SEATTLE -- Michael Saunders hit a two-run infield single in the seventh inning to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 3-1 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday night.Barry Sanders Elite Jersey . With the game tied at 1, the bases loaded, two outs and a full count, Saunders hit a chopper to first and narrowly outraced pitcher Tony Sipp, who was covering the bag. The batters were running on the pitch, allowing two runs to score. The play was upheld after a brief replay review. Jose Altuve homered on the games first pitch for the Astros, who have lost three in a row. Dominic Leone (1-0) pitched 1 2-3 innings for his first major league win in 16 appearances, and Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save. Houston starter Jarred Cosart (3-4) had kept Seattles offence largely bottled up until the seventh inning. Dustin Ackley and Stefen Romero led off with singles and Cosart walked Nick Franklin to load the bases with no outs. Cosart struck out Mike Zunino before giving way to Sipp, who got pinch hitter Cole Gillespie to pop up before Saunders hit. Cosart gave up three runs on five hits and four walks over 6 1-3 innings. He struck out six. Seattle starter Roenis Elias pitched into the sixth inning, allowing three hits, with the only run coming on Altuves leadoff homer. Elias struck out six, walked four and pitched out of jams a couple times early -- the first two batters reached in the second and third innings -- before settling down. Altuve took Elias opening pitch deep into the visitors bullpen in right field for his second home run. It was Altuves third career leadoff homer and first this season. The Mariners scratched out a run in the bottom of the first. James Jones led off with a walk, advanced to third on Saunders single and scored on Robinson Canos sacrifice fly to centre. NOTES: Houston OF George Springer was held out of the lineup after injuring his hip while getting picked off in the ninth inning Wednesday. Astros manager Bo Porter said Springer could be back as soon as Friday. ... Seattle OF Logan Morrison (strained right hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Friday, and LHP James Paxton (strained back muscle) will make a rehab start with Tacoma on Saturday. ... The Mariners signed RHP Todd Coffey to a minor league contract. ... Seattle CF James Jones singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Jones has at least one hit in all 13 of his major league starts. Golden Tate III Mens Black Jersey . Hell be hard-pressed to match an unbeaten streak like this, though. Tanaka had his unbeaten regular-season run snapped at 42 starts, allowing a career-high four runs in six innings, and the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Yankees 6-1 on Tuesday night. Reggie Bush Elite Jersey .J. -- The New York Giants are not only back in the playoff hunt with a four-game winning streak, theyre calling the plays that get them those wins.(Sports Network) - Phoenix pulled out a desperate victory last time out to move into a tie for the Pacific Division lead with the Dallas, which is looking to prevent a tailspin of its own. The Coyotes and re-energized Stars battle tonight with first place on the line. Catch the action on TSN2, beginning at 8pm et/5pm pt. Phoenix trailed by two goals heading into the third period of Sundays clash with Edmonton and got goals from Ray Whitney and Raffi Torres to force overtime. Torres game-tying tally came with 2:23 to play in regulation and Whitney then added the shootout winner to key a 3-2 victory. The triumph gave the Coyotes 83 points on the season, the same number as the Stars. Dallas, though, holds the top spot in the division because it has a game in hand, having 10 contests left to Phoenix nine. Despite both clubs being in contention for a division title, the loser of tonights meeting could fall out of the playoff picture. The Colorado Avalanche also have 83 points and sit eighth overall in the West, while both the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are just a point back with 82. All three teams are also in action tonight, with the Kings hosting the Sharks and the Avs welcoming the Flames, who are 11th with 81 points. Phoenixs victory on Sunday was just its third this month (3-5-2) and was keyed by 36 saves from Mike Smith. "That wasnt the way the game plan was drawn up," said Phoenix coach Dave Tippett, who earned his 400th career win. "After the second period we just went in to ultimate desperation mode. We were pushing hard and we found a way to get points." Forward Radim Vrbata was back in action after missing two games due to illness, but he suffered an undisclosed injury during the game. So did fellow forward Taylor Pyatt, while defenseman Adrian Aucoin is doubtful for this game because of a lower-body issue. Phoenix wraps a four-game road