Clan-Members » the Thursday game against the Cardinals

DETROIT -- Brandon Barnes stood in centre field and felt the wind blowing out a bit -- an ominous sign when Miguel Cabrera is at the plate with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth inning. Sure enough, Cabrera lifted a deep flyball to right-centre, forcing Barnes to race over with the game on the line. "I just knew if he hit it out there, Id have to get a good bead on it," Barnes said. "Just try to get under it and not stop until the catch was made." Barnes caught Cabreras drive against the wall for the final out, and the Houston Astros avoided a season sweep against the Detroit Tigers with a 7-5 victory Wednesday. Carlos Corporan hit a tiebreaking double in the top of the ninth for the Astros, who lost their first six meetings with the Tigers by a combined 50-12. Houston barely held on in this one after scoring two runs in the ninth to take the lead. Jose Veras pitched the ninth for his fifth save in seven chances, but he walked two, and when he hit Torii Hunter with an 0-2 pitch, the bases were loaded with two out and Cabrera coming up. The Triple Crown winner came a few feet from a grand slam, but Barnes -- who entered as a pinch-runner in the top of the inning and stayed in to play centre -- had enough room to run it down and make the catch while jumping back a bit into the out-of-town scoreboard. The previous night, Detroits Andy Dirks hit a double to almost that same spot. Houston right-hander Lucas Harrell expressed frustration that the ball wasnt caught, and manager Bo Porter met with Harrell before Wednesdays game to discuss the teams philosophy on defensive shifts. Barnes said he was playing a bit deep for Cabrera, but wasnt too far to either side. "I was pretty straight up," Barnes said. "I mean, he can hit the ball anywhere." Corporan and J.D. Martinez homered for Houston, and Avisail Garcia went deep for the Tigers. Detroits Al Alburquerque (0-1) walked Martinez starting the ninth, and manager Jim Leyland pulled him. "Its depressing," Leyland said. "If I had seen any signs that he was going to throw the ball over the plate, I would have left him in. I didnt really want (Phil) Coke against a switch-hitter." Coke, a left-hander, came on and allowed Corporans double to the gap in left-centre. Matt Dominguez added a sacrifice fly. Alburquerque has struck out 26 in 14 1-3 innings this year, but hes also walked 13 and thrown six wild pitches. "Maybe not getting enough work -- I dont know the answer," Leyland said. "Hes struggling with his control." Hector Ambriz (1-2) got the win as Houston stopped a six-game losing streak. "Sometimes we pitch good but we dont hit. Sometimes we hit but we dont pitch good. Sometimes we put it together like today," Corporan said. "Weve been scoring some runs. It takes things like this to turn around some things." The Astros are without standout second baseman Jose Altuve, on the bereavement list following the death of his grandmother. The 21-year-old Garcia, playing centre field because of Austin Jacksons hamstring injury, hit his first major league homer in the second, a three-run shot to left-centre that gave the Tigers a 4-1 lead. Detroit starter Max Scherzer couldnt hold it. He allowed a double to Jake Elmore to start the fourth, then balked him to third. Carlos Pena hit a run-scoring single, and after a walk to Chris Carter, Martinez hit his third homer of the year, a no-doubter to left-centre that landed near Willie Hortons retired No. 23 on the brick facade well behind the visiting bullpen at Comerica Park. The three-run shot put the Astros ahead 5-4. Scherzer allowed five runs and five hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked three. Houston starter Dallas Keuchel allowed five runs -- four earned -- and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings. Detroit tied it at 5 with an unearned run in the sixth. With two out, shortstop Marwin Gonzalez misplayed Victor Martinezs grounder for an error. Jhonny Peralta followed with a single, and Matt Tuiasosopo tied it with a single. Corporan opened the scoring with a second-inning solo homer. The Tigers tied it in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Brayan Pena, and Garcia followed with his home run. NOTES: Keuchel and Detroit reliever Drew Smyly were roommates while playing college baseball at Arkansas. ... The Astros have Thursday off. Detroit sends ace Justin Verlander (4-3) to the mound at Texas in a terrific pitching matchup against Yu Darvish (6-1) of the Rangers. Steve Spurrier Jersey . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Norm Snead Jersey . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-steve-bono-jersey-large-1691f.html . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Ty Law Jersey . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. J. D. Smith Jersey . