eries turned out to be the most competitive season yet -- the gap between te

HOUSTON -- Joe Musgrove lifted the Houston Astros in more ways than one Sunday.With his team in desperate need of a win to remain in playoff contention, Musgrove pitched seven strong innings to help lift Houston over the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 to snap a three-game slide.He had a tremendous game today at a time (when) we needed it, manager A.J. Hinch said. (The) compete button is never off for Musgrove, and I appreciate the way he goes about it.The Astros backed Musgrove with home runs from Evan Gattis, Tony Kemp and Tyler White.Houston remained three games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild-card spot.Playoffs aspirations aside, Musgrove had another pressing reason to make his start count.Today was a tough day, said Musgrove, referring to the news of Miami pitcher Jose Fernandezs tragic death from a boating accident early Sunday at age 24. I think everyone was a bit down with the bad news we had this morning.There are a few guys in here that are handling it a little worse than the rest of us from having personal relationships with Jose. The energy was a little bit down, so I was hoping to go out there and pitch a strong seven, he said.That he did.Musgrove (4-4) allowed one run on seven hits while striking out four.Closer Ken Giles rebounded from a blown save in Fridays 10-6 loss to Los Angeles. He walked one and struck out two in the ninth for his 14th save.I just wanted to go out there and put up a zero, Giles said. I needed to do that for the team and show them that I can bounce back.Carlos Correa singled home Jose Altuve in the Houston first.An inning later, Gattis homered off Daniel Wright (0-5), connecting for the 31st time this season.Kemp and White later added solo shots.It was a good day for our youth, Hinch said. These guys are getting their first taste of important baseball in September and, hopefully, October.Wright lasted six innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits.I left the changeup up to Kemp that he hit out, and then the fastball up to Gattis to lead off both those innings, Wright said. I just have to get better at going out there from the first pitch of each inning and be ready to go.The Angels kept the game close by turning four double plays.Defensively we played a very good game. That was good to see, manager Mike Scioscia said. Offensively, we just couldnt get any momentum.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: Before the game, Hinch said he was worried about Giles flexibility and ability to throw, a day after he injured his right wrist when he was hit by a line drive during batting practice. X-rays were negative.I think hes got a chance to be a little bit stiff, Hinch said postgame. Given that its a contusion, hell be all right.UP NEXTAngels: Jered Weaver (12-12, 5.20 ERA) will attempt to close out September on a winning note when Los Angeles hosts Oakland and LHP Sean Manaea (6-9, 4.03) on Monday. Weaver is 2-1 in four starts this month.Astros: Collin McHugh (12-10, 4.61) faces fellow RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (16-12, 4.04) to open a three-game series against Seattle. McHugh is 4-0 against the Mariners this season.Ozzie Smith Jersey Large . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. Custom Ozzie Smith Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.custompadresjersey.com/ . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Wholesale Custom Padres Shirts . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. Cheap Custom Padres Jersey . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost.Rugby is returning to the Olympics for the first time in 92 years, bringing the ruck, the maul and the hooker back into the lexicon of the Summer Games.The format has changed, considerably, since the United States won the last rugby union Olympic gold medal in 1924, with the abbreviated seven-player version favored for Rio over the traditional 15-a-side game, and Fiji favored for a breakthrough triumph. The aim remains the same: score more tries -- grounding the ball in the opponents in-goal area -- and youre a good chance of winning.Its fast and physical, with more emphasis on speed and passing the ball (always backward) than heavy contact, and it is typically played in two seven-minute halves.Heres some things to watch in Rio, where the womens tournament runs Aug. 6-8 and the mens from Aug. 9-11 at the Deodoro Stadium:---FLYING FIJIANSFiji has never won an Olympic medal, but it has never had a chance to play its national sport at the Summer Games. The world series champions are favorites in the mens competition, and expectations are high in the Pacific.Englishman Ben Ryan took a squad containing an abundance of players with size, speed and natural flair for rugby sevens, and added extra discipline to every facet of the preparation from diet to drills. The result is a still entertaining, but more consistent Fiji team.Its the national sport, so our best athletes play rugby, Ryan says. We have been successful at it and thats also created this aura around the team, the way we play, totally different to every other side in the world. Its a risky, entertaining, exciting, slightly laid back -- sometimes -- way of playing the game. And we are doing it to a very high level.---GO BROSonny Bill Williams is a high-profile game hopper likely to feature for New Zealand in Rio, another notch in a career that has involved switching back and forth from rugby league to rugby union to win some of the biggest prizes in those sports. Already a World Cup winner with the famous All Blacks, Williams wants to add Olympic gold. He probably wont have to look far for family support, with his sister Niall figuring in selection calculations for the title-chasing New Zealaand womens team.dddddddddddd---POINT PROVEDThe sevens format has surged in popularity since its inclusion on the Olympic program, and the rewards are being spread more widely than ever. Countries such as Kenya and the United States have won titles on the world series circuit, and are ranked 6th and 7th behind southern hemisphere powers Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. American Madison Hughes led the world series with 331 points in the 2015-16 season. American speedster Perry Baker was second behind South Africas Seabelo Senatla for most tries scored and most line breaks.---WOMENS DRAWAustralia won the womens world series, reaching the final in four of the five tournaments to outpoint second place New Zealand, the dominant team in 2014-15. Canada and England were equal on points in third place.The womens squads in Rio will feature players lured from sports such as basketball, volleyball and track and field. As it catches on, therell be more professionals, and increased competition.New Zealand had been the benchmark ... ever since I had started playing rugby. Everything we trained for and played for can subconsciously be aimed around beating them, Australias Alicia Quirk said. But this series turned out to be the most competitive season yet -- the gap between teams has definitely closed.---SPANISH ACQUISITIONSpain was the last of 12 teams to qualify in each of the mens and womens tournaments. The Spanish men had a stunning upset win over world series regulars Samoa in the last-ditch repechage, a victory which playmaker Patricia Garcia said inspired her womens team to its victory over Russia in Dublin the following week.--USEFUL TERMSRuck, maul, scrum -- all physical contests for the ball. Hooker, prop, wing -- all playing positions.--FORMATEach competition will feature 12 teams divided into three pools, with the top eight advancing to the quarterfinals. U.S. teams got tough draws: the men were grouped with Fiji, Argentina and Brazil, and the women were grouped with Australia, Fiji and Colombia. ' ' '