Wichtig » y to go on an opening-day Saratoga main track tha

HOUSTON -- Despite striking out 61 times and only scoring 10 runs in four games, the Toronto Blue Jays found a way to take three of four from the Houston Astros.J.A. Happ won his ninth consecutive decision, Edwin Encarnacion reached 30 home runs for the fifth straight season and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 4-1 on Thursday night for their eighth win in 11 games.Its been a tough place for us to play; we won three games and had a chance to win all four of them, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. So we feel good about that. Not a lot of offense on either side but I think thats because the pitching was so good on both sides. We got some big hits and won some close games.Happ (15-3), who already has set his career high for wins, retired 12 of his first 13 batters and allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He is 9-0 with a 2.49 ERA in 10 starts since losing at Detroit on June 6.Its nice to have a couple quick innings, Happ said. Hopefully the less pitches they see the better youre going to be for the later at-bats when youre turning the lineup over or trying to at least two, three or four times. I think that was huge to be able to have something left to get out of that jam.Happ struck out six and walked none, and Joaquin Benoit, Jason Grilli and Roberto Osuna completed the five-hitter. After walking rookie Alex Bregman leading off the ninth, Osuna struck out Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis for his 24th save in 26 chances.After being given a day off Wednesday, Bregman was 1 for 4 with a sixth-inning single. The second overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, is hitting .056 (2 for 36) since he was brought up July 25.Houston pitchers struck out a major league-record 61 in the four-game series, three more than the previous mark set by Cincinnati pitchers against San Diego in 2008. Astros pitchers set a record with 52 strikeouts in a three-game series against Baltimore from May 24-26.Mike Fiers (7-5) gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings, walking none and tying his second high with seven strikeouts.Devon Travis doubled leading off the first inning for the first of his three hits and scored on Josh Donaldsons groundout -- the first run in the series that did not score on a solo home run.I felt good tonight, Travis said. I found out once again for the millionth time that this is a really humbling game. Its always great to come out here and help your team with a ball game.On the previous pitch, Smoak took an 0-2 curveball on the low, outside corner and stepped toward the dugout thinking it was strike three, only to have plate umpire Todd Tichenor call the pitch a ball.Toronto doubled the lead in the fifth when Justin Smoak swung over a curveball in the dirt for strike three and the ball hit off Gattis and bounced away for a wild pitch that allowed Russell Martin to score from third.Tyler White hit a run-scoring double in the bottom half for his first RBI since June 10.The Astros have lost eight of their last 10 games, getting outscored 47-21.We all hate it collectively because we dont like going through this rut, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. I think the guys are handling it like pros. We believe in this group and they believe in themselves, but sometimes, you need to have a good day to realize all the work and extra conversations are worth it. Its the big leagues and its a game of adjustments -- its not a try-hard league.Travis singled in a run against Will Harris in the eighth, and Encarnacion connected against James Hoyt in the ninth for his 298th home run.It feels good, Encarnacion said about being close to 300. I know its going to happen but I wish it could happen with people on base so we could win some games.TRAINERS ROOMBlue Jays: SS Troy Tulowitzki went 1 for 4 after missing three games after breaking his right thumb when hit by a pitch from Baltimores Chris Tillman on Sunday.Astros: INF Marwin Gonzalez (right hand soreness) was held out of the starting lineup but pinch hit in the seventh inning and grounded out. Gonzalezs right-handed swing is less comfortable than left-handed swing, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. ... Luis Valbuena (right hamstring strain) is taking part in any baseball activity but continues daily treatment ... INF Carlos Gomez (right hamstring strain) was 0 for 2 with two strikeouts as the designated hitter after not playing in five of the last six games.UP NEXTBlue Jays: LHP Francisco Liriano (6-11), acquired from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, is to make his Toronto debut on Friday at Kansas City.Astros: LHP Dallas Keuchel (6-11) is slated to start at home Friday against Texas.Chris Smalling Jersey . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer.com/womens-antonio-valencia-manchester-united-jersey/ . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Demetri Mitchell Jersey . