Northwestern on Oct. 1, held Minnesota to just 102 yards rushin

OAKLAND, Calif. -- After winning four of five since the All-Star break, the Oakland Athletics hit a wall.Doug Fister pitched seven innings and Jose Altuve continued his torrid hitting as the Houston Astros defeated the Athletics 7-0 on Wednesday.The Astros avoided a sweep as the As won their second series to start the second half.I dont know whether or not we were flat today, As manager Bob Melvin said. I think it was more Fister today than anything else.Fister (10-6) struck out five and allowed four hits and two walks as he continued his mastery of Oakland. Hes 3-1 with a 0.99 ERA in four starts against the As this season.Seeing them a lot, they know what we do and we know what they do, Fister said. It just comes down to execution, and I was going to fill the zone up.The As failed to advance a runner past second base against Fister. They moved just three runners into scoring position (one on a two-base error).Since the second half started we came in pretty well, Melvin said. There was good energy and good confidence going into game today. He just had a lot to do with the Astros winning.Altuve had a lot to do with the Astros winning too. Baseballs leading hitter was 2 for 3 with two walks, improving his average from .355 to .357.Altuve is 12 for his last 17 in his last four games.Hes truly a superstar in this game that I think more people are getting to know the more we play well, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.The Astros scored two runs in the second with two outs and nobody on base when five batters reached safely against As starter Daniel Mengden (1-5).Hes still trying to find his rhythm again, Melvin said of Mengden. I think hes getting behind and still trying to jam all four pitches in there as opposed to trying to establish one or two early. Certainly when everything is going well its easy to do. When its not maybe you have to simplify a little bit.Mengden struck out five and allowed three runs, five hits and five walks in five innings. He recovered from a shaky start, blanking the Astros over the last three innings.I couldnt really get in the groove for the first two innings but after that I felt a lot better and finished strong the last three, Mengden said. You always want to throw your best pitches, whatever pitch is working the best for you with the best conviction.The fastball was a little ragged today, so I think we went to the cutter and just got some tough outs. Its a tough lineup all the way around.Fister is 9-3 over his last 15 starts going back to May 1. The Astros are 12-3 over that stretch.Carlos Correa, whos settling into his role as the Astros cleanup hitter nicely, was 1 for 2 with three walks and three RBI.Jake Marisnick and George Springer had two hits each including a double and Jason Castro added a run-scoring triple as the Astros combined for 10 hits.Josh Reddick had two of Oaklands four hits and Daniel Coulombe allowed no hits in two shutout innings in relief of Mengden.BAD STARTS:The Astros and As rank at or near the bottom in virtually every meaningful offensive category out of the designated hitters spot. The Astros .186 and the As .205 batting averages going into Wednesday were the leagues two worst. The As DHs were tied with the Chicago White Sox with the fewest home runs (8) and alone at the bottom with 33 RBI. Houstons DHs ranked third- and fourth-worst in the league with 38 RBI and 11 home runs.ROSTER MOVE:The As recalled utilityman Arismendy Alcantara from Triple-A Nashville before Wednesdays game and in a corresponding move optioned LHP Dillon Overton to Nashville.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: DH Evan Gattis was pulled after getting hit by a Mengden pitch in the right hand in the fifth. X-rays taken were negative and Gattis said hes day-to-today but no fracture.Athletics: LHP Rich Hill, removed five pitches into his last start on Sunday after a blister on his left middle finger burst, is doubtful for Sundays game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the next open spot in the As rotation with Overtons demotion, Melvin said.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Lance McCullers pitches a series opener against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. McCullers has lost three of his last four decisions. Hes 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA in five career starts against the Angels, allowing one run in a 5 2/3 innings in his only start against the Angels this season.Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray (4-8, 5.12) snapped a career-worst seven-game losing streak in his most recent start and will hope to build on that momentum on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Gray is 2-1 with a 3.11 ERA in six career starts against the Rays and 2-2 with a 7.01 ERA in five starts against the Eastern Division this year. Phillies Jerseys 2020 . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Philadelphia Phillies Pro Shop . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). https://www.cheapphilliesjerseys.us/ . PAUL, Minn. Cheap Phillies Jerseys . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. Philadelphia Phillies Store . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa hasnt looked like a Big Ten title contender in weeks.Yet with the season halfway over, thats exactly what the Hawkeyes are.Iowa (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) slogged its way through the first half of 2016, racking up ugly victories with a pair of defeats that were even uglier. But the Hawkeyes have already won twice on the road in league play, and West division favorites Wisconsin and Nebraska still have to play in Iowa City.Iowa will look to extend the nations third-longest road winning streak to nine games with a visit to Purdue (3-2, 1-1) this weekend.When things are tough in low-scoring games, were just going to put our head down and keep working and not really focus on the score, linebacker Ben Niemann said. If its 3-0 or 45-40, if you come out with the win thats the main thing that matters.The most perplexing part of Iowas slow start was the languid play of its offensive line. A few tweaks ahead of last weeks 14-7 win at Minnesota seemed to fix things.The Hawkeyes moved three of its starters into different spots, and guard/tackle Ike Boettger said the shakeup helped boost the lines confidence.Quarterback C.J. Beathard, sacked six times in a 38-31 loss to Northwestern, was taken down just once last week. The running game, which had disappeared at points this season, produced the game-winning score -- a 54-yard touchdown run by Akrum Wadley. That play was reminiscent of 2015, when Iowa often broke the backs of worn-out defenses with long runs in the second half.Guys believed that we could do it. Things arent always going to go the way we want them too, but just keep pushing and eventually good things will happen, Boettger said.ddddddddddddIowas defense, helped in part by the offenses ability to control time of possession, played one of its best games of the season. The Hawkeyes, who were repeatedly gashed in a 38-31 loss to Northwestern on Oct. 1, held Minnesota to just 102 yards rushing, picked off quarterback Mitch Leidner twice and forced nine punts.But to say that Iowa is set up for a run would be a stretch.The Hawkeyes have struggled with their passing game since star wide receiver Matt VandeBerg went down for the season with a foot injury. Last week, Beathard threw for just 142 yards with two interceptions in 31 attempts.If were going to be a good football team, all of those guys better be better in November or were going to be out of luck, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of his receivers and tight ends.Iowas run defense, while much better last week, is just eighth in the Big Ten at 169.3 yards allowed per game.Still, Iowa has proven to be resilient, a trait shared by Ferentzs best teams. And if the Hawkeyes can find some life in the passing game and continue to improve in stopping the run, their goal of getting back to the league title game remains in play.Its a week to week thing, and really what I think is important is ... to keep our focus on trying to grow, Ferentz said. You have to navigate through the bumps.---Online: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '