With time winding down in the extra session from cherry452's blog
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HOUSTON -- Oaklands offence went cold after the As jumped out to an early lead against Houston on Friday night. Sergi Roberto Barcelona Jersey . When they finally rediscovered it in the ninth inning, almost everybody got in on the action. Daric Barton and Josh Donaldson had two RBIs apiece in a seven-run ninth inning during which 12 As batted to help Oakland to a 12-5 win over the Astros. The game was tied at 5 when Josh Fields (0-2) plunked Brandon Moss before back-to-back singles by Alberto Callaspo and Craig Gentry loaded the bases. Bartons sharply hit grounder bounced off Jose Altuves glove and into right field to send two home. Rookie right fielder George Springers error on that play allowed a third run to score, sending the few fans left filing to the exits. "It was awesome to finish the way we did," Gentry said. "I thought Mossy getting hit by that pitch and Callaspo with that nice single, I think that really got us going. Once we got a couple of runs across, we were kind of relaxed and were able to let it go." Donaldson, who homered twice on Thursday night, connected again on Friday with a shot off Anthony Bass to the Crawford Boxes in left field to make it 12-5. Moss was hit by a pitch for a second time in that inning after the home run to become the first player in the majors to be hit twice in the same inning since David DeJesus on June 18, 2012. Jed Lowrie had two hits and two RBIs to help the As improve to 5-0 against Houston this season and 25-5 against the Astros all-time. Altuve had three hits and drove in a run for Houston, which has lost 10 of its last 12 games and allowed 22 runs in the first two games of this four-game series. Chris Carter hit a leadoff double in the eighth inning, but Luke Gregerson (1-1) retired the next three Astros to end the threat. Former Astro Fernando Abad hit Jason Castro on the backside with a pitch with one out in the ninth inning. Castro jawed with catcher Derek Norris before heading to first base. Houston manager Bo Porter darted out of the dugout and began yelling at plate umpire Jordan Baker and was ejected. "If youre going to toss our guy (Thursday), it looked pretty intentional to me," Porter said. "Its a judgment call on the umpires part, and he didnt think it was intentional. I said my piece and what I thought, and he threw me out of the game." Castros plunking came after Lowrie accused Houston of intentionally hitting him with a pitch Thursday night for an incident in the last series between these teams when the Astros were miffed after he attempted a bunt with a seven-run lead in the first inning. Moss didnt think he was hit on purpose, but he parroted what Porter said a night before when Lowrie was hit. "Theyve hit us a few times this series and we hit one of their guys," Moss said. "I think Bo said it (Thursday), the game of baseball takes care of itself and thats what happened tonight. Some people may not like it, Castro might not like it but you stand behind your words." The As put up four runs in the second inning and extended the lead to 5-1 in the fourth. Houston answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning to tie it up. Jesse Chavez had his first tough outing of the season, allowing a career-high eight hits with five runs -- four earned -- in five innings. He entered having allowed just one earned run in each of his four starts and had a 1.38 ERA. Houston starter Brad Peacock yielded five hits and five runs, including three earned, with a career-most six walks in five innings. NOTES: As left fielder Yoenis Cespedes sat out Friday after straining his left hamstring a night before. Manager Bob Melvin said he expects him to be out a couple of days. ... Houston right-handed reliever Jesse Crain, who has been on the disabled list all season after biceps surgery during spring training has been shut down after developing bursitis in his shoulder. General manager Jeff Luhnow said the current problem is not related to his surgery. He was scheduled to return in early May, but Luhnow said he will not be ready then and he should have a updated timetable for his return in about 10 days. ... RHP Mark Appel, the first overall pick by the Astros in 2013, has been sent to extended spring training after starting the season at Single-A Lancaster. Luhnow said he is not injured but was behind after missing most of spring training after an emergency appendectomy and needed more games to get "more used to the pro routine." Lionel Messi Jersey . Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill. Ivan Rakitic Jersey .J. -- Kyle Palmieri thrilled his personal rooting section with an overtime winner that sent the Anaheim Ducks to their seventh straight win.The red-hot St. Louis Blues will try to remain undefeated against the defending Stanley Cup champions this season when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks for Wednesdays Central Division showdown at United Center. Catch the game on TSN2 starting at 8pm et/5pm pt. With an 8-0-1 record in March, the Blues have vaulted to the top of the NHL standings. A recent victory over the Winnipeg Jets made St. Louis the first team to reach the 100-point mark this season. St. Louis currently sits first in the league with 101 points -- two more than the Boston Bruins. The Blues also are four points ahead of both Anaheim and San Jose in the West standings and hold an eight-point lead over both Chicago and Colorado for first place in the Central. The Blackhawks are currently third in the Central and nine points behind St. Louis. Chicago has a chance to make up some ground in the division race tonight, but St. Louis has gotten the better of the reigning champs so far in 2013-14. The Blues also have earned points in 22 consecutive divisional games (20-0-2), extending a franchise record. The Blues are 3-0 against Chicago this season and have claimed four straight overall in the series. However, each of the last three encounters between the clubs have been decided by just one goal. That includes a 6-5 shootout victory by the Blues in the last meeting on Dec. 28 in St. Louis. Chicago failed to hold a pair of two-goal leads in that meeting in late December and the Blues forced the game beyond regulation by scoring twice during a 1:17 span late in the third period. Still, these clubs have split the last 10 meetings overall and St. Louis has lost 10 of 13 in Chicago despite winning the last two matchups in the Windy City. The Blues won their third straight game Monday night against visiting Winnipeg. David Backes scored twice, including the game-winner with 6:51 left in the third period, as St. Louis secured a 3-1 win over the Jets at Scottrade Center. Backes broke a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal at 13:09 of the third before being credited with an empty-netter at 18:49. Claudio Bravo Barcelona Jersey. Winnipegs Jacob Trouba hauled Backes down from behind with only an empty net in front of him, resulting in a goal. Brenden Morrow scored St. Louis other goal, while Ryan Miller made 16 saves to improve to 7-0-1 since being acquired on Feb. 28 by the Blues. Miller will get another chance to improve on his brilliant start with the Blues tonight. The former Buffalo Sabres netminder is 2-2-0 with a 2.08 goals against average in four career games against Chicago. St. Louis is kicking off a four-game road trip on Wednesday and is 22-9-3 as the visiting team this season. T.J. Oshie will be back for the Blues in the opener of the swing after missing Mondays test to spend time with his wife and the couples newborn daughter. The Blackhawks have lost three of their last four games, but were able to pick up a point in Tuesdays 3-2 overtime loss in Philadelphia. Chicago grabbed an early 2-0 lead by scoring twice in the first 3:51 of the game, but the Blackhawks wouldnt find the net again. After Scott Hartnell scored twice in the first period to even the game, Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux scored the winning goal with just 4.2 seconds left in OT to give the Flyers the victory. With time winding down in the extra session, Giroux flew down the right wing into the zone and from the circle he snapped a laser on net, using Duncan Keith as a screen, and it went in and out of the left corner for the win. Andrew Shaw and Keith had the goals for Chicago. Antti Raanta gave up all three goals on 37 shots. "I think we did a lot of good things tonight. But, definitely really frustrating the way we gave that point up," said Keith. Blackhawks No. 1 netminder Corey Crawford expects to get the start tonight. He is 9-2-3 with a 2.45 GAA in 14 career games against the Blues. Chicago is beginning a four-game homestand on Wednesday and also will host Carolina, Nashville and Dallas during the stay at United Center. The Blackhawks are 21-6-7 as the home club this season. Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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