NEWS » season, came off of reliever Mike Morin

BALTIMORE -- The Houston Astros still have their sights set on a postseason berth and can take another step toward that goal if they take the series against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday at Camden Yards.After dropping the first game Thursday, Houston bounced back with a pair of convincing victories. While the Astros trail the first-place Texas Rangers by 9 1/2 games, they are within striking distance of a wild card berth 4 1/2 games behind Baltimore.The offense has been the key for both teams throughout the series with balls flying out of Camden Yards. The Orioles have hit 13 homers in the three games, while Houston has gone deep nine times.The only silver lining with their power is we kept it to solo homers by most part, or a couple of two-run homers, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said about the Orioles. Theres do doubt that these guys live and die by the home run, more so than any team in baseball. Keeping them in the ballpark is key.Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (7-12, 4.76 ERA) starts for the Astros on Sunday. Keuchel is having an uneven season and has lost three of his past four starts. In his previous outing against the St. Louis Cardinals, he allowed six runs on six hits in five innings in the 8-5 loss.Baltimore counters with Yovani Gallardo (4-4, 5.18). He has struggled to go deep into games this season, competing seven innings only once in 16 starts. On Tuesday, Gallardo gave up three runs on four hits and five walks in five innings against the Boston Red Sox. He didnt get a decision in the 5-3 loss.Gallardo was hit in the right elbow on a liner by Dustin Pedroia and there were some initial concerns over whether he would be able to make the next start. But Gallardo said he suffered just a bruise and shrugged off the injury.Its all right, he said. He got me pretty good, but Ill be all right.The Orioles will likely be without four-time All-Star catcher Matt Wieters, who was placed on paternity leave Saturday. He has the option of being away for a maximum of three days.In a corresponding move, catcher Francisco Pena was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. In nine games with Baltimore earlier this season, Pena went 7-for-33.Baltimore manager Buck Showalter is hopeful his team can put the past two losses behind them and salvage a split in the four-game series.Nobody clicks on all phases every night, Showalter said. One day you hoping your offense is enough to cover some deficiency starting, then its something to cover deficiencies in the bullpen maybe you dont catch the ball well that night. ... I can come up with three or four things they didnt do well. but they did something to overcome them. its pretty tough to cover that many runs the last two nights. Its pretty obvious we need to pitch better. Discount Air Max 720 . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Wholesale Air Max 720 . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. http://www.airmax720salecanada.com/ . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Cheap Air Max 720 . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Air Max 720 Sale Canada . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The last time Taijuan Walker faced the Los Angeles Angels, he had one of his worst starts of the season.He made some changes to his mechanics, and on Tuesday night he had one of his best outings -- of his career.Walker pitched a three-hitter for his first career shutout as the Seattle Mariners beat the Angels 8-0 to win their season-high seventh straight.It starts with Taijuan Walker and ends with Taijuan Walker, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. He looked like a guy out there who had a fear of no one.Walker (6-10) was perfect through 5 2/3 innings before Kaleb Cowart hit a grounder to shortstop Ketel Marte, who threw wild to Daniel Vogelbach at first base. Vogelbach couldnt pick the low throw and Cowart reached safely on an error charged to Marte.Kole Calhoun ended Walkers no-hit bid with a leadoff single through the right side in the seventh inning. Only two balls left the infield until Calhouns single. Walker matched a career high with 11 strikeouts -- the fifth time hes reached that mark. It was his first complete game since July 31, 2015.My legs were getting heavy, my stomach was starting to tingle, Walker said. The game was so long, it was taking forever. The offense was going out there every single inning and getting hits and I was just like, `Ugh, this is getting longer. But right after I went out there and gave up the hit I felt really good. I got a chance to go from the stretch and I feel really good going from the stretch.In his last start against Los Angeles on Sept 3, Walker gave up five earned runs in only two-thirds of an inning, his shortest start of the season. It was then that Seattle pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre approached Walker with the idea to change his mechanics for the last month of the season.It was night and day the way we faced him up in Seattle a couple weeks ago, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. He had good stuff, good command. He pitched a good game for them.The results of his altered mechanics were best illustrated by his success against Mike Trout. The MVP candidate was hitting .818 with three home runss and six RBI against him coming into the game.ddddddddddddrout struck out in all three at-bats.With three weeks left in the season, its kind of weird to change mechanics, Walker said. But weve been out there and really trying to hammer it home and get it down.Nelson Cruz and Norichika Aoki hit home runs and Seth Smith hit a grand slam to close the scoring. Cruz was a triple away from the cycle when Mike Freeman pinch-hit for him in the ninth.They said, Its going to be hard to get a triple, Cruz said. But they need at bats. Ill let the kid hit.Angels rookie Alex Meyer (0-3) gave up four earned runs and five hits over four innings in his fourth major league appearance.Smiths grand slam, his second this season, came off of reliever Mike Morin with two outs in the sixth. He drove Morins 1-1 off-speed offering over the scoreboard and into the right field stands.The Mariners hit Meyer -- acquired from Minnesota along with Ricky Nolasco at the trade deadline -- hard from the beginning. Cruz launched a massive two-run shot that nearly reached the concourse in left field in the first inning and Leonys Martin scored on sac fly in the second before Aokis home run, making the score 4-0.TRAINERS ROOMAngels: SS Andrelton Simmons remained out of the lineup for the second straight day with a bruised right hand. Simmons injured the hand in Sundays series finale against the Rangers and is day-to-day. . LHP Tyler Skaggs will miss his start with left forearm soreness and will undergo an MRI. Skaggs had Tommy John surgery in 2014 and was slated to make his 10th start.UP NEXTMariners: RHP Hisashi Iwakuma will take the mound in the series finale. Iwakuma has lost his last two straight starts against Los Angeles but is 8-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) against the Angels.Angels: RHP Jhoulys Chacin will take Skaggs place in the rotation. Chacin will come out of the bullpen to make his 14th start of the season. Hes 3-6 with a 6.54 ERA as a starter. ' ' '