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Eric Bailly Manchester United Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race.SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. -- Promotions and track giveaways are nice, but if Thoroughbred racing really wants to create new fans, all it has to do -- ALL it has to do -- is offer a quick backstory to those who didnt already know it on the two main protagonists in Saturdays Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. Cue up the race replay above, and press play.Really. You can search far and wide for better advertisements for Thoroughbred racing, and you can glom on to any celebrity of your choosing; none will work as well as this race, which was the best and purest display of what is great in this great game.The San Diego was racing at its best for a combination of reasons. Certainly, the quality of the two main players had tons do with it. California Chrome was our Horse of the Year in 2014, and if he isnt the best horse in the world off his powerful victory in the Dubai World Cup last March, he is among them. And Dortmund has always made a compelling case that he could be much, much more than an immensely promising colt if he could just get a little bit of health on his side.There is no question that a big reason why the San Diego was so tremendous is that California Chrome and Dortmund went at each other right from the start, engaging in a virtual match race right down to the wire. In fact, the half-length margin California Chrome had on Dortmund at the finish suggests there isnt a great deal between these two fine performers. Dortmund was coming off a longer layoff than California Chrome, but both were coming off layoffs, and California Chrome had the Dubai journey to overcome, too.Bottom line: This race left us drooling for more.Speaking of wanting more, California Chrome and Dortmund are scheduled to meet again in Del Mars Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 20, and already the handicapper in me is contemplating how these two will react after their efforts Saturday. The San Diego was (obviously) a very strongly run race; it had to be demanding to at least some extent on both horses, and there is only a four-week turnaround to the Pacific Classic.I dont like the term bounce. I much prefer form regression. But no matter what you call it, I really dislike how it has become used as almost a blanket excuse for a poor performance. In any case, my sense is top horses such as California Chrome and Dortmund are less susceptible to form regression than lesser horses; its one of the many things that make them top horses. So while Im not banking on either taking a major step back form-wise next time, my instincts tell me that California Chrome is a little better equipped than Dortmund to take a step forward next month.We will see. The fun will be in the finding out.Quick notes* Trainer Chad Brown won the first two turf stakes of the Saratoga meet -- shocking, I know -- but with no slight intended to his overachieving Ancient Secret, winner of Fridays Grade 2 Lake George for 3-year-old fillies, Dacitas just-up decision in Saturdays Grade 1 Diana was certainly the most important of these two scores.Dacita has been strangely underappreciated. Perhaps this is because she went into a bit of a slump after she nailed none other than chammpion Tepin in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa Stakes here at Saratoga last summer in her U.dddddddddddd S. debut, or maybe it is because she was a fortunate winner of the Grade 2 New York Stakes in June at the expense of runner-up Sea Calisi, who was brutally unlucky to lose after a bad trip.And truth be told, Dacita might not win too many additional fans after the Diana. Even though she made a successful charge from last, she did so into an early pace that was much too fast, and very favorable to her deep closing style, and she only prevailed in a blanket finish.But that would be a shame, because Dacita is really good when she is on her game. She is, after all, the last horse to have beaten Tepin, who has won seven straight races since, on two continents.As for Miss Temple City, she finished an okay fourth in the Diana, her first start since a very creditable fourth in a Group 2 stakes at Royal Ascot, a trip she earned off a strong win over a good group of males in the Grade 1 Makers 46 Mile.Miss Temple City did encounter a bit of traffic late on the far turn and in upper stretch, but she secured a clear path with ample time left in the race, and was, in the end, outkicked. And that fuels my suspicion that Miss Temple City is really at her best as a miler, and is, in fact, quite a good one. The bad news for her is that is the same sphere Tepin operates in.* I wish I could be bullish on the winners of the two 2-year-old stakes on the first two cards at Saratoga, but both races left me a little flat.Bitumen proved best as the favorite in Saturdays Grade 3 Sanford, but did so against only four opponents, and after getting a great setup with three of those four opponents engaging in a pace battle. The thing is, the Sanford pace really wasnt all that hot - 22.61 and 45.79 - and I was troubled with the way Bitumen was still unable to keep up early despite urging from Javier Castellano. I mean, what will he do when hes faced with a pace set or disputed by higher quality opponents? Still, Bitumen is now 2 for 2, and he still has plenty of license to improve.As for Sweet Loretta, winner of Fridays Grade 3 Schuylerville, she also employed a wide sweep from off the pace. However, that approach was absolutely the way to go on an opening-day Saratoga main track that carried a profound dead rail bias. Sweet Loretta will have to face tougher company than what she ran away from in the Schuylerville when she moves on, and she will do so presumably without the track so heavily tilted in her favor. Lets see how she does then.* I was a big fan last year of Sentiero Italia. I thought she would make the jump from being a successful 3-year-old filly graded-stakes performer on turf to being an effective older female graded-stakes grass horse, which is a leap bigger than many realize. Im still a fan. But I do think Sentiero Italias allowance win at Saratoga Friday in her 2016 bow was more workmanlike than eye-catching, and while she has a right to, she must take a real step forward next time to contend with better. ' ' '