MINNEAPOLIS -- After another strong start by Dallas Keuchel and an impressive home run from George Springer, it was Dexter Fowler who saved the game for the Houston Astros with a diving catch.
Devin Singletary Bills Jersey . Keuchel didnt allow a run over six innings, Springer hit his 11th home run and the Astros held on to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Friday night. The Twins could have tied the game in the eighth inning if not for Fowlers spectacular, diving grab that robbed Trevor Plouffe of a leadoff extra-base hit. "That play by Dexter Fowler may have been the play of the game," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "Thats a leadoff double, if not a triple, if he ends up diving and not getting the ball." Marwin Gonzalez and Matt Dominguez also homered off Phil Hughes (6-2), who lost for the first time in nine starts. The Astros have won six straight road games and 10 of their last 13 overall. Danny Santana hit his first career home run, a two-run shot in the seventh inning off reliever Tony Sipp as the Twins tried to rally late. After the start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 21 minutes by a storm that never arrived, Keuchel (7-3) struck out six and won for the fifth time in his last six starts. Springer drove a pitch from Hughes that was down and away and off the plate an estimated 402 feet to the opposite field in the sixth to give Houston a 5-0 lead. "That there is what you call power to all fields," Porter said with a big smile on his face. It was Springers first homer in June after he hit 10 in May and was selected the American League rookie of the month. Since May 11, Houston is 16-9 and on track to avoid 100-plus losses for the first time since 2010. Gonzalez pulled back on a drag bunt attempt in the third, then lined the next pitch over the wall in right field to give the Astros a 1-0 lead. Dominguez drove a high fastball from Hughes to straightaway centre in the fourth, hitting it just far enough to get it over the glove of a leaping Aaron Hicks. It was the first time Hughes allowed multiple homers since his first start of the season on April 3. Coming into the game, Hughes had allowed only four home runs all season and just one in his last 48 innings. "Just the mistakes over the plate really," Hughes said. "I didnt have my best fastball tonight and just wasnt making adjustments the way I had before." Chad Qualls pitched around a two-out throwing error by Dominguez in the ninth to earn his seventh save in eight chances. Eduardo Escobar had three hits including an RBI double that made it 5-4 with two outs in the eighth. Escobars double would have tied the game if Fowler didnt sprint over to the left-centre gap and rob Plouffe, sliding a long way on the grass after securing the catch. "When it was hit, I was like, I got to go a long way for that," Fowler said. "So I just put my head down and ran and I picked it up. The only way I could catch it was if I dive for it." Oswaldo Arcia, who homered in his previous two games but didnt start because of a sprained ankle, pinch-hit and flied out on the first pitch from lefty Darin Downs. But it was the Astros defence, including a diving play for the first out in the ninth by second baseman Jose Altuve that saved this one. "They made play after play," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We hit some balls pretty good and they kept making diving plays all over the place, which actually saved the ballgame for them because we put some decent swings out there and had plenty of chances." About 10 minutes before the first pitch, the Target Field grounds crew rolled out the infield tarp in anticipation of a storm that was approaching the area. It never rained during the delay, but light rain did fall in the early innings. NOTES: Leroy "Bud" Miller, a World War II veteran who was part of the landing force at Normandy Beach 70 years ago, raised the American flag before the game. ... Injured Astros SS Jonathan Villar missed his third straight game after getting hit in the right elbow Tuesday. ... Plouffe hit his 22nd double in the fourth inning, tying a career high. ... Minnesota has drafted eight college pitchers in the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft.
O. J. Simpson Jersey . -- The top-seeded Alberta Pandas set up of an all-Canada West final against arch rival UBC at the CIS womens volleyball championship after a 3-0 win over the No.
O. J. Simpson Bills Jersey . His stated reason for abruptly resigning as head coach of Canadas Olympic womens hockey team was he felt there were doubts about his ability to coach the team to Olympic gold in February.MADRID - Barcelona set aside its off-field troubles and put on a show in which Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored in a 5-0 route of Elche in a Copa del Rey last-16, first-leg match on Thursday.Neymar opened the scoring from a Suarez cross in the 35th minute. Suarez scored his fourth goal this season when he deftly dribbled past defender Sergio Pelegrin before fooling goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton into diving the wrong way in the 40th.Neymar was brought down in the penalty area in the 45th — earning defender Enzo Roco a yellow card — and Messi coolly converted it, earning a halftime ovation from fans at the Camp Nou.Jordi Alba controlled a superbly weighted pass from Messi to beat Tyton with a low shot in the 56th, and moments later Neymar fired a powerful shot that bounced into goal off Pelegrins back.The win eased the tension at Barcelona in a week in which sports director Andoni Zubizarreta was fired, the appeal against a one-year transfer ban was lost, and it fell at Real Sociedad in the Spanish league.Elsewhere, Kevin Gammeiro scored a goal and created another for Sevilla to beat Granada 2-1.
Matt Milano Bills Jersey. It was important to win away even though their last-minute goal complicates things for us, I still think its a good result, said forward Gerard Deulofeu. Well have to kill it off at home in the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.Deulofeu passed to Gamerio whose shot rebounded off the post and landed back in Deulofeus path for the first in the 32nd minute.Granada missed a chance just before halftime when midfielder Manuel Iturras cross pinpointed striker Isaac Success on the penalty spot, but Success headed it over the crossbar.Gameiro took advantage of a defensive mix-up in Granadas penalty area to tap in Ever Banegas well-placed free kick in the 53rd.Lass Bangoura pulled one back in his Granada debut on loan from Rayo Vallecano when his free kick went straight through the defenders wall in injury time.Im happy to have scored that goal, although Sevilla was playing very well, Bangoura said. Weve lost and now well have to wait for the return leg. ' ' '