September with another dominating outing Sunday.Verlander struck out 11 in seven solid innings and the Houston Astros extended their AL West edge http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , topping the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4.“Certainly, in the last couple of months this is his best start,” Houston manager AJ Hinch said. “He’s had some pretty good ones as an Astro. When he comes out and sets that kind of tone and gets those swings and misses and the strikeouts it’s a pretty special day for us.”The Astros lead Oakland by 4½ games in the division race. Arizona is 4½ games behind in the NL West and four back for the second NL wild card.Verlander (16-9) allowed one run on three hits.“I just felt good,” Verlander said. “I had good control of the fastball. Mechanics felt in line; timing felt good. I was able to execute pretty well today.”He matched his career high for strikeouts in a season with 269 — he passed teammate Gerrit Cole, who has 260, for most in the AL. Verlander also surpassed 200 innings for the 11th time in his career.Verlander hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of his three September starts.Hinch said it all started with Verlander’s fastball Sunday.“His fastball starts everything off because then they have to really cheat to get to his fastball, and when they do that it opens up all sorts of opportunities for the secondary pitches,” Hinch said. “But it all starts off his fastball. He has good hand speed, he has good direction. He finishes that fastball and then all of a sudden Kyle Schwarber Jersey , the breaking ball comes along with it. He had a lot of weapons to go to.”Zack Greinke (14-10) allowed four runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. Greinke has permitted at least three runs in four straight outings.“Really good for the most part,” Greinke said. “The last inning wasn’t that great. Just trouble getting them to strikeout. Just a lot of balls in play and that put a lot of pressure on the defense. Wasn’t perfect but felt really good. They battled like a really good team would do.”Tyler White hit a two-out, RBI double in the sixth to give the Astros a 2-1 lead.Josh Reddick led off the seventh with a home run and Jose Altuve hit an RBI single later in the inning. Martin Maldonado’s single in the eighth extended the lead to 5-1.“The thing that makes him so good is that he nibbles,” Reddick said of Greinke. “He doesn’t really leave too many pitches over the middle of the plate, so when he does, you can’t miss them. We did a great job of that early on, not letting him get too far ahead of us. I think we came out and ambushed his fastball before he got to his offspeed stuff. I think that set the tone really well for us, but after that, we waited for him to go over the plate.”The Diamondbacks scored three times in the ninth after Collin McHugh walked David Peralta and Paul Goldschmidt singled with one out. Eduardo Escobar had a sacrifice fly and Daniel Descalso hit a two-run homer off Roberto Osuna.Osuna struck out Ketel Marte to end it for his 18th save.“I was really proud of these guys for fighting through what were some difficult circumstances there in the ninth inning Kerry Wood Jersey ,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “Their closer comes in, he’s got a really nice track record, but we didn’t shut down. There was a lot of good talk in the dugout about grinding away and fighting. You could see what happens when a couple of runners get on base, we just fell a little short.”Peralta homered in the Arizona sixth.ASTROS MOVEHouston recalled OF Kyle Tucker from Triple-A Fresno. He hit .154 with three RBIs over two previous stints with the Astros this season.TRAINER’S ROOMDiamondbacks: RHP Shelby Miller (right elbow inflammation) threw a 27-pitch bullpen Saturday and “felt good”, Lovullo said. … LHP TJ McFarland (left elbow inflammation) will throw a bullpen either Sunday or Monday, Lovullo said.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: LHP Patrick Corbin (11-5, 3.05 ERA) will make his 31st start of the season Monday in the opener of a three-game home series against the Cubs. Corbin allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings in his last outing Wednesday against the Rockies.Astros: LHP Framber Valdez (3-1, 2.66) will make his fifth start of the season Monday in the first game of a three-game set against Seattle. Valdez will be looking to rebound after having his shortest start in his young career Tuesday against the Tigers where he allowed four runs in four innings. LOS ANGELES (AP) — A loaded starting rotation. Solid hitters who can play multiple positions. An All-Star closer. The Los Angeles Dodgers are once again stocked for a successful run.So what’s wrong?They haven’t won a World Series championship since 1988. Two straight years of the World Series champion celebrating in Los Angeles has left plenty of unfinished business for a team that is built to win titles.Manager Dave Roberts, criticized for his pitching decisions last season http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , has a contract extension through 2022. His ability to get everyday players to buy into the platoon approach and daily pursuit of favorable matchups is critical with a front office focused on analytics.The Dodgers’ lineup figures to be a revolving door once again, especially if injuries sideline key players. Last season, third baseman Justin Turner missed the first 40 games and Max Muncy emerged as a solid contributor similar to what Chris Taylor did in 2017.Some things to watch for as the Dodgers open spring training in Glendale, Arizona:NEW LOOK: They dumped salary by trading Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig to Cincinnati while also reducing the outfield glut. Those moves created payroll flexibility to bring in A.J. Pollock from Arizona as the everyday centerfielder. It’s possible youngster Alex Verdugo, a top prospect for five years, and Andrew Toles, coming back from injury, could have larger roles in the outfield. The team signed free agent Joe Kelly from Boston to be closer Kenley Jansen’s setup man. SS Corey Seager is expected back after recovering from hip and Tommy John surgeries. There were departures from the front office and coaching ranks. General manager Farhan Zaidi left to run baseball operations for the rival San Francisco Giants. Third base coach Chris Woodward became the Texas Rangers’ new manager and hitting coach Turner Ward went to Cincinnati, where he reunited with Puig. Still unknown is the status of SS Manny Machado Addison Russell Jersey , a free agent who has yet to sign with a team. Other unsigned free agents are RHP John Axford, RHP Daniel Hudson and RHP Ryan Madson.ROOKIES TO WATCH: C Keibert Ruiz, the Dodgers’ minor league player of the year in 2017, is a 20-year-old switch-hitter from Venezuela. He was the second-youngest player to get 400 plate appearances at Double-A last season. OF Alex Verdugo is ready for the majors but a glut of outfielders at that level has kept him in Triple-A the last two seasons. RHP Dustin May is only 21 but his fastball touches 97 mph. C Will Smith hit 20 homers in the high minors last season.THEY’RE SET: LHP Clayton Kershaw anchors a deep rotation that is key to the Dodgers’ continued success. Kershaw’s velocity has dipped and he’s dealt with recurring back problems the last three seasons, but he’s still one of the game’s elite pitchers. RHP Walker Buehler emerged as a hard-throwing future ace in his first season. He came up big in Game 7 of the NLCS and was dominant in Game 3 of the World Series. LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP Rich Hill and RHP Kenta Maeda make up a solid backend of the rotation. Jansen remains one of the best closers in the game.THEY’RE NOT: With free agent Yasmani Grandal gone, the Dodgers brought back veteran Russell Martin to pair with Austin Barnes while youngsters Ruiz and Smith continue to develop. Barnes is better at defense than offense and depending on Martin’s production this could be the weakest spot for the team.ON DECK: The stockpile of division titles and two straight losing appearances in the World Series have left the fan base wanting more. But a talented roster and a strong farm system make Los Angeles the favorite for another NL West title and a deep playoff run. The Dodgers open the season at home on March 28 with a four-game series against division rival Arizona.