was blunted when Robinson was thrown out at third base for the first out of the inning.He was probably trying too hard, trying to make

Russell Knox made a strong start to the defence of his WGC-HSBC Champions title with a bogey-free opening round in Shanghai. Knox finished 20 under par in winning his first European Tour title last year and carried on where he left off on Thursday as he attempts to become only the second player after Tiger Woods to retain a World Golf Championships title.The 31-year-old Scot carded a 66 at Sheshan International to finish six under par, a shot behind playing partner Rickie Fowler and two back from Swedens Rikard Karlberg. The group of Knox, Fowler and Paul Casey were a combined 18 under par for the day, with Casey carding a 67 which featured four birdies, an eagle and the groups only bogey on the 11th. Rikard Karlberg carded a 64 in the opening round at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai After starting on the back nine, Knox followed four straight pars with four birdies in succession from the 14th, before picking up further shots on the third and seventh.Fowler had covered the back nine in 31 and completed a flawless 65 with birdies on the second and ninth, the latter edging him ahead of Knox and compatriot Daniel Berger. Watch NOW TV Catch all the excitement of Sky Sports for just ￡6.99 - and no contract! World No 3 Rory McIlroy was seven shots off the pace with an opening day 71 as he chased the victory he feels will be necessary to have a chance of winning the Race to Dubai for the third year running.McIlroy is more than a million points behind Masters champion Danny Willett, who has a lead of more than 400,000 points over Open champion Henrik Stenson, with Willett battling back from a nightmare start to card an opening 74. Rickie Fowler is one off the pace after the opening round. Three bogeys and a double bogey in the space of four holes took Willett to the turn in 41, but birdies on the second, third and ninth repaired some of the damage for the world No 9.McIlroy also started on the 10th and ended a run of six straight pars with a birdie on the 16th, although even that was something of a disappointment after driving the green on the short par four and missing from eight feet for an eagle. Rory McIlroy carded a 71 in the opening round in Shanghai And there was worse to come on the par-five 18th as the four-time major winner pushed his approach into the water surrounding the green, the resulting bogey dropping him back to level par before he hit another birdie at the seventh to finish one under par.Watch the WGC-HSBC Champions throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: WATCH: WGC-HSBC Champions McIlroy hunts historic double Knoxs 2015 Shanghai success Harrington targets Ryder Cup Custom Timberwolves Jersey China . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Cheap Custom Timberwolves Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.customtimberwolvesjersey.com/custom-kevin-garnett-jersey-large-74n.html . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Timberwolves Jerseys China . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Custom Kevin Garnett Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. BALTIMORE -- Reynaldo Lopez had a miserable outing, to be sure.Yet the Washington Nationals had plenty of blame to spread around in the wake of an embarrassing 8-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.Lopez (2-2) gave up six runs, four earned, and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings -- the shortest of his five career starts.The results were not what I expected, Lopez said through an interpreter. The game did not go the way I liked it to.Many of his teammates can say the same thing.Daniel Murphy fumbled a grounder to second base that let in two runs, Clint Robinson was guilty of a base-running gaffe and the Nationals were victimized three times by, of all things, replay reviews.Though Murphys misplay was Washingtons only error, manager Dusty Baker didnt like the manner in which his team played in the field.You dont make any errors for a long period of time then you make a bunch of errors in a short period of time, he lamented. Hopefully, we got it out of our system.Trea Turner had a career-high four hits for Washington. The Nationals trailed 6-0 after three innings and went quietly in their third straight loss -- their longest skid since a seven-game run from June 18-25.Its good to be going home. It seems like we havent been home in a while, Baker said following the conclusion of a nine-game road trip. We go home and regroup. Guys get to see their kids and their wives.The Nationals are 24-34 against Baltimore in a rivalry that began in 2006. The series shifts 38 miles south to Nationals Park on Wednesday for the first of two games.Replay did the Nationals no favors. Turner was called safe on steal attempts in the first and third innings, but on both occasions the call was reversed after a replay review. Making the result more maddening for Washington: Jayson Werth followed with a walk both timmes.ddddddddddddThe trend continued in the bottom of the third, when replay determined that Adam Jones beat out an infield roller after initially being called out.Mark Trumbo picked up his 93rd RBI with a first-inning single, and the Orioles made it 3-0 in the second when Matt Wieters doubled in a run and scored on a single by Jones.In the third, Jonathan Schoop hit an RBI double and two runs scored when Murphy misplayed a two-out grounder.Washington got its lone run in the seventh inning when Danny Espinosa singled in a run off Vance Worley, who worked three innings for his first career save.But a potential uprising was blunted when Robinson was thrown out at third base for the first out of the inning.He was probably trying too hard, trying to make something happen, Baker said.Chris Davis hit his 30th homer of the season in the eighth against Yusmeiro Petit. He has hit at least 30 home runs in four of the last five seasons.Kevin Gausman (5-10) got the win, scattering six hits over six shutout innings.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: RHP Joe Ross (right shoulder inflammation) felt good after a bullpen session Tuesday. Our head trainer came in and gave me the thumbs up, Baker said. Hopefully, were going to put him back to work here pretty soon.Orioles: Chris Tillman will be headed to the 15-day DL Wednesday with shoulder inflammation. Ubaldo Jimenez will start in his place Thursday night.UP NEXTNationals: Tanner Roark (13-6, 2.87 ERA) starts Wednesday night. The right-hander is 4-0 in his last five starts and has lost just once since June 21.Orioles: Wade Miley (7-10, 5.58) makes his fifth start with Baltimore. The lefty is 0-2 with a 9.53 ERA since being traded from Seattle. ' ' '