elusive fifth hit is hard for him, Hinch said, Its a funny thin

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said its sick that somebody phoned in a bomb threat involving his teams chartered plane on Saturday night but praised the flights crew and the officers who greeted the team on the tarmac in Oklahoma City for easing concerns in a tense situation.Stevens said Celtics travel and equipment manager John Connor and a flight attendant approached him about an hour before Bostons plane was scheduled to touch down at Oklahoma Citys Will Rogers World Airport on Saturday night. Stevens was briefed on the threat involving the team plane and said he was advised to not alarm those on board while the plane staff began an initial inspection.I mean, it wasnt enjoyable, Stevens said. Only a few of us knew about an hour left in the flight or so and I thought the staff on board was great at being reassuring about all the checks they had made prior to leaving. And swiftly looking, without drawing much attention to themselves, while we were in the air. Once we landed, we were greeted by a throng of police officers and fire trucks, and were on the tarmac for a while, then went to the fire station there and everybody was great.It was a unique experience because everybodys getting interviewed and everything else. Obviously, a lot of great people do their jobs well and reassure you that everything is going to be OK.Stevens, speaking before a 99-96 loss to the?Oklahoma City Thunder, said the in-flight staff were reassuring based on the confidence of their preflight inspections, but he said it still was heavy news to receive.Certainly its not a very comfortable situation when youre in the middle of the air but, again, its sick that somebody would make that call, Stevens said. But everybody that we interacted with, from the people on the plane to the people once we landed, were terrific.Celtics players and staffers were interviewed by FBI agents at the airport before being bused to the team hotel, where their bags were delivered after a more thorough inspection of the plane ensured the call was a hoax. Inside Bostons locker room Sunday, players said it was a unique experience but that they were focused on the game against the Thunder.It was just really weird. Very unexpected, said Celtics big man Al Horford. Im glad that [it] was a false alarm.Stevens said he wasnt sure what the best protocol was after receiving the information but trusted the in-flight staff. Most Celtics players and staff members didnt know of the threat until seeing the fire trucks and police presence that greeted the plane on the tarmac.I dont know what the right answer is there, Stevens said. I think, at the end of the day, you trust the people in the cockpit who got the call and the flight attendants, who I believe made a suggestion just to keep it as is and go from there. Ive never been through it, so I wasnt trained properly. Cheap Baseball Jerseys Authentic . PAUL, Minn. Nike Baseball Jerseys 2020 . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. https://www.fakebaseballjerseys.com/ . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Fake Nike Baseball Jerseys . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Cheap Baseball Jerseys China . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. SEATTLE -- One day after an ill-advised bunt attempt in a losing effort, Jose Altuve returned to what he does best.Altuve homered among his four hits and drove in three runs, Collin McHugh escaped a pair of bases-loaded jams to pitch six scoreless innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 8-1 on Sunday.Altuve, who bunted on his own with the tying run on second and none out in the ninth inning of Saturdays 1-0 loss, had a two-run homer and three singles in five at-bats to raise his American League-leading average to .346. McHugh (6-6) allowed four hits and walked four, striking out 10 to win for the first time in eight starts since his last victory on May 30.Today I went there and I wasnt thinking about bunting, Altuve said. I was thinking about hitting the ball, driving the ball. I felt really good at the plate today, I feel really happy that we won the game.Carlos Gomez added his second career grand slam in the seventh inning off Nathan Karns to put the Astros up 8-0.Kyle Seager singled home Seattles only run in the eighth off Chris Devenski.Mike Montgomery (3-4), making his second start this season after 30 relief appearances, allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings, walking two and striking out seven.Altuve had the green light on a 3-0 pitch in the third and delivered his 15th homer to follow Marwin Gonzalezs leadoff double, putting Houston up 3-0.He pretty much has a green light at life, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Stealing, hitting 3-0, hitting 0-0, hes a very gifted player, but he works at it. Hes fun to be around.The Astros made it 4-0 in the fifth when Gonzalez again doubled to open the inning, took third on a throwing error by center fielder Leonys Martin, and scored on Altuves single to left.The Astros hustled across an unearned run in the first. Gonzalez reached on a fielders choice and Altuve singled. Gonzalez stole third and continued around on an error by third baseman Seager, who misplayed the throw from catcher Jesus Sucre.The Mariners, who have lost six of their last seven against the Astros, committed four errors, walked four and left 10 runners on.Thats the worst game weve played all year, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Messed up six or seven plays in the field today. We played a terrible ball game. Theres no way you can sugarcoat that.McHugh escaped a pair of basses-loaded situations without allowing a run.ddddddddddddn the first, Seagers one-out drive to right with the bases loaded barely hooked foul. Seager then struck out and Dae-Ho Lee bounced back to the mound.In the third, the Mariners loaded the bases with no outs on a walk to Leonys Martin, a pop single by Robinson Cano on an overturned call and Nelson Cruzs single to the base of the wall in right-center. McHugh struck out Seager and then enticed Lee into an inning-ending double-play bouncer to second.I started sweating a little bit more when I was out there and I saw that ball, you start to give it the whole body lean a little bit, McHugh said of Seagers long foul. That could have changed the game, could have broken the game wide open.ALTUVE MISSES FIFTH HITAltuve, who struck out in his final at-bat, has 17 four-hit games in his career, but never a five-hit game. The elusive fifth hit is hard for him, Hinch said, Its a funny thing to say, because the first four arent very easy for anybody but Altuve.UPON FURTHER REVIEWWith nobody out in the third, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa dropped Canos pop up while reaching across the foul line behind third base while looking back into the sun. The Mariners challenged and the call was overturned after a review estimated at 2:08, giving Cano a single to put runners at first and second.TRAINERS ROOM:Astros: SS Correa was hit by a pitch in the seventh. He stayed in the game but was replaced by pinch-hitter A.J Reed in the eighth. Correas fine. I took him out because I wanted Reed to get an at-bat and steal a couple innings of rest for him, Hinch said.Mariners: SS Ketel Marte and OF Nelson Cruz both returned to the lineup after missing Saturdays game. Marte injured his ankle Friday night and Cruz fouled a ball off the top of his left foot.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Mike Fiers (6-3, 4.35 ERA) opens the three-game series at Oakland. Fiers allowed four earned in runs in 3 1/3 innings with a no-decision in his last start prior to the All-Star break, but he has not lost in seven starts since May 27.Mariners: LHP Wade LeBlanc (1-0, 3.52 ERA) makes his fourth start since being acquired in a trade with Toronto to open a three-game series at home against the White Sox. ' ' '