nk theres been a time like that in the majors,"

HOUSTON -- Chris Carter has hit his fair share of no-doubt home runs this season and has never taken more than a second to watch as one began to sail out of the park. That changed on Tuesday night when Houstons slugger hit his 32nd homer, a towering three-run drive in the eighth inning that lifted the Astros to a 4-2 win over the Oakland Athletics. He stood at the plate gazing skyward, still clutching the bat with his left hand until it was clear that the ball was destined for the train tracks atop the wall in left field. "It was just pure excitement right there," he said with a smile. Though reticent to admit it, Carter takes a bit more pleasure in coming up big in games against his former team, which traded him away before last season. Hes done it a lot this season, homering four times in his last five games against the Athletics. Oakland starter Jason Hammel had retired 10 straight batters when he was replaced by Luke Gregerson (3-3) for the eighth inning. Robbie Grossman reached on an error by first baseman Stephen Vogt with one out and Gregerson hit Jose Altuve with a pitch. Carter then connected on a 90 mph fastball to put the Astros on top. "He left one up for me," Carter said. "I was just trying to hit one in the gap there and I got it in the air." Gregerson lamented the pitch to Carter. "I was trying to go sinker, down and away," he said. "It started away, but it just ran all the way across the plate, down and in." Josh Fields (4-6) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and Chad Qualls did the same in the ninth for his 15th save. The As began the day tied with the Angels for the AL West lead. Carter homered for the second straight game, and leads the majors with 19 since the start of July. Before the game, he received a plaque honouring him as the American League player of the week. His home runs are the most since Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee hit 34 and 32 respectively in 2007. "I tell you what, hes putting together some kind of season and the home runs are getting bigger and bigger," Houston manager Bo Porter said. Carter, who struggled early in the season before heating up, seemed puzzled when asked after the game if this is the best stretch of his career. "Is that a real question," he asked. Told it was, he continued. "No. I dont think theres been a time like that in the majors," he said. "Maybe in the minors but not here." Dexter Fowler hit a solo homer for Houston to cut the lead to one in the fourth inning. Carters shot ruined Hammels best start since joining the Athletics in a trade from the Cubs. He allowed three hits and one run while working on extra rest -- the As skipped his last turn because they had two off-days last week. Dallas Keuchel allowed five hits and two runs in seven innings to remain winless since July 30, a span of five starts. Carters home run let him off the hook for the loss and he enjoyed watching Carter admire his shot. "I was joking with him. I said: Dang, you really watched that one," Keuchel said. "It kind of reminded me of Manny Ramirez with the Red Sox back in the day." TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: Manager Bob Melvin said SS Jed Lowrie (broken right index finger) and INF Nick Punto (hamstring) are both getting better and could be ready for rehabilitation assignments in the next few days. Lowrie was scheduled to play catch on Tuesday and Melvin said theyll see how "fast they can move with him" depending on how that goes. Melvin said Punto isnt able to run at full speed yet, but has been doing everything else. UP NEXT Oakland left-hander Drew Pomeranz will be recalled from Triple-A Sacramento to make his first major league start since June 16. He has struggled in his career against the Astros, going 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in two appearances against Houston. Brad Peacock will start Wednesday against the As, making his fourth start since being recalled from Triple-A on Aug. 6. Joe Namath Jersey . Neither striker Demba Ba nor Fernando Torres came close to scoring as Chelsea was left unsuccessfully appealing for penalties in this drab penultimate game of the season. "Our strikers are good strikers, no doubt about that, but players with some specific qualities," Mourinho said. Jachai Polite Womens Jersey . The team made the announcement after Saturdays 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. RHP Kenny Giles will be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Adams spot on the roster. http://www.jetsrookiestore.com/Jets-Le-Veon-Bell-Jersey/ . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. C.J. Mosley Youth Jersey . Raonic, the No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., fired 11 aces and did not have a double-fault as he comfortably advanced to the third round at the Masters Series event. Joe Namath Youth Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side.HUMBLE, Texas -- Sergio Garcia has yet to finish lower than 16th in a PGA Tour event this season. The Spaniard appears well on his way to keeping that streak intact this week after posting a 7-under par 65 and matching the course 36-hole record of 12 under overall after the second round of the Houston Open on Friday. As well as Garcia played in taking a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, the focus afterward was a mix of this week -- with a heavy dose of attention turned toward next weeks Masters. Garcia has eight PGA Tour wins in his career, but the 34-year-old world No. 8-- once thought to be Tiger Woods challenger for the top spot in the world -- is still in search of his first major championship. Hed like nothing more than end that quest next week, while taking full advantage of his prep time at the Golf Club of Houstons Augusta National-like conditions for the rest of this weekend. "I mean, obviously I feel good, but every week is different," Garcia said. "First of all, we got to finish this week, and hopefully next week Ill be feeling good (and) not too many things will be bothering me health-wise, and then just feel good on the course, hopefully play well and things happen." Weyburn, Sask., native Graham DeLaet, the top Canadian in the field, is tied for 32nd place after shooting a 71. Calgarys Stephen Ames is in a tie for 42nd place. Garcia, opening on the back nine, climbed the leaderboard with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on his front nine. His eagle on the par-5 13th came after sticking his 282-yard second shot to 5 feet, giving him a 4-shot lead following his morning round. Kuchar, who opened with a 6-under 66 on Thursday, briefly tied Garcia at 12 under late in his afternoon round before closing with a bogey from the fairway bunker on the 18th. The two will be paired with Matt Jones on Saturday after tournament officials decided to send threesomes off both tees early in the morning in an attempt to beat expected rain in the afternoon. "If we get some rain and it doesnt blow too hard, of course the course will soften up and the scores will go even lower," Kuchar said. "No telling ... It could be really tough." The weather was the clearest its been all week on Friday, with the sun shining brightly and the wind gusting throughout the day at the 7,441-yard Golf Club of Houston.dddddddddddd The windy conditions limited first-round co-leader Bill Haas to a 2-over 74. Charley Hoffman, the other first-round leader, fell to 3 under par overall after a 4-over 76. While the early leaders struggled, Phil Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 and is 6 under overall, six shots back of Garcia in ninth. After a bogey-free opening round on Thursday, Mickelson -- still recovering from last weeks muscle pull that forced his withdrawal from the Texas Open -- overcame a pair of bogeys on Friday with four birdies. The five-time major winner, who won the Houston Open in 2011, had back-to-back birdies to reach 6 under where he is one of 11 golfers within six shots of Garcia. "It was a lot more difficult today with this wind than it was the first day," Mickelson said. "But either way, I feel like I felt better than I have in a long time with my game." Garcia finished Friday two shots off the course record of 63 in just his second visit to the former Redstone Golf Club -- which switched names following an ownership change. He only needed 25 putts and showed hes ready for the slick greens and tight fairways at next weeks Masters. He equaled the courses previous low 36 holes set by Johnson Wagner in 2008 and matched in 2012 by Jeff Maggert. Garcia, who opened with a 5-under 67 on Thursday, began Fridays round on the back nine. His first birdie came following a 12-foot putt on No. 12, and he followed that with a spectacular eagle on the par-5 13th. He started the 592-yard hole with a 307-yard tee shot, following that with a 282-yard 3-wood to 5 feet of the hole. The eagle putt sent him into the lead at 8 under, and he then birdied the par-3 14th before putting together three straight birdies on his back nine. "It was nice to kind of get going because as windy as it was, I knew there were a lot of difficult holes out there and a lot of shots that were going to test you," Garcia said. Jones, Cameron Tringale, Jimmy Walker and Shawn Stefani are tied for third at 8 under, while Steve Stricker and Ben Curtis are at 7 under. Walker, who leads the PGA Tour with three wins this season, matched Garcias 7-under 65 on Friday. Defending champion D.A. Points missed the cut after shooting a 2-over 74 on Friday and finishing 1 over overall. ' ' '