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HOUSTON — Yuli Gurriel delivered the walk-off hit that lifted the Houston Astros to victory on Thursday in their series opener with the Chicago White Sox at Minute Maid Park.

The clutch at-bat came as no surprise considering Gurriel leads the American League in batting with runners in scoring position.

That George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez contributed to the ninth-inning rally was additionally good news for the Astros (58-31). Springer entered the series with a slash line of .100/.222/.157 since his last multi-hit game on June 10 and was 0-for-4 before muscling a game-tying single to center that scored Tony Kemp. Gonzalez Adidas Patrik Laine Jersey , slashing .098/.193/.157 over his prior 15 games, emerged off the bench and delivered a pinch single that pushed Kemp to third.

“If you’ve been around our team at all the last couple days to weeks, to have George Springer and Marwin Gonzalez be a part of the celebration having contributed the way they did, that’s all they want to do is contribute to something positive,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.

“Yuli should get as much praise as anybody to end the game, but really proud of George and Marwin to get in on the party.”

Right-hander Lance McCullers (9-3, 3.55 ERA) gets the start for the Astros on Friday. He is 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA over three career starts against the White Sox, including an outing on April 22 when he allowed one run on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts over six innings in a 7-1 win. McCullers twirled seven scoreless innings at Tampa Bay in his previous start and went 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA over five starts last month.

White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (4-5, 3.68) is scheduled to make his 18th start of the season and second against the Astros. He is 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA over his last four road starts. The White Sox are providing Lopez with just 3.95 runs of support, the 15th-lowest mark in the AL. In his lone career start against Houston http://www.officialhockeyjetsshop.com/authentic-adidas-jacob-trouba-jersey , Lopez allowed one run over five innings but did not factor into the decision while working opposite of McCullers.

With the non-waiver trade deadline looming at the end of this month and the rebuilding White Sox (30-57) out of contention, attention has shifted to the potential veterans who might be shipped elsewhere before the calendar turns. First baseman Jose Abreu and right fielder Avisail Garcia are popular names bandied about the rumor mill while veteran reliever Joakim Soria has been mentioned as a target for contenders seeking bullpen help.

Soria suffered the loss in the series opener, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while recording just one out in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss. The Astros, interestingly, have been reported to potentially have interest in Soria. As for the White Sox, they’re ignoring the noise.

“For us, it’s not something that’s been a topic of conversation,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “So we’re able to allow them to just continue to try to develop and try to improve and get better.”

Kendrys Morales ditched his glasses and found his swing.

Morales connected for a pinch-hit homer in the 10th inning, sending the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

Morales hit a two-out drive to right off Hansel Robles for his eighth homer. Robles (2-3) was making his Angels debut after he was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets.

The 35-year-old Morales made his major league debut with Los Angeles in 2006 and played for the Angels for six years.

”It always feels good, I don’t think it matters more or less that it was the team that signed me Authentic Taven Bryan Jersey ,” Morales said through an interpreter. ”That was a good moment and I’ll take it and I’m happy for it.”

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons thinks there’s something to Morales not using the glasses he tried.

”He’s always been a good hitter. He’s always been a dangerous hitter,” Gibbons said. ”I was telling somebody the other day, he got rid of his glasses. The glasses were screwing him up.”

Curtis Granderson, Aledmys Diaz and Devon Travis also homered for Toronto, which split the four-game series after dropping the first two. Diaz had two hits and scored three times.

Travis praised Gibbons for sending Morales to the plate in the 10th.

”Two outs, putting Kendrys in in that situation. He’s a good hitter. That was awesome,” Travis said. ”Kendrys has been swinging the bat so well really all year. You can look at his numbers and they don’t quite tell the story. I feel every time the guy goes to the box he puts the barrel on the ball, he puts up a good at-bat and just happy things have been going better in the luck department lately. That was a big one right there. He’s a guy in this locker room that gels everyone together.”

The Blue Jays had a 6-3 lead before the Angels rallied in the eighth, taking advantage of two errors. Ryan Tepera (5-2) replaced Aaron Loup with two out and the bases loaded, and Martin Maldonado responded with a three-run double to left.

Tepera then picked Maldonado off second to end the inning. He also worked the ninth Authentic Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey , and Tyler Clippard got three outs for his fourth save.

Toronto jumped in front on Travis’ three-run homer off Felix Pena in the second. Diaz hit a tiebreaking leadoff drive in the sixth, and Granderson added his seventh of the season with two out.

Justin Upton hit his 17th homer for the Angels, and Maldonado had two hits and four RBIs. Pena, a converted reliever making his second career start, allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings.

”We battled back. We didn’t do enough things in the end,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ”We couldn’t keep it in the park. They hit four home runs off us. We do a good job getting back in games.”

FREE TIME

Angels star Mike Trout has some free time during games when he serves as the designated hitter. His sprained index finger has kept him from playing center field, which can make for some restless moments.

”I’m going to tell him to go play catch in left field and roll it back left-handed so he can feel like he plays some defense. He goes crazy in the dugout,” Scioscia said. ”DHing is not easy, especially when you’re used to the everyday separation of going out there and focusing on defense. The best thing to get an at-bat out of your head is to go out and play defense.”

PITCHING WITH PURPOSE

Toronto right-hander Sam Gaviglio was charged with three runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings in his first start back from paternity leave. Gaviglio’s daughter, Livia Authentic Mike Hughes Jersey , was born on Tuesday.

”It was nice. It’s like riding a bike,” Gaviglio said. ”It’s just another baseball game.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: LHP Tyler Skaggs, who was scratched on Thursday with hamstring tightness, came out of his bullpen session Saturday with no problems and will start Monday.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: LHP J.A. Happ (9-3, 3.56 ERA) pitches Monday against Houston. Happ has allowed no runs in two of his last three starts.

Angels: Skaggs (6-4, 2.81 ERA) is all set for a makeup game at Kansas City. He is 3-0 with a sparkling 0.45 ERA in June.

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