News » he Sharks twice in a month will be

HOUSTON -- In a tight game against a first-place team, Collin McHugh didnt worry about giving the ball to the Houston Astros bullpen. Darius Slay Jr Lions Jersey .McHugh combined with four relievers on a two-hitter, rookie Alex Bregman homered and the Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 Saturday as they tried to gain ground in the AL wild-card race.Theyve all been lights out for about the last year-and-a-half, two years, McHugh said of his bullpen. I feel as confident as anyone giving them the ball with the lead.Marwin Gonzalez drove in a run with a third-inning squeeze bunt for the Astros, who began the day 2? games back for the ALs second wild card.Bregman put the Astros ahead with an opposite-field home run to right-center against John Lackey (9-8) in a two-run third.Hes been remarkable, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Weve been playing these playoff-type caliber games for a few weeks now, and hes not showing any signs of this being his first time.After starting 1 for 34 following his July 25 callup, Bregman has eight home runs -- all since Aug. 16. He went 2 for 4 and raised his average to .274 with 31 RBI.Im just trying to square the ball up, Bregman said. Baseball is such a game of ups and downs, and youve just got to stay even through the whole time.McHugh (10-10) won his third straight decision, allowing one run and two hits in five innings. Chris Devenski, Will Harris, Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles combined for hitless relief.Their pitchers were really good today. Give them credit, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. They were very good at hitting their spots and had good stuff.McHugh spoke with Hinch about the decision on a quick hook.He said, `Hey, were going to do this like a playoff game, and were going to get a win here, the pitcher recalled. And thats exactly what happened.Ken Giles survived a shaky ninth to earn his 10th save. He walked Anthony Rizzo leading off, and pinch-runner Matt Szczur advanced on a wild pitch. Jorge Soler struck out and Szczur crossed to third on Miguel Monteros groundout. Giles then struck out Willson Contreras.Lackey gave up two runs, four hits and three walks in six innings for the NL Central leaders, who are 90-51. He had been 2-0 in four starts since a July 23 loss at Milwaukee.I definitely havent had much luck with the wins and losses this year, Lackey said.Jose Altuve, in an 0-for-12 slide, followed Bregmans homer by reaching on his second bunt single of the season, beating third baseman Kris Bryants throw.Yulieski Gurriel singled him to third, and Gonzalez bunted to third as Altuve scored.Two bunts, Lackey said, youd like for that not to cause you a game.Contreras fourth-inning sacrifice fly scored Soler, who beat the offline throw from right fielder George Springer.Houston could have extended the lead in the seventh, but Springer was thrown out at the plate by when he tried to score from first on Bregmans bloop single to right center.Right fielder Jason Heyward threw to shortstop Javier Baez, who relayed to Contreras for the tag. The call by plate umpire Mark Carlson was upheld in a video review.Im always confident that he is going to score from first base, Bregman said. I saw the bobble and thought there was a chance. It was worth taking a shot right there.PEACOCK GETS NODHouston plans to starts RHPs Doug Fister, Brad Peacock and Joe Musgrove in next weeks series against Texas.Peacock was recalled from Triple-A Fresno on Tuesday alongside RHP David Paulino, who lost to Cleveland in his major league debut Thursday.I think Peacock gives us the best chance to get into the game with a little more ease, Hinch said. His pitch repertoire is a little more suited and an advantage over the Rangers over Paulino.DELAYThe game was delayed several minutes between the second and third innings because of a medical emergency involving a fan in the stands near the Houston bench. First responders could be seen tending to the fan, and the Astros said the fan was taken to a hospital.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: SS Carlos Correa missed his fourth straight game with inflammation in his left shoulder and remains day to day. Hinch said Correa continued to experience soreness, and that the early start time following a night game didnt allow proper time for prep work. Every time we want to put him in there were going to risk the next three or four days, Hinch said. So we have to be very strategic about we map this out. ... Hinch said the team believes Altuve is battling a 24-hour stomach illness and the infielder told him after the game he would be good to play Sunday. Altuve vomited several times before and during the game, Hinch said. ... Altuve, bothered by a stomach ailment, was replaced in the eighth by Tony Kemp.UP NEXTRHP Mike Fiers (10-6) looks to improve to 4-1 in his career against the Cubs when he starts Sundays series finale. Chicago starts RHP Jake Arrieta (16-6), who is 10-2 in 13 road starts this season. He will face Houston for the first time. Jarrad Davis Youth Jersey . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. Darius Slay Jr Jersey . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. http://www.lionsfanspro.com/Black-Barry-...ey.html?cat=861 . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Coach Ricky Stuart has declared a new era of NRL success in the nations capital with Canberra securing a top-two finish with a final-round thumping of Wests Tigers.The Raiders ended the Tigers finals hopes with a 52-10 defeat of the joint venture at Leichhardt Oval before 18,634 fans on Sunday, with hooker Josh Hodgson starring.Canberras regular season points tally, which rested at 688 by games end, eclipses the club record of 677 set by the premiership-winning 1994 side, considered one of the best teams of all time.It underlined the strength of the Raiders performance this year over the premiership rounds as they set up a qualifying final with Cronulla at GIO Stadium on Saturday.I am really happy for the players, they deserve to be there, Stuart said.They have been very consistent this year. It was a professional performance today but another competition starts now.Stuart was at halfback under skipper Mal Meninga in the Raiders star-studded 1994 side, the clubs last title winning outfit.At the start of the year we spoke about creating our own piece of history, Stuart said.It will be good for Canberra and the community. I know what it (success) can do.There will be a really good vibe and it is a great opportunity for these boys to see what is on offer.Hopefully it will build a bigger and stronger supporter base.The Raiders win was built on a 30-4 first half lead in which Hodgson set upp two tries and scored one himself. Kerryon Johnson Lions Jersey. ordan Rapana and Josh Papalii both scored twice for Canberra. Rapanas first try set up with a incredible swivel-flick pass from Joey Leilua.Jack Wighton was put on report for a second half shoulder charge on Joel Edwards but Stuart said he wasnt concerned his star fullback would miss week one of the finals.After dropping club legend Robbie Farah to reserve grade in July, Tigers coach Jason Taylor had hoped to create his own piece of history at the club this season.But they again failed to return to the finals for the first time since 2011.It is very disappointing, Taylor said.We beat ourselves that is the thing. We just made too many errors.We havent had a game like that for the last couple of seasons.It was unforced error after unforced error. The harder we tried the worse it got.The Tigers would have knocked Gold Coast out of eighth spot if theyd won.You could say the situation got to us but we have been playing under that sort of pressure for several weeks now, Taylor said.Stuart said he wasnt concerned about the Raiders lack of finals experience.Beating the Sharks twice in a month will be a tough ask, he said.Being at home is an advantage and I hope youth and enthusiasm can overcome that lack of experience. ' ' '