g a four-goal lead in t

Messagepar **yyys123** » 10 Déc 2019, 06:48

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- David Freese is starting to pick up his run production, which is something the Los Angeles Angels have been waiting half a season to see. Freese hit a two-run double, Matt Shoemaker pitched in and out of trouble for six innings, and the Angels beat the Houston Astros 5-2 Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series. Freese has six RBIs in his last five games, two more than he had in the previous 27 games in which he had an at-bat. "Weve been talking about David for a while, and we need him," said manager Mike Scioscia, who has kept Freese in the bottom third of the batting order since June 17. "Hes a guy that potentially deepens the middle of your lineup. He hasnt gotten off to a good start, and were at the halfway point. "Hopefully hes finding a comfort level. I think the last 30 or so at-bats hes been driving the ball a little bit better." Shoemaker (6-2) allowed two runs, seven hits and three walks, and worked with runners on base in every inning. The right-hander, who began the season in the bullpen, gave up eight runs and 11 hits in four innings on Friday in a loss at Kansas City. He had been 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his seven previous starts this season. "It was a successful outing, but a little bit of a struggle," Shoemaker said. "I had to make some big pitches to get out of some jams, and the defence picked me up huge, making some big plays. It was a positive thing to bounce back from that outing to this one." Shoemaker had seven strikeouts against the Astros, giving him 57 through his first 10 big league starts. That broke the franchise record of 56 set by Bo Belinsky in 1962. "He has it in his game, thats for sure," Scioscia said. "If you look at his career in the minor leagues, he has struck out his share of guys. But you never know how a guys stuff is going to play in the major leagues until he gets an opportunity. "Shoe definitely has some out pitches and some pitches that he can get strikeouts with. But the best games hes going to throw are going to be the ones where hes in the zone early with good stuff and changing speeds and maybe getting some easier outs. He had to work hard to get through six innings." Jason Grilli, obtained from Pittsburgh on Friday, pitched a scoreless eighth in his home debut, and Joe Smith worked a hitless ninth for his 10th save. The Angels have won seven straight at home, their longest streak since another seven-game stretch in August 2006. Brett Oberholtzer (2-7) gave up five runs, nine hits and three walks over 6 1-3 innings in his third start since getting recalled from Triple-A on June 28. He was 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA in his first seven starts before back-to-back victories over Seattle and Baltimore. After the game, he was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Oberholtzer was bailed out by inning-ending double plays in the second and third innings, after giving up Howie Kendricks RBI single in the first. Mike Trout was doubled off second base in the third after rookie left fielder Enrique Hernandez made a diving catch of Albert Pujols sinking liner, but the Angels scored four runs in the fourth to grab a 5-2 lead. C.J. Cron tied it with an RBI single, and Freese doubled to right-centre, the fourth straight one-out hit. Freese scored on Chris Iannettas sac fly. Houston took a 2-1 lead in the third. Jose Altuve doubled after a leadoff walk to No. 9 hitter Marwin Gonzalez, Jason Castro singled off the glove of first baseman Pujols to drive in the Astros first run, and Altuve scored on a grounder by Springer. Shoemaker retired Dominguez on a double-play grounder after a walk to Singleton. "Its just tough, not scoring runs when you have situations with men on base early in the game where you can jump on a team," designated hitter Chris Carter said. "Were in a little rough patch now, but I think well be better the rest of the series." Altuve, who had three hits, leads the AL in batting (.347) and stolen bases (37). The only players who finished a season atop the league in both categories were Ty Cobb (1909, 1911 and 1917), George Sisler (1922), Snuffy Stirnweiss (1945) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001). "Hes definitely a phenomenal hitter and hes tough to get out, so you have to mess up his timing and make good pitches," Shoemaker said. NOTES: Scioscia earned his 1,281st regular-season victory, tying Whitey Herzog for 34th place on baseballs career list. Scioscia reached the mark in 57 fewer games. ... RHP Josh Fields will be reinstated from the disabled list on Friday to fill Oberholtzers roster spot. ... It was the 44th anniversary of the first no-hitter at the "Big A," thrown by Clyde Wright against Oakland. ... The Astros are tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the majors worst record (36-51). ... Houston is 0 for 44 when trailing after eight innings. ... The Astros became the final team this season to draw one million spectators on the road. Warren Spahn Jersey . Today, their baseball playing sons were reportedly traded for each other. