BALTIMORE-- The Baltimore Orioles are hoping to fare a little better than the last time when they take on Houston Thursday in the start of a four-game series.The Astros swept the Orioles in a three-game series in Houston back in May, holding the potent Baltimore lineup to just seven runs and scoring two one-run victories and a two-run decision.Baltimore (66-53) is in the midst of a three-team battle in the American League East and needs to find some success against Houston. The Orioles are just 3-7 versus the Astros over the past two years.In addition, the Orioles are trying to bounce back after being swept at home by a hot Boston team. The Red Sox scored 13 runs in two nights and moved into second place in the American League East, one game behind Toronto and one game ahead of the Orioles, with the rain-shortened 8-1 victory over Baltimore on Wednesday.Theyve got a lot of good hitters, and its tough to hold them down, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.The Orioles have experienced more troubles with their pitching in the last two weeks. During that time, the starters and bullpen cant seem to pitch well at the same time, and the mistakes have come more often.When guys are hot, mistakes are something they live on, so being able to execute quality pitches is (important), catcher Matt Wieters said. Good pitching is going to beat good hitting most times if youre able to make quality pitching.Right-hander Kevin Gausman (3-10, 4.04 ERA) is trying to do what Wieters talked about. Hes been inconsistent throughout the season. His last start is an example of the up-and-down performances hes turned in.Gausman gave up two runs on two hits in San Francisco Saturday and struck out nine -- but walked six and lasted just four innings, taking the loss in a 6-2 defeat.Right now, the Orioles are trying to bounce back after losing both games to Boston at home.Thankfully it was only a two-games series, said Chris Davis. We still have a lot of time left, so well regroup and get after it tomorrow.The Astros (61-59) have stumbled a bit recently, losing their fourth straight Wednesday, 8-2 to St. Louis, but remain in the fight for the Wild Card. Theyll have a bunch of road games in a tough schedule but manager A.J. Hinch said his team will keep fighting.With the way the American League is shaping up, the next six weeks are going to be incredible, Hinch said to MLB.com. It makes for a jumbled mess to where you realize all you need to focus on is winning your next game and win as many games as you can. Its probably going to take in the upper 80s (in wins) to get into the playoffs, so until you get close to that number, its pretty much a moot point.Houston right-hander Joe Musgrove will be making his fourth major league appearance and third start. Musgrove (1-0, 1.47) earned his first win in last Fridays 5-3 victory over Toronto.The rookie, who made his major league debut on Aug. 2 versus the Jays, gave up two runs on six hits in seven innings last Friday in the win.He also struck out seven with just one walk. So far, Musgroves struck out 21 with just two walks in his first 18 1/3 innings. Wholesale 49ers Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. 49ers Jerseys China Cheap . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. http://www.cheap49ersjerseysauthentic.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Cheap 49ers Jerseys . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. 49ers Jerseys China . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. The Atlanta Braves will finish in last place in the National League East but showed some signs of promise as the end of the season played out.So who has been their MVP this year: Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran,?Matt Kemp or Ender Inciarte? Cast your vote in the poll below (stats entering Friday).Thee Braves wrap up the regular season with a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers this weekend, which will be the final games played at Turner Field.dddddddddddd.? ' ' '