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  • Posted August 19, 2019
    HOUSTON -- With the top of Houstons batting order struggling Friday night, the players at the bottom came through to help the Astros keep their winning streak intact. Fabinho Jersey . Jonathan Villar broke an 0-for-26 slump with a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning and the Astros won their seventh straight game with a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the annual Major League Baseball Civil Rights game. It is the first time Houston, losers of 100-plus games the last three seasons, has won seven straight since 2010. Brett Oberholtzer (2-6) allowed four hits and a run in seven innings for the win and Chad Qualls got the last four outs for his fifth save. "Everybody did their part tonight," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "Oberholtzer was outstanding. The bullpen came in and was able to close it out and hold the game right there. Overall, just a great team win." The Astros had one hit before Matt Dominguez doubled to start the seventh. Alex Presley singled with one out but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Robbie Grossman followed with a double, which sailed just out of the reach of a leaping Steve Pearce in left field, to tie it 1-all. Villars ground-rule double bounced into the bullpen in right-centre field to put Houston on top and chase Miguel Gonzalez (3-4). "Extremely happy for (Villar) and Grossman," Porter said. "Both of them have been kind of scuffling and for them to be the two offensive heroes tonight, it definitely feels good." Houstons Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters combined for three hits Friday night while the top three had just one. "I feel like were never out of a game," said Grossman, who was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday. "Were just out there having fun." Adam Jones doubled to start the second inning and scored on a one-out single by J.J. Hardy to put Baltimore up 1-0. But the Orioles couldnt do much else against Oberholtzer as they tied a season high with their fourth straight loss. "Weve scored five runs in the last three games," manager Buck Showalter said. "You tip your cap to the other pitcher, but were capable of better." Gonzalez kept Houston off-balance early and didnt allow a hit until Jose Altuve legged out an infield single on a grounder to shortstop with one out in the sixth. Gonzalez yielded five hits and two runs in 6 2-3 innings. The Astros wore the uniforms of the Houston Eagles and the Orioles donned the uniforms of the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues for the game. Houston rookie George Springer, who had hit seven homers in his previous seven games, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts to snap an 11-game hitting streak. Oberholtzer had retired five straight before Nelson Cruz extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single to start the fourth inning. But he still faced the minimum in the inning thanks to a double play. He threw perfect frames in both the fifth and sixth and sat down the first two batters in the seventh before a single by Chris Davis. Hardys fly out ended the inning and Oberholtzers night. Gonzalez retired the first eight batters before walking Villar with two outs in the third. But Altuve grounded out to end that inning. He plunked Jason Castro with two outs in the fourth before Pearce robbed Dominguez of a hit with a diving catch to end the inning. NOTES: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Berry Gordy and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown were honoured at a luncheon on Friday in conjunction with the game for their contributions to the civil rights movement. Author and poet Maya Angelou, who died on Wednesday at 86, was honoured posthumously. ... Former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman threw out the ceremonial first pitch. ... The series continues Saturday when Baltimore RHP Chris Tillman opposes LHP Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel was named the AL player of the week last week after going 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA in two starts. ... Baltimore C Matt Wieters, on the 15-day DL since May 11 with a right elbow strain, made 25 throws before Fridays game and Showalter said he will throw again Sunday. Joel Matip Liverpool Jersey . Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. Naby Keita Liverpool Jersey . After a tight first half, the Croatians took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul in the 51st minute, but couldnt find a way past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defence. Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goalline after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th.Craig Perks, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer and Rickie Fowler all feature as Sky Sports remembers the six best final-round finishes in the history of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Craig Perks, 2002Craig Perks will always be remembered for the most thrilling final three holes the Players Championship has ever seen, which ended in the only PGA Tour win of his career.Having spent the second and third days near the top of the leaderboard, the fourth day didnt seem to be going the way of the New Zealander. Fifteen holes into his round, Perks had only hit three fairways and on the 15th, his par putt lipped out from a foot to put him one behind the leading group at five under par. A combination of bravery and luck worked in his favour at the long 16th as his ambitious second narrowly missed the water, and Perks rewarded himself by chipping in for a remarkable eagle to take a one-shot lead. He wowed the crowd yet again when he doubled his advantage on the following hole, rolling his slippery 30-foot putt down the slope and into the hole. Craig Perks tips his cap to the gallery having holed his second chip in three holes at the par-four 18th in 2002 Having missed six fairways to the right, Perks opted for the safe option and took out the three-wood on the final hole in a move one commentator described as idiotic, and, sure enough, the Kiwis tee shot veered into the trees and left him with no option but to pitch back to the fairway.His 162-yard third could not hold the green and he faced a tough up and down just to limit the damage to a bogey, but Perks holed from off the green for the second time in two holes and when Tiger Woods presented Perks the trophy, all he could say was: Youre unbelievable.  