s. Ginobilis 3-pointer put the Spurs ahead wi

HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros will have an overabundance of outfielders when George Springer and Dexter Fowler come off the disabled list. Robbie Grossmans big Friday night could help his case for staying in the majors. Grossmans two-run homer put the Astros ahead in the eighth inning and they held on for 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. "They know that we have two of our regular guys coming back and at some point decisions are going to be made," Houston manager Bo Porter said when asked about Grossmans future in the crowded outfield. "These guys will continue to battle and continue to play well to put themselves in position to stay here on the active major league roster." Chris Carter hit his 25th home run for Houston, which trailed 2-1 entering the eighth inning. Carter is the first Astro to hit at least 25 homers in consecutive seasons since Hunter Pence in 2009-10. Jon Singleton singled with no outs and Grossman, who finished with three hits, launched a 92 mph fastball from Neal Cotts (2-6) into the Crawford Boxes in left field with one out to put the Astros on top. "He just didnt make some pitches that he shouldve made," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "He just missed with his pitches." Gregorio Petits double with two outs added an insurance run. Jose Veras (2-1) threw a perfect eighth for the win. Chad Qualls allowed a run in the ninth and there were runners at first and second with one out when Daniel Robertson grounded into a double play to end the game and give Qualls his 13th save. The win extends Houstons streak over the Rangers to six games, the longest in franchise history. The Astros are 7-3 against Texas this season and remain ahead of the last-place Rangers in the AL West. J.P. Arencibia hit a two-run homer in the first for Texas. Carter cut the deficit to one with his two-out shot in the fifth. Carter, who homered twice Thursday night, has 12 home runs since July 4 and has upped his batting average from .181 to .225 since July 1. Houston starter Brett Oberholtzer allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings. Miles Mikolas yielded four hits and a run in five innings for the Rangers. Houston second baseman Jose Altuve left the game with discomfort in his neck. Altuve didnt appear to be injured when he batted in the fifth inning, but was replaced by Petit for the start of the sixth. He said after the game that he thinks he may have slept on it wrong and expects to be back in the lineup on Saturday. Altuve leads the majors with 158 hits and his 45 steals are tops in the American League. He entered the night tied with Seattles Robinson Cano for the AL lead in hitting at .335, but went 0 for 3 Friday night to leave him at .333. SOTOS RETURN Texas catcher Geovany Soto (groin) was activated from the disabled list on Friday and started his first game since July 21. It was just his fourth game after missing the first part of the season following surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee in March. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout. TRAINERS ROOM Rangers: Outfielder Alex Rios did not play Friday and will also be out of the lineup Saturday after he re-aggravated a sprained right ankle on Wednesday. "I could play on it, but Id rather give it a little rest to make it feel better," Rios said. Washington said Rios was available to pinch-hit and he will definitely be back in the lineup Sunday. Astros: Fowler (back) and Springer (quadriceps) are inching closer to being activated from the disabled list. Fowler went 2 for 3 with an RBI in the start of a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday night and Springer was back in Houston after returning from a rehabilitation assignment at Single-A Quad Cities. UP NEXT Yu Darvish will start for Texas against Scott Feldman on Saturday. Darvish is 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA in three career starts at Minute Maid Park. He came within one out of a perfect game in Houston on April 2, 2013. He has a 2.16 ERA in his last four starts to lower his ERA to 2.82. Feldman, who spent his first eight seasons with Texas, threw the third complete game of his career in his last start, allowing eight hits and one run in a 6-1 win over Toronto. Vans Shoes From China . Coetzees finish, with six birdies and no bogeys, took him to 19-under 268 overall and past South African compatriots Thomas Aiken and Justin Walters, the overnight co-leaders. Coetzee was flawless on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to clinch his maiden title after 24 top 10 finishes. Cheap Vans Shoes Free Shipping . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. http://www.clearancevans.com/. The Brazilian driver had the second-best time in last months tests at Jerez and said the "good start" could play to his advantage when the season gets underway in Australia in March. Vans Shoes Outlet .com) - Charlie Davies netted a pair of goals, including the series-winner on Saturday, as the New England Revolution battled the New York Red Bulls to a 2-2 draw in the second leg of the Eastern Conference Championship at Gillette Stadium and advanced to MLS Cup final via a thrilling 4-3 aggregate victory. Fake Vans Shoes Suppliers . