Dein erstes Forum » his credit, Ramo came on after a slow star

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Watching from the bullpen as journeyman Collin McHugh carved up the Kansas City lineup, Astros reliever Tony Sipp only wished he had a bucket of popcorn and a soda. "Its like watching a good movie," Sipp said, "and you dont want to mess up the ending." After McHugh held the light-hitting Royals at bay over seven innings, Sipp and Chad Qualls provided an appropriate ending. They worked the final two innings without allowing a hit in a 3-0 victory Tuesday night that gave Houston its first four-game winning streak since September. The Astros own the worst record in the AL, but have won four in a row on the road for the first time since taking six straight away from Minute Maid Park last May 29-June 3. "I mean, I think were playing hard," said McHugh, who is already on his third big league team in three seasons. "Were coming to play every day, and were putting together a few games here." Houston rookie George Springers homer streak ended at four games. He hit two flyballs to the warning track and finished 1 for 4. Matt Dominguez hit an RBI single in the fourth, and the Astros tacked on two more runs against Tim Collins in the eighth. "Thats what you call an extremely well-played baseball game," Houston manager Bo Porter said. McHugh (3-3) scattered five hits while striking out nine without issuing a walk to earn his first win in five starts. He stranded a runner at third base in the second inning and runners at second and third in the fifth, but otherwise cruised through the Kansas City lineup. The only run Jeremy Guthrie (2-4) allowed came when Dominguez followed up a pair of one-out walks to Dexter Fowler and Jason Castro with a single in the fourth inning. Guthrie left after allowing seven hits and three walks in six innings. The right-hander dodged plenty of trouble, inducing double-play grounders in the third and fifth, but still got stuck with his fourth straight loss. His last win came April 9 against Tampa Bay. During a nine-start winless streak, Guthrie has allowed just one run on three occasions. The Royals lost for the sixth time in their last eight games, and their pop-gun offence has had a lot to do with the futility. Kansas City has been held to three or fewer runs in four of its last five games, including the 9-2 pounding that Houston dished out on Monday night. Royals manager Ned Yosts frustration boiled over in the sixth inning. He went out to check on Guthrie with the bases loaded and two outs, and was returning to the dugout after their discussion when plate umpire Kerwin Danley met him near the mound. After saying something to Danley, Yost was immediately ejected. "I got frustrated on some calls I thought Jeremy should have got. Its mostly my fault," said Yost, who was tossed for the second time this season. Meanwhile, McHugh continued to slice up the Royals batting order. He struck out designated hitter Billy Butler twice, silenced Eric Hosmers bat and retired the last eight hitters he faced. It was the fourth time the Royals have been shut out this season. "You dont lose confidence, but youre definitely frustrated," Hosmer said. "We definitely should be putting up a better fight. As an offence as a whole, we should be putting up a better performance than that. Were not getting the job done." NOTES: Royals RHP Yordano Ventura will miss his next start due to a valgus extension overload, a condition that causes pain in the elbow. He left Monday nights game in the third inning. An MRI on Tuesday came back negative. ... The Astros left 11 runners on base. ... Houston RHP Jarred Cosart is slated to start Wednesdays series finale. LHP Danny Duffy is on the mound for Kansas City. Hayden Hurst Ravens Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. Anthony Averett Ravens Jersey . -- James Harden scored 31 points, including 25 in the second half, and the Houston Rockets dug out of a double-digit, first-half hole to beat the Orlando Magic 101-89 on Wednesday night. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-...nead-Iv-Jersey/. On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. Hayden Hurst Jersey . Henry, who missed three games with a knee injury, was charged with a handball in the penalty area in the 82nd minute as he went to block a strike from Patrick Mullins. On the ensuing penalty kick, Lee Nguyen picked up his fourth goal of the season, giving the Revolution a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon. Jaleel Scott Ravens Jersey . Heather, the first Gaiter to win the award, set a Canadian Inter-university Sport record with 3,132 passing yards in eight league games, an average of 391.5 yards per game. That beat the mark of 3,047 set only one week earlier by Westerns Will Finch, a Hec Crighton finalist.The Calgary Flames were hard-working team last season, but they werent overly skilled and had subpar goaltending. They made a move in free agency to address the latter concern. Numbers Game examines the Flames addition of Jonas Hiller. The Flames Get: G Jonas Hiller. Hiller, 32, has been an above average starting goaltender over the course of his career, posting a .916 save percentage, but the past three seasons have not been so kind, as Hillers .911 save percentage ranks 22nd out of 29 goaltenders to play at least 100 games in that span. Of those below Hiller on that list, Steve Mason and Ondrej Pavelec are the only ones set to be clear number ones with their teams going into next season. Hillers even-strength save percentage over that time, .922, is below average, at least among goaltenders that have played starters minutes. Being a below-average starter can still be an improvement for the Flames, but it should also manage expectations for Hiller, who was beaten out for playoff playing time in Anaheim, by rookies Frederik Andersen and John Gibson. Even so, in Calgary, Hiller will be battlinng Karri Ramo for playing time and Ramo had a .dddddddddddd911 save percentage last season -- his first year in the NHL since 2008-2009 -- and owns a .902 save percentage in 88 career games. To his credit, Ramo came on after a slow start last season, posting a .918 save percentage in 30 games from December through the end of the season, so maybe he can compete with Hiller for playing time. Even if Hiller might not be great at this stage of his career, hes likely an upgrade on Ramo and thats what matters to the Flames. With Hiller and Ramo together, the Flames have a chance to get something close to league-average goaltending. That may not be enough to get them into playoff contention -- they ranked 26th in puck possession last season, after all -- but he makes the Flames better. Signed for $9-million over two seasons, Hiller is being paid like a starting goaltender, but the short term makes this a smart, low-risk move for the Flames. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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