trip tonight against a Dallas team that has been off since Fridays 4-1 setback to Chicago. The brief break should give the Stars some energy over the regular seasons final stretch and captain Brenden Morrow is hoping his team will take advantage. "Maybe in years past, weve wanted teams to do us favors and help us win and thats hurt us. Weve just got to worry about our games and what we can control and thats Phoenix tomorrow," Morrow said on Monday. The Stars will try to avoid losing three straight for the first time since Feb. 10-14 and had won six straight before a setback in Winnipeg last Wednesday. They made it back-to-back losses versus Chicago, giving up a goal 10 seconds into the game and trailing 2-0 before the contest was two minutes old. "You cant start a game like that," said Dallas Jamie Benn, who scored his teams only goal late in the third. "We put ourselves in a hole 3-4 minutes in and you never want to do that against a good team like Chicago." Kari Lehtonen was tagged for all four goals on 31 shots as the Stars fell to 10-2-1 over their past 13 games and 20-13-3 at home this season. Dallas lost the opener of a four-game homestand and played without defenseman Sheldon Souray (charley horse) and forward Radek Dvorak (ankle) due to injury. Both are probable to return for tonight. The Stars won their first two meetings with the Coyotes this season in a shootout, but Phoenix has responded with three straight wiins. Matthew Stafford Womens Blue Jersey. The Coyotes took a 2-1 overtime victory in the most recent encounter on Feb. 18 in Phoenix, with Vrbata netting the game-winner 1:15 into the bonus frame. That was part of an 11-0-1 February for the Coyotes, who have won six of their past nine in Dallas. Seven of the past nine games between these clubs have been decided by just a single goal. Surging Kings host Sharks in key Western battle (Sports Network) - The Kings are putting together a surge that they hope will get them into the playoffs. The Sharks, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back from a missed opportunity. The two Pacific Division rivals will see plenty of each other down the stretch, beginning with tonights battle in Los Angeles. The Kings have matched their longest winning streak of the season, winning four straight to push their point total to 82. That matches the Sharks, for ninth overall in the Western Conference, just a point back of the Stars, Coyotes and Avalanche for a playoff spot. Due to number of games played, Dallas currently leads the Pacific Division and battles seventh-seeded Phoenix tonight. Eighth-place Colorado is also in action as it hosts a Calgary team that is a point behind Los Angeles and San Jose. Both the Kings and Sharks have 10 games left on the season and that includes a season-ending home-and-home series against each other that begins in Los Angeles on April 5 and ends in San Jose two days later. The Sharks have sandwiched a pair of home wins around a 2-0 loss in Los Angeles this season and have won seven of the past 11 encounters overall. They have lost three straight in LA. San Jose had a chance to jump into first place in the division last night with a third straight win, but instead lost a 5-3 game to Anaheim. Ryane Clowe had a goal and assisted on scores by Martin Havlat and Joe Pavelski, while Antti Niemi gave up four goals on 26 shots before getting pulled in favor of Thomas Greiss. The backup made 13 saves in relief. "Its disappointing. We could have hopped over a bunch of teams tonight," said Sharks captain Joe Thornton. "But thats sports and its unfortunate we just didnt win. We cant feel sorry for ourselves. We have to go to LA and play hard tomorrow." San Jose should be encouraged by the play of Havlat, who returned last week from a 39-game absence due to a hamstring injury. He has three goals and an assist in three games back. Hell look to continue that surge tonight against the Kings, who will try to win five in a row for the first time since a six-game winning streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 13 of last season. Their current run was extended on Saturday with a 4-2 triumph over the Predators. Anze Kopitar scored in his third straight game, lighting the lamp in the first period, while Dustin Penner, Dwight King and Kyle Clifford broke open a tie game with third-period tallies. Penner also had an assist and backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier made 19 saves in Los Angeles seventh victory in nine games. "Weve been playing really well, this is playoff hockey for us," said Los Angeles Trevor Lewis, who had two assists. "We just have to keep it going now. We kept pouring it on in the third, and it worked for us." Los Angeles picked up a victory in the opener of a four-game homestand and improved to 23-1-2 when scoring at least three goals this season. ' ' '
