HOUSTON -- After their pitching carried them to a pair of victories this week and set the stage for a series sweep of the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros turned to their offense to seal the deal in a 9-8 win Wednesday night.Entering Wednesday, the Astros owned the second-best ERA (3.43) in the American League since May 1. Despite an off night on the mound in the finale against Seattle, Houston (46-39) generally is showcasing impressive pitching depth.We have a lot of guys that are pitch executers and are really good at it, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Sometimes that comes with some disrespect (from the opposition). I feel like our guys can stand their own, and when we go out and pitch our game, we have every opportunity to win (that) game, which is the role of the starting pitcher.You have to earn that over time, and sometimes the narrative doesnt follow the facts. I love our pitching staff, we have ways to get better, and I look forward to seeing if the script can maintain this type of consistency the rest of the season.Astros right-hander Doug Fister (8-5, 3.66 ERA) will seek to rebound against the Athletics on Thursday from consecutive losses following a career-high-tying, seven-game winning streak. Fister surrendered five runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox on July 2, the most runs he allowed since April 14 against the Kansas City Royals.Fister has enjoyed success against the Athletics this season and throughout his career. He is 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA in two starts against Oakland in 2016, allowing one earned run over 12 2/3 innings. For his career, Fister is 7-6 with a 3.17 ERA over 15 starts against the As.Athletics left-hander Rich Hill (8-3, 2.31 ERA) will make his 10th career appearance and sixth start against the Astros, against whom he is 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA.Hill will make his second start since his return from the disabled list. Sidelined for the entire month of June due to left groin discomfort, Hill allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings against the Pirates on July 2, a game the Athletics lost 4-2.Everything was good command, Hill said. Breaking ball was good, changeup was good, slider was good. I just expect more out of myself going out there. When we go out there and score two runs we (need) a shutdown inning to keep us ahead and let them work. Thats one thing that didnt sit well with me.The 36-year-old veteran had won five consecutive starts before landing on the DL.The Athletics (36-49) have lost six of seven games and were swept in three games in their last visit to Houston. Perhaps the only recent bright spot for Oakland was the Wednesday performance of ace right-hander Sonny Gray, who allowed one run over six innings in a 4-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins.Dave Winfield Jersey . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. George Bell Blue Jays Jersey .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. http://www.bluejaysonline.com/blue-jays-alen-hanson-jersey/ .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Roberto Alomar Blue Jays Jersey . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Roberto Alomar Jersey . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period.Gold Coast Titans have taken another step towards securing their first NRL finals berth in six years with a comfortable 26-6 victory over last-placed Newcastle at Hunter Stadium.The Titans consolidated eighth spot on the ladder with two games to play, against Penrith (home) and North Queensland (away), while extending the Knights club-record losing streak to 16. The Knights, now without a win in 133 days, remain anchored at the bottom of the ladder and are certain to finish last for the second successive season.The Knights were always at long odds to end their four-month losing streak but their chances were not enhanced by the late withdrawal of Jarrod Mullen (knee) and Saone Matautia (concussion).The only concern for the Titans came when Jarryd Hayne was helped off the pitch in the 65th minute after taking a head knock in a tackle involving fellow Fiji international Jacob Saifiti. Hayne, who took no further part in the match, had, however, played a mostly supporting role in his third game back in the NRL, taking a back seat to his forwards who scored all four tries for the Titans. Titans coach Neil Henry believes Hayne will be :OK to face the Panthers next week.Titans co-captain Ryan James, a controversial inclusion, crashed over twice in the first 20 minutes as the visitors raced to an 18-0 lead. He was considered fortunate to have been on the field, having been found guilty of a grade two careless high tackle that broke Wests Tigers ffullback James Tedescos jaw.dddddddddddd The fiery front-rower was cleared to play after the judiciary panel downgraded his charge to grade one.Former Queensland utility forward Chris McQueen then scored in the 16th minute as the Titans threatened to hand the Knights another thrashing on home turf, but home winger Nathan Ross responded with a 90-metre intercept try in the 28th minute, cutting the deficit to 18-6 at halftime.Titans prop Luke Douglas burrowed over from a quick tap to score in the 50th minute, extending the visitors lead to 24-6, then former Knights halfback Tyrone Roberts added a penalty goal five minutes from fulltime.After missing the past two games because of a knee injury, Roberts returned against his old club in place of regular playmaker Ash Taylor, who was rested to recover from several niggles.Titans coach Neil Henry said his side should have won more easily after building an early lead, but Knights coach Nathan Brown was pleased with his teams response after conceding three soft early tries.Weve struggled, as the scoreboard suggests, this year with getting 13-plus people on the bus at the same time, Brown said.But the fifth highest-paid player by the Knights today was Tyrone Roberts, so that sums up the situation were in at the minute, and thats why we are sitting where we are sitting.[url=http://wid player by the Knights today was Tyrolesale Basketball Jerseys[/url] Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '