Wii Talk » Smith greeted him with a pinch-hit homer to get Oakland

TORONTO -- The two worst teams in MLS square off Saturday in a game that gets uglier the closer you look. D.C. United (1-10-3) is winless in a club-record 12 league games. Visiting Toronto (1-7-5) is winless in 11. Catch all of the action live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV, tonight at 7pm et/4pm pt. United has taken just three of the last 36 points on offer, during which time the four-time league champion has scored just five times. An Eastern Conference playoff finalist last season, D.C. United has been shut out nine times in 2013 including its last three games. The team has gone 295 minutes without scoring, the sixth-longest streak in MLS this season and the eighth-longest in club history. Red Bulls star Thierry Henrys six goals match the total of Uniteds whole team and hes tied for fifth in league goal-scoring. D.C. United manager Ben Olsen and captain Dwayne De Rosario, a Canadian international and former league MVP, have bumped heads this year although a DeRo hat trick in U.S. Open Cup play this week no doubt helped heal the wounds. Toronto, which has scored once in its last five outings, is 1-17-9 in its last 27 MLS games dating back to July 28, 2012. It has picked up just five points out of a possible 33 in its current winless run. First-year manager Ryan Nelsen preaches confidence and patience as he continues his radical makeover of the struggling squad. On Thursday, Toronto sent its 21st player packing since the end of last season. Progress is slow. Toronto is only three points ahead of its pace last season when it opened with a league-record nine-game losing streak and was 1-10-2 at this point. Valuable points have been squandered through late goals. Toronto has lost 11 points in seven games through last-minute opposition strikes. Points are at a premium for both teams Saturday. "Its a big game," said Nelsen, a former D.C. United captain. "Everybody knows it. They know it, we know it." While Torontos record doesnt reflect it, Nelsen and his coaching staff have been separating the wheat from the chaff. The current roster contains some promising young talent and a few serviceable veterans. But it is short on creativity and lacks killer instinct. Several big pieces are missing. How bad has Torontos luck been this season? Reliable fullback Richard Eckersley has missed eight league games since injuring his hamstring celebrating a teammates goal in a 1-1- tie with FC Dallas on April 6. To make matters worse, he aggravated the inquiry while rehabbing it. Veteran defender Danny Califf has gone from starter to patient zero on the TFC roster. According to the team, Califf -- currently No. 5 on the centre-back depth chart -- has suffered from two viruses, in addition to a sore back and knees. One suspects someone on the coaching staff is having fun reading a medical dictionary while they try to trade the 33-year-old Califf and his US$165,000 salary. Striker Danny Koevermans, returning from a knee injury, was intrigued to learn a sore back had kept him out of practice. It was actually a virus, he assured reporters. Communication has not been a Toronto strongpoint this season. Open practices are a thing of the past, other than the final minutes of a session. And in a city whose media is beginning to ignore a soccer franchise that continues to be the league doormat, the coaching staff is pushing back rather than reaching out. Assistant coach Jim Brennan took time out Thursday to complain to a local reporter about a story. Nelsen, grilled about the teams poor run, recently told another beat reporter "youre not really educated on how a game can be" because they were only looking at the score, not the performances. Nelsen reinforced that point Thursday when he told reporters that his team had performed well, but just not been rewarded with points. "Youd have to be pretty deaf, dumb and blind (not to recognize) ... the progression from Game 1 to Philadelphia game," he said. "Theyre just two different teams that we are now. But weve just got to turn those performances into points." Perhaps the coaches are looking to shield their players. Or perhaps the frustration is getting to them. Nelsen can range from affable to annoyed, sometimes in the same scrum. Listening to the Kiwi, you might think Toronto FCs new management inherited a Sunday pub team rather than one bankrolled by a billion-dollar sports empire. Still eight managers and no playoffs speak volumes about Torontos woeful seven-year history. Rubbing salt into the wound, the recent Canada-U.S. womens soccer friendly set an attendance record at TFCs home stadium. The leagues own power rankings have D.C. United at 19th and last in the league. Toronto stands 17th, ahead of 3-8-2 Chivas. Washington would be a great place to start winning, especially since Nelsen, president Kevin Payne and chief scout Pat Onstad all spent time with D.C. United. Toronto captain Darren ODea is questionable at left back after picking up a bug while on international duty with Ireland. Centre back Doneil Henry, suspended after being red-carded last time out, will likely be replaced by Gale Agbossoumonde. Koevermans, returning from a long absence due to knee surgery, is likely to see action off the bench. D.C. United also has injury concerns. Midfielder Chris Pontius (concussion) and defenders Ethan White (hip flexor) and James Riley (adductor) will reportedly miss Saturdays game. Defender Dejan Jakovic (adductor) and midfielder Kyle Porter (calf), both Canadian internationals, are listed as questionable. NOTES -- D.C. United has a career a 10-3-2 all-time record against Toronto FC and won all three meetings last year. Toronto has not won at RFK Stadium since 2010. Clearance Shoes Australia . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Shoes Australia From China . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. https://www.shoesaustraliaonline.com/ . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Cheap Shoes Australia Free Shipping .