sxx123: f the conference to building to the middle of th

f the conference to building to the middle of th

13 Mar 2018 at 04:03

HOUSTON -- Houston manager A. Robin Yount Jersey .J. Hinch summed up the Astros ninth inning on Friday night succinctly.Toughest inning of the year, he said. For a lot of reasons.Yunel Escobar hit a two-run homer and pinch-hitter Rafael Ortega had three RBI during a six-run ninth inning, lifting the Los Angeles Angels over the Astros 10-6.The loss dropped Houston to 2 1/2 games behind the Tigers for the second AL wild card, a tough blow after clawing back with a five-run sixth inning to make it 6-3 prior to the late-game collapse.Houston led 6-4 when Escobar sent a slider from Ken Giles (2-5) into the seats in left field to start the ninth. Giles walked Mike Trout with one out before intentionally walking Albert Pujols. C.J. Cron followed with a bloop single to score Trout and put the Angels on top.Giles was replaced by Michael Feliz after loading the bases with a walk. Ortega cleared the bases with his two-out double, which deflected off shortstop Carlos Correas glove to extend the lead.A lot happened in that inning; none of it was in our favor, Hinch said.Its the fifth blown save for Giles, who allowed three hits and six runs in 1/3 inning.I didnt do my job, he said. I put us in a hard position right now, and ... Im going to make up for it.Nick Buss had two RBI for Los Angeles and Cron had an RBI double in the first. The Angels have won three in a row.Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run single in the sixth that tied it before pinch-hitter Tyler White laced an RBI single to center field to make it 4-3. Jason Castro hit a third straight single to send home another run. Mike Morin took over and Houston got another run home on a passed ball to extend the lead.Buss drove home a run with a groundout in the eighth to cut the lead to 6-4.Houston starter Doug Fister allowed five hits and two runs in five innings.Los Angeles starter Alex Meyer yielded four hits and four runs with three walks in 5 1/3 innings in his seventh major league appearance. Cody Ege (1-0) got the last two outs of the eighth inning for the win.Pujols doubled to start the second and Cron followed with his double to make it 1-0. A third double, this one by Buss with one out, scored Cron to push the lead to 2-0.THEY SAID ITIm not going to let Pujols be engaged in that inning. Ive seen enough of him over the years, as has this organization, Hinch on why he chose to intentionally walk him in the ninth inning.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: Correa left the game after hitting the ground hard trying to make a catch in the ninth inning. There was no immediate word on his injury. ... Houston RHP Lance McCullers, who has been on the disabled list since Aug. 3 with an elbow strain, will throw another bullpen in a couple of days after feeling good following his first once since the injury on Thursday. There still isnt a timetable for his return.UP NEXTAngels: Jhoulys Chacin (4-6 5.26) will pitch for Los Angeles on Saturday. Chacin allowed six hits and one earned run in five innings in his last start on Monday against Texas but did not factor in the decision.Astros: Brad Peacock (0-0, 2.86) will make his fourth start for Houston on Saturday. Peacock allowed three hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his last start but did not factor in the decision in a 4-2 win over Oakland. Cheap MLB Jerseys .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Stephen Vogt Jersey .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. www.cheapbrewersjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-glenn-robinson-jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. The Big Ten this week embarks on its first nine-game conference schedule, rekindling the debate whether all Power Five conferences should play the same number of league games in the era of the College Football Playoff.The Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference have eight-game conference schedules. The Big 12 and Pac-12, and now the Big Ten, play nine league games.Those leagues tout their nine conference games as a way of boosting schedule strength and, hopefully, increase their members chances of being selected for the playoff. But there is another component. Conference games tend to be more attractive inventory for league television networks and partners, and they also help keep stadiums full, compared with matchups against lower-tier competition.Nebraska coach Mike Riley argued consistency in number of conference games across the Power Five is a matter of fairness.I think that probably with the playoffs at stake, he said, that should be equitable that way.Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said he hadnt thought about conferences playing the same number of league games but added, Coach Riley has a good point there.The College Football Playoff selection committee evaluates each teams body of work, with strength of schedule part of the criteria, with no regard to how that schedule in composed. It also does not take a position on how conferences determine their champions.I really believe the data points that are going to be evaluated to decide who is going to be a national championship-caliber team should be decided the same way, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said. If that means we all play nine, we all play eight, we all play 10 in the Power Five, I dont really care what we do and how many we play. We should just be playing the same if were going to be evaluated the same way.The SEC decided in 2014 to continue with its eight-game conference schedule with a requirement that each team play at least one nonconference game against a Power Five opponent. Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said last month that the SEC has not had any discussions about reconsidering conference scheduling.ACC athletic directors are scheduled to meet next month and could discuss future football scheduling. The ACC is mulling whether to continue with eight conference games but require each team to play two nonconference games against Power Five opponents, or whether to go to nine conference games and require onne non-conference game against a Power Five team. Jonathan Villar Jersey. Were the only sport in America that doesnt have the same set of rules for everyone that plays, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. Ive never figured that out. Everyone goes to their own neighborhood and makes their own rules. Im for uniform for everything across the board in everything we do. Why cant we play the same number of games, same conference championship?Even if all Power Five conferences played the same number of league games, it wouldnt necessarily create the same criteria for the playoff selection committee to consider. For example, a team playing eight conference games along with two nonconference games against high-caliber opponents could be held in higher regard than a team with a nine-game conference schedule that, depending on the year, could include crossover games against bottom feeders and weak non-conference opponents.Also at issue: keeping alive nonconference geographical rivalry games, many of them between SEC and ACC teams, and maintain the flexibility in nonconference scheduling that allows schools to generate the significant revenue that comes with playing seven home games.In the Big Ten, the nine-game conference schedule is not embraced by everybody. East Division teams will have five conference games at home and four away in even-numbered years, with West Division teams following that schedule in odd-numbered years.Minnesotas Tracy Claeys and Northwesterns Fitzgerald would prefer 10 conference games so each team would get five at home and five on the road.There is a huge advantage to playing home football games, especially in some of these cathedrals of college football we have in Big Ten play, Fitzgerald said. The traditional powers of our conference, it might not impact them that much. But the programs like ours, that are trying to build from historically being in the bottom of the conference to building to the middle of the conference and fighting and scratching and clawing to get to the top... having four home games and the other side has five makes it really challenging.---AP Sports Writers Joe Reedy in Tallahassee, Florida, Dave Campbell in Minneapolis and Steve Megargee in Knoxville, Tennessee, contributed.---Online:AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 



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