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DETROIT - Dallas Keuchel won this matchup of old college roommates — then admitted he hadnt paid much attention to his friend-turned-adversary on the mound. Keuchel outpitched Drew Smyly, and the Houston Astros beat Detroit 6-2 on Thursday to snap the Tigers eight-game winning streak. Keuchel and Smyly both pitched for the Arkansas team that reached the College World Series in 2009, but on this day, Keuchel had more important concerns than watching his fellow left-hander throw. "I honestly didnt see a single pitch from him," Keuchel said. "I was in the tunnel. It was kind of hot today for Detroit right now, and I was just trying to stay cool as much as possible." Keuchel (3-2) allowed two runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings, and Houston ended its five-game losing streak. The Astros broke through with three runs in the fifth off Smyly (2-2) to take the lead. Houstons George Springer, a first-round draft pick in 2011, hit his first major league homer. Carlos Corporan and Matt Dominguez also went deep for the Astros. Victor Martinez homered for the Tigers. Smyly allowed only one hit — an infield single — through the first four innings, but his outing took a turn for the worse in the fifth when Springer lined a one-out solo homer over the wall in right. "Its obviously good to hit something hard and to have a great result like that," said Springer, who planned to give the home run ball to his father. "I didnt try to do too much — was able to stay on it and hit it hard, and for me thats a great sign." Jose Altuve put the Astros ahead 3-2 with a two-run double later that inning. Smyly allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out two and walked three. Corporan homered off reliever Evan Reed in the seventh to make it 4-2. Keuchel struck out seven without a walk, navigating a tough Detroit lineup without too much difficulty. "I wont be talking to him for a while," Smyly joked. "I thought hed do OK, but hes a lefty and with our offence, I thought wed get to him. Hes a very smart pitcher and hes a bulldog, and we couldnt do anything with him. Thats as good as Ive seen him, and you have to tip your hat." Keuchels final big test came in the seventh, when Detroit put men on first and third with two out. Keuchel struck out pinch-hitter Torii Hunter to end the inning. The temperature at game time was 77 degrees, and Keuchel said his decision to ignore Smylys pitching was nothing personal. "On the more humid days, Ill try to go in and keep cool in between innings, so I dont usually watch the other pitcher," he said. "In this case, it was my college roommate, so Im sure hell be mad I didnt see a few pitches." Miguel Cabrera came to the plate in the eighth after Ian Kinslers single chased Keuchel, but the best the Detroit slugger could do against reliever Anthony Bass was a soft grounder to second. Dominguez hit a two-run homer in the ninth. The Tigers opened the scoring in the second on an RBI double by Nick Castellanos. Springer, who came close to preventing a homer by Cabrera the previous night, nearly caught this drive too, but it caromed off the wall in right field. Martinez hit his seventh homer of the year in the fourth. He finished the day with three hits, extending his hitting streak to 11. NOTES: Houston OF L.J. Hoes, who entered the game in an 0-for-20 slump, had three singles and scored a run. ... The Astros play at Baltimore on Friday night, with RHP Scott Feldman (2-1) scheduled to return after missing time with right biceps tendinitis. Baltimore starts LHP Wei-Yin Chen (3-2). ... Detroit hosts Minnesota, with RHP Justin Verlander (4-1) on the mound against Twins RHP Phil Hughes (3-1). Cheap Nike Air Max 90 .Stanton suffered fractures in his face and other injuries when he was hit by a pitch Sept. 11. The Marlins are confident hell fully recover and be ready for spring training, and they hope to reach a long-term agreement with him. Cheap Air Max 2017 . - The Carolina Panthers believe Steve Smith lost "top-end" speed, a big reason the franchise parted ways with its all-time leading receiver. http://www.airmaxshoescheaponline.com/ . Louis Cardinals for the National League Wild Card, are in the drivers seat as they open the final series of the regular season, but they face a large task in the form of the Philadelphia Phillies. Air Max Shoes Online . The eighth-year point guard played in his 500th career game on Sunday, a 98-93 win over the Orlando Magic. Does he feel like hes played in that many games? "No," he said initially, before reconsidering. Cheap Air Max 95 .com) - The Minnesota Twins made it official on Wednesday, announcing the signing of outfielder Torii Hunter to a one-year contract.BALTIMORE - Alex Gordon had already compiled a careers worth of playoff memories when