Clan-Members » good things today against a tough pitcher," Longoria s

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are hopeful that a successful series against Houston is the start of a turnaround. Yunel Escobar drove in two runs during a three-run sixth inning and the Rays beat the Astors 5-2 on Sunday. Escobar hit a two-run single and Sean Rodriguez had an RBI grounder off Dallas Keuchel (8-5) to give the Rays a 4-2 lead in the sixth. The Rays are 8-18 over their past 26 games, including five wins in seven games against Houston. Tampa Bay took three of four in the weekend series. "We won, thats the bottom line," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. "Weve got a lot of work to do. We put ourselves in a pretty good hole, but I think that the belief on a daily basis is still we can come to the ballpark and win." Keuchel allowed five runs and nine hits in an eight-inning complete game. It was his third complete game this season. "We did some good things today against a tough pitcher," Longoria said. Dexter Fowler put the Astros up 1-0 when he hit the first pitch of the game from Erik Bedard into the left-field seats. It was his ninth career leadoff homer and third this season. Bedard, who was with Houston last season, gave up two runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. Juan Carlos Oviedo (3-2) got two outs in the sixth for the win. Joel Peralta pitched the ninth for his first save. Rodriguez made it 5-2 on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. Houston took a 2-1 lead in the third on Jose Altuves single. Jonathan Villar opened the inning with a double, was awarded a steal of third after a replay challenge resulted in an out call being overturned and scored on the hit by Altuve. Altuve has 13 hits in his past 24 at-bats. The Rays tied it at 1 in the bottom of the first on Longorias single Desmond Jennings was caught attempting to steal home with Longoria batting to end the third, a call that was confirmed by a replay review. After catcher Carlos Corporan threw the ball back to Keuchel, Jennings broke for the plate, but was tagged by Corporan after a return throw from Keuchel. "I know he does some uncharacteristic stuff," Kuechel said. "I dont turn my back from the guy on third, so I caught him out of the corner of my eye and just tried to get the ball out as soon as possible." "I still think Desmond was safe," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I think throughout this whole process, the think thats really standing out to me, Im into replay, I still believe there needs to be a separate group of umpires that are just out there specifically for replay only. That I hope would be the next step in regards to getting this thing nailed down." NOTES: SS Carlos Correa, taken first overall in the 2012 draft by the Astros, left Saturdays game with Class A Lancaster with a right ankle injury, which occurred while sliding. He will go on the disabled list. "Carlos was examined last night at a local hospital in California," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "He will travel to Houston early this week to be evaluated further by the Astros medical staff before determining next steps." ... Rays RHP Alex Cobb (2-5) will go against Pirates RHP Edinson Volquez (4-6) in the opener of a three-game series Monday. ... The Astros are off Monday. ... Houston starts a three-game series Tuesday against Atlanta with RHP Scott Feldman (3-4) and Braves RHP Aaron Harang (5-6) the scheduled starters. ... Three-year old Ireland Nugent, who has been fitted with leg prosthetics after a lawnmower accident, threw the ceremonial first pitch. Gordon Hayward Jersey . -- Desperate to stop Tom Bradys latest comeback bid, the Miami Dolphins sought help from a reserve safety making his NFL debut after being signed Tuesday off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. John Havlicek Celtics Jersey . -- Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Larry-Bird-Jersey/. Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted he knowingly had a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a semi-automatic pistol without a license. Kevin Mchale Celtics Jersey . -- Canadian Erik Bedard pitched into the fifth inning in his bid to win a spot in Tampa Bays rotation, helping the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Saturday. Gordon Hayward Celtics Jersey .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York.GRAPEVINE, Texas - The first College Football Playoff expanded the national championship race, made the regular season even more intriguing and produced a final four with major star power.Nick Sabans No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Urban Meyers No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes at the Sugar Bowl.Marcus Mariota, this seasons Heisman Trophy front-runner, and second-seeded Oregon vs. Jameis Winston, last seasons Heisman Trophy winner, and defending national champion Florida State at the Rose Bowl.The winners will meet on Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas, at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.A new era, indeed, but with the same old problems: What is the best way to pick the teams and what should be the criteria?After six weeks of ranking teams, the selection committee shuffled its deck Sunday and dealt the Big 12 out of the playoff.Were smarting today, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said.TCU, which had been third in the rankings last week, ended up sixth. Big 12 co-champion Baylor moved up a spot to No. 5, but both were squeezed out by Ohio State, which won over the committee with a doozy of a closing statement in its conference championship game: a 59-0 victory against Wisconsin for the Big Ten title.I would say that human nature is that the most recent thing that occurs, in this case the most-recent achievements, are the most impactful, Bowlsby said. Ohio States victory over Wisconsin was complete domination, and in that regard they played their way into the position they now enjoy.The Big 12 doesnt have one of those anymore. Its teams play only 12 games, compared to 13 for champions of the other Big Five conferences.Bowlsby and his conference athletic directors are meeting in New York this week and he anticipates the topic of how best to determine a champion will come up.This will be a catalyst for discussion for sure, Bowlsby said.The Big 12 cant hold a championship game because it only has 10 teams, but the conference, along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, is trying to change that. The leagues have proposed getting rid of NCAA rules requiring a conference have 12 teams split into two divisions to play a title game.Holding one with 10 teams that play a nine-game round-robin schedule isnt ideal because the game would always be a rematch, Bowlsby said.I ddont know with 10 its something that we would necessarily do, Bowlsby said.dddddddddddd But conference expansion is a complicated issue that goes well beyond whether to hold a championship game.Bowlsby cautioned about making a knee-jerk reaction to one years results. He said his faith in the process has not wavered.We put a system in place and I helped to put it in place and I have confidence in that system. And I have confidence in the impeccable integrity of the people in that room, he said.Baylor coach Art Briles wasnt so sure.I think the committee needs to be a little more regionalized with people that are associated with the south part of the United States, he said. Im not sure there is a connection on there that is that familiar with the Big 12 Conference.There were five active athletic directors on the 12-member committee, one from each of the Big Five conferences. The Big 12 was represented by West Virginias Oliver Luck. The Mountaineers have been in the Big 12 for three seasons.Maybe the most jarring part of Sundays unveiling was TCU dropping three spots from the last rankings. The Horned Frogs seemed to be secure at No. 3 last week, and then beat lowly Iowa State by 52 on Sunday.Committee chairman Jeff Long said TCUs drop was more about the Buckeyes than the Frogs, but it highlighted a problem with weekly rankings. Commissioners initially leaned toward not having them when they first started putting the playoff together.While Long would emphasize every week the committee started with a clean slate, traditionally college football polls create a pecking order for teams that only gets disrupted by losses.The top six teams in last weeks rankings all won on Saturday. On Sunday, the teams were the same, but the order was very different. And it left many fans wondering why.Long said it was too soon to say what changes the committee would recommend to the commissioners. Its safe to say the benefit of having weekly rankings will be addressed when Longs crew reconvenes in a couple of months.I think that the committee will look at this year, look at this season, look how the entire process went, he said.Until then, let the playoff games begin.___Follow AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '