Fragen und Antworten » hitting his second homer

MINNEAPOLIS -- After three straight 100-loss seasons, the Houston Astros lineup is suddenly filled with sluggers who can change a game with one swing. Chris Carter and Jon Singleton hit their first career grand slams to power Houston to a 14-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. Carters slam in the seventh inning sailed over the limestone overhang in right field and gave Houston a 9-3 lead. Singleton lined a fastball off Glen Perkins over the right-field wall that made it 14-5 in the ninth. Dexter Fowler and George Springer also homered for the Astros. Houston has now hit 69 homers this season, well on pace to surpass last seasons total of 148, third-worst in the American League. "It puts more strain on the opposing pitchers," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "They feel like, I cant make a mistake here, I cant make a mistake here. That can drain on a staff." The only other time two Astros players hit grand slams in the same game was July 30, 1969, at New York when Denis Menke and Jimmy Wynn both hit slams in an 11-run ninth inning against the Mets. Houston players are also sensing a different vibe now that the lineup is filled with more power. "Its been fun. We like playing off of each other," Singleton said. "Thats definitely a bonus. When one person does well, it carries over and its contagious." Darin Downs (1-0) got the last eight outs as the third reliever to follow starter Colin McHugh, who fanned six and allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings. He walked five and was removed after throwing 101 pitches. Trevor Plouffe and Josh Willingham hit RBI singles as Minnesota made it 5-3 in the fifth, but couldnt get any closer before Carter and Singleton powered the game away. Houston batted around in the fourth inning, scoring three runs after Samuel Deduno (2-4) loaded the bases with nobody out by walking two batters and hitting another. The Astros have won seven of eight on the road and 11 of their last 15 overall as they try to snap a three-year streak of losing 100 games. It was the third time in club history Minnesota allowed two grand slams in the same game. The last time it happened was April 22, 1988, in Cleveland. "They got us today," Perkins said. "I think they swing hard in case they hit it, and they hit them today. Theyre not as bad as people think they are. Gotta give credit to them the way they swing the bat and pitch the ball pretty well." The Twins also officially signed free-agent designated hitter/first-baseman Kendrys Morales on Sunday to bolster their inconsistent offence. But if Minnesota -- now three games under .500 -- wants to remain in the playoff race, its going to need better starting pitching. Deduno walked four and hit two while allowing five runs in three innings on Sunday, raising his ERA to 4.45. As a group, Minnesotas starters are 19-25 with a 4.97 ERA. "Not a good day pitching today. Used a lot of innings out there," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We still have three games to go (before the next off day), so well get through it. Thats the way it is. They killed it at the end." McHugh struck out four batters in a row during one stretch and extended his scoreless innings streak to a career-high 16 2/3 before Eduardo Nunez homered in the fourth. Springer, named American League rookie of the month after hitting 10 home runs in May, led off the eighth by hitting his second homer in three games. "Its nice to have other guys in the lineup who do the same thing and have more protection where guys cant just pitch around me or pitch around another guy," said Carter, who led Houston with 29 homers last season. "Theres another guy behind him always. Its good for all of us." NOTES: To make room on the roster for Morales, Minnesota released Jason Kubel, who appeared in 798 games over parts of eight seasons with the Twins, but was hitting .224 this year and just .158 since April. ... The Astros recalled LHP Rudy Owens to pitch out of the bullpen and sent Paul Clemens back to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the sixth time this season. ... The Twins unveiled a new bronze statue on the Target Plaza before the game: team mascot T.C. Bear. ... Jonathan Villar singled three times for Houston. ... Ricky Nolasco (4-5, 5.65 ERA) starts for the Twins against Torontos R.A. Dickey (6-4, 4.25 ERA) on Monday. ... Houstons Jarred Cosart (4-5, 4.16 ERA) faces Josh Collmenter (4-2, 3.63 ERA) to kick off a two-game series in Arizona on Monday. Nike Air Max Shoes Wholesale . Hicham Khalouas late goal improved Almerias chances of avoiding relegation in a match dominated by contentious calls, including three penalties. One day after Barcelonas 4-3 win at Real Madrid featured three penalties, referees again dominated a wide-open game that saw Almeria ultimately move out of the relegation zone and one point ahead of Getafe which took its place. Air Max Shoes Online Cheap .com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. http://www.airmaxsalecheap.com/ . Stevenson scored the first three goals of the game in the first period for Regina (35-22-6), which has won eight of its last 10 games. Patrick DAmico added two for the Pats, Braden Christoffer had a single and Morgan Klimchuk chipped in a goal and four assists. Cheap Air Max Wholesale . Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill. Cheap Air Max Shoes Online . -- Ryan Gropp scored in overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds shut out the Spokane Chiefs 1-0 in Western Hockey League play Tuesday.ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Son Heung-min scored twice to give Bayer Leverkusen a 2-1 win at Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League on Tuesday, putting the German team on the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages.The South Korean striker opened the scoring in the 68th minute with a fierce shot from outside the box after a well-worked team free-kick routine.Son struck again five minutes later, finishing calmly after a through ball from Stefan Kiessling.Zenit earned a late consolation when substitute Jose Salomon Rondon scored in the 89th.Leverkusen is top of Group C with nine points. If second-place Monaco avoids defeat against Benfica later Tuesday, Leverkusen will need just one point from its last two group games to secure qualification.Zenit is thiird in the group and has not won any of its last three Champions League matches.ddddddddddddUntil Rondons late goal, the St. Petersburg side had also been heading for a third straight European game without scoring.Striker Alexander Kerzhakov missed several chances as Zenit dominated the first half, firing at Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno on 21 minutes when clear through on goal.Two minutes later, Kerzhakov sent a shot wide from a good position. Brazilian striker Hulk came closest to scoring in the early stages as his 13th-minute free kick brushed the post.Leverkusen struggled to create clear-cut chances until Sons goals and could have gone behind on 63 minutes, but defender Emir Spahic stopped Kerzhakov in the box with a last-ditch tackle. 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