current situation that is now looking like a major

DENVER -- The Houston Astros turned a sloppy start into a clean sweep. Chris Carter and Matt Dominguez hit consecutive homers during a six-run sixth, Lucas Harrell won for the first time in six starts and the Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Thursday to sweep the two-game series at Coors Field. Houston won despite committing a season-high four errors -- three in the third inning -- which normally leads to a bad fate at Coors Field. But Harrell pitched out of two jams and the Astros trailed by only three runs heading into the fourth inning. "Normally when you make four errors, especially in a ballpark like this, youre probably looking at a bunch of crooked numbers," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "We did a good job of minimizing the damage." It allowed Houston to rally to win its third in four games for the first time this year. J.D. Martinez had a career-high four hits Houston, which swept a series for the first time this season and won three of four against Colorado this week. The Astros last won two straight four weeks ago against the Los Angeles Angels. "Its always encouraging when you win a series. Ive said were going to start to win some of these ballgames we were finding a way to lose," Porter said. "Were finding ways to win." Harrell (4-6) finally found a way to win after going 0-4 in his last five starts. He allowed four runs -- three earned -- in 5 2-3 innings to pick up his first win since beating the Yankees on April 29. "I thought I got stronger and stronger as the game went," he said. "I started off a little rusty and then as the game progressed I felt I got better and better." Hector Ambriz got his first save. The Astros trailed 3-1 after five, but Juan Nicasio and the bullpen couldnt hold it. The first four batters in the sixth reached against Nicasio (4-2) to tie it. Carter then greeted Wilton Lopez with a three-run homer to left on an 89 mph sinker. "I was pretty much looking for that pitch because he threw me six straight," Carter said. "It feels good to finally get one. Its been a couple of weeks since Ive hit one so it was nice to get to 10." Dominguez followed with a solo shot to make it 7-3. It was the second time this season the Astros have hit back-to-back home runs, and the six-run inning matched Houstons season high for one frame. "I think (Lopez) was pulling off a little bit today," said Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who had three hits. "Ill talk to him tomorrow and hopefully hell stay more on top of the ball so it will have that big sink at the end like he had in spring training." Carlos Gonzalezs RBI single in the bottom of the sixth made it 7-4, and Todd Heltons sacrifice fly in the ninth made it a two-run game. Nolan Arenado struck out looking with a man on to end it. "I felt like we had an opportunity to put the game away early," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "We didnt do it and it cost us. Thats happened to us a few times this year. You have a team in trouble, or the starter in trouble, you need to put them away and win those games." Gonzalez reached four times for and stole three bases for Colorado, which couldnt manufacture a late-game comeback and lost for the fifth time in its last six games. The Rockies are now 15-22 since starting the season 13-4 and fell to third place in the NL West. Harrell (4-6) survived a rough start and limited the damage despite his teams sloppy defence. Colorado couldnt take advantage of the poor fielding. They managed single runs in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead but left the bases loaded in the second and had four baserunners in the third. Troy Tulowitzki, who had two homers Wednesday night, flew out to end the second and Dexter Fowler hit into an inning-ending double play in the third. "The Fowler double play was huge," Harrell said. "It was a 2-2 count, my cutter was really good today so I thought I might as well throw a cutter in and maybe hell roll it over to first. Fortunately he hit it back to me." NOTES: Martinez has three straight multi-hit games. ... The Rockies had five stolen bases for the first time since July 25, 2008, at Cincinnati. ... Houstons previous high in errors was three, done three times, the last coming on May 17 at Pittsburgh. ... Astros RHPs Edgar Gonzalez and Jose Veras were not available to pitch Thursday. Gonzalez was held out because of fatigue/soreness in his pitching shoulder and Veras was given the day off after pitching in four consecutive games. ... Rockies LHP Jeff Francis (groin) is schedule for his first rehab start Monday in Salt Lake City. He will throw 70-75 pitches and if all goes well will have a second start June 8 in Reno. ... The Astros will send LHP Dallas Keuchel (1-2) against Tommy Hanson (2-1) in the opener against the Los Angeles Angles in Anaheim Friday. ... Colorados Jon Garland (3-6) will face Clayton Kershaw (5-3) in the first game against the Dodgers on Friday. Stitched Flames Jerseys . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Calgary Flames Store . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. https://www.cheapflames.com/ . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Flames Jerseys 2020 . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys . PAUL, Minn.The wait continues for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Since joining Major League Soccer in 2011, the Caps have been unable to win against their Cascadia foes; the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers. The latest disappointment came Saturday night at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, where the Whitecaps wasted a great opportunity to get all three points. Instead, they came away with nothing after a second half performance where they fell apart defensively, letting slip a 2-1 halftime lead against a severely understrength Seattle team that was missing six players due to international call ups, injuries and suspensions. Beating their Pacific Northwest rivals for the first time was one of the objectives set out by Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie ahead of this season, and now in two attempts so far this year they have fallen short. On both occasions, they were holding a lead as they headed into the closing stages of the match. Poor defending cost them at home to Portland last month in a 2-2 draw, and again on Saturday, they were undone by individual mistakes and some below par performances. In Seattle, an injury to central defender Andy OBrien influenced the outcome of the match, but even before the Republic of Ireland international went off, it seemed only a matter of time before the home team would find the tying goal. The second half fight back from the Sounders overshadowed an excellent first 45 minutes from the Caps and a couple of really well taken headed goals by Camilo. They were playing a high tempo, getting forward well and rarely looking threatened defensively. But it was a different story after the break. Had referee Hilario Grajeda not made a terrible call to award a free kick instead of a penalty, the Sounders would have had a spot kick before OBriens injury. When Jun Marques Davidson hacked down Obafemi Martins inside the box, it was a lucky escape for the Whitecaps when the referee thought the incident had occurred outside the penalty area. It was clearly the wrong call. However, there was no denying the Sounders a penalty later in the half when substitutte Greg Klazura made a reckless challenge on Lamar Neagle.dddddddddddd After, Servando Carrasco tied the match from the resulting penalty, the Sounders then won the game with a goal from Lamar Neagle after good work by Martins. It was a well worked goal, but the Caps defending made it far too easy for the Sounders to find a path to goal. So it was a familiar feeling for Whitecaps fans. A thousand of them had travelled down the I-5 and they contributed to a fantastic atmosphere with a crowd of over 53,000 packed into CenturyLink. But for those Caps fans in the stadium and watching at home, it was the same old story - a massive letdown in one of the games that matters most against one of their biggest rivals. In a Western Conference filled with quality, the Whitecaps now have a three match stretch against teams they really need to beat if they are to challenge for the playoffs this year. Back-to-back home matches plus a trip to the leagues worst team DC United will provide the opportunity to close the five point gap between the Caps and the top five. Martin Rennie has talked about the need to make it count at times when the schedule gets more favourable for his team, but in their current situation that is now looking like a major challenge. The defence is a major concern. With Jay DeMerit out long term, and Andy OBrien, Brad Rusin and Caryle Mitchell injured, Rennies team will have to face this crucial stretch with a makeshift backline. The loss of OBrien is a massive blow, not only because of his own defending, but the way in which he organizes those around him. The trade of Alain Rochat last week now looks to have come at a bad time, as the Whitecaps really need additional bodies at the back. So there are big challenges ahead for a club that has not met expectations so far this year. There is plenty of quality within the squad, but it is getting to the stage in the season where that quality has to produce on a more consistent basis rather than letting points slip away, otherwise the Whitecaps will find themselves with too much ground to make up. ' ' '