he stepped to the plate in the 10th inning of a tie game.Given the Kansas City Royals success rate in extra innings this post-season, what happened next was almost inevitable.Gordon homered to put Kansas City in front, Mike Moustakas added a two-run shot and the Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 8-6 Friday night in the opener of the AL Championship Series.Kansas City is 5-0 this post-season, winning four times in extra innings.These games, weve played so many of them that were kind of used to them a little bit, manager Ned Yost said. And we still have a lot of confidence.Before hitting his first playoff homer, Gordon doubled in three runs, was picked off first base, made a great catch in left field and got hit in the neck with a pitch.Gordy just has a lot of confidence in his abilities, Yost said. Hes a guy that can hit by a pitch and do exactly what he did, drive it out of the ballpark tonight, after getting hit in the neck. So it was a huge hit for us at that point.As the ball soared over the wall, Orioles reliever Darren ODay flung his cap to the ground in frustration.I made a mistake and he got it, the right-hander said. You go up there and roll the dice. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.It was Baltimores first playoff loss following a three-game sweep of Detroit in the Division Series.One game does not the series make, Orioles catcher Nick Hundley said.After Gordon connected in the 10th, Moustakas followed with another shot to right, this one off Brian Matusz with a runner on.This best-of-seven series was billed as Kansas Citys speed against Baltimores power, but the Royals didnt steal a base and hit all of the games three home runs.We know were capable of hitting home runs, Gordon said. We didnt do it during the regular season. But it doesnt really matter. This is the post-season and were starting to swing the bats better now. Its good to see.The Orioles tried to rally in the 10th. Pinch-hitter Delmon Young hit an RBI single with two outs, but closer Greg Holland retired Nick Markakis on a grounder with two runners on for the final out in the rain shortly before 1 a.m.Game 2 is Saturday afternoon. Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura makes his second post-season start for the Royals against Bud Norris.Wade Davis got the win with two shutout innings aand Holland got a save.ddddddddddddhe fastest team in the majors nearly walked to victory in the ninth. After Orioles closer Zach Britton issued three straight walks to open the inning, Eric Hosmer into a force at the plate — helped by Hundleys nifty pickup at the plate — and ODay got Billy Butler to hit into a double play.ODay wasnt nearly as effective in the 10th.Down 5-1 in the fifth against James Shields, the Orioles scored three times as 47,124 towel-waving fans cheered them on. Nelson Cruz hit an RBI double before Ryan Flaherty delivered a two-out, two-run single.Shields made it out of the inning, but did not return after giving up four runs and 10 hits.The rain that was expected for much of the day finally made an appearance in the sixth, shortly before Baltimore pulled even against the usually reliable Kansas City bullpen. The tying run scored off Kelvin Herrera on a low popup by Alejandro De Aza that dropped behind the mound.Early on, Kansas City dominated.After the Orioles left the bases loaded in the second inning, Alcides Escobar drove a 2-0 pitch from Chris Tillman into the left-field seats. It was his 22nd homer in 2,994 career at-bats, including this post-season.Kansas City then sandwiched two singles around a four-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs for Gordon, who lofted a broken-bat fly that landed about four feet inside the right-field foul line for a 4-0 lead.Gordon also hit a three-run double in the finale of Kansas Citys three-game sweep of the Angels in the Division Series.Baltimore got an RBI single from Adam Jones in the bottom half, but a diving catch by Gordon prevented further damage.A sacrifice fly by Butler in the fifth made it 5-1.UP NEXTRoyals: In two starts against the Orioles this season, Ventura has a 1.26 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 14 1-3 innings.Orioles: Baltimore tries to rebound from its first loss since Sept. 27. The last time the Orioles lost the opener of an ALCS was when 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier got involved with a Derek Jeter home run at Yankee Stadium in 1996.LIGHTS OUTThe start of the game was delayed while the bright lights above a TV booth in centre field were shut down, one by one.Escobar was about the step into the batters box when he noticed the glaring bulbs in his sight line. While Tillman took a few extra warmup tosses, the song Lights by Journey played over the PA system. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '