seven turnovers in the decisive third quarter as Washingtons d

SEATTLE -- Collin McHugh didnt know he was starting Tuesday until late the night before. When he took the mound, he surprised just about everyone with his performance. McHugh struck out a career-high 12 in his season debut to lead the Houston Astros to a 5-2 win against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, extending Seattles losing streak to eight games. McHugh (1-0) was told he was being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday and flew to Seattle. It wasnt until he got to the team hotel late Monday night that he found out he was going to start for the Astros on Tuesday. Before the game, Houston coach Bo Porter characterized McHugh as a "pitch to contact guy," but the Mariners made almost no contact. McHugh struck out the first three batters he faced to set the tone for his first win in 10 career starts. "That was outstanding. Thats what you call seizing the opportunity," Porter said. The right-hander didnt walk a batter, giving up three hits in 6 2-3 shutout innings. "I dont think anybody prepares to go out and strike out a bunch of people. But I knew I had pretty decent command today with two or three pitches," McHugh said. "It was really good to kind of get the proverbial gorilla off your back with a W." McHughs stuff caught the Mariners off guard as well, as they only reached second once against him. "He was a little different than the scouting report we got. He was 94 (miles an hour) with a pretty good cut slider," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He threw exceptionally well tonight." The Astros offence gave McHugh plenty to work with, as Jason Castro and Chris Carter each hit homers to give Houston a 3-0 lead after two innings. Seattle starter Erasmo Ramirez (1-3) struck out eight over six innings and only allowed three hits, but they included the two costly homers. Three at-bats into the game, Castro just cleared the left field wall for a two-run homer, his fourth. Carter followed in the second inning with a shot to left that landed in the second deck for his first homer of the year. Seattles Dustin Ackley tried to counter with a deep ball to left in the bottom of the second, but Matt Dominguez made a leaping catch at the wall to end the inning. Dominguez added a homer of his own in the top of the seventh to give Houston a 4-0 lead. The Astros have now won two in a row after a seven-game losing streak, and their offence -- which entered Tuesdays game with a major league-worst .196 batting average -- is finally showing some signs of life. "Once the whole offence is flowing like it is the last couple games, you kind of get in a little groove with it," Dominguez said. "Its been nice being able to score some runs." McHughs 12th strikeout came against Robinson Cano to leadoff the bottom of the seventh, but Porter brought on reliever Raul Valdes with two outs in the inning. McHugh had thrown 89 pitches, well above his high of 73 pitches in his minor league outings this year. Valdes walked Kyle Seager and then gave up a two-run home run to Justin Smoak, Seattles only offence of the game. McHughs call up came after Scott Feldman was placed on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis. Feldman will miss at least one more start, possibly giving McHugh more chances to show what he can do. "He didnt do anything to hurt his chances of sticking around," Porter said. "He definitely earned his keep." NOTES: The crowd of 10,466 was the fifth-lowest in Safeco Field history. Six of the seven lowest crowds at Safeco have been matchups with the Astros, all coming since the start of last season. ... Seattle RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (finger) was scheduled to pitch in a rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Tacoma, but instead threw a simulated game at Safeco Field on Tuesday afternoon due to weather concerns. McClendon said the outing went well, and Iwakuma will have a rehab outing with Tacoma on Sunday. ... Astros RHP Lucas Harrell, designated for assignment on April 16, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Discount Nike Shoes Black Friday Nike Shoes . -- The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets will forever be tied together for making the same spectacular misjudgment on budding NBA sensation Jeremy Lin. https://www.fakenikeshoeswholesale.com/ . Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to backstop the Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Flames, handing Calgary its team record sixth consecutive home regulation loss. Nike Shoes Outlet .com) - The Kansas City Chiefs activated linebacker Joe Mays from short-term injured reserve on Saturday. Wholesale Nike Shoes . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. The latest from Bob As tweeted by TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie on Monday, the Columbus Blue Jackets need to resolve their offseason plans with forward R.WASHINGTON -- No, confetti didnt fall from the rafters, and theres no parade scheduled for Pennsylvania Avenue. But John Wall pumped his right arm and smiled broadly as he dribbled out the clock, and the first word out of Bradley Beals mouth when he addressed the crowd said it all: "Finally." The Washington Wizards celebrated what they hope is the end of mediocrity Monday night, moving above .500 for the first time in more than four years with a 100-90 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. "Its only one game over, but, yeah, its a big relief," said Wall, who has endured more than his share of Wizards frustration since his selection as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft. "But the main thing is weve got bigger goals to try to keep winning games and try to keep getting better and try not to go back down -- so we wont have to have this talk again." Wall scored 22 points, and Trevor Ariza added 20 and had another solid defensive game for the Wizards, who hadnt had a winning record since beating the New Jersey Nets to improve to 2-1 on Halloween in 2009. Washington committed six turnovers while forcing 16 from Portland, and Wall and Co. didnt look back after Kevin Seraphin led a 12-0 run that put the Wizards up by 17 early in the fourth quarter. "Its great to finally get this team over the hump," Beal said. No one on the current Wizards roster was on the team when it was last above .500. They had lost this season at 0-0, 9-9, 14-14, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22, and the hurdle became such a bugaboo that players starting declaring the subject taboo when reporters asked about it. Coach Randy Wittman at one point cautioned against thoughts that "all of a sudden fairy dust is going to fall on us if we get over .500." Sticking with that theme, Wittman wasnt about to consider having slightly more "Ws" than "Ls" as much of an accomplishment. "It aint out of the way. How many more games have we got to play?" Wittman said. "You act like that was the last daggum game. ... If were going to learn to be a good basketball team, we have to do this every night, no matter who youre playing." The Wizards aare 120-236 since that Oct.dddddddddddd. 31 victory 51 months ago, a .336 winning percentage better than only Minnesota and Sacramento over that span. The streak of futility fell just a few days shy of spanning an entire Winter Olympiad. "Its great that were 24-23 now, but I dont want them to focus on a number," Wittman said. "I want them to focus on the act of why youre 24-23. Thats where you keep it going. I want this team to get on a run. They havent ever been on a run." Another way to put the quest to move above mediocrity in perspective: The Trail Blazers would have to lose their next 20 in a row just to fall back to .500. But the Wizards have now topped two of the Wests top teams in back-to-back games, having taken care of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. Washingtons first playoff berth since 2008 is well within reach, especially in the watered-down East. The Trail Blazers arrived averaging a league-best 108.3 points and shot 61 per cent in the first half, but Portland was 6 for 17 from the field with seven turnovers in the decisive third quarter as Washingtons defence again held its own against a more celebrated lineup. Seraphin went 7 for 10 from the field and scored a season-high 19 points, making his mark by scoring the last four points of the third quarter and the first four points of the fourth. He followed a turnaround hook shot with a jumper to put the Wizards ahead 86-69. The Trail Blazers cut the deficit to six on a layup by LaMarcus Aldridge with 1:12 remaining, but Nene answered with a jumper to give the Wizards a 98-90 lead. Damian Lillard scored 25 points, and Aldridge had 20 to lead the Trail Blazers, who have lost four straight road games. They could care less about Washingtons over-.500 benchmark, but they know one thing for certain: The Wizards are a better team these days. "Give Washington credit," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "They are playing well, theyve beaten some good teams, and they are playing with a lot of confidence." Notes: G Garrett Temple committed three of Washingtons six turnovers. ... Wizards F Trevor Booker missed the game due to personal reasons. ' ' '