HOUSTON -- Chris Carter insists he doesnt think about winning the home run title. If he keeps hitting long balls at his current pace, soon it will be difficult to ignore that race. Carter homered twice and drove in three runs, Collin McHugh pitched into the eighth inning and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-1 on Wednesday night. Carter has 35 home runs, and his seven multihomer games this season are a franchise record. Its the most homers by an Astros player since Lance Berkman hit 45 in 2006. The designated hitter, who also singled, leads the majors with 22 homers and 52 RBIs since July 1. His 35 home runs rank third in the majors behind Baltimores Nelson Cruz and Miamis Giancarlo Stanton, who have 36 apiece. "Its still nothing Ive thought about," Carter said of the possibility of leading the league in homers. "Im just out there trying to have good at-bats. I just want to keep doing what Im doing." He was, however, happy about setting a franchise record, especially after he finished last year with 212 strikeouts, third-most in major league history. "Its nice to have a good record this time instead of the one I had last year," he said with a laugh. It was the second straight win for the Astros since manager Bo Porter was fired on Monday and replaced by interim manager Tom Lawless. Carter put Houston on top 1-0 with his homer to the Crawford Boxes in left field in the second inning off Angels starter Jered Weaver (15-8). "I thought he kind of mishit it, hit it off the bat, but hes strong as an ox," Weaver said. Carters two-run, opposite-field shot made it 4-1 in the eighth. The first-place Angels lost both games in the series after sweeping the As in a four-game set before arriving in Houston. "Luckily, the As lost a couple as well, so it doesnt hurt us too bad, but it would have been nice to get a couple of wins here and extend the lead a little bit," Weaver said. "Just have to keep trucking on and get another winning streak going." McHugh (8-9) yielded four hits and a run with eight strikeouts in 7 2-3 innings for his fourth straight win, extending a career high. Chad Qualls pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save. Angels starter Jered Weaver (15-8) allowed five hits and two runs in six-plus innings for just his second loss since June 16. Dexter Fowler walked with one out in the fourth and stole second with two outs. Jason Castros single scored Fowler to put Houston up 2-1. The Angels tied it at 1 in the third when Efren Navarro scored on an error by shortstop Jonathan Villar that allowed Mike Trout to reach. The play pushed Trouts RBI total to a career-high 98. McHugh retired the next 10 batters, with the next hit by Los Angeles coming on a single by Josh Hamilton with two outs in the sixth. Howie Kendrick grounded out to end the inning. That was the first of six in a row set down by McHugh before he was replaced by Jose Veras. Jose Altuve, who had four hits in each of his previous two games, doubled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. He has a major league-leading 194 hits this season. WHAT A MONTH Los Angeles right-hander Matt Shoemaker was selected American League pitcher and rookie of the month for August. Hes the ninth player to win both honours in the same month and the first Angels player to do it since Trout received both awards in July 2012. Shoemaker is 14-4 with a 3.14 ERA this season and was 6-1 with a 1.31 ERA last month. He has pitched 23 1-3 consecutive scoreless innings, second in franchise history for a rookie behind Bob Lees 27 straight in 1964. TRAINERS ROOM Angels: Manager Mike Scioscia said reliever Joe Thatcher (sprained left ankle) has been throwing off a mound and could pitch a simulated game in the next few days. UP NEXT The Angels open a four-game series at Minnesota, with Hector Santiago opposing Kyle Gibson. ... The Astros are off Thursday before starting a three-game series in Oakland. Justus Sheffield Jersey . LOUIS -- The St. Carlos Guillen Jersey . "Its embarrassing what were doing here," leading scorer Phil Kessel said Wednesday. The most recent failed season came with even more pain than the six that preceded it. There was no hint of an impending implosion when the Leafs came roaring out of the all-star break with back-to-back games against Pittsburgh -- a 5-4 shootout loss followed by a 1-0 win the next night. https://www.cheapmariners.com/1015k-kevi...y-mariners.html. The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. Edgar Martinez Jersey . The weekend at Oriole Park has been less kind, with three players suffering varying degrees of injury. The worst ailment of the three, at least optically, is the deep bone bruise suffered by Adam Lind when he fouled a pitch off the top of his right foot in the sixth inning of Saturdays game. Fake Mariners Jerseys .ca presents a week long look at some of the teams and stories that will shape the up coming campaign.NEW YORK -- Clemson star receiver Sammy Watkins was the common thread early on the final day of the NFL draft Saturday. Watkins, the fourth overall selection in the first round by Buffalo, saw his older brother, Florida cornerback Jaylen Watkins, taken by Philadelphia to open the fourth round. Philadelphia acquired the selection the previous day from Houston, trading its third-round pick (No. 83) for the Texans fourth- and fifth-round spots. "Today is a very big day for our family," Jaylen said. "I texted him (Thursday) before he went on stage and he just texted me ... were both excited for each other. We cant complain about anything that happened this year for us." The next pick, by Washington, was Sammy Watkins college teammate, cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who went up against the nations top wideout in practice for several years at Clemson. Watkins fellow receiver with the Tigers, Martavis Bryant, also went in the fourth round, to Pittsburgh. "Sammy, hes a great player, hes like my brother," Bryant said. "I got a lot of love for him, so Ive never been the type to feel that (jealousy). Everything that the coaches asked me to do I did for the team, and if it was playing behind him then it was playing behind him." Andre Williams of Boston College, the nations leading rusher, went to the New York Giants, whose backfield has been plagued by injuries. Williams rushed for 2,177 yards and won the Doak Walker Award as Americas top running back in 2013, but he is considered a weak receiver. "Patience is a really valuable thing," Williams said. "It worked out the best possible way it could, no matter what round it ended up being.&" Arizonas KaDeem Carey, like Williams, an All-American runner, was taken four spots later by Chicago.dddddddddddd Oregons DeAnthony Thomas went to Kansas City, ostensibly to replace departed Dexter McCluster. National champion Florida State had two players go in the first five picks Saturday: running back Devonta Freeman to Atlanta, and centre Bryan Stork, another All-American, to New England. Big 12 power Oklahoma, which was blanked in the first three rounds, broke through when the New York Jets drafted receiver Jalen Saunders. While two other powerhouse programs, Texas and Georgia, did not yet have anyone taken, Duke did. When Buffalo made cornerback Ross Cockrell the 109th overall selection, it was the highest a Blue Devil had gone since offensive lineman Lennie Friedman went to Denver in the second round in 1999. Cockrell thought Duke making the Chick-Fil-A bowl helped his stock. "I think it opened a lot of eyes that this guy from Duke can actually play a little ball and will be able to compete at the next level," he said. The first quarterback to go Saturday was a bit of surprise: inconsistent Logan Thomas of Virginia Tech. Thomas never really improved to the level expected during his career with the Hokies after a strong debut. Hes big, with a strong arm, but is turnover prone. Going on consecutive picks late in the fifth round were two other star QBs: Aaron Murray of Georgia to Kansas City, and A.J. McCarron of Alabama to Cincinnati. Zach Mettenberger of LSU went in the sixth round to the Titans. Missouri defensive end/linebacker Michael Sam, the first openly gay player to enter the draft, also is still waiting. ' ' '