News » ve the scrum, and coming up with different ideas, but i

HOUSTON -- Joe Musgrove lifted the Houston Astros in more ways than one Sunday. Johnny Damon Jersey .With his team in desperate need of a win to remain in playoff contention, Musgrove pitched seven strong innings to help lift Houston over the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 to snap a three-game slide.He had a tremendous game today at a time (when) we needed it, manager A.J. Hinch said. (The) compete button is never off for Musgrove, and I appreciate the way he goes about it.The Astros backed Musgrove with home runs from Evan Gattis, Tony Kemp and Tyler White.Houston remained three games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild-card spot.Playoffs aspirations aside, Musgrove had another pressing reason to make his start count.Today was a tough day, said Musgrove, referring to the news of Miami pitcher Jose Fernandezs tragic death from a boating accident early Sunday at age 24. I think everyone was a bit down with the bad news we had this morning.There are a few guys in here that are handling it a little worse than the rest of us from having personal relationships with Jose. The energy was a little bit down, so I was hoping to go out there and pitch a strong seven, he said.That he did.Musgrove (4-4) allowed one run on seven hits while striking out four.Closer Ken Giles rebounded from a blown save in Fridays 10-6 loss to Los Angeles. He walked one and struck out two in the ninth for his 14th save.I just wanted to go out there and put up a zero, Giles said. I needed to do that for the team and show them that I can bounce back.Carlos Correa singled home Jose Altuve in the Houston first.An inning later, Gattis homered off Daniel Wright (0-5), connecting for the 31st time this season.Kemp and White later added solo shots.It was a good day for our youth, Hinch said. These guys are getting their first taste of important baseball in September and, hopefully, October.Wright lasted six innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits.I left the changeup up to Kemp that he hit out, and then the fastball up to Gattis to lead off both those innings, Wright said. I just have to get better at going out there from the first pitch of each inning and be ready to go.The Angels kept the game close by turning four double plays.Defensively we played a very good game. That was good to see, manager Mike Scioscia said. Offensively, we just couldnt get any momentum.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: Before the game, Hinch said he was worried about Giles flexibility and ability to throw, a day after he injured his right wrist when he was hit by a line drive during batting practice. X-rays were negative.I think hes got a chance to be a little bit stiff, Hinch said postgame. Given that its a contusion, hell be all right.UP NEXTAngels: Jered Weaver (12-12, 5.20 ERA) will attempt to close out September on a winning note when Los Angeles hosts Oakland and LHP Sean Manaea (6-9, 4.03) on Monday. Weaver is 2-1 in four starts this month.Astros: Collin McHugh (12-10, 4.61) faces fellow RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (16-12, 4.04) to open a three-game series against Seattle. McHugh is 4-0 against the Mariners this season. Greg Bird Jersey . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Don Larsen Jersey Large . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. http://www.customyankeesjersey.com/custo...arge-1844i.html . 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. The Super Rugby champions Hurricanes have been rewarded in the All Blacks team named to play Australia in the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup opener on Saturday.Beauden Barrett has rightly been named the starting fly-half. What more could he do? Hes starred in winning a Super Rugby Championship, hes in the best form of his life, and he signed off last year in the Rugby World Cup with a fantastic try -- just one of several quality tries he has scored in his career. Hes just been sublime.Aaron Cruden has been Cruden. Hes safe but theres just that much more x-factor about Barrett. Crudens 25 and he was the incumbent after he started the third Test against Wales, and its tough on him to be named on the bench; but it was going a tougher call not to select Barrett.Thats the cut-throat environment were in, and it comes down to that fine line about who is that little bit better; and form is an important part of that.The choice at flanker was another tough call, especially with Sam Cane having suffered concussion issues, but I trust the judgement of medical staff. They know better than anyone that concussion is a medical issue in the spotlight and the eyes of the nation, and the world will analyse everything that is being done.There were other interesting selections, especially in the midfield now that Sonny Bill Williams is out for the year. They have stuck with Ryan Crotty and Malakai Fekitoa, but you cant say those positions were in any way locked down. It was interesting that Anton Lienert-Brown had been brought in, and Seta Tamanivalu will have been made aware that it is all about keeping performing and staying in that environment.The All Blacks have struggled to be consistent winners in Sydney over the past few years. In fact, it is probably the world venue where it is hardest for them to win now. And thats because Sydney is the home of Australian rugby; whichever ground they use in Sydney, its their Eden Park. Its always a tough place to go, and Australia at home has always been hard.So it will be a good way to kick off what is looking like an exciting Rugby Championship.In some ways, there are other things hanging on the game: It is going to be a test of Australias policy vs. New Zealands regarding the selection of players from overseas.It is tough for players when they are coming back from overseas contraccts for periodic Test duty. Custom Derek Jeter Jersey. Its a hard ask. Theyre coming from different environments. When you go overseas and play, you immerse yourself in that teams environment and you get used to what that team needs and what their requirements are.Southern hemisphere rugby is a different style, and to go back to what you were probably raised playing is not easy. And I imagine it is a lot harder for backs than it is for forwards. The game is faster down here and what can be seen as form in the northern hemisphere is one heartbeat or a hairs breadth off the sort of reaction times in New Zealand, Australian or South African sides.In that regard, I think New Zealand has got the policy right; it works for us and it keeps us strong. If we are going to have a global season that is one of the compromises we will have to look at, but it doesnt look like that is going to happen.The scrum is an area that will be interesting in Sydney. The Australian sides looked to have improved in Super Rugby, but I dont think the scrum is as important now as it had been previously; you can still get a penalty when youre getting pushed backwards at scrum time.The scrum has become a liability about who is going to be penalised, and thats a blight on our game. When youre supposed to have a re-start you have no idea what the outcome is going to be. You could be twice as dominant as your opposition but it doesnt always go your way.I hope there are reviews, test cases or people analysing how to improve the scrum, and coming up with different ideas, but it just seems that for the past 15 years we havent got it right.I noted that former England coach Stuart Lancaster was out at Pukekohe for the All Blacks warm-up run against Counties Manukau and Northland last Friday. I think it is great that a coach like him, who went through what he did at the Rugby World Cup last year, is still prepared to learn.Fair play to him. Hes come to the right country to learn, and you never, ever, stop learning when youre coaching. Its like the game; its always evolving and youve just got to try to keep bettering yourself. You ask if the Rugby World Cup in 2015 will make Stuart Lancaster a better coach, and you have to say, absolutely. ' ' '