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs dealt minor league outfield Trevor Gretzky to the Angels for catcher Matt Scioscia. Brandon Nimmo Jersey . -- Phil Hughes ended a personal losing streak that dated to last July, pitching into the seventh inning Sunday and helping the Twins top the Kansas City Royals 8-3 to avoid a three-game sweep. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/1410l-robinson-cano-jersey-mets.html . Torres calmly stroked a 51st-minute spot kick down the middle with goalkeeper Romel Quinonez diving right to convert a penalty earned by Javi Martinez. Spain controlled play at the Sanchez Pizjuan but found it hard to convert against a well-organized Bolivian team before Iniesta charged forward to curl around Quinonez in the 84th to seal victory. New York Mets Store . The Rays hope to stay alive for the postseason and salvage the finale of this series Sunday at Rogers Centre, where they dropped a 7-2 decision Saturday. Chris Archer lasted 2 1/3 innings in the no-decision, charged with a run and five hits, and Alex Torres suffered the loss in relief. Desi Relaford Jersey .com) - Driphus Jackson had three touchdown passes, including two in a 19-second span in the opening quarter, to guide Rice to a 30-6 rout of Fresno State at the Hawaii Bowl.Finland had more than enough offensive talent to overcome its slow start against Austria, even with Teemu Selanne back in the dressing room. Jarkko Immonen and Mikael Granlund scored two goals apiece as Finland opened preliminary-round Olympic play with an 8-4 victory over Austria on Thursday. Jussi Jokinen and Petri Kontiola each had a goal and an assist for the Finns, who put 52 shots on beleaguered Austria goalie Bernhard Starkbaum despite playing the final two periods without Selanne, their captain and the leading scorer in Olympic history. The 43-year-old "Finnish Flash" had an assist in the first period of his record-equaling sixth Olympics before sitting out with an upper-body injury. Selanne should be fine for the Finns next game, team spokesman Janne Lahti said. "Hes an old man, so he needs some rest, more than the other guys," Kontiola said. Sami Lepisto and Olli Maatta also scored for Finland, which has never lost to Austria at the Olympics. Granlund had a three-point game and defenceman Sami Vatanen had three assists in their Olympic debuts. Selanne got just eight shifts before apparently having problems with his neck or shoulders. Finlands trainers massaged Selanne on the bench late in the first period, and he didnt return from the first break. "Maybe he got the bad pillow!" said Sami Vatanen, Selannes teammate with the Anaheim Ducks. Even with Selanne ailing, Finland took control with two goals in 8 seconds during the final minute of the first before taking a four-goal lead in the second. "Its tough to see him get injured, but hell be OK," Olli Jokinen said of Selanne. "Hes a big part of this team, and hes our leader. Its never easy when you lose a guy like him." Finns recover The Finns also survived a shaky Olympic debut from Tuukka Rask, the vaunted Boston Bruins goalie who yielded four goals on just 20 shots. "The firsst goal, everybody was caught sleeping there," Rask said.dddddddddddd "After that second goal, everybody kind of woke up and got back to playing again." Michael Grabner had three goals in his Olympic debut for Austria. The New York Islanders forward scored 36 seconds into the first period, and Austria had two early leads before Finland took control. "In case we didnt know what we were up against, we got a reality check," Austrian forward Thomas Vanek said. "Youve got to play a certain way, and I think we didnt do it. Our goalie needs to be our best player, and we need to help him more." Finland is the most consistently successful Olympic nation of the NHL era while winning medals in four of the last five Olympics overall. The Finns have a solid shot at medals again despite placement in Canadas preliminary-round group, and an eight-goal performance in their opener will help their cause. Austria, which qualified for its first Olympics since 2002, surprised the Finns in the opening minute when Grabner converted a cross-ice pass from Michael Raffl. Granlund got Finlands first goal on a play set up by Selanne, who took Vatanens outlet pass and fed Granlund while screening Starkbaum. Austria went back ahead when Thomas Hundertpfunds shot from behind the net went off Maattas skate in front and beat Rask, but Lepisto equalized 2:04 later. Maatta put the Finns ahead with a vicious slap shot from the blue line with 35 seconds left in the first period — and Immonen scored 8 seconds later. Six Austrians are back from their Salt Lake City team along with the Olympic debuts of Grabner and Vanek, his Islanders teammate. Grabner added two goals in the third period for his hat trick. "I like the big ice, and I just tried to get into open space for my teammates," Grabner said. "Against a good team like Finland, its tough to come back." ' ' '