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Carson Palmer was ruled out of Thursdays game by the Arizona Cardinals, who must ask backup quarterback Drew Stanton to deliver a road win at San Francisco and keep the team from an unexpected 1-4 start.Palmer entered the week in concussion protocol, leaving the Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Rams with a head injury Sunday. The short week left little time for manipulating the Cardinals game plan against familiar NFC West foe San Francisco. The 49ers (1-3) have quarterback questions of their own.Arians said Tuesday before the team packed for Santa Clara, Calif., that his plan would not change much with Drew Stanton behind center Thursday.Yeah, not really, he said. I think the mindset is the same.Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said the Cardinals are confident in Stanton based on past performance. He went 5-3 in 2014 when Palmer was sidelined by a torn ACL.We have to keep playing. We have to keep fighting, Fitzgerald said.The Cardinals might go a bit more conservative -- Arians admits this is counter his typical approach -- and ask its defense to flex its muscles. That includes cutting loose hybrid safety Tyrann Mathieu, who said this week hes ready to return to his Honey Badger role and plans to play more in the slot and closer to the box Thursday night against the 49ers.That will certainly get the 49ers attention, according to 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert.Yeah, you always got to be aware of where he is on the football field, Gabbert said. Hes a talented, instinctive player that makes a lot of plays on the ball. You have to be aware of where hes lining up, whether hes in the slot or hes back at safety.The Cardinals have nine takeaways, second only to the Kansas City Chiefs (10), including five interceptions. Gabbert, who has just a 73.1 passer rating with four interceptions, is fighting to keep a hold on the starting job when Colin Kaepernick is deemed healthy. Kaepernick had offseason shoulder surgery and coach Chip Kelly said last week health is still holding Kaepernick back.Some picked the Cardinals to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl -- notably, Sports Illustrated tapped Cardinals-Steelers for Super Bowl LI in Houston -- but getting out of the West division will not be easy. Seattle is 3-1 and the Rams got a leg up on Arizona with a head-to-head win Sunday. That game turned on a punt return on which Arians felt Los Angeles could have been penalized.Not hes fearful his club will allow one painful loss to multiply.Well, you dont have a choice but to get past it. If it were a normal week, they couuld brood until they showed up Wednesday, Arians said.ddddddddddddAmong other changes to the depth chart, the Cardinals are sliding Andre Ellington to the No. 2 running back spot after Chris Johnson was placed on injured reserve this week. David Johnson leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage and remains entrenched as the starter. Already accounting for more than one-third of the Cardinals total offense, David Johnson could get a big workload Thursday night as the 49ers defense begins finding its way without inside linebacker Navorro Bowman (Achilles tendon), who was also placed on IR this week.The 49ers are also going without first-round pick DeForest Buckner (foot) and cornerback Jimmie Ward (quadricep), who were ruled out Wednesday.Protecting Gabbert with balance has become Kellys M.O., and running back Carlos Hyde has a league-leading five rushing touchdowns in four games. While the 49ers are 32nd in the NFL in passing, teams have not been able to stack the line to stuff Hyde, and San Francisco is converting 40 percent of third downs.The deep speed of wide receiver Torrey Smith keeps most defenses on their toes, even if his season stats -- nine catches, 106 yards, one touchdown -- dont tell that story.A lot of it just depends on how people play us, Kelly said. Weve gotten a lot of man coverage out there, and sometimes people are leaning safeties toward his side, so were taking advantage of whats going on.Slot receiver Jeremy Kerley sustained a somewhat minor ankle injury in the Week 4 loss to Dallas and is questionable for the Thursday game against the Cardinals. He has a team-high 18 receptions and could draw Mathieu if the Cardinals employ their preferred nickel package.It definitely will get us back in the thick of things of our true identity, said cornerback Patrick Peterson of Mathieu. The nickel position is a huge play-making position for us, and to have a guy of his caliber back at the position definitely is something that can help our defense. Is he ready? Well see. Only he will know that. Im excited to see him back in his normal role.Like the Cardinals, the 49ers are dealing with some key injuries.Tight end Vance McDonald has been limited in practice this week as he attempts to return from a hip injury that kept him out of the loss to Dallas. McDonald had a career-high six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown the last time he faced the Cardinals, on Nov. 29, 2015. ' ' '