Post by lingzi on Sept 27, 2012 1:22:32 GMT -5
HOUSTON -- Brian Ching scored on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute, and the Houston Dynamo held on for a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Lawrence Timmons Jersey . Houston (6-5-5, 23 points) won for the second time in its past four games, while Philadelphia (3-9-2, 11 points) has lost three of the past four and six of its past eight games. Ching knocked the penalty kick just under the crossbar inside the near post and in. Ching drew the penalty kick in the 81st minute after being taken down from behind by Philadelphias Gabriel Farfan in the box. Keon Daniel tied the game at 1-1 in the 46th minute, taking a pass from Brian Carroll in the centre of the field, turning and shooting from 25 yards out into the left net. Brad Davis put Houston ahead 1-0 in the 20th minute after getting a pass from Macoumba Kandji and hitting from 14 yards out on the left box just inside the far post. Honduran national team member Oscar Boniek Garcia also got an assist on the goal, his first assist in his first game with the Dynamo since being acquired via transfer in early June. The win extends Houstons unbeaten streak at home to 15 games, and the Dynamo havent lost at home since a 2-0 loss to Columbus on June 18, 2011. Steve Johnson Jersey . Daequan Cook proved to be the perfect substitute for the NBAs top-scoring bench player. Durant scored 32 points and Cook had all 19 of his points in the fourth quarter to rally the Thunder to a 118-110 win against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night in their first game since Harden took an elbow to the head. Reggie Wayne Youth Jersey . Instead, the Texas Rangers had a successful squeeze bunt and the lead, and the Oakland As had a mess on their hands. Dwight Freeney Youth Jersey . Two nights after visiting the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Habs continue their longest road trip of the season in Chicago to take on the NHL- leading Blackhawks. Heath Miller Womens Jersey . -- Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia doesnt expect Bobby Abreu to be a distraction in the clubhouse this season. Karlos Dansby Jersey .5 percent year-on-year to 6,321 in 2008, hitting a record high since comparable data became available in 2000, said a survey released by the National Police Agency (NPA) on Thursday.PITTSBURGH -- Through the first five innings on Sunday, the Kansas City Royals couldnt get a hit. During the final four innings, they just couldnt get a hit when it mattered. The Royals struggles with runners in scoring position continued, and it led to another loss. The Pittsburgh Pirates finished off a sweep with a 3-2 win on Sunday. Kansas City went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position Sunday to cap a series in which they had four hits in 29 such situations. "Were not getting it done," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Make up all the excuses you want. Weve just got to get hits with runners in scoring position. Im done with making excuses. Its a hard game -- theres nothing easy about it. They will drive in runs. Theyre just not doing it right now." Andrew McCutchen homered and drove in three runs and A.J. Burnett won his fifth consecutive start for Pittsburgh, which finished their first sweep of an AL team in more than a decade. Alex Gordon and Alicedes Escobar each had two hits for the Royals, who have lost four in a row and six of eight. Burnett (6-2) had a no-hitter through 5 1-3 innings until Gordon singled with one out in the sixth. He did not allow a baserunner until Eric Hosmer drew a two-out walk in the fourth or a run until Escobars two-out RBI double in the seventh. But despite 10 baserunners over the final five innings, the Royals managed only two runs. Gordon scored when Hosmer hit into a fielders choice in the eighth. Kansas City left two men on at the end of each of the final three innings. "Those are opportunities when we crawl back in, we need to get big hits," outfielder Mitch Maier said. "We had chances there. ... Thats a time that we needed to capitalize and get those big knocks. Obviously, thats the key to this game. Thats how you win and lose games. And we werent able to do it this weekend." McCutchen hit an RBI double in the first inning and hit a two-run homer in the third, giving the Pirates enough offence to win their fourth in a row despite having only three hits from all their other players. "The fact that McCutchen was the one who hurt us, thats the fact Im very concerned about," Kansas City catcher Brayan Pena said. McCutchen has feasted on left-handers, improving his average to .463 against them after two hits in his first two at bats against Bruce Chen. This was the 50th interleague series the Pirates had played since taking three in a row from the Cleveland Indians on June 15-17, 2001. Since May 25, the Pirates have the best record in the majors at 12-3. &"This weekend was outstanding," Burnett said. Dustin Keller Jersey. . "We are playing good ball now and we are hitting on a couple of cylinders and its fun to watch." Burnett was charged with two runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 7 1-3 innings. Pittsburgh has won his past seven starts. Burnett had a streak of 20 consecutive innings without an earned run at PNC Park snapped in the seventh. He is 4-0 with a 1.27 ERA at home this season. "He had good tempo and good rhythm today on a hot day, and he was really efficient with things," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "It was a very, very solid performance all across the board for A.J. today." Tony Watson came on with runners at first and third and one out in the eighth, allowing Gordon to score on a Hosmer fielders choice. Juan Cruz walked the bases loaded but struck out Maier for the final out of the eighth. With closer Joel Hanrahan unavailable because he had appeared in the past three games, Jason Grilli worked around trouble the ninth for his fourth career save and first of the season. With two on and no outs, Grilli stuck out Gordon and Johnny Giavotella to end the game. McCutchen entered the game with 15 hits in his past 27 at-bats against left-handers. Despite going hitless over the first two games of the series, he made it 17 for 29 over the course of the first three innings. "I hadnt been feeling that great the past few days, but after a few times out in the cage, I was able to put a show forth today," McCutchen said. His first-inning double to right drove in Alex Presley, who led off the inning with a single. With Neil Walker on and two outs in the third, McCutchen lifted a 1-2 pitch from Bruce Chen into the left-field bleachers for his 11th of the season. "Hes leading everybody hitting left-handers," Yost said. "We really tried, even in the first inning, we didnt want to throw him a strike." Chen (5-6) allowed three runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts in five innings. He came into the game with five wins in his past six starts but fell to 0-4 in his career at PNC Park. The Royals have lost 24 of their past 33 games against NL teams. NOTES: Four of the first six Royals to reach base in the game stole a base. Opponents have been successful in 23 consecutive stolen base attempts against the Pirates. ... The Royals next three games are the only ones at home over a 12-game interleague stretch that began in Pittsburgh. The Brewers play at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday-Thursday. ' ' '