Hilfestellungen » safety Earl Thomas both left with hamstrin

HOUSTON -- Seeking their third consecutive series sweep of their American League West rivals, Houston sends right-hander Mike Fiers to the mound against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, with Fiers recent struggles playing a contrasting role in the Astros overall aspirations.Fiers (6-4, 4.75 ERA) is 0-1 with a 17.18 ERA against the Angels this season, having allowed seven runs on eight hits and two walks over 3 2/3 innings in a 7-2 loss on May 27, the Astros lone loss in the season series. He is 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA in three career starts against the Angels.How Fiers has pitched recently is cause for speculation. Over his last four starts, Fiers is 1-1 with a 6.23 ERA with batters posting a .939 OPS against him during that stretch. Fiers failed to escape the fourth inning in each of his last two starts, and with former starter Scott Feldman thriving as a reliever (4-1, 1.62 ERA), clamoring has begun for Feldman to replace Fiers which in turn has sparked assumptions that Sunday could mark Fiers last shot to keep his spot in the rotation.I dont know if I would title it make-or-break, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. This time of year as the rumors start creating about what type of players we can add internally or externally, the players probably have a little added adrenaline and added importance to their outings. Mike Fiers has been a good pitcher in this league and has had a number of good games this year. So I wouldnt title anything make-or-break because decisions arent made that absolute prior to starts.Wed like him to throw well and pitch a little bit deeper into games and part of that is being efficient in the first couple of innings and getting into the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Wed like him to do well, but itd be unfair to him to put that much attention on his start.The Angels (43-54) counter with right-hander Tim Lincecum (2-3, 6.59 ERA), who will make his seventh start of the season. In his third start June 28, Lincecum allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings in a 7-1 loss to the Astros at Angel Stadium.In 10 career starts against Houston, Lincecum is 5-1 with a 1.60 ERA.The most pressing issue for the Angels is their extended losing streak against the Astros (53-44), which reached 10 games with their 7-2 setback on Saturday night. The streak is the Astros longest against a single opponent since a 12-game run against the Phillies and Reds spanning the 2004-05 seasons. The last team to win 10 consecutive games against the Angels was the Red Sox from July 19, 1993-July 4, 1994.I dont know. Its kind of a spell of bad luck, Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun said. They play well against us, and we are not swinging the bats here like we should be. Dustin Colquitt Super Bowl Jersey . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Frank Clark Super Bowl Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Travis-kelce-chiefs-jersey/ . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. Kendall Fuller Super Bowl Jersey . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Tyrann Mathieu Super Bowl Jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. SEATTLE -- Richard Sherman saw the poise from Carson Wentz on film. He saw the correct decisions being made by the rookie and the success Philadelphia was having thanks to Wentz.Sherman also knew Wentz had yet to see a defense like Seattles.He was pretty poised. He wasnt shook, hes a rook. Thats what he is. Hes been kind of getting an easy walk through this league, Sherman said. And then he ran into some people that weve been there before. Weve seen your looks, we know your plays. Hes going to learn from it and hes going to work hard and come back.Wentz and the rest of the Eagles received an education in what it takes to reach the top of the NFC on Sunday, thanks to Seattles 26-15 victory on Sunday . It was the fifth straight road loss and showed the thin line the Eagles are still walking between being competitive and, for the most part, being dominated.While Wentz showed flashes of greatness against Seattles standout secondary, he also was 5 of 14 for 25 yards and two interceptions during a stretch of the second and third quarters as Philadelphia watched its 7-6 lead turn into a 23-7 deficit.On a day Philadelphia needed to be close to perfect to hang with the class of the NFC West, the Eagles made too many careless mistakes.I think its a benchmark for us. You look at certain games on your schedule and obviously this is one, Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson said. They are a team that is playing extremely well. We were coming off of a good win a week ago. These are benchmark games.No mistake stood out more than wide receiver Nelson Agholor not lining up correctly on a second quarter play that became a 57-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz. Agholor was not close enough to the line of scrimmage and did not check with the official nearest to him, who was signaling for Agholor to move forward. Instead of a touchdown that would have given Philadelphia a 14-13 lead, the Eagles didnt find the end zone again until late in the fourth quarter.That was a big play and mental errors like that you cant have, Agholor said. I know better than that and I shouldnt have done that.Seattle took advantage of Philadelphias lapses and also showed the Eagles defense has a way to go to join the elite of the NFC. Russell Wilson threw for 272 yards and a touchdown, and caught a 115-yard touchdown on a trick play pass from wide receiver Doug Baldwin.ddddddddddddhe Seahawks finished with 439 total yards -- the third time this year the Eagles have allowed more than 400 yards -- and had three drives inside the Philadelphia 30 that resulted in just six points. The 11-point margin could have been much larger if Seattle was better in the red zone.Weve been able to do a lot already, weve had a good season already, Wilson said. Theres just more we can do and theres more out there. Thats the exciting part for us.Heres what else to know from Seattles third straight win:ABSENT RECEIVERS: For the first three quarters, Philadelphia had almost no production from its wide receivers. Jordan Matthews and Dorial Green-Beckham finished with a combined 10 catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. But through three quarters, the duo had exactly two catches for 15 yards, the same amount of yards as Wilson had on his TD catch.INJURY BUG: Both Seattle and Philadelphia suffered significant injuries that could have lasting impact.Seattle lost running back C.J. Prosise for a significant amount of time with a shoulder blade injury. Starting cornerback DeShawn Shead and safety Earl Thomas both left with hamstring injuries.Philadelphia lost running backs Ryan Mathews (knee) and Darren Sproles (ribs) to injuries, although Pederson did not know the severity or length of the injuries after the game.In total, 17 players missed at least one play during the game due to an apparent injury.BIG PLAY SEAHAWKS: Seattle has rediscovered a knack for big plays on offense.Starting with a 72-yard touchdown run by Prosise on Seattles fifth offensive play, the Seahawks had six plays of 20 yards or more. Wilson found Baldwin for completions of 44 and 34 yards and also hit Jimmy Graham on a 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter.Seattle had five plays of 20 or more yards in last weeks win over New England.Youve seen us make shifts in the past, this is one of those big shifts for us, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. Its really exciting to see, we feel very aggressive.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '