WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals have been at home for a week after a 10-game road trip in which the team went 3-7.While the Nationals are in the midst of their first three-opponent homestand of the season the schedule has certainly not been routine for the first-place club.Washington will host the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday morning -- an early start for any game and certainly for the first game of a series. The Nationals are 6-1 so far on the homestand.The early start has become a tradition on July 4 in the nations capital, affording fans and players alike to make it home in time to be with family and see the fireworks display on the National Mall if they so desire. It just so happens this year July 4 is on a Monday -- a typical day for the first game of a series in the majors.Seeing fireworks in the nations capital may be more challenging this year as the Metro -- the public transportation system in the capital region -- has been undergoing maintenance the past few weeks and delays have been the norm.With that as a backdrop Washington right-hander Max Scherzer (9-5, 3.30) will start on Monday while right-hander Junior Guerra (5-1, 3.25) will go for the Brewers. He is 2-0 with a 3.10 ERA in his last three starts and has never faced any of the current Washington hitters. Guerra did not pitch against the Nationals earlier this month when Washington played in Wisconsin.He will have to deal with a Washington team that hit six homers on Sunday against the Reds and has 120 this year to lead the National League.Scherzer is 9-5 with a 2.62 ERA in day games since he joined the Nationals to start the 2015 season.The St. Louis native has had some memorable day game performances at Nationals Park. One of them was his no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates in June, 2015.The Nationals bullpen got a break Sunday as Stephen Strasburg came off the DL and threw 6 2/3 innings of no-hit ball after Washington and Cincinnati played 14 innings on Friday and 10 innings on Saturday. Strasburg was taken out after throwing 109 pitches.Our bullpen is beat up, theirs is beat up, it was a tough series. We won the yearly series against them, we won three out of four against them here, Washington manager Dusty Baker said of facing the Reds.It will be a quick turnaround for Milwaukee, who played Sunday in St. Louis and had to endure a rain delay as well and that meant delaying a flight to Washington. The Brewers lost in St. Louis 9-8 after scoring four in the top of the ninth in a game that ended around 8:20 p.m. ET.The Nationals ended their game Sunday against the Reds around 4:45 p.m. ET.The early start on Monday will continue a pattern of different starting times for Washington on the homestand.The Thursday game with the Cincinnati Reds began at 7:05 p.m., a normal start time. The Friday game was slated to begin at 6:05 p.m. so fireworks could be displayed after the game. But a rain delay forced a late start and due to a noise ordinance in the nations capital the fireworks had to be called off.Saturdays game with the Reds began on time at 7:15 p.m. as a national broadcast on FOX. And Sundays series finale started on time at 1:35 p.m., the normal first pitch for Sunday home games in Washington.Baker said getting back to a normal sleep schedule played a factor in giving some days off to some of his regulars earlier in this homestand.After the early start on Monday, the Nationals will go back to a regular first pitch time of 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday before ending the homestand at 4:05 p.m. Wednesday against the Brewers.The Nationals begin a series on Thursday in New York against the Mets. The Brewers return home to face the Cardinals in a series that starts Friday.Were in a little bit of a funk offensively, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. Trying to get out of that funk against Scherzer could be a tough task, especially with little sleep after a flight from St. Louis. Under Armour Outlet Sale . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Cheap Authentic Under Armour . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.underarmouroutletonline.com/ ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Cheap Under Armour Free Shipping . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Cheap Under Armour Shoes Store . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. LAS VEGAS -- Coach Mike Krzyzewski got his first glimpse at the new-look U.S. national team, as the team opened camp at UNLV with just two players back from the 2012 national team that won the gold medal in London.Carmelo Anthony returns for his fourth run at the Olympics, after winning a bronze medal in 2004 and gold medals in 2008 and 2012, while Kevin Durant is looking for a second gold medal after playing on the championship team in 2012.And though there are 10 new faces on the team that will represent the U.S. in the Olympics, several were a part of the 2014 FIBA world championship team, and know what is expected of them. Making things easier, as it was for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 12-man roster has been set since June, giving Krzyzewski and his staff ample time to devise rotations and focus on the players they knew were coming.Its the angst you go through in that week of determining from 16 to 12, (it) takes away from your preparation, Krzyzewski said. We have had none of that. Thats a huge advantage, and also for these guys, you got 12 guys (who) have been completely focused on being on this team. Its really a good advantage.Krzyzewski said he was pleased with Anthony taking charge the first day, being a vocal leader for what he believes could be one of the best defensive teams hes ever coached since becoming taking over in 2005. He also credited Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeMarcus Cousins for stepping up as leaders on the opening day of camp.Its a new group of guys (so) I get a chance to go out there and kind of be a leader to the team and kind of enjoy it, Anthony said. For me, its about going over there and having fun, getting that feeling back, getting that fun feeling back and try to get a gold medal.As hes done in years past, Krzyzewski met with the team and staff privately Sunday night, showing players video clips froom previous years and delivering a motivational speech about what it means to represent the United States.dddddddddddd With the recent unrest involving civilians and police officers, the message came across even stronger for this team.Whenever you get a chance to sit in that meeting and see and understand what were doing is bigger than us, as basketball players, it gives you chills and puts everything in perspective, DeMar DeRozan said. It makes your job easier to go out there and do what you love to do and represent your country.And as the national team takes on its new look, ushering in a new era, the 69-year-old Krzyzewski is making his final run with the Olympic team. Under his watch, Krzyzewski has led the U.S. to two gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics as well as the 2007 FIBA Americas Tournament and the 2010 and 2014 world championships.Nonetheless, Krzyzewski said the most important thing is to avoid focusing on the milestones he, Anthony and Durant are headed toward, and aim toward maintaining a united front with the entire squad.All of us need to be in this moment, not in `this is my last time or `its the third gold medal for Carmelo, said Krzyzewski, who has led the Americans to a near-perfect 52-1 since 2005. Its `this team, and thats what were trying to do, just be in this moment with this team. Its one of the biggest mistakes any competitor can make, is to be in only your moment. Theyre not going to play because its my last time being the Olympic coach. So I have to coach them like its my first time, and thats how were going to do it.We just want to play as well as we can, and be worthy of winning the gold, so theyll be worthy of continuing to win the respect of our country and the world. ' ' '