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 China Jerseys . 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 Jerseys Free Shipping . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. https://www.chinajerseysfreeshipping.com/ .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Cheap Jerseys From China . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Stitched Authentic Jerseys . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. The mission for Chicago is clear: stop Angel McCoughtry.McCoughtry scored 37 points in Atlantas first-round playoff win over Seattle on Wednesday. The win set up a second-round, single-elimination game between the Dream and the Sky on Sunday. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. EDT at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.No player in the WNBA has been as dominant on the offensive end as McCoughtry since the Summer Olympics break. Shes leading the league in scoring at 23.4 points per game. And she already holds the WNBA playoff record scoring a game-high 42 points.Chicago, which earned a first-round bye, will have to find a way to contain McCoughtry, and they have to do it without 2015 WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, who was ruled out of Sundays game after having thumb surgery last week.Delle Donne is averaging 21.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. She was hurt on Sept. 7 against Washington and had surgery six days later.Atlanta advanced to the second round of the playoffs thanks to a fourth-quarter surge that secured a 94-85 home win over the Seattle Storm on Wednesday night.With the score tied 66-66, McCoughtry and Bria Holmes fueled a 24-6 run.The Sky watched intently as McCoughtry worked her magic against the Storm. Holmes added 21 points, givingg the Dream another solid option on offense as well as another player for the Sky to worry about.ddddddddddddAtlanta was without its second-leading scorer, Tiffany Hayes (15.0 points per game), who was suspended for the first round after picking up her seventh technical foul in the final regular-season game.Chicago earned a first-round bye despite losing Delle Donne and going 3-2 in their final five games.Delle Donne resumed practicing this week after having surgery. She was limited and finally ruled out of Sundays game.In Delle Donnes place, the Sky will lean on Cappie Pondexter for scoring and leadership. Pondexters 19.8 points per game in the playoffs is the fifth highest in league history.Maybe more important, Pondexter averaged 13.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in three games this season against Atlanta.Also having to step up in Delle Donnes absence will be Courtney Vandersloot, who was averaging 15.0 points per game in her last five games.When the two teams last met, the Sky hung on for a 90-82 win on Aug. 26 in Chicago. Atlanta won the previous two meetings between the two. ' ' '