Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon and Tampa

[lebaobei123]

SEATTLE -- Felix Hernandez wore an extra ice pack. Theyre usually only wrapped around his shoulder, not his calf as well. Despite getting a little physically beat up, Hernandez had no problem shutting down Houston. Seattles ace struck out nine over eight strong innings for his third straight victory, Willie Bloomquist provided a jolt of offence with his first home run since 2011 and the Mariners beat the Astros 6-1 on Friday night. "A little bruise. Im fine," Hernandez said. "He got me, he got me pretty good." An extra bruise on Hernandezs left calf was the only downside to Seattles fourth win in five games that has the Mariners back above the .500 mark. Hernandez (6-1) allowed only five hits and continued a strong last two weeks on the mound. After going more than a month between victories, Hernandez has rediscovered his form. He has struck out 21 and walked just two over his last three starts. Four of his nine strikeouts against the Astros were looking, a sign that he had command off his fastball. "Everything was working," Hernandez said. "I was throwing a lot of strikes. The game plan was just to throw strikes and use a lot of fastballs." Bloomquist drove in three runs, but the highlight was his two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole in the sixth. It was his first long ball since Aug. 10, 2011, when Bloomquist was playing for Arizona, a span of 626 at-bats. Bloomquists homer came on the first pitch after Mike Zunino had doubled off the top of the wall, missing a homer by inches. Bloomquist rounded the bases with a wry smile on his face and appeared to be catching plenty of grief in the dugout for the long lapse between homers. His last homer also came against Houston -- when the Astros were still a National League team -- and led off the bottom of the first inning. "Dont even go there," Bloomquist laughed when asked about his last homer. "I dont want to remember, lets put it that way. Had a lot of ground-rule doubles in the meantime. I know its been a while. Thats not my swing, but Ill take them when they come if they ever come." Kyle Seager also drove in three runs with a two-run single in the first and a broken-bat blooper in the seventh. Robinson Cano also had two hits, raising his batting average to .326. The only batter to cause Hernandez fits was Jose Altuve, who improved to 8-for-16 all-time against Seattles ace. Altuve had an RBI single in the third, doubled in the fifth and lined a single off Hernandezs calf in the eighth. Hernandez stayed in and started an inning-ending double play from Dexter Fowler for his final batter. It was the second straight start Hernandez pitched eight innings. "Felix was pretty darn good tonight in a lot of different ways," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Certainly with his pitch count he was very efficient and he fielded the ball with his glove and his leg." Houstons Rudy Owens made his major league debut after getting called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City on short notice. The Astros decided to skip Brad Peacocks scheduled start after he experienced soreness in his forearm. Owens struggled through the first inning then settled down. He kept Houston within 3-1 heading into the sixth despite allowing a baserunner in every inning. The game got away from Owens (0-1) in just a couple of pitches. After giving up the double to Zunino, Owens watched Bloomquist hit the first pitch out. Owens was optioned back to Oklahoma City after the game. "We just couldnt muster anything offensively against Felix and that pretty much was the difference in the ballgame," Houston manager Bo Porter said. NOTES: Mariners RHP Taijuan Walker (shoulder) threw a three-inning simulated game Friday and said he feels ready to go out on a rehab assignment. Walker has not pitched in a game this season. ... Houston OF George Springer was held out of the lineup for second straight day after injuring his hip on Wednesday. ... James Jones extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an infield single in the fourth. Tony Oliva Jersey . Patrik Bartosak turned away 50-of-52 shots for the Rebels (28-26-4), who halted their losing streak at seven games. Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, Feser forced overtime with his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the third period. Rod Carew Twins Jersey .C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats said head coach Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure Friday to have two stents placed in his heart. http://www.mlbtwinsonline.com/authentic ... ns-jersey/. Picard had a goal and two assists to help Canada improve to 2-0 at the tournament. Seven different players scored for the two-time defending champions. "Today all four lines played excellent," said head coach Laura Schuler. Ervin Santana Twins Jersey . His brother — Red Lake chiropractor Richard Radford — is en route to Sochi to cheer on his younger brother. "Ive been getting texts from Eric and he just says the atmosphere is ....., its special,” he said. Glen Perkins Jersey . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying.Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon and Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat have been named the finalists for the 2013-2014 Calder Memorial Trophy, given to the NHLs top rookie. MacKinnon led all rookies in points with 63 and tied for the goal-scoring lead with 24 goals. H suited up in all 82 regular season games for the Avs. This marks the third time in the past five years that an Avalanche player has been named a Calder finalist, with Gabriel Landeskog having won the award in 2012 and Matt Duchene having finished third in 2010. Palat finiished second in rookie scoring with 59 points in 81 games and finished one goal behind the goal-scoring lead amongst freshmen with 23.dddddddddddd Johnson tied MacKinnon for the goal-scoring lead while also playing a full 82-game schedule. His 50 points were good for third amongst NHL rookies. This marks the first time two teammates have been among the Calder finalists since the Blackhawks Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews both finished top-three in 2008. Palat and Johnson are the Lightnings first Calder finalists since Brad Richards finished second in voting in 2001. China Jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '