoffs at the owners meetings next month in Atlanta. Commissioner Roger Goodell told a gathering of Associated Press Sports Editors on Thursday that a vote is uncertain on the proposal to add two teams to the post-season. Should the owners vote on the increase in May, Goodell said the 14-team playoffs could be implemented for the upcoming season, or for 2015. If no vote is taken, then 2015 would be the target for expanded playoffs, with a vote possible in October or next March. The league also would need to consult with the players union on the matter, but it seems clear more playoff teams are on the way. "Were being very deliberate about it," Goodell said. "We want to make sure we do it in the right way." The NFL also will experiment with snapping the ball from the 15-yard line on extra points in the first two weeks of the preseason to make them more challenging. A kick from that distance would wind up being about 33 yards. Previously, the plan had been to experiment with moving kicks back to the 20. But in conversations with the leagues competition committee and various teams, officiating director Dean Blandino said it became apparent a 33-yard extra point was a wiser choice for the experiment. Blandino added that veteran referees Scott Green and Ron Winter have retired, and will be replaced by Craig Wrolstad and Ronald Torbert. Wrolstad had been a field judge and Torbert was a side judge; both have college refereeing experience. Two female officials will be working minicamps and preseason games: line judge Sarah Thomas and head linesman Maia Chaka. Both work in Conference USA. They are part of the leagues officiating development program. The NFL also hired the sons of two current officials: field judge Brad Freeman, the son of back judge Steve Freeman, a former player with Buffalo; and field judge Shawn Hochuli, son of referee Ed Hochuli. Goodell and various other NFL executives were asked about the repercussions from thee bullying incidents with the Miami Dolphins involving Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito.dddddddddddd "You never want to see any story that reflects on that we dont have the right workplace environment," Goodell said. "Weve redoubled our efforts to make sure we provide the right environment ... for everybody in the NFL." Blandino added that in an effort to have on-field action in which the players are respectful, there will be a heavy emphasis on reducing taunting. From 2012 to 2013, the number of taunting incidents increased from nine to 34. "Its important having the right culture in place," added Robert Gulliver, the NFLs chief diversity officer. "A culture of respect for the game, for each other, for coaches, officials and fans. Well engage in positive training with the 32 clubs." Asked about the first openly gay player, Michael Sam of Missouri, soon entering the league, NFL football operations chief Troy Vincent said the league was looking forward to welcoming Sam into its ranks. Vincent, a star defensive back for 15 seasons and former president of the NFL Players Association, said he played with "six openly gay players inside the locker room" who did not publicly announce their sexual orientation. "It worked, we won many football games," Vincent said. "They were players, and we didnt see them any differently." NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said the league remains optimistic that a U.S. district judge will approve the $765 million concussion settlement with former players. The judge, Anita Brody, has expressed concerns the fund may not be large enough to cover up to 20,000 retired players for 65 years. "Were confident we will get it done," Pash said. "I think were getting close to the point where well have a package thats satisfactory. Our overriding goal is that both sides get this structure in place so we can begin providing compensation to people who need it." ' ' '