Regeln » will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN.This is my

HOUSTON -- During Houstons terrible start to the season both Carlos Gomez and Luis Valbuena struggled.The pair has turned things around since then and its helped the Astros do the same.Gomez had three RBI and finished a home run shy of the cycle and Valbuena hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning to help the Astros sweep the Seattle Mariners with a 9-8 victory Wednesday night.Manager A.J. Hinch thinks his team feeds off Gomezs energy.He had a spectacular night, Hinch said. He showed off a lot of his strengths. His athleticism, I thought he played good on defense, had a nice running catch in left-center. He doesnt have an off button ... he played a really complete game and were a completely different team when hes doing his thing.The game was tied at 7 with one on and one out when Valbuena launched a towering shot off Edwin Diaz (0-2) to the second deck in right field for his second straight game with a homer.All of his 11 homers have come since May 7.His powers always been there; hes got huge power to the pull side but a lot of that comes with getting a good pitch to hit and doing damage when he does get that pitch, Hinch said.Ken Giles (1-3) struck out two in a scoreless eighth for the win. Luke Gregerson allowed an RBI double to Robinson Cano with one out in the ninth before striking out Dae-Ho Lee with the bases loaded for his 14th save.The sweep moves Houston into sole possession of second place in the AL West behind Texas.I dont think we played particularly well here, Seattle manager Scott Servais said. They did. They played better than we did, at the end of the day thats what happens. For whatever reason after finishing up strong on the homestand just didnt carry it over down here.Houston led by five runs early before Cano, Kyle Seager and Lee all homered in the fourth inning to cut the lead 5-4. The Astros stretched the lead to 7-4 with a two-run sixth before a three-run homer by Seth Smith tied it in the seventh.Evan Gattis added a solo homer for Houston and Carlos Correa had two hits and an RBI.Seattle had runners on first and second with one out in the seventh when Smith connected off Michael Feliz to tie it at 7-7.It was a tough night for both starters. Houstons Mike Fiers allowed five hits and four runs in 3 1/3 innings.Seattles Wade LeBlanc also lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and five runs -- four earned.Correa had an RBI double in the first and Gomez pushed the lead to 3-0 when he sent two runners home with a double later in the inning.Gattis opened Houstons second inning with his home run to make it 4-0.Gomez hit a triple, which landed on Tals Hill in center field, with two outs in the third to extend the lead to 5-0.Fiers had allowed just one hit when Cano sent the second pitch of the fourth inning into the seats in right field for his 20th homer to cut the lead to 5-1. Its the seventh season with 20 homers for Cano, making him the sixth second baseman in major league history to hit at least 20 homers in seven seasons.A walk by Nelson Cruz came next before Seager homered into the second deck in right field to make it 5-3.After a short coaching visit to the mound, Lee gave the Mariners back-to-back homers for the third time this season with his shot, which also came with two strikes, to get Seattle within one.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: RHP Felix Hernandez felt good after throwing 45 pitches in a simulated game Wednesday and will make a rehabilitation start for Class-A Everett on Sunday. If that goes well hell throw at Triple-A Tacoma on July 15 and return to Seattles rotation on July 20. ... RHP Taijuan Walker was placed on the DL on Wednesday with tendinitis his right foot. Servais said he will visit a specialist soon and theyll determine a plan for his recovery.UP NEXTMariners: James Paxton (2-3, 4.24) will start for the Mariners on Thursday when they begin a four-game series at Kansas City. Paxton allowed nine hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings in a 12-6 win over Baltimore on Saturday.Astros: Doug Fister (8-5, 3.66) is scheduled to start for the Astros when they open a four-game series against Oakland. Fister looks to get back on track after dropping two straight following a seven-game winning streak.Fake Hockey Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. Authentic Hockey Jerseys . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. Custom Hockey Jerseys .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Cheap Hockey Jerseys Authentic . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula.Its been a rough year for the Idaho football program, but the Vandals are ending it on a high note.Idaho (8-4) has qualified for a bowl game in what is its second-to-last year playing major college football.The Vandals were unceremoniously kicked out of the Sun Belt Conference earlier this year, and the administration decided it had had enough of FBS football and chose to become the first program in modern times to voluntarily drop to the FCS ranks.In two decades as an FBS program, Idaho has qualified for a bowl only three times. The Vandals will face Colorado State on Dec. 22 at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho. Their other bowl appearances have been in Boise as well.Coach Paul Petrino acknowledged it is sweet vindication to reach the postseason.It was a great feeling, Petrino said. Thats one reason Im so proud of our players. Theyve been kicked out of a conference and told they were going to change divisions. They never worried about that. They worried about playing one game at a time.Idaho won six of its final seven games to finish with a 6-2 mark in the Sun Belt, a collection of teams in the southeastern U.S. whose closest member is 2,000 miles from the Vandals campus in tiny Moscow, Idaho.The Sun Belt found that it didnt need Idaho or New Mexico State any longer in order to host a conference championship game and gave both the boot earlier this year.Idaho President Chuck Staben decided the two-decade experiment as an FBS program was producing only high expenses, with few wins and few fans to compensate. The Vandals averaged fewer than three wins per season as an FBS program since 1996, with eight 10-loss seasons.Crowds were sparse in the 16,000-seat Kibbiedome, a giant wooden stadium built in the shape of a Quonset hut.After next season, the Vandals will return to the FCS Big Sky Conference, a league they dominated in the 1980s and early 1990s.That will mean lower overall costs, especially with 22 fewer scholarships to provide, and lower travel costs.Staben said there was no chance the decision will be revisited now.In the long term, this well-deserved bowl invitation doess not change factors that informed our decision to join the Big Sky after the 2017-2018 season, versus pursuing an unsustainable future as an FBS independent team, Staben said.ddddddddddddRight now, were focused on celebrating the accomplishments of our student-athletes, Staben added.With all the turmoil surrounding them, you might have thought the Vandals would resume their losing ways, and at first they did.They opened the season with a victory over Montana State then were blown out by No. 4 Washington and Washington State of the Pac-12. They improved after that and finished the season with a four-game winning streak.We played two tough Pac-12 teams and got our butts whupped a little bit, said Petrino, the brother of Louisville coach Bobby Petrino. Our guys just kept fighting. Our kids got better and better. They found a way to win games.The Vandals are led by junior quarterback Matt Linehan, a son of Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator and former Vandal quarterback Scott Linehan.Matt Linehan said the Vandals were pleased to be headed to Boise, a city where they have a lot of alumni and are likely to draw a big, friendly crowd.It didnt matter what bowl we were going to, Linehan said. There was just a sigh of relief that we knew we were going.Linehan has thrown for 2,803 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. Five of his receivers have caught passes for at least 350 yards.Vandals players expressed satisfaction that the game will be the only televised bowl game on Dec. 22 and will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN.This is my first time ever playing in a nationally televised game, said defensive back Jayshawn Jordan. Its a great way to end my college career.Linehan and other Vandals players have endured some lean seasons, and appreciate the success now.Weve gone through enough adversity to fight through it, Linehan said. Were happy to be here at this point.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '