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HOUSTON -- In these lean times for the Houston Astros, Chris Carter is showing more and more that he can be a difference-maker for this young team. Carter homered twice, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh, to back seven strong innings from Bud Norris and give the Astros a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night. The victory breaks a five-game skid for the Astros, who had been shut out in their last two games. Carter broke a 22-inning scoring drought for Houston with his solo homer in the second off Roberto Hernandez (4-10) that tied it 1-1. He connected on a full-count pitch from Jake McGee on his second home run to make it 4-1 in the seventh. Carter leads the Astros with 17 homers and his 44 RBIs are tied for the team lead. He is the first Astro to reach 17 homers by July 3 since Lance Berkman in 2009. Just over halfway through the season, Carter is one homer shy of the 18 Justin Maxwell hit all of last season to lead the club. The Astros are enamoured with Carters power and impressed with his increased discipline at the plate recently. "He has a chance to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "When you see that kind of progression and you see the adjustments being made, you really say to yourself moving forward that this guy has a chance to be a middle-of-the-order bat who can be very productive." He has reached base safely in 15 of his last 16 games and his hitting .315 with four homers and 10 RBIs in that span. Carter was just glad he could help the team get back on track after a tough couple of games. "Its nice to score some runs and get a win after the last two games where we didnt score and they outscored us by 20 runs," he said. "Im just happy we came out with a win right there." Norris (6-7) allowed six hits and one run with five strikeouts to break a three-game losing streak and pick up his first win since June 1. Jose Veras allowed a hit in a scoreless ninth for his 17th save. "Bud was absolutely outstanding," Porter said. "I thought he threw probably the best game of the season this year. His slider just had unbelievable depth ... hes our No. 1 guy and he pitched like a No. 1 guy again tonight." Hernandez allowed four hits and three runs in six-plus innings for his fourth consecutive loss. James Loney had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and Ben Zobrist drove in Tampa Bays only run with a sacrifice fly in the first. Carters homer in the second pinged off the facade on the wall above the Crawford Boxes in left field, giving the Astros their first earned run in 31 innings. It also broke a team record-tying 24-inning scoreless streak for Rays pitchers. It was the third time in team history theyd reached the mark. Jose Altuve singled with two outs in the third, but was caught stealing second to end the inning. Hernandez starting rolling after that and retired the next nine straight. He ran into trouble in the seventh when Brett Wallace doubled with no outs before he was chased by a single from Jason Castro. He was replaced by McGee, and Carter sent his 98 mph fastball to the train tracks atop the wall in left field. It was Carters second multi-homer game of the season and of his career. "Carter hurt us," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "He didnt miss two pitches. That one from Jake (McGee) was properly struck. That is back wall anywhere. That was incredible. You have to give them credit for the way they bounced back today, and their pitcher set up the whole thing." Norris hasnt had much run support lately, with the Astros scoring just three runs combined in his last three losses. A relieved-looking Norris greeted Carter with a hug and a huge smile in the dugout after his homer put Houston on top. The feeling Norris had when as he watched Carters homer was simple. "Pure joy," he said. "CCs (Carter) done it a few times for me, so weve just got to keep it going." The Rays had trouble stringing together hits against Norris. Their best chance to add to their run total came in the fifth. Jose Molinas comebacker sailed just inches above Norriss head for a single to start the inning. Norris then struck out Yunel Escobar and Molina was caught stealing second on the play. Norris walked consecutive batters, but escaped the jam by retiring Zobrist for the third out. Escobar singled with one out in the seventh before Jennings grounded into a double play to end the inning. NOTES: The series wraps up Thursday when Tampa Bays Chris Archer opposes Jordan Lyles. ... Houston DH Carlos Pena was back in the lineup after taking time to travel to the Dominican Republic following the drowning death of his nephew. He returned to the team on Tuesday after missing two games, but did not play. Pena said it was a difficult time for his family, but the support the team showed him made it a bit easier. "We have a lot of signs around here that we have family first and thats something that I saw firsthand, how they reacted to this situation," Pena said. "They did everything they could to make sure my family was all right and taken care of, which I appreciate."... Evan Longoria was Tampa Bays designated hitter for the second straight game after missing the previous three games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Manager Joe Maddon said he doesnt know when the All-Star third baseman will feel good enough to play defence, but thats OK with him. "Well just have to wait to get him on the field, but we have him as a DH well take it," Maddon said. Bears Jerseys . The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction. James Daniels Jersey . Masahiro Tanaka has touched down in the United States and the courting of the Rakuten Golden Eagles stud pitcher has begun in earnest by a bevy of MLB teams interested in the Japanese ace. http://www.probearsonline.com/authentic-taylor-gabriel-bears-jersey/ . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand. James Daniels Bears Jersey .The Dallas Cowboys released Sam from the practice squad Tuesday, dropping the rush end as they prepare for several potential reinforcements to return to the defensive line. Roquan Smith Jersey . "Opinion: Womens World Cup is the best Soccer of the year," Hanks tweeted to his 8.73 million followers on Friday. "Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod.WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg quarterback Drew Willys injured shoulder could make him miss the Blue Bombers next game almost two weeks from now, and his future after that is unclear based on what the team said Monday. The Bombers say Willys status is week-to-week but that hes questionable for Winnipegs next game at home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He will be re-evaluated at the beginning of next week, the team said in a brief statement Monday. The team didnt provide any more information about the nature of the injury. Willys throwing shoulder was injured on what looked like a hit from Alex Bazzie and Khreem Smith, as Willy was sacked late in the second quarter in their 25-9 loss to the B.C. Lions Saturday. After the game, coach Mike OShea suggested the injury might not be serious, although Willy watched from the sidelines in the second half as backup Brian Brohm struggled against B.C.s defence. At 27, Willy has been remarkably durable, or lucky, as far as injuries are concerned, with only a hand injury in practice that made him miss two games during his college career and none that have forced him to miss a game as a professional. This season he has hardly missed a snap let alone a game, despite hits that have left him bruised and limping off the field at times. It helps that this is Winnipegs bye week, which gives the team and Willy some time to recover or prepare. They dont have to play again until Sept. 27. The Bombers arent suffering alone. Willy joins Darian Durant, Travis Lulay and Bo Levi Mitchell on the injured list.dddddddddddd Like Willy, Mitchell went down Saturday, although in his case it was a leg injury, and also like Willy he hadnt missed a game this season. B.C. has veteran Kevin Glenn, who has already played most of the season for Lulay, and Calgary has Drew Tate if Mitchell cant return. But the Bombers have the untested Brohm to back up Willy. The Saskatchewan Roughriders have also been forced to go with rookie backup Tino Sunseri, who made his first CFL start Sunday, a 28-3 loss in Hamilton that gave the Tiger-Cats just their third win of the season. With Durant out, Saskatchewans hold on second place in the CFL West looked tenuous as they fell to an 8-3 tie with the Edmonton Eskimos after weekend games. Mike Reilly, the last starter standing in the West, completed 22 of 32 throws Friday for 271 yards and ran for two touchdowns as the Eskimos put away the Montreal Alouettes 33-16. Although the Bombers are in last place in the CFL West at 6-6, Willy has been the player who kept them in the game for much of this season. He leads the league in passing yards at 2,977, at least for now. The Bombers went 5-1 to open the season, although most of their games were against eastern teams that have struggled against every team in the West. 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