for Craig Goodwin, who scored in his first start for new Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam on the weekend.Postecoglou said he was pleased with his work in growing t

HOUSTON -- Astros right-hander Mike Fiers delivered a performance Friday night emblematic of the inconsistencies plagued Houston starters of late.Undone by three wild pitches -- two of which led directly to runs, Fiers blew a 3-0 lead and did not factor in the decision in the Astros 5-4 victory over the Rays.Fiers hasnt recorded wins in consecutive starts since mid-June, but with Collin McHugh and Doug Fister and rookie Joe Musgrove alternating strong starts with poor ones, Fiers isnt alone riding the roller coaster of varying results for the Astros (67-61).I think its just about making pitches in this league, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of the variance in the performances of his starters. Its a tough league, its a smaller margin for error. I think its just rigors of the schedule and rigors of the season and the difficulty of putting five starters out there every day. Weve had some inconsistencies.Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (8-12, 4.64 ERA) makes his seventh career start against the Rays on Saturday. He is 0-4 with a 5.11 ERA against Tampa Bay.Keuchel allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts over five innings in a 5-0 loss to the Rays on June 12 at Tropicana Field. In his last start, Keuchel tossed eight innings and allowed two runs on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in a 5-3 victory over Baltimore on Sunday.The entire second half of the season has represented a turnaround for the Rays (54-73). After posting a minus-74 run differential prior to the All-Star break -- the worst mark in the American League, the Rays entered the series with Houston with the second-best run differential in the majors since the break and it stands at plus-56 after Fridays game.Were very happy with the performance from our pitching staff (and) the way weve gone out and defended, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. We had stretches last year where we were a really good club but we fell short. This year it went the other way where we struggled early but we seem to be playing better baseball now. Somehow Ive got to find a way where we play that type of style of baseball throughout the course of a full season.Left-hander Blake Snell (4-6, 3.17 ERA) makes his first career appearance against the Astros on Saturday. Snell has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight consecutive starts, the longest such streak by a rookie in franchise history. Snell is 3-3 during that stretch, lowering his season ERA by 0.69.Snell issued a career-high five walks in his last start against the Red Sox on Monday, failing to work five innings for the second time in three appearances. While Snell was lifted after 3 2/3 innings, he also failed to get any run support for the fifth time in 13 career starts. Luka Doncic Mavericks Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Steve Nash Jersey . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. http://www.mavericksteamofficial.info/jalen-brunson-mavericks-jersey/ . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Dwight Powell Jersey . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. Dirk Nowitzki Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. Tim Cahill is the only Australian-based player to feature in the Socceroos squad for two World Cup qualifiers next month as coach Ange Postecoglou looks to avoid a repeat of last years Middle Eastern loss.Newly-returned to Australia after signing with Melbourne City, the veteran striker leads an experienced group of 23 players named by coach Ange Postecoglou on Wednesday to take on Iraq in Perth on September 1 and United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi five days later.Matthew Spiranovic is back in the squad for the first time since October and Massimo Luongo returns after missing the friendly series with Greece.Front of Postecoglous mind for this squad was fitness, given Australias sole qualifying defeat in four years came in October last year, when Australia was defeated by Jordan in Amman.We saw last year at this time, the September-October window, that players who came in that were underdone really struggled, Postecoglou said.The primary thing for me when we got this squad together was to make sure whoever we bring in has good fitness.Both Iraq and UAE present challenges for us and every player will need to be ready to hit the ground running.That means theres no place for locally-based Asian Cup winners Alex Wilkinson, James Troisi and Matt McKay, or recent call-ups Jamie Maclaren, Jason Geria and Josh Risdon.Postecoglou said in a perfect world, the five-month A-League off-season would be shortened by bringing forward the leagues start from October.The squad is one of Postecoglouus most experienced since coming to the job in late 2013, with no untried players and an average of 23 caps among the players.ddddddddddddTomi Juric has been rewarded for his fine start with his new Swiss club Luzern, and will vie for a striking role with Cahill, China-based bolter Apostolos Giannou and Nathan Burns.The matches come a little bit too early for Craig Goodwin, who scored in his first start for new Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam on the weekend.Postecoglou said he was pleased with his work in growing the pool of international talent at his disposal.Weve now arrived at the final stage of World Cup qualifying where we will face a stronger group of opponents in testing conditions and we are comfortable that we have a core group of players with a stronger base of international experience.SOCCEROOS SQUADGoalkeepers: Adam Federici, Mitchell Langerak, Mat Ryan.Defenders: Milos Degenek, Alex Gersbach, Ryan McGowan, Trent Sainsbury, Brad Smith, Matthew Spiranovic, Bailey Wright.Midfielders: Chris Ikonomidis, Jackson Irvine, Mile Jedinak, Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic,Forwards: Nathan Burns, Tim Cahill, Apostolos Giannou, Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mathew Leckie.MATCH DETAILSThursday, September 1 - Australia v Iraq - NIB Stadium, PerthTuesday, September 6 - United Arab Emirates v Australia - Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi ' ' '