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say.LOS ANGELES -- Although the Spurs and the Lakers hadnt played a game without Tim Duncan or Kobe Bryant on the court in 17 years, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili havent gone anywhere. And even without Duncan, San Antonio is still doing the same boring stuff with the same stellar results. Parker had 24 points and six assists, Kawhi Leonard added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the Spurs survived without Duncan for a 91-85 victory over Los Angeles on Friday night. Duncan sat out after bruising his chest in Wednesdays season-opening victory over Memphis, but Spurs coach Gregg Popovich promised his defending Western Conference champions would do the "same boring stuff" even without their franchise cornerstone since 1997. Thats exactly what the Spurs did, recovering from an early 15-point deficit and executing well in the final minutes while the new-look Lakers faltered against the club that swept them out of the first round of last springs playoffs. "We had a rough start, but in the second half we played a lot better," said Parker, who went 12 for 18 and made just one turnover in nearly 36 minutes of play. "Every road win is sweet, so well take it." Parker hit the tiebreaking jumper with 2:13 to play, and Ginobili capped his 20-point performance off the bench with a key defensive play and a dunk in the final seconds of the Spurs road opener. Boris Diaw hit a key 3-pointer with 1:40 to play and scored 14 points while starting in Duncans place. "We only know how to play one way, and thats what we do," Popovich said. "We didnt do anything different. We just ran what we always run, whether (Duncan) is there or not. If Tony was out or Manu was out, we run our same stuff." Pau Gasol had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who finished their season-opening string of three games in four days with two losses after their season-opening win over the Clippers. After San Antonio erased their early deficit, the teams traded 14 lead changes in a tense fourth quarter. Parker put the Spurs ahead to stay, and Tiago Splitter made an impressive tip-in with 1:10 left to cap a 9-1 Spurs run. "There was a lot better execution on their part," Gasol said. "They made a couple of big shots, and we didnt counter. Diaw played very well down the stretch." Kobe Bryant sat out for the Lakers, and is still weeks away from a return after tearing his Achilles tenddon in April.dddddddddddd The Lakers and Spurs played the first game between the perennial Western Conference powers without either Duncan or Bryant on the court since November 1996, when Bryant was a rookie and Duncan was at Wake Forest. Jodie Meeks scored 14 points and Wes Johnson added 12 for the Lakers. Steve Nash had five points on 1-for-8 shooting and five assists in his return after sitting out Wednesdays game at Golden State in a bid to rest the 39-year-old point guard during back-to-backs. "Its frustrating, because this was a winnable game," Nash said. Los Angeles trimmed the Spurs lead to 87-83 in the final minute, and Diaw missed two free throws. But Ginobili stripped the ball from Meeks on the way to the basket and then dunked on the other end with 11 seconds left to seal it. "We let this one get away from us," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said. "I thought this was one we could have got, especially without Duncan. It was set up for us. We didnt do it. You need to start defending your turf, then learn how to win on the road." The Spurs started slowly without Duncan, missing 10 of their first 12 shots and falling behind 33-18 early in the second quarter. Parker got San Antonio rolling with a 15-2 run, erasing most of that lead in 3 1/2 minutes. Ginobilis 3-pointer put the Spurs ahead with the first basket of the second half, but the Lakers kept it close before the back-and-forth final quarter, which featured 10 lead changes in the first 6 minutes alone. "I think we know each other, but we definitely need a little more time," said Jordan Farmar, who had seven points. "Were out there competing, trying to get it done. We didnt do much in the fourth quarter this time around, and its tough. Its a work in progress. Its a long season, and theres going to be growing pains until we find our groove." NOTES: The Spurs arent sure when Duncan will be back. San Antonio has two more games on its trip, including Saturday night in Portland. ... Xavier Henry had three points for Los Angeles on 0-for-6 shooting. He also got a 2-inch cut on his forehead in the second quarter when Johnson accidentally kicked him. Henry hit two free throws before heading to the locker room for nine stitches. He returned for the second half. ... Olivia Wilde, Jason Sudeikis, Andy Garcia, Jamaal Wilkes and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer attended the game. ' ' '