01-07-2020, 05:28 AM
HOUSTON -- Jeff Samardzija was determined to get back on track Monday night after a couple of bad starts, so he was thrilled to see Josh Donaldson back in the Oakland lineup. Samardzija pitched eight solid innings and Donaldson drove in three runs after sitting out Sunday with a knee injury to lead the Athletics over the Houston Astros 8-2. "I told him theres no chance hes not starting the day I pitch. So Ill give him a massage on his knee if I have to, to get him in there," Samardzija said, joking. It didnt come to that, but Donaldson acknowledged after the game hes still feeling pretty banged up despite returning to the lineup. "Its not something I think about too much," he said. "Its just one of those things, 126 games now. You learn how to play with stuff." Samardzija (4-3) allowed six hits, two runs and tied a season high with 10 strikeouts to bounce back from a two-game skid in which he yielded 11 runs combined. The right-hander was 2-7 with the Chicago Cubs before getting traded in early July. "I took that last one pretty personally and I wanted to come out and have a good one and get back into my groove and how I do things," Samardzija said. Josh Reddick hit a two-run homer and Donaldson had three hits. Donaldson doubled twice for his first extra-base hits and RBIs in his last nine games. Reddicks 10th home run sailed into the seats in right field to push Oaklands lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Chris Carter hit an opposite-field, two-run homer in the eighth to pull the Astros within one, but the As added five runs in the ninth to extend the lead to 8-2. Houston manager Bo Porter was disappointed that his bullpen let a close game get away. "Getting an opportunity to come up in the ninth inning of a one-run game is completely different than coming up down by six," he said. "The whole object is to keep the game right there." Scott Feldman (7-10) allowed seven hits and three runs in seven innings. The Astros couldnt string anything together against Samardzija through the first seven innings. They didnt have more than one hit in an inning until the eighth, when Jose Altuve singled before Carters homer. Houston reliever Tony Sipp, who had allowed just 10 walks in his previous 41 innings, walked all four batters he faced in the ninth to push Oaklands lead to 4-2. Donaldsons bases-loaded double off Jose Veras sent two more home, and Derek Norris wrapped up the scoring with a two-run single. Eric Sogard doubled to start the third and scored on Donaldsons first hit -- a two-out double -- to put Oakland up 1-0. Brandon Moss singled in the fourth before Reddick homered. Carters 31 home runs rank third in the American League, and his 18 homers and 44 RBIs since July 1 lead the majors. Altuves hit gave him 179 this season, which leads the AL. The pair has carried Houstons offence since the All-Star break while the Astros have dealt with numerous injuries. TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: Manager Bob Melvin said INF Nick Punto (hamstring) is making progress and has been taking grounders. Melvin didnt give a timetable on Puntos return, but said hes "starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel with him." Astros: RHP Brad Peacock, who left his most recent start after five innings because of a sore forearm, will take his scheduled turn Wednesday. Porter said Peacock is fine and was removed mostly as a precaution. BEHIND THE PLATE Melvin said hell probably start new catcher Geovany Soto on Tuesday night and put Norris at DH. Soto was acquired from Texas for cash on Sunday, with C John Jaso on the seven-day concussion disabled list. Soto has appeared in only 10 games this season after starting the year on the disabled list following knee surgery in March before another stint on the DL because of a groin injury. UP NEXT Oakland RHP Jason Hammel is scheduled to start Tuesday after his previous turn in the rotation was skipped because of two off days last week. Hammel is 1-5 with a 6.75 ERA in seven starts since being traded from the Cubs on July 5. Houston LHP Dallas Keuchel looks for his first win since July 30. Brian Skrudland Jersey . Alexander was released last week by the Edmonton Eskimos, where he spent the past three seasons at safety. He had 121 defensive tackles, five special teams tackles and seven interceptions in 51 regular-season and three playoff games. Bill Torrey Jersey . Pominville scored in all three of Minnesotas games last week to help the Wild (8-4-3, 19 points) earn four out of a possible six points. His best performance was in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Friday, where he posted a season-high three points (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goal. https://www.panthersjerseycheap.com/408f...thers.html . The Force had two men, including former Wallabies No. 8 Ben McCalman, in the sin-bin in the dying minutes of the match, but were able to resist a late Highlanders surge to post a four-try, bonus point win. Quinton Howden Jersey . The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. Ed Jovanovski Jersey . Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot. NEW YORK -- Miguel Cabrera hit a mammoth homer, Rick Porcello enjoyed a happy homecoming and the Detroit Tigers polished off a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with an 11-3 victory Sunday. Andy Dirks put Detroit ahead with a two-run shot, and the AL Central leaders improved to 12-5 in interleague play. They have won 34 of 49 overall, the best mark in the American League since July 2. Porcello (10-7) pitched seven innings of four-hit ball before the Tigers broke it open with a seven-run ninth. Dirks drew a bases-loaded walk during the outburst, which included RBI singles by Victor Martinez and Ramon Santiago. Travis dArnaud hit his first major league homer for the Mets, who have scored five runs during a four-game slide. They were outhit 33-7 in the final two games of the series. Dillon Gee (9-9) lost for only the third time in 16 starts. He entered with a 2.27 ERA since May 30, the fourth-best mark in the majors during that span. The 24-year-old Porcello, who grew up nearby in New Jersey, left 17 tickets for family and friends. He didnt disappoint them, either, bouncing back from a loss to Minnesota and moving to 6-1 in his past nine outings. The right-hander was hit hard in his only other start against the Mets on June 28, 2011, in Detroit. He pitched at Yankee Stadium a little more than two weeks ago, taking a no-decision in Detroits 4-3 defeat. The Tigers were trailing by one when Victor Martinez singled off Gee to start the sixth. Dirks, who had three of Detroits 13 hits Saturday off All-Star ace Matt Harvey, drove an 0-1 delivery to right-centre for his eighth home run. Gee lasted six innings for the 11th straight start, the longest streak of his career, and 15th time in 16 outings. But he matched a season high by giving up 10 hits -- five in the sixth. Austin Jackson opened the game with a soft single and Cabrera launched a 2-0 pitch toward left field, where it cleared a railing in the second deck and sailed through a triangular opening beneath the restaurant windows. The drive induced a collective gasp from the crowd of 32,084 on Tom Seaver bobblehead day and gave Cabrera 42 home runs to go with a major league-high 128 RBIs.dddddddddddd Trying to become the first player to win consecutive Triple Crowns, he began the day five homers behind Baltimore slugger Chris Davis. It was Cabreras second long ball of the series and 10th in 19 games. He finished 3 for 4 with a walk. A broken-bat single by Daniel Murphy with two outs in the third cut it to 2-1, and dArnaud put the Mets ahead one inning later with a two-run shot that barely cleared the shortened fence in left-centre. A top prospect, dArnaud was acquired from Toronto in a trade for Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey last off-season. Before connecting, he was 1 for 16 in the big leagues since getting called up Aug. 16. Considered the Mets catcher of the future, dArnaud popped out of the dugout to take a curtain call for fans hoping to see much more of the same in years to come. Detroit reliever Bruce Rondon worked around a leadoff walk in the eighth to protect a 4-3 lead. NOTES: Tigers SS Jose Iglesias sat out again with a sore left elbow after getting hit by a pitch Friday. He was replaced by Santiago, who had three hits and made two nice plays to rob Ike Davis. ... Martinez, normally a DH, started at catcher for the second time in the series. Martinez, who missed last season following knee surgery, was behind the plate Friday for the first time in more than two years. ... Detroit C Alex Avila (concussion symptoms) went 0 for 3 with a walk Saturday as the DH in his second rehab game for Triple-A Toledo. Avila did not report any headaches, the Tigers said. ... Detroit begins a seven-game homestand Monday night against Oakland. Manager Jim Leyland said hell probably rest 2B Omar Infante one day during the four-game series against the Athletics. ... Mets manager Terry Collins rested 3B Wilmer Flores (ankle) partly because he plans to play the rookie at 2B one day this week. Justin Turner started at third and grounded into two double plays. ... Rookie RHP Zack Wheeler (6-2, 3.49 ERA) faces All-Star lefty Cliff Lee (10-6, 3.16) on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series against Philadelphia. ' ' '