cricket.My girl remembers it being too hot,

HOUSTON -- When the Houston Astros suffered through a grueling offensive slump that bridged the final two games of July with the opening week of August, they hoped that the additions of Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel would eventually lengthen their lineup and correct their problems.The Astros scored a total of 18 runs while losing eight of 10 games before finding their footing in Minnesota on Aug. 9. On Saturday night, in their 6-2 win over the Rays, the Astros (68-61) showcased the balanced offense they sorely craved.In attacking Rays left-hander Blake Snell, the Astros banged out nine with him on the mound and closed the game with five starters recording multi-hit games. By spreading hits up and down their lineup, the Astros overwhelmed Snell and set the stage for a series sweep on Sunday.Its a weird discipline to ask out of your hitters to be ready to hit on every pitch but dont swing at everything, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. I thought we did a really good job tonight of making (Snell) get his breaking ball over. We didnt chase any breaking balls in the dirt or not very many of them. The changeup was really very effective early on for him but we hit his fastball, and then the second time through we hit his changeup. I like how our guys stayed very focused in the strike zone.Right-hander Doug Fister (12-8, 3.59 ERA) will take the hill for Houston coming off his best start of the season. On Monday against the Pirates, Fister worked seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with six strikeouts in a 3-1 win. He did not face the Rays when the teams squared off in Tampa Bay in mid-June, but Fister is 2-4 with a 3.63 ERA over seven career appearances (six starts) against them.Right-hander Chris Archer (7-17, 4.11 ERA) will get the start for the Rays (54-74), seeking to continue his exceptional pitching against the Astros.Archer is 3-2 with a 1.31 ERA in six career starts against the Astros. Two of his three career shutouts have come against Houston, including a one-hitter on Aug. 20, 2015 at Minute Maid Park and a five-hit shutout at Tropicana Field on July 14, 2013.The road shutout against the Astros came in his previous appearance in Houston, a 1-0 win over right-hander Collin McHugh in which Archer threw just 98 pitches. In that start, Archer became the first American League pitcher to throw a one-hit shutout with 10-plus strikeouts and less than 100 pitches since Yankees right-hander David Cone twirled a perfect game against the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999.The Rays will need Archer to pitch effectively and efficiently. They lost Snell to an injury one batter into the fourth inning on Saturday, forcing manager Kevin Cash to dip into his bullpen earlier than he expected.Its unfortunate because Kevin Jepsen really shouldnt have been pitching, Cash said. Now, tonight was injury-related, and (Danny) Farquhar comes in and gives us two innings.The bullpen is getting taxed a little bit. We need to straighten that out. Air Jordan 11 Australia . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Wholesale Air Jordan 11 Australia . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. http://www.airjordan11australia.com/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Air Jordan 11 For Sale Australia . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Air Jordan 11 Retro Australia . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Dear Cricket Monthly,My cricket helmet has lasted 25 years but currently sits in a puddle at short leg in the backyard. Its rarely been hit, and really offers only cosmetic protection, but will soon be unusable. The mistake? I gave it to my children, a pair of young cricket lovers who, despite knowing their Waughs from Star Wars, prefer it as an accessory in their lightsabre duels. Sadly, the force of putting things away is still to awaken.Watching the younglings play one day got me thinking about teaching sports watchers. Or, in our house, ensuring they stay on the light side of the passion-versus-dangerous-obsession spectrum. Because the discussions can get intense quite quickly here, both in the backyard and in front of the television. While its important for them to know Kylo Ren from Mitchell Johnson, at what point does the interest level need to be scaled back?See, we already talk in cricket initials and puns. What six-year-old walks into an international airport to see the customs sign for Australian Border Force and immediately thinks of Allan? When working out directions, we might discuss whether to go Marcus North or Tim Southee. After a shower, one of them is often Mitchell Starc-ers. Outside, my boy commentates himself as SPD Smith, and proudly tells me his school friends now copy the lightsabre-style backlift he interpreted from Australias captain.At this stage I hope were at the quirky end of fandom. And its not totally out of family character. I once tried to name a chook Greg Chappell (we didnt have any ducks) and a puppy Billy McDermott. Were not quite in the phase where a cricket cap is part of the pyjama uniform. But my boy does try to trick me with trivia and sometimes my girl joins in.What does the K stand for in MEK Hussey? Easy. How many did GS Chappell make in the second innings at Headingley in 1975? Seriously? Why is Muralis name spelt in different ways? Um, its cultural? Maybe the children are training me.T20 and Snapchat are banned in the house, but books and Tests are encouraged. Its why the players named are more often historical. My boys self-selected top-shelf reading is based around three cricket books and Lego Star Wars guides. Theres the Cricinfo Guide to International Cricket 2009 - the year of his only Ashes tour, aged one - the Wisden Book of Test Cricket 1876-77 to 1977-78, and Richie Benauds 1981-82 Australian season guide. Wisden arrives in May or June and there is brief excitement, but its only a day or two before Cricinfo 2009 reappears beside his pillow.Scorecards are read for fun - and shared. Dad! BM Laird. Not out 3! RAL Massie - 16 WICKETS! Sometimes Im allowed to add context - like, your grandfather insistts he was drunk that day at Lords, or Massie only played five more Tests.dddddddddddd. But mostly its about runs scored and wickets taken. At what age do we have the talk about Statsguru?Watching involves attempting to sit still but is no less exhausting than playing. This is where some parental training already appears beneficial, and particularly rewarding in the long term. Nobody asks whos winning anymore, or stands in front of the television before the final ball (it happened once, during a World Cup final). They know its okay to watch in silence and save their flood of questions for the ads. And now, sometimes, they even tell me to be quiet.But its not just about the enjoyment of spectating for my boy. A fun thing about watching cricket is seeing how people bat and bowl, he says promisingly, before adding that its also a pretty good way to find out a players weaknesses. So hes watching for statistics, strategy and technical disintegration. Are you Steve Waugh in disguise?Of course, its great for our family that theyre cricket fans. But should this level of interest be encouraged or discouraged? We went to watch Australia and New Zealand at the Gabba last year, a first attempt at a proper days spectating after the Australia-Bangladesh World Cup washout. They had been well briefed on the pace of the day, and that there would be no T20 Rocket Man. This was a practical lesson in watching cricket.My girl remembers it being too hot, sending her under the seat for some cool comfort, and later having her view blocked by a tall man. It was my first time watching a Test match and apart from those catastrophes it was a cool game and I had fun, she says. A little older than her brother, she knows about Lisa Sthalekars catch to seal the 2013 World Cup, and how Ellyse Perry chooses cricket mostly over football.I like to think they will select what they want to watch as sports followers. They also know names and numbers in cycling, football, surfing, golf and tennis. But in their upbringing, cricket has got a significant head start. My proudest moment as a sports-watching teacher was when they started asking how many Chris Rogers had made. Now hes gone and they are back to being excited by David Warner. Thats fine - theres a lot to be excited by - but they have an appreciation of a traditional Test batsman.Then I started fearing for them in the playground. Theres no classroom kudos in having Chris Rogers as your last line of argumentative defence. Maybe they better start looking after that rotting helmet.Yours faithfully, Peter English ' ' '