(as I can). I want the ball to start as far off the plate and c

HOUSTON -- Ricky Nolasco latest solid outing snapped a lengthy losing streak for the Los Angeles Angels.Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Nolasco pitched seven strong innings, helping Los Angeles hinder the Houston Astros wild-card hopes with a 2-0 victory Thursday night.The Angels ended an 11-game skid and pushed Houston 1 1/2 games behind the Tigers for the second AL wild card.Its nice to win, Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. We have played some tough games. Those guys have had our number. Theyre a tough team. They have played well against us, but we are going to keep playing hard.Pujols homered into the Crawford Boxes in left field, helping Los Angeles move to 2-11 against the Astros this season.Obviously, you want to take the lead right away, especially when those guys have been playing pretty well against us this year, Pujols said. It was one of those things that I got a good pitch to hit and got a good swing. Nolasco did a heck of a job throwing seven innings. It is not easy to pitch against those guys over there. They have a heck of a lineup.Nolasco (7-14) gave up five singles and struck out five.I was spinning the ball pretty good, Nolasco said. I thought I was feeling the strike zone for the most part. I was challenging with fastballs when I had to. I was pitching off some good breaking balls to keep them off balanced.He did not allow a baserunner past second. Nolasco had a second straight scoreless start after throwing six shutout innings Saturday against Toronto. He has had scoreless outings in three of his last five starts.I feel like I have been throwing the ball well all year, just putting it all together now, Nolasco said. I am throwing the ball well and just trying to run with it.JC Ramirez pitched the eighth before Andrew Bailey pitched the ninth for his fifth save.Mike Fiers (11-8) allowed two runs and four hits with a season-high nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. The right-hander retired 13 straight at one point. Fiers had his second straight strong outing after throwing six scoreless innings Saturday in Seattle.Jose Altuve had three hits for Houston, which grounded into three double plays.TRAINERS ROOMAngels: LHP Tyler Skaggs (left forearm tightness) played catch and will throw some bullpens in the coming week. Hes symptom free, but we are going to obviously be very conservative where his treatment is now to make sure that this doesnt re-occur or turn into anything bigger, Scioscia said. Right now he feels great.PUJOLS MOVING UP THE CHARTSPujols two RBI broke a tie with Frank Robinson for 20th on the career list. His 116 RBI this season are his most since driving in 118 in 2010. The home run was Pujols 53rd against the Astros.UP NEXTAngels: RHP Alex Meyer (1-3, 5.63) will make his fifth start of the season and fourth for the Angels on Friday. Meyer earned his first career win in his last start Sunday, tossing five shutout innings against Toronto.Astros: RHP Doug Fister (12-12, 4.45) will make his 31st start of the season Friday, looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Fister allowed seven runs in less than four innings Sunday at Seattle. Buy Nike SB Canada . -- Bobby Ryan helped the U. Cheap Nike SB Shoes Canada . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. http://www.cheapnikesbcanada.com/ . JOHNS, N. Nike SB Canada Sale .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Nike SB Canada Online Store .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. TORONTO -- Trevor Bauer and his drone were ready to explain themselves.The Cleveland right-hander kept the mood light at his news conference Sunday, showing up with the drone he said cut his finger and forced him to miss his start in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series. Bauer is scheduled to pitch Game 3 on Monday night against Toronto, with the Indians leading the series 2-0.I brought my friend to answer any questions about what happened that I cant answer, Bauer said while the drone sat on display on the table in front of him.Bauer received stitches on his right pinkie after the accident Thursday night, and both he and manager Terry Francona now say they dont expect the injury to affect him much when he faces the Blue Jays. Josh Tomlin started in Bauers place Saturday and Cleveland won , which no doubt made it easier for the Indians to chuckle a bit about the mishap.He was messing around with his drone. He wasnt out in some alley at 3 in the morning and got cut on a beer can, Francona said. It wasnt like he was waterskiing. He just cut his finger. It wasnt remotely malicious.Bauer, a self-described nerd and big Star Wars fan who studied mechanical engineering in college, said he became interested in drones after seeing a video of them a few years ago. He said he likes to learn new tricks and fly them close to obstacles, which can lead to crashes. He is constantly having to repair his drones.Bauer said he cut his finger on a propeller.I plugged it in, like Ive done thousands and thousands of times. ... This one spun up at max throttle, he said. It never happened to me before. I have no idea why it happened, and my finger just happened to be in the way of the prop and it cut me.Bauers injury was another setback for a Cleveland rotation that lost Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar toward the end of the regular season. The Indians have kept winning anyway. The AL Central champions swept Boston in the Division Series and have taken the first two games from Toronto.The Blue Jays will send Marcus Stroman to the mound Monday, but the bigger issue for them right now is their hitting . Toronto has scored only one run in the ALCS so far, failing to break through against Clevelands starters and looking overmatched aagainst the Indians Andrew Miller-led bullpen.ddddddddddddAll youve got to do is go look at video and try to count how many times theyve thrown pitches over the heart of the plate, Toronto slugger Jose Bautista said. It hasnt been many.Miller has thrown 3 2/3 scoreless innings in this series, striking out five in each of the first two games. He became the first pitcher with two separate postseason outings of at least five strikeouts in no more than two innings, according to information provided by the Indians from the Elias Sports Bureau.If hes on, theres not a lot you can do with him, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. Hes got an overpowering fastball, and hes got that incredible slider.Bautista said Miller now seems to be throwing his slider a couple different ways, and the 6-foot-7 left-hander didnt dispute that.I throw it pretty differently and not always intentionally, Miller said. When you throw it backdoor, I want as much horizontal break (as I can). I want the ball to start as far off the plate and come back and catch the corner. In certain counts, if Im trying to get a swing and miss, I want more depth.The Blue Jays can take some solace in the schedule, which now calls for three games in three days. That might prevent Francona from being quite as aggressive with Miller in relief, although Toronto has to avoid a sweep for all three of those games to be played.If the Blue Jays stay quiet offensively, it could be a short series.Its a slugging team, thats how theyre built, Gibbons said. You are what you are a lot of times when you get to a certain point in this game, and you live and die with it.Game notes The Blue Jays said 2B Devon Travis, who had already been ruled out for the rest of the postseason, will likely need a knee scope. He aggravated a right knee injury in Game 1, and an MRI showed a bone bruise with a small flap of cartilage caught in the joint. He is expected to be ready for spring training. ... Stroman hasnt pitched since Oct. 4, when he threw six solid innings in the wild-card game against Baltimore .---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '