01-07-2020, 06:07 AM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Lucas Duda hit a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday night, rallying the New York Mets over the Houston Astros 2-1.Held to two hits by four Houston pitchers through eight innings, the Mets came back against Tony Sipp (4-3).Eric Young Jr. tripled with one out and stayed there on Daniel Murphys flyout to shallow left field.Duda followed with a line drive off the right-field foul screen for his 29th home run, and the first game-ending homer of his career.Jenrry Mejia (6-6) pitched one inning for the win.Jose Altuve, hitless in four at-bats for Houston, heads into Sunday with a chance to win the AL batting title. He leads the majors at .340, and Detroits Victor Martinez is at .337.Altuve is vying to become the first player in Astros history to win a batting crown.On the eve of the regular seasons final day, two clubs with losing records and an eye on the future matched zeros for the first five innings in front of an announced crowd of 34,886 a€” many presumably for a postgame concert by 18-year-old Austin Mahone.Houston scored in the sixth. Dexter Fowler hit a slow roller that straddled the line and third baseman Daniel Murphy advanced on the grounder, wishing it foul by waving his glove over the ball. He eventually scooped it up in fair territory, just short of the bag, for a single.Jason Castro followed with an RBI double that chased Mets starter Rafael Montero. Reliever Buddy Carlyle limited any further damage, striking out Jake Marisnick with runners at the corners.Astros starter Samuel Deduno gave up one hit in four innings, striking out four and walking one. It was his first start since June 14 with Minnesota at Detroit.Deduno had made four relief appearances for Houston since being claimed off waivers on Aug. 30.Deduno also got his first big league hit, a hard-hit double to deep centre in the third that caused his teammates on the Houston bench to erupt in cheers and fist-pumping.Owners of the worst ERA in the American League, the Houston bullpen proceeded to stifle New Yorks lineup until the ninth. Relievers Jake Buchanan, Kevin Chapman and Jose Veras combined for four innings of one-hit ball.Montero, starting in place of fellow rookie Jacob deGrom, escaped trouble several times in the early innings.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: Deduno was limited to 65 pitches because he hasnt been out there in a long time, according to interim manager Tom Lawless.Mets: LHP Jonathan Niese, who exited Friday nights game in the sixth inning with an elevated heart rate, was feeling better on Saturday. Hes all right. I think hes got an appointment on Monday to be looked at again but hes fine today, Mets manager Terry Collins said. Hes had these before. He said last night he just got a little more light-headed than usual. ... OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, scratched from the lineup on Friday night due to an illness, was in a local hospital Saturday and was not expected to be released until Sunday. Hes got an infection of some type, said Collins. All the lab work should come back tonight. ... 2B Dilson Herrera (strained right quad) will not play the rest of the season.UP NEXTThe Mets start RHP Bartolo Colon (14-13, 4.08) for the regular-season finale, looking to win 15 games for the eighth time in his career. The former Cy Young Award winner last pitched on Tuesday in Washington, taking the loss after allowing four runs over six innings. Astros rookie starter RHP Nick Tropeano (1-2, 3.78), hails from West Islip, less than an hour drive from Citi Field, and pitched at nearby Stony Brook University. The 24-year-old is expecting a large cheering section comprised of family and friends on Sunday afternoon, saying that the total number of well-wishers may top 100. Tropeano, who grew up a Yankees fan but attended several Mets games at Shea Stadium, has dropped two straight decisions after winning his major league debut on September 10 in Seattle. Marlon Humphrey Jersey .com) - The Boston Bruins announced Monday that the team has signed goaltender Niklas Svedberg to a one-year contract. Anthony Levine Sr. Jersey .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. http://www.customravensjersey.com/custom...-883d.html . The former world No. 1 Djokovic, who is the top seed here despite being ranked No. 2, snuck past 35-year-old Czech showman Radek Stepanek in four high- quality sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), on Centre Court. Djokovic appeared relieved when he converted on his first match point by swatting a cross-court forehand winner that just caught the line to end an affair that featured only two service breaks. Morgan Cox Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan examines a team facing some challenging times as GM Bryan Murray tries to put together a roster for next season. Perhaps the first challenge facing Murray is that its expected he will be moving out Jason Spezza, a premier point producer who is about to enter the final year of his contract. Sam Koch Jersey . - Maynor Figueroa headed in a late goal to give Honduras a 1-1 draw with the United States in an international friendly Tuesday.After another blizzard of blistering darts from world No 1 Michael van Gerwen, the Dutchman will be desperate to add another World Championship title to his trophy cabinet, says Wayne Mardle. The world No 1 scooped his 21st tournament win of the year with an incredible 5-2 triumph over Gary Anderson in Saturdays final.A stunning 160 finish, his second ton-plus finish of the game, followed seven 180s and moved his average to 100.29, the highest in a World Grand Prix final to surpass Phil Taylors 100.17 in the 2002 decider to complete his hat-trick on The Emerald Isle. MVG seals Dublin hat-trick Michael van Gerwen wins World Grand Prix for a third time And Mardle says it would be a travesty if Mighty Mike failed to add to his 2014 title.I think theres a real funny thing going on Ive got to say, admitted the Sky Sports darts expert. For all the things hes winning, hes somehow got to add to his world title tally. All the reaction from Dublin as van Gerwen beat Anderson 5-2 to win the World Grand Prix title for a third time Theres no point in his retiring in 10, 15 or 20 years whatever it is and have one world title in the bank. That would be an absolute travesty. Hes head and shoulders above everyone else barring Gary Anderson. Phil Taylor is just below Gary and no offence to the rest and I couldnt care less if I upset them or not, theyre nowhere near them three.Adrian Lewis and James Wade cant compete with these two and Phil Taylor is better than them.For Michael, this is something he loves doing and is just something thats on the road to the worlds. Hes going to be hard to beat, but he is beatable. Theres no point in his retiring in 10, 15 or 20 years whatever it is and have one world title in the bank. That would be an absolute travesty. Wayne Mardle Former three-time world champion John Part feels Van Gerwen is desperate to win again at Alexandra Palace but says he puts too much pressure on himself.Thats the one he wants to win the most, so its the pressure hes put on himself and its also the one everyone else wants to win the most too. Theres a combination of factors, said Part. I think he will win more titles but he needs to loosen up a bit more and stop trying so hard. He knows hes the best player in the world. John Part thinks that there will be no pressure on Gary Anderson to win a third World Championship title Mardle was impressed with the 27-year-olds display at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin as he followed up his 2012 and 2014 triumphs with one of the greatest performances in the double-start events history.ddddddddddddThe first five sets, Michael averaged over 100 in each of those five sets and no matter what Gary was trying to do or trying to achieve, Michael was keeping him down and not letting him breath, he said. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just £6.99. No contract. Van Gerwen celebrates after winning the Grand Prix (Picture courtesy of Lawrence Lustig/PDC) You continue to put someone under pressure then eventually they will either crack and lose or they fight back and you think hold on, whats going on and thats what happened for about a set where Gary got one back and made it 4-2. Van Gerwen finished the match with a magnificent 160 checkout The turning point for me was the last leg of the fifth set. It could have gone 3-2, but it didnt and it went 4-1. For me, that was kind of the game done and dusted even though Gary won a set after that.Gary wasnt playing well enough and Michael wasnt playing bad enough to come back to 4-4. It was a great performance by Michael van Gerwen. It was something like weve never seen before for the first five sets. You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: MVG seals Dublin hat-trick MVG bt Anderson recap! Sky Bets darts odds On Sky TV ' ' '