The Mountaineers started four guards to play uptempo a

HOUSTON -- After earning at worst a series split with a 3-1 victory Wednesday night, the Toronto Blue Jays enter the series finale against the Houston Astros almost as concerned with the start theyll get the following day.Left-hander J.A. Happ (14-3, 3.16 ERA) starts the series finale for the Blue Jays (61-47). Happ is 3-1 with a 3.50 ERA in six starts against the Astros, for whom he went 18-28 with a 4.84 ERA over parts of three seasons following his trade from the Phillies on July 29, 2010.Left-hander Francisco Liriano (6-11, 5.46 ERA) follows Happ in the rotation, making his first start with the Blue Jays on Friday night in Kansas City against the Royals. Liriano and two prospects joined the organization Monday following a trade deadline deal with the Pirates.Liriano has scuffled this season as he led the majors with 69 walks prior to the trade. But the Blue Jays are confident that Liriano can be reborn, in part because he will be reunited with former Pirates catcher Russell Martin.I think you just need to watch him and let him go out and pitch before you jump the gun, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. Hes back with Russ. Let him pitch. Theres nothing worse than trying to pinpoint something in someones mind before you see him.He may go out there and shine like theres nothing to it.Right-hander Mike Fiers (7-4, 4.42 ERA) starts the series finale for the Astros. Fiers has appeared in just two games (one start) against the Blue Jays in his career, going 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA over eight innings. Once in the precarious position of losing his spot in the rotation, Fiers has rebounded to go 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA over his last two starts.Like the Blue Jays, the Astros (56-51) have one eye on their weekend rotation. With right-hander Lance McCullers landing on the 15-day disabled list with a mild elbow sprain, rookie right-hander Joe Musgrove makes his first career start against the Rangers on Sunday.Musgrove excelled in his major league debut on Tuesday night, pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief with eight strikeouts, matching the major league record for strikeouts in relief in a major league debut. Musgrove arrived from Triple-A Fresno on Sunday poised to start in place of right-hander Doug Fister (paternity list) on Monday night.Instead, opportunity knocked one day later and Musgrove validated the trust the organization showed with his promotion.We thought he could handle it which is why we were going to give him an opportunity if Fister was gone, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. We really like this guy. Hes got a lot of charisma; hes got a lot of polish to him. 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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland coach Brenda Frese wondered if her players were fully awake for their late morning tip-off against in-state foe Mount St. Marys.They had turnovers, breakdowns on defense and uncharacteristically missed open shots. However, it didnt take long for the No. 6 Terrapins to fix the problem. Brionna Jones finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 6 Maryland rout the Mountaineers 106-42 on Friday.Ieshia Small had 14 points off the bench for Maryland (3-0). Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Kaila Charles and Jenna Staiti added 10 points apiece for the Terrapins, who shot 58 percent from the field.I thought we had a really slow, sluggish start, Frese said. Our shots werent falling and we werent as crisp as we usually are. The second half was a much better indicator of how we want to play for 40 minutes.The Mountaineers (1-2) trailed only 18-13 at the end of the first quarter. But the Terrapins used their size to take control. The 6-foot-3 Jones scored 12 points to boost the lead to 34-18 with 3:37 left in the second quarter.We have a lot of weapons on our team, Jones said. Anybody can come off the bench and score. Were just going to keep playing our brand of basketball.The Mountaineers tried to stay in the game by hoisting three-pointers, but they went 3 of 21 and trailed 37-20 at the break. They finished 7 of 32 from behind the arc.A pair of free throws and layup by freshman Destiny Slocum boosted the margin to 57-25 midway through the third quarter, and the only uncertainty was whether Maryland would score 100 or more points for the third straight game.A 3-pointer by Sarah Myers gave Maryland a 100-39 llead late in the fourth quarter.ddddddddddddKatrice Dickson led Mount St. Marys with 12 points.I thought we played really well in the first quarter, Mountaineers coach Bryan Whitten. We became very undisciplined on the offensive side in the second quarter. You give up 37 points in the first half, you think youre in a good spot.BIG PICTUREMount St. Marys: The Mountaineers started four guards to play uptempo and put their best shooters in the floor. The strategy worked early before the Terrapins did a better job protecting the ball and wearing them down.Maryland: Frese is pleased with the quick start of her team, which has averaged 104 points in three games against much weaker programs. Her deep roster will help create matchup problems for most opponents this season.FAB FRESHMANMaryland freshmen Destiny Slocum and Kaila Charles were in the starting lineup for the third consecutive game. Both played well enough to maintain those spots. Charles scored in double figures for the third time, and Slocum has seamlessly run the plays at point guard.FINDING A HOMEThe Mountaineers Mikal Johnson, a graduate transfer, is playing for her third college program. Johnson played two seasons at Rider, where she was a MAAC All-Rookie Team selection, and then one year at Liberty. After scoring in double figures in each of the first two games, Johnson had three points against Maryland.UP NEXTMt. St. Marys: The Mountaineers host Fairfield on Sunday.Maryland: The Terrapins play at Niagara on Sunday in their first road trip. ' ' '