Dein erstes Forum » making a final push

HOUSTON -- In these lean times for the Houston Astros, Chris Carter is showing more and more that he can be a difference-maker for this young team. Carter homered twice, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh, to back seven strong innings from Bud Norris and give the Astros a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night. The victory breaks a five-game skid for the Astros, who had been shut out in their last two games. Carter broke a 22-inning scoring drought for Houston with his solo homer in the second off Roberto Hernandez (4-10) that tied it 1-1. He connected on a full-count pitch from Jake McGee on his second home run to make it 4-1 in the seventh. Carter leads the Astros with 17 homers and his 44 RBIs are tied for the team lead. He is the first Astro to reach 17 homers by July 3 since Lance Berkman in 2009. Just over halfway through the season, Carter is one homer shy of the 18 Justin Maxwell hit all of last season to lead the club. The Astros are enamoured with Carters power and impressed with his increased discipline at the plate recently. "He has a chance to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "When you see that kind of progression and you see the adjustments being made, you really say to yourself moving forward that this guy has a chance to be a middle-of-the-order bat who can be very productive." He has reached base safely in 15 of his last 16 games and his hitting .315 with four homers and 10 RBIs in that span. Carter was just glad he could help the team get back on track after a tough couple of games. "Its nice to score some runs and get a win after the last two games where we didnt score and they outscored us by 20 runs," he said. "Im just happy we came out with a win right there." Norris (6-7) allowed six hits and one run with five strikeouts to break a three-game losing streak and pick up his first win since June 1. Jose Veras allowed a hit in a scoreless ninth for his 17th save. "Bud was absolutely outstanding," Porter said. "I thought he threw probably the best game of the season this year. His slider just had unbelievable depth ... hes our No. 1 guy and he pitched like a No. 1 guy again tonight." Hernandez allowed four hits and three runs in six-plus innings for his fourth consecutive loss. James Loney had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and Ben Zobrist drove in Tampa Bays only run with a sacrifice fly in the first. Carters homer in the second pinged off the facade on the wall above the Crawford Boxes in left field, giving the Astros their first earned run in 31 innings. It also broke a team record-tying 24-inning scoreless streak for Rays pitchers. It was the third time in team history theyd reached the mark. Jose Altuve singled with two outs in the third, but was caught stealing second to end the inning. Hernandez starting rolling after that and retired the next nine straight. He ran into trouble in the seventh when Brett Wallace doubled with no outs before he was chased by a single from Jason Castro. He was replaced by McGee, and Carter sent his 98 mph fastball to the train tracks atop the wall in left field. It was Carters second multi-homer game of the season and of his career. "Carter hurt us," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "He didnt miss two pitches. That one from Jake (McGee) was properly struck. That is back wall anywhere. That was incredible. You have to give them credit for the way they bounced back today, and their pitcher set up the whole thing." Norris hasnt had much run support lately, with the Astros scoring just three runs combined in his last three losses. A relieved-looking Norris greeted Carter with a hug and a huge smile in the dugout after his homer put Houston on top. The feeling Norris had when as he watched Carters homer was simple. "Pure joy," he said. "CCs (Carter) done it a few times for me, so weve just got to keep it going." The Rays had trouble stringing together hits against Norris. Their best chance to add to their run total came in the fifth. Jose Molinas comebacker sailed just inches above Norriss head for a single to start the inning. Norris then struck out Yunel Escobar and Molina was caught stealing second on the play. Norris walked consecutive batters, but escaped the jam by retiring Zobrist for the third out. Escobar singled with one out in the seventh before Jennings grounded into a double play to end the inning. NOTES: The series wraps up Thursday when Tampa Bays Chris Archer opposes Jordan Lyles. ... Houston DH Carlos Pena was back in the lineup after taking time to travel to the Dominican Republic following the drowning death of his nephew. He returned to the team on Tuesday after missing two games, but did not play. Pena said it was a difficult time for his family, but the support the team showed him made it a bit easier. "We have a lot of signs around here that we have family first and thats something that I saw firsthand, how they reacted to this situation," Pena said. "They did everything they could to make sure my family was all right and taken care of, which I appreciate."... Evan Longoria was Tampa Bays designated hitter for the second straight game after missing the previous three games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Manager Joe Maddon said he doesnt know when the All-Star third baseman will feel good enough to play defence, but thats OK with him. "Well just have to wait to get him on the field, but we have him as a DH well take it," Maddon said. Air Max 720 Outlet . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Air Max 97 Plus Black . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. http://www.wholesalenikeshoesclearance.com/cheap-max-270-shoes.html . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Kobe Bryant Shoes Clearance . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Outlet Air Max 1 . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Of the three remaining teams on the Oakland Raiders regular-season schedule, left tackle Donald Penn might be most worried about this weeks game in San Diego.The Chargers (5-8) have the fourth-worst record in the AFC, are the only team in the West already eliminated from playoff contention and are riding a two-game losing streak.Yet Penn says you wouldnt know it from watching San Diego on film. For that reason alone, Penn has his concerns heading into Sundays road game.The thing is, you watch their film, theyre playing still like theyre in the mix of things and thats the scary part, Penn said Thursday.We have to make sure we go in there and take care of our business and make sure were on point with everything and dont take these guys lightly.That shouldnt be a problem considering that Oakland has a chance to clinch its first playoff berth since 2002. Beating the Chargers puts the Raiders in; a loss and theyll need some help to qualify this weekend.Oakland won the first matchup earlier this season when San Diego botched a potential game-tying field goal late in the fourth quarter.That game at the Oakland Coliseum in Week 5 also marked the debut of Chargers first-round pick Joey Bosa. Bosa had two sacks of the Raiders Derek Carr and had three tackles for losses on the day.Penn spent part of the game matched up against Bosa and will face him again on Sunday. Because the Chargers like to move Bosa around on the defensive line, Raiders right tackle Austin Howard will get his shot at Bosa, too.They dont get talked about enough, but they have a lot of good guys on their (defense), Penn said.Bosas really come along this year. He moved all over in that game. Hes been doing that all year. Hes still moving around on the film I watch.ddddddddddddThe Raiders offensive line has held up well for most of the season, allowing just 13 sacks in 13 games -- the fewest in the NFL. That should make for another intriguing matchup.The biggest group we faced this year, Bosa said of Oaklands offensive line. Tough group. Theyll maul you off the ball if youre not playing good technique and youre not playing fundamentally sound. We just have to come into this game and attack it the same way we did in Week 5.While San Diego is making a final push before heading into the offseason, the Raiders are trying to rebound from one of their worst games of the season after losing 21-13 in Kansas City last week.Penn doesnt think that will be an issue against a division rival.I think thats why weve been successful because we dont look ahead, Penn said. We take it one week at a time. Thats big, especially with having a young team like we do.Its big because some of the young guys could start thinking ahead, start looking ahead. But keeping that even keel, going week by week, gets you to focus more on that week and on that plan.Game notes First-round pick Karl Joseph (toe) did not practice and was seen walking gingerly in the Raiders locker room. Wide receivers Michael Crabtree (finger) and Amari Cooper (shoulder) were limited. Left guard Kelechi Osemele (knee) and linebackers Perry Riley Jr. (hamstring) and Malcolm Smith (hamstring) were also limited. ... Backup defensive tackle Stacy McGee (ankle) and linebacker Shilique Calhoun (knee) were held out of practice.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '