McHugh needs help to active from his roughest starts

Collin McHugh needed plenty of help Neil Walker Elite Jersey to get his 16th win after laboring through one of his roughest starts this season. The Astros provided it with four home runs - enough to tie them with Toronto for the major league lead and extend their slim advantage in the AL West. McHugh continued his stellar season and the Houston Astros got back to their winning ways. Colby Rasmus, Evan Gattis, Carlos Gomez and Marwin Gonzalez all homered as Houston beat the Oakland Athletics 11-5 Wednesday night to avoid a three-game sweep. ''Our offense did an incredible job,'' McHugh said. ''I've said it all year, you're never more than a swing out of it with our team. As a starting pitcher, if you can do the job of keeping it within a swing then you've done your job.'' McHugh (16-7) ended up with his worst start in more than a month after cruising http://www.officialmarinersshop.com/authentic-23-nelson-cruz-jersey.html through the first four innings, but he got enough support to win his third straight. He allowed five runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings, struck out five and walked two. The right-hander tied Seattle ace Felix Hernandez for the second-most wins in the AL. McHugh's teammate, Dallas Keuchel, leads the league with 17 victories. ''I felt like I had good stuff the first four innings,'' McHugh said. ''I feel like I could have been out there for a long time, and then you run into speed bumps.'' Jose Altuve added two doubles and Hank Conger drove in four runs for the Astros, who increased their division lead over the Rangers to two games. Texas lost 6-0 at Seattle. Houston's 76 wins are its most since 2010 when the club went 76-86. Rasmus, back Koa Misi Authentic Jersey in the lineup after sitting out two games with an illness, hit his 19th home run of the season into the second deck in right field on a full-count pitch from starter Aaron Brooks with two outs in the second. After Conger's two-run single and an RBI double by Altuve helped extend the lead to 4-0, Gattis hit his 23rd homer as part of a three-run fifth. Gomez homered off R.J. Alvarez in the sixth. Gonzalez added his 10th home run in the seventh, giving the Astros 11 players with 10 or more. That ties the major league record set by the 2004 Detroit Tigers. ''We just have a lot of power,'' Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. ''The long ball is a big part of our offense. If you make a mistake, we can hit it over the fence.'' Houston tied the Blue Jays for the major league lead with 192 home runs. Billy Butler and Josh Reddick homered for Oakland, which Rey Maualuga Womens Jersey gave manager Bob Melvin a two-year contract extension before the game. The A's have hit a home run in 15 consecutive games to match the longest streak in the majors this season.