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Wholesale Shoes Australia . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday.HOUSTON -- Chris Young has had a tough start to the season, with a sub-.200 batting average and was 0 for 5 entering Fridays game. Turns out that his slump was nothing a trip home and belly full of moms barbecue couldnt cure. Young connected on a three-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Oakland Athletics to a 6-5 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night. "Moms cooking definitely has something to do with it for sure," said Young, who grew up in Houston and spent an off day Thursday with his family. "Barbecue, just good old Texas southern barbeque. It always does the trick for me." Young is hitting just .189 this season. But hes a career .418 hitter at Minute Maid Park with seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 19 games in his hometown. Manager Bob Melvin, who also saw Young thrive in Houston when he played for him in Arizona, wasnt surprised by his performance on Friday. "Hes got quite a track record here in this ballpark," Melvin said. "It seems like every time he comes here whether hes not swinging all that well or he is he ends up doing some big things here." The As trailed 5-3 before closer Jose Veras (0-3) walked two of the first three batters of the inning to set the table for Young. He turned on a curveball to put Oakland up 6-5. "I didnt make the pitch that I was supposed to make, and then I paid for it," Veras said. "You fall behind, fall behind, and then youve got to pay one day." Young stood at the plate for a couple of seconds admiring the towering shot before heading to first base. He raised both arms and pointed to the section where about 50 friends and relatives were sitting before heading into the dugout after reaching home plate. "Its nice to have the whole family in the stands," he said. "Its one of the places where you feel a lot of love, a lot of support. Houstons always treated me well, I like coming home so its partly that and partly the yard plays pretty good for my swing." Seth Smith had a solo pinch-hit homer for Oakland in the sixth inning. Pat Neshek (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and Grant Balfour walked two in the ninth before getting his 10th save. He has converted 28 straight save opportunities since last season. J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer and Matt Dominguez also homered in a five-run fifth inning for the Astros, who fell to 0-7 against Oakland this season. The Athletics were up by two before Dominguez got Houstons big fifth inning going with his first-pitch home run off Tommy Milone. Jose Altuve tied it with an RBI single before Martinez homered for the second straight game to give the Astros a 5-2 lead. Houston starter Erik Bedard yielded four hits and two runs in five innings. He gave up both runs in the first inning before settling down. Milone became the fourth straight Oakland starter to last seven innings. He gave up eight hits and five runs with six strikeouts. By scoring five runs, the Astros ended a streak of Oakland allowing three or fewer runs in six straight games.dddddddddddd Coco Crisp drew a leadoff walk before Young extended his hitting streak against the Astros to 15 games with a single. An RBI single by Yoenis Cespedes put Oakland up 1-0. Bedard then plunked Josh Donaldson before retiring Derek Norris for the first out. Luke Montz then grounded into a force out and Young scored to make it 2-0. Houston couldnt do much against Milone early and he retired 14 of the first 16 batters he faced. He struck out the first two batters of the fifth inning before Dominguez launched his fifth homer of the season to the back of the Crawford Boxes to cut the lead to 2-1. It was the first of five consecutive hits for the Astros. Ronny Cedeno and Robbie Grossman hit back-to-back singles before Jose Altuve snapped an 0 for 18 slump with an RBI single to tie it at 2-all. Second baseman Eric Sogard almost ended the inning on Cedenos hit, but the ball dropped just out of his reach after he sprinted and slid to try and snag it in shallow centre field. Martinez gave the Astros a 5-2 lead with his three-run shot. It was Martinezs second consecutive game with a home run after he hit a two-run shot in Houstons win over the Royals on Wednesday. Milone finally escaped the inning when Carlos Corporan grounded out. "Really I never even thought about getting anybody up at that point he had been pitching so well and it happened so quickly," Melvin said of the fifth inning. "But its a little unlike him because he usually can stem the tide and keep from having the big inning like that. It just wasnt the case tonight." Paul Clemens replaced Bedard for the sixth inning and Smith greeted him with a pinch-hit homer to get Oakland within 5-3. It was the sixth pinch-hit homer of Smiths career and the second by Oakland this season. Young had a single in the seventh inning and that and his homer were Oaklands only hits after Smiths homer. Young also had a three-run homer in his last appearance at Minute Maid Park to help the As to a 9-3 win on April 7. NOTES: Los Angeles Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan, who is from Houston, threw out the first pitch. ... The series continues on Saturday when Oaklands A.J. Griffin faces Lucas Harrell. ... Oakland SS Jed Lowrie was out of the lineup for a second straight game after being hit by a pitch on his right foot on Tuesday night. Melvin said he was feeling better Friday and that the injury wasnt something that would put him on the disabled list. ... Houston OF Justin Maxwell, on the disabled list with a broken bone in his left hand, took about 20 swings in batting practice on Friday and is schedule to go to extended spring training in Florida on Wednesday to take live at-bats. ... Houston minor league OF Jonathan Singleton will finish his 50 game suspension for a drug of abuse and report to Class A Quad Cities on Monday. ' ' '