The Original Game » span to fall 6 1/2 games behind the Range

HOUSTON -- Mired in a prolonged offensive slump, the Houston Astros enter a decisive series against a recent nemesis at precisely the wrong time. Wholesale jerseys .The Astros are 1-9 against the Texas Rangers this season and have lost 17 of the past 20 games in the Lone Star Series. The American League West rivals open a three-game set at Minute Maid Park on Friday.Houston (56-52) lost for the eighth time in 10 games Thursday night, falling 4-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Astros have scored 21 runs during that span to fall 6 1/2 games behind the Rangers (63-46) in the division.When we get a chance to play against a team thats in front of us, thats always an opportunity, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. I look at it as weve got to worry about ourselves and playing our brand of baseball no matter if were playing the Blue Jays, the Rangers, the Twins, Toronto next week. Our schedule is pretty tough the next couple of months, and theyre next on the docket.I wasnt circling this series as the end all, be all. Weve got to play all of our games, but it will be nice to get back in the division and get a look at their new team. Theyre the team people are chasing, so why wouldnt you want to play them?Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (6-11, 4.86 ERA) will make his 18th career start against the Rangers, his most against any opponent. Keuchel is 4-7 with a 4.58 ERA in his career against Texas, including 0-3 with a 7.91 ERA in three starts this season.Keuchel recorded seven consecutive quality starts before getting shelled in Detroit on Sunday, allowing seven runs on seven hits in five innings. That marked his fourth start this season of less than six innings.The Rangers, who salvaged the series finale against the Baltimore Orioles with a 5-3 victory Thursday night, will turn to left-hander Martin Perez (7-7, 4.22 ERA) in the opener. Perez defeated the Astros 5-3 on June 9, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts over six innings. He is 5-2 with a 1.88 ERA in seven career starts against Houston.Texas is working to integrate a pair of deadline-deal acquisitions into its offense: designated hitter Carlos Beltran and catcher Jonathan Lucroy. The Rangers traded with the New York Yankees to land Beltran while getting Lucroy from the Milwaukee Brewers at Mondays non-waiver deadline.The Rangers recorded a season-high six doubles Thursday as part of their seven extra-base hits, also a season high. It was Lucroy who delivered the non-double extra-base knock, belting his first home run with his new club.Any time you have extra-base hits like that, you have guys that can put some numbers up offensively, Lucroy told MLB.com. I think any one of these guys in that lineup out there can do that. Theres a lot of different weapons and a lot of different ways we can hurt you.Texas manager Jeff Banister added, To get away with this win tonight (in a) close ballgame is (good). Our guys got some nice production up and down the lineup. cheap jerseys . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. nfl jerseys china . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. http://www.nfljerseyscheapfromchina.cc/ . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A team with a sputtering offense meets an opponent with a porous defense when the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks clash Friday night at the Honda Center.The Sharks, Stanley Cup finalists last season, are near the bottom of the NHL in goals scored with 62 -- or 2.38 per game. Defenseman Brent Burns leads San Jose with 11 goals and owns second place with 23 points, one behind Joe Pavelski. In their past 11 games, the Sharks scored two or fewer goals eight times.Fellow Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlassic provided a simple solution.Against anybody, if you play the way we have been -- starting the right way, with good breakouts and a good forecheck -- no matter who youre playing, youll have success, Vlassic told the San Jose Mercury News. If you do it on a nightly basis, youll get rewarded.Meanwhile, the Ducks allowed 11 goals in their last two games, including eight to the Calgary Flames on Sunday. Five of those goals came in a six-minute span.Even after his team broke a two-game losing streak Wednesday night by rallying for a 6-5 shootout victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle stressed the need for improvement.We feel good about the win, Carlyle said, but there are parts of the game we definitely have to shore up.One of those areas is penalty killing. In their past three games, the Ducks have allowed four power-play goals in 10 opportunities.We have a system that we are expected to play to, Carlyle told the Orange County Register. Weve been chasing where we shouldnt be chasing. Were not in thee shooting lanes. Wholesale jerseys from china. . Were allowing the opposition to get over and back through people and make the seam passes.Left winger Rickard Rakell, one of Anaheims leading scorers, could miss his third consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Rakell, second on the team with 10 goals, skated in Thursdays optional practice but wore a non-contact jersey. If Rakell cannot play, Nick Ritchie once again would replace him on the Ducks top line with center Ryan Getzlaf and right winger Corey Perry. Ritchie had a goal and an assist against Carolina.San Jose defenseman David Schlemko, who played in 24 of the Sharks first 25 contests, might miss his second successive game Friday night. Schlemko injured his right ankle when the fell to the ice after colliding with the Montreal Canadiens Phillip Danault during a 2-1 victory Dec. 2.All my weight kind of came down on my foot underneath me, Schlemko told the Mercury News after Thursdays optional practice. I watched it and was lucky I didnt break it. X-rays were negative so I thought I was fine to go. But started to hurt against kind of late in the third period, so we shut it down. It feels pretty good. Its definitely close.Even without Schlemko, Anaheim will find Sharks goalie Martin Jones to be a challenging obstacle. Jones, named the NHLs third star of the week Monday, ranks among the leagues top 10 goaltenders with 13 victories, two shutouts and a 2.05 goals-against average. Cheap MLB Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping cheap nfl jerseys Cheap Jerseys USA China Jerseys Cheap NFL Authentic Jerseys Cheap Jerseys For Sale Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys ' ' '