ona reliever T.J. McFarl

DETROIT (AP) — For five innings http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-don-mattingly-jersey , the Houston Astros were one pitch away from blowing an important game.Their relievers never gave the Tigers that pitch.Five Houston relievers threw shutout innings, and the Astros’ three early homers held up in a 5-4 victory over Detroit on Tuesday night.“None of those guys had a margin for error,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said.Houston maintained a three-game lead over the Oakland Athletics in the AL West.Jose Altuve homered on the first pitch of the game, and the Astros hit two more homers in the first four innings to go up 5-0.Houston starter Framber Valdez, though, couldn’t maintain that big lead.Valdez allowed four runs in the bottom of the fourth, including a three-run homer by JaCoby Jones. That ended his night and started a parade from the Houston bullpen.Will Harris (4-3) struck out the side in the fifth, allowing one walk, and Joe Smith pitched a perfect sixth.Hector Rondon gave up two hits in the seventh but got out of the jam, and Collin McHugh and Roberto Osuna retired the last six batters in order. Osuna struck out rookie Christin Stewart to end the game and earn his 17th save in 18 opportunities.“It’s hard to pick which was my favorite reliever of the night, because they all came in and were effective,” Hinch said. “The way the game started, I didn’t expect a bullpen day, but I looked up and it was suddenly a one-run game.”Jordan Zimmermann (7-7) allowed five runs on six hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out three.“I just didn’t have my best stuff,” he said. “My fastball command wasn’t there, so my first pitch wasn’t where I wanted it and Altuve’s a great hitter. It seems like my starts lately have been very good or very bad.”Detroit got four scoreless innings from its bullpen.“Those guys did a fantastic job of keeping us in the game,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “They’ve got so many great arms in their bullpen, though Aroldis Chapman Jersey , and we could never get one more big hit.”After Altuve gave Houston the early lead, Tony Kemp hit a two-run homer in the second inning.Tyler White hit Houston’s third homer, a two-run shot into the Astros bullpen with one out in the fourth.“We try to get runs any way we can,” White said. “Altuve starting the game with a homer was an unbelievable way to get us going, and then Kempie came up with a big swing.”The Tigers scored all their runs with two outs in the fourth. With runners on the corners, Dawel Lugo hit what looked like a routine grounder to short, but the ball took a bad hop and went over Carlos Correa’s head for an RBI single.Jones then lined a 3-1 fastball into the left-field stands for his 11th homer of the season.“I needed to refocus after the bad hop, because that’s something I can’t control,” Valdez said through a translator. “It’s just something that happens.”Jones came into the game hitting .183 with 51 strikeouts in his last 40 games but managed five homers during the slump.“He can always hit a baseball a long way,” Gardenhire said. “The problem comes when he tries to hit home runs. That screws him up, and he starts chasing. When he stays in the strike zone, he’s a good hitter.”Houston missed a chance to add to its lead in the seventh.Louis Coleman hit the first two batters, and a passed ball moved the runners to second and third with one out. Gardenhire intentionally walked Correa, loading the bases, and brought in lefty Daniel Stumpf.Stumpf got Josh Reddick to pop out and was immediately replaced by right-handed Victor Alcantara. Tyler White hit a hard grounder to third and was originally ruled safe after Jeimer Candelario didn’t field the ball cleanly. However, a replay review showed the throw beat White to first, ending the inning.TRAINER’S ROOMAstros: Kemp stayed in the game after being hit on the right elbow by a pickoff attempt from Zimmermann. Alex Bregman (leg) and Yuli Gurriel (arm) both needed attention after being hit by Coleman.UP NEXTThe teams finish the three-game series on Wednesday afternoon with Detroit’s Daniel Norris (0-3, 5.47 ERA) facing Houston’s Gerrit Cole (13-5 Didi Gregorius Jersey , 2.86). PHOENIX (AP) — Two nights in a row, Anthony Rizzo has made a major impact on Chicago Cubs wins with efforts that don’t stand out in the boxscore.Rizzo beat out a potential double play by hustling to first base Monday, and teammate Javier Baez followed with a two-run homer. The next night, Rizzo worked a 17-pitch at-bat before lining out, and Baez followed with another two-run shot.That helped the Cubs cruise to a 9-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday for their fifth win in six games. Chicago increased its lead in the NL Central to 3 1/2 games over Milwaukee, which lost at home to last-place Cincinnati.“I saw it all,” Rizzo said. “They were just borderline pitches. You would love for that ball to sneak through, but when you wear pitchers out like that, it’s something that the next guy and the next guy can have success.”Daniel Murphy also hit a two-run homer as the Cubs jumped out to a big early lead. Mike Montgomery (5-5) allowed a run and four hits with a season-high eight strikeouts in six innings for his first win since Aug. 7.“Changeup was really working,” Montgomery said. “Obviously, this rotation is working well so I kind of wanted to jump in line and be a guy that goes out there and gives us as many innings as he can.”The slumping Diamondbacks dropped six games behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West and six back of St. Louis for the second wild card. They have lost four in a row and nine of 11.The Cubs built a 5-0 lead after their first two turns at bat.In the first inning, Baez drove a 2-0 pitch from Matt Andriese onto the pool deck in right-center. Baez’s 33rd home run gave him 107 RBIs this season.Ian Happ knocked in Jason Heyward with a second-inning double before Murphy, who scored three times, hit his 11th home run of the season.Rizzo added a two-run single in a four-run fifth.“Overall, we did work some good at-bats,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I thought the approach was good and we hit some balls really well.”Ketel Marte homered in the second for Arizona, his 12th. But the Diamondbacks’ season that got off to a great start appears on the verge of ending with no return to the postseason.“We still have two feet in this race and I believe something good can come out of it,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “Whether it is tomorrow or next year http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-greg-bird-jersey , I believe we are learning some valuable lessons.”Andriese (3-6) lasted two innings and was charged with five runs on five hits in a bullpen game for Arizona. Four other pitchers appeared.“Not the way I wanted my first start with the Diamondbacks,” Andriese said. “That Rizzo at-bat kind of made me work hard and kind of put me behind the 8-ball.”HEY, IT’S HEYWARDHeyward started for the first time since being activated from the disabled list on Sunday. He came in as a defensive replacement in right field in the ninth inning on Monday. He had been out since Aug. 31 with a hamstring injury.Heyward was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth.“Jason looked really good at the plate,” Maddon said. “First ball in the gap and second one was really well struck up the middle.”SPRING TRAINING FEELThe Diamondbacks, down 9-1 after five innings, made six lineup changes before the sixth, including replacing star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The Cubs also took out several regulars, and before the night ended, Happ had played all three outfield positions.TRAINER’S ROOMCubs: A day after expressing hope that closer Brandon Morrow could soon be back from a lingering elbow injury, the Cubs decided to shut him down for the rest of the season. That means their two relievers with the most saves this season, Morrow and Pedro Strop, are out. Strop hopes to possibly be ready for the postseason. … Chicago catcher Willson Contreras took a foul ball to his groin area in the eighth inning and was doubled over in pain behind home plate, but stayed in the game.Diamondbacks: Arizona reliever T.J. McFarland was shut down for the rest of the season with an elbow issue. McFarland was 2-2 with a 2.00 ERA in 47 games and 72 innings.UP NEXTCubs: LHP Cole Hamels tries to improve to 5-0 with Chicago when he pitches Wednesday against the Diamondbacks. It will be his 10th start in a Cubs uniform since he was traded by Texas.Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (5-2) is Wednesday’s scheduled starter. Six of his last eight appearances have ended in no-decisions, and the other two are wins.