years under general manager Thomas Dimitroff, the Falcons have had only two players not report on time because of a contract dispute. OOffensive tackle Sam Baker missed the first practice of camp i

HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros got another good outing from their starting pitcher, and their bullpen was just fine for a change. J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer off James Shields, Jordan Lyles pitched six effective innings and the Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Wednesday night. Lyles (2-1) allowed one run and six hits in his 50th career game. Travis Blackley and Hector Ambriz each got three outs before Jose Veras pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save one night after the bullpen struggled in a 7-3 loss. "Theyve been taxed a lot this year and called upon on numerous occasions, so every once in a while youre going to have the kind of game that we had last night," manager Bo Porter said. "But again, it speaks to the character of the men down there. They hold themselves accountable to holding a lead, and tonight they did a tremendous job. All of them." Bud Norris pitched six shutout innings Tuesday, but the Royals scored seven times in the final three innings. Houston bounced back quite nicely to take two of three for its fourth series win this season. Shields (2-5) struck out seven in seven innings while yielding two runs and seven hits. He has gone seven or more innings in each of his last six starts, but hasnt won since April 30 due in part to his offence providing him with just five runs combined in his last four starts. "Its a little frustrating," manager Ned Yost said. "Especially when James Shields goes out and gives you the type of performance he gives you about every time he goes out. We just have not done a good job with run support with him at all." Shields is confident it will turn around soon. "These guys are great. They are grinding every day," Shields said. "We are going through a little struggle right now. Our heads are high, and we are staying positive. It is a long season. By no means are we out of it." The right-hander, who was acquired in an off-season trade with Tampa Bay, retired his first two batters before running into trouble. Jason Castro singled before Martinez drove a 2-2 pitch into the seats in right for his fourth homer. "We were able to get him right away, first inning which is huge and it gives Lyles a little bit of comfort as well," Martinez said. "Pitchers like that ... good guys, youve got to get them early before they settle in." Castro tacked on an RBI single in the eighth inning against Kelvin Herrera. Houstons Jimmy Paredes got his first start of the season at third base in place of Matt Dominguez, who sat out with tightness in his left quadriceps. Paredes has struggled in the outfield in the last few games, causing two collisions, but was solid at third. Alcides Escobar smoked a grounder to Paredes with one out in the eighth, and he made a perfect throw to first to get him out. "I dont know how hard he threw that ball across the diamond, but I would love to put a clock on it though," Porter said of the play. "He almost mishandled it and he got control of it and it was absolutely whistled across the diamond. He looked comfortable over there." Kansas City got its only run in the third when Jeff Francoeur hit a leadoff triple to the hill in centre and George Kottaras followed with an RBI double. Alex Gordon walked with two down, but Lyles struck out Billy Butler to end the inning. Lyles also got Gordon to bounce out with two runners on to end the fifth. Castro, the catcher, was impressed with Lyles work. "Thats the best Ive seen him throw in a long time," Castro said. "He had command, didnt miss. When we were trying to go certain locations, he missed where we were trying to go. He didnt leave really anything over the plate for guys to hit and thats big when you can do that." After their two-run first inning, the Astros had trouble stringing together hits against Shields. Martinez singled to start the fourth, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Chris Carter followed with a single, and Shields retired the next two batters to end the inning. Gordon singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. NOTES: Houston is off on Thursday. ... The Royals return home to open a four-game series with the Angels. ... Kansas City C Salvador Perez was out of the lineup for the second straight game after bruising his right hip after crashing into the railing chasing a foul ball on Monday. He said he has a gigantic bruise on his hip, but is OK and that he could have played on Tuesday. He is day to day. ... Dominguez is expected to be back in the lineup on Friday.Vapormax Sale . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. Wholesale Shoes For Sale .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. https://www.wholesaleshoesforcheap.com/air-max-90-sale/ . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. Replica Wholesale Shoes . JOHNS, N. Air Max Sale . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move.ATLANTA -- Rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant has signed a four-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons and was the first player to report for the start of training camp. Atlanta announced the deal Wednesday. Trufants agent, Doug Hendrickson, told The Associated Press that the contract was for $8.16 million with $4.3 million guaranteed. "Desmond is very excited to get started," Hendrickson said. "He made it clear he wanted to be in camp on time. As usual, the Falcons were great to work with, and were glad to get this deal done." Trufant was one of the first players to report to dorms at the teams training facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. Camp officially begins on Thursday with the first practice. Atlanta traded up eight spots in a draft-day deal with St. Louis to select Trufant out of Washington. He is the leading candidate to start at right cornerback but will have to beat out Robert Alford, a second-round pick from Southeastern Louisiana. In six years under general manager Thomas Dimitroff, the Falcons have had only two players not report on time because of a contract dispute. OOffensive tackle Sam Baker missed the first practice of camp in 2008.ddddddddddddVeteran wideout Roddy White missed the first eight days of 2009 before signing a six-year deal that made him one of the NFLs highest-paid receivers. Trufant was the last of eight draft picks this year to finalize a contract with the Falcons. Quarterback Sean Renfree, a seventh-round selection from Duke, signed Wednesday, too. Trufant has two brothers with NFL experience in the secondary. Marcus Trufant played his first 10 seasons in Seattle before signing with Jacksonville two months ago. Isaiah Trufant, a career reserve, is preparing for his fourth season with the New York Jets. Desmond Trufant is competing with Alford to replace Dunta Robinson, who signed with Kansas City in March after the Falcons released him to clear salary cap room. Atlanta lost former starting cornerback Brent Grimes and former reserve Christopher Owens to unrestricted free agency. The only current Falcons cornerback with substantial starting experience is Asante Samuel, a four-time Pro Bowl pick who holds the left-side job. ' ' '