Ways to watch How to keep up to date with the action from Sawgrass across Sky Sports this week... Adam Scott, 2004At the age of 23, Scott became the youngest ever winner of the Players Championship, but without the luxury of a two-shot lead over Padraig Harrington coming down the 72nd hole, it could have been a very different story. Leading after both the first and third rounds, Scott began the day with a two-shot lead at 10 under and looked supremely confident as he stayed at the summit throughout Sunday. Adam Scott dropped his six iron on the final hole as his second shot found the water in 2004 - but he still managed to secure victory The Australian safely negotiated the 17th to remain two clear of Harrington, and he made light of taking on one of the most daunting tee shots in golf at the last and split the fairway.With a six-iron in hand, Scott attempted to punch his second shot towards the right-hand side of the green and looked as surprised as the rest of the gallery to see his ball hook left into the hazard. The engraver had even begun etching his name on to the trophy, but was told to stop immediately after the splash.Now needing to get up and down to avoid extra holes, Scott calmly stepped up to his ball and chipped it to 10 feet. The putt stayed true, and Scott described a feeling of calmness as he saw the ball roll into the middle of the hole. Sergio Garcia, 2008With the biggest victory of his career, Garcias sudden-death play-off victory against Paul Goydos was the accumulation of a final-round putting masterclass. In winds gusting up to 40mph, the Spaniard only needed 28 putts during his composed final-round 71. Posting a near-perfect back nine, Garcia answered his lone blemish at the short 13th hole with a birdie at the next, where he nailed a thrilling 47-foot putt to move just one behind long-time leader Goydos. On the par-three 17th, Garcia left himself an awkward, downhill par putt, but it was the type of clutch putt he needed to keep him in contention. Reflecting on the putt after completing his round, he described it as the longest three feet I have ever seen. Sergio Garcia needed just 28 putts to force a play-off and claim victory over Paul Goydos in 2008 Yet his biggest par save was still to come, and on the final hole Garcia left himself with a testing seven-footer which he knocked in to finish on five under, and Goydos could not emulate the Spaniards battling par at 18 and sent the tournament into the first play-off for 21 years.The pair headed back to the 17th tee and Garcia piled the pressure on the veteran American with a stunning wedge to four feet. Goydos ballooned his tee shot out into the water, and a tap-in par was enough for Garcia to snatch the win and sweep to a career-high second in the world rankings. Henrik Stenson, 2009In the baking heat that caused the greens to become icy fast, Stenson produced what commentator Johnny Miller described as: The best round of Sunday golf I have ever sseen. Curtis Jones Liverpool Jersey. The Swede began the day five shots behind the leading group, but his flawless round of 66 in the hard and fast conditions earned him a four-shot victory by the end of the day. Missing only one fairway during the final round and barely touching his driver, Stenson carded six birdies and 12 pars in a supreme display of ball-striking.  With a flawless final round, Henrik Stenson overturned a five-shot deficit to win the tournament by four shots on a difficult final day in 2009 A 15-foot birdie putt from the edge of the seventh green lifted him into a share of the lead with Ian Poulter, Ben Crane and Retief Goosen, and he would take the outright lead just two holes later. Stenson hit driver only once all day at the long 11th, where he bunkered his second before splashing out to four feet and holing the chance for birdie, and a three-wood and a mid-iron to the heart of the 16th green set up another gain which took him four clear of a fading Poulter.I could afford to go bogey-bogey and still win it, said Stenson, after wrapping up the second PGA Tour title of his career. Thats always a handy situation to be in.Martin Kaymer, 2014A long rain delay and some uncertain shot-making down the stretch on Sunday looked to have scuppered Kaymers chances of victory, but one remarkable putt at the 17th enabled the former world No 1 to hang on in a thrilling finale in fading light.The German had momentum on his side when he got up and down for birdies at the ninth and 11th, but play was suspended due to approaching thunder and lightning storms with Kaymer leading by three strokes with four holes remaining.  Martin Kaymer held a three-shot lead when play was suspended in 2014, and instantly dropped two shots when he returned Following the lengthy hold-up, Kaymer drove into the pines at the 15th and ran up a double-bogey, and his curious decision to use a putter from several yards off the 16th green backfired as he settled for a disappointing par.Kaymer took the safe line at 17 and his ball cleared the water, only to spin back sharply and came to rest in the fringe just a couple of feet from the hazard, and his woeful chip left him staring at a 30-foot putt for par.But the US Open champion curled home the monster putt to stay one clear of the field and, needing lights from the clubhouse and the scoreboards on the 18th green, Kaymer managed once more to get up and down for par to pip Jim Furyk to the title. Fowler to bounce back Rich Beem expects Rickie Fowler to recover from his Wells Fargo near-miss and challenge at Sawgrass Rickie Fowler, 2015Standing on the 13th tee on the final day, Fowler was six shots off the leading group, but what followed was an end that will go down in history as one of the best finishes the tournament has ever seen.The young American knew he had to do something special, and he ignited his astonishing charge with a 10-foot putt for birdie at 13 and his par at the next proved to be his worst score for the remainder of the round.  Rickie Fowler finished birdie, par, birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie to force a play-off against Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia last year Fowler, determined to silence the doubters after being labelled as one of the most overrated players on the PGA Tour at the start of the week, followed a birdie at 15 with a stunning second to a couple of feet at the 16th which set up an eagle.  Now trailing by only one, Fowlers nerveless wedge to 17 pitched eight feet from the pin and rolled even closer, and he picked up his fifth shot in as many holes when his putt found the left side of the cup.Fowler managed the second-longest tee shot of the day at 331 yards on the final hole and found the middle of the green with his approach, and his red-hot putter struck again as the birdie putt dropped to give him the clubhouse lead on 12 under - a target later matched by Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia.The Spaniard was eliminated after the subsequent three-hole play-off - the first in the tournaments history - and Fowler then hit another near-perfect wedge to the 17th for the third time on Sunday to pip Kisner to the title. Fowler holds the trophy aloft after his Sawgrass success in 2015 Watch the Players Championship throughout the week from live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf Also See: Beem backing Fowler Ways to watch Rickie reflects on Players win Golf live on Sky Sports 4 ' ' '