HOUSTON -- Of all the good things Astros starter Lance McCullers did on Monday, manager A.J. Hinch was most impressed with the poise the 22-year-old showed in escaping a couple of jams.Hes handling things with a little bit more ease and a little bit more confidence, Hinch said. Hes not pressing too much in those situations. ... Its a good sight to see as hes developing.McCullers struck out 10 in seven strong innings and George Springer homered for the second straight day to give Houston a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.McCullers (4-2), who missed his previous turn with a blister on his right index finger, allowed five hits and one run while matching his season high for strikeouts. Luke Gregerson pitched a perfect eighth and Will Harris did the same in the ninth for his eighth save.Dae-Ho Lee had an RBI single for the Mariners, whose four-game winning streak was snapped.Seattle came up empty twice after having a runner on third with no outs.The first time came when Leonys Martin hit a leadoff triple before Seth Smith struck out. McCullers then struck out Robinson Cano, but the ball got away from catcher Jason Castro and Martin broke for home. McCullers covered and took the short toss from Castro to tag out Martin at the plate.Springer got things going for the Astros with a double in the first before a single by Marwin Gonzalez. Carlos Correa drew a walk to load the bases with one out before the Astros took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Luis Valbuena.Kyle Seager hit a ground-rule double with one out in the second and the Mariners tied it on the single by Lee. McCullers settled in after that, retiring the next 14 in a row. He struck out eight in that span, including the side in the third.The Mariners didnt have another baserunner until Cano singled to start the seventh. A walk by Nelson Cruz followed by a single from Seager loaded the bases. Seattle missed another scoring opportunity when Lee grounded into a double play before McCullers retired Adam Lind to end the inning and his day.I got into a situation where the count was in my favor so I threw a pitch that he was either going to strike out on or hit a ball on the ground, and I was lucky that it came back to me, McCullers said. That was huge, and that was the game right there, 2-1. You pitch the whole game to face two or three batters and I came out on top that time.Seattle manager Scott Servais lamented his teams missed opportunities.I thought we had them on the ropes there in the seventh inning, bases loaded and nobody out, he said. Unfortunately, we didnt get it done. But McCullers had really good stuff. Probably one of the better breaking balls weve seen all year.Springer doubled and scored in the first inning. There were two outs in the fifth when he launched his 19th home run to left-center field to make it 2-1.Seattle starter Wade Miley (6-5) yielded seven hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings for his third straight loss.Smith went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts, ending a streak of four straight games with a homer.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: RHP Felix Hernandez will throw a simulated game Wednesday. Servais said Hernandez will throw 45 pitches. Hernandez has been on the disabled list with a strained right calf since June 1.FLIP AND PITCHFour-time defending national champion and three-time defending world all-around champion gymnast Simone Biles threw out the ceremonial first pitch. But it was far from an average throw. The 19-year-old, who is from nearby Spring, Texas, flipped toward the mound before launching a high throw to pitcher Scott Feldman. Biles was relieved that it went well and glad she didnt become part of a blooper reel.UP NEXTMariners: Taijuan Walker (4-6, 3.29 ERA) starts for Seattle on Tuesday. Walker is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA and 23 strikeouts in his last four starts.Astros: Dallas Keuchel (5-9, 5.13 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday. Last years AL Cy Young Award winner, who has struggled this season, has won two games in a row for the first time this year and is looking for his first win at home since April 15. Wholesale Air Max .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Air Max From China . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. https://www.airmaxchina.us/ . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Cheap Air Max . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. Fake Air Max . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. A Thursday slate with no elite options is nothing new, but the news isnt all bad. While no hurlers crack a 60 game score to get into the elite tier, four pitchers draw game scores between 57 and 59. All 10 regularly-scheduled games place in the evening, so we dont have to worry about a split slate. However, there will be a single afternoon game, due to last nights postponement of Detroit-Minnesota. theyll play twice today. But enough with the formalities -- lets get to work.PitchingEliteNope. Not this time.SolidJustin Verlanders game score on Thursday falls just short of the elite tier, but make no mistake: The Detroit right-hander has re-established himself as an elite fantasy hurler. He currently resides in the top 10 among starting pitchers on the Player Rater, thanks in part to a tremendous second half that has seen him post a 2.11 ERA and 10.3 K/9 over 13 starts. The last time he allowed more than three runs in a start was June 26. Verlander will work the second game of the doubleheader and finds himself in a terrific spot, facing a Twins team thats below average against right-handed pitching and is whiffing at a 25 percent clip in September. Hell be a popular target in cash games.Over the last 30 days, David Price is the No. 1 pitcher on the Player Rater. Winning seven of his last eight starts has something to do that, but he has also posted a 2.73 ERA and 0.86 WHIP over that span. Heading to Camden Yards, which greatly inflates power, is no easy task. Then again, Baltimore has been the worst offense in AL versus left-handers this season, sporting an 82 wRC+ to go along with a 22 percent strikeout rate. Price has battled the Orioles three times since June, posting a 2.45 ERA with 24 whiffs in 22 frames.Seth Lugo has made a strong impression since stepping into the Mets starting rotation. Over six starts, he owns a 2.21 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. A 5.4 K/9 keeps any upside at bay, but he has been reliable in terms of run prevention. That should continue as Lugo draws a home date against the Phillies, who are tied with the Padres for the worst wRC+ (82) in baseball against right-handed pitching. They are also striking out a whopping 29 percent of the time so far in September. Lugo is a worthwhile cash-game SP2 on multi-pitcher sites.Drawing the always-coveted Padres matchup is Jeff Samardzija. The Padres, of course, present the best matchup in baseball for right-handed pitchers, sporting an 82 wRC+ and a 25 percent strikeout rate. For his part, Shark has allowed three or fewer runs in seven of his last eight outings and owns a career 2.54 ERA and 1.02 WHIP at Petco Park. The right-hander has yet to whiff double-digit batters in a game this season, but hes a threat to hit that mark on Thursday.Tyler Chatwoods home/road splits have been highlighted in this space before, but theyre worth mentioning again. At Coors Field, his ERA sits at 6.12. On the road, however, that mark drops all the way to 1.77. Fortunately, Chatwood and the Rockies are traveling out of town on Thursday to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The Dodgers present an imposing matchup, as their 108 wRC+ against righties is tops in the National League, so its not an ideal time to target Chatwood. Still, his effectiveness on the road this season keeps him in play.StreamersStreaming options are few and far between on Thursday, but Ervin Santana stands out as the best. Drawing the nightcap against the Tigers is no picnic, but the Twins righty has quietly been a fantasy asset over the last couple of months. Dating back to July 1, Santana owns a 2.33 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over 14 starts. And while his K/9 this season sits at 7.dddddddddddd, he sports a 9.5 K/9 over his last eight turns. Santanas ownership is at just 57 percent on ESPN.com.Available in 72 percent of leagues, Mike Fiers gets a home matchup against an Angels team that has done little offensively since the break (94 wRC+) and even less so far in September (79 wRC+). Fiers has been an inconsistent fantasy option this season, but he has shown at least a bit of stability of late, allowing no more than three runs in five of his last six starts.After a rough first half (5.22 ERA), Ricky Nolasco has settled down since the break (4.14 ERA). In fact, he has posted game scores of 69 or above in three of his last four outings. On Thursday, Nolasco faces an Astros offense thats league average against righties and strikes out at a 24 percent clip. Hes a free agent in 95 percent of leagues.Jose Urena certainly presents risk, as his last start can attest (7 ER in 2 IP). However, his most recent outing aside, he has pitched pretty well over the last month. He actually produced a game score of 87 against the Dodgers two Sundays ago, when he twirled 8 2/3 innings of shutout ball. A matchup against the Braves, who have one of the weakest lineups in baseball, puts Urena in play if you need innings in deeper formats.AvoidChris Tillman finds himself in a tough spot, facing a Red Sox team that smashes the ball against right-handed pitching (116 wRC+) and has scored 106 more runs than any other AL team. The Orioles righty is solid and usually able to avoid any really bad outings, but there are better pitchers in better spots on Thursday.Pat Dean?has been slated to pitch the afternoon affair in the Twins-Tigers twinbill, coming out of the bullpen after losing his rotation spot. Not only is it a tough matchup against a right-heavy lineup, but Dean is no longer stretched out, thus wont throw many innings regardless of effectiveness.HittingAdam Morgan has been pitching a little better since the All-Star break, but hes still a highly volatile pitcher who is particularly generous to right-handed hitters (.385 wOBA). With the Mets on the docket, Yoenis Cespedes and switch-hitters Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera should be high on the priority list.Drawing the lowest game score of the day is Jason Vargas, whos matched up with Cleveland on the road. He managed just three innings in his first start back from Tommy John surgery, and hes unlikely to have high pitch count in this game, either. Still, the Indians lineup is tough on left-handed pitching, and they figure to be in for a productive night on Thursday. Target Mike Napoli and switch-hitters Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor in this one.Ryan Vogelsong owns a 5.40 ERA since the break, and left-handed hitters have particularly given him trouble, putting up a .382 wOBA against him. Jonathan Villar is the prime play here, along with Scooter Gennett, a career .297 hitter against righties.Opposing Vogelsong and the Pirates is Chase Anderson, who has shown reverse splits this season, allowing a .386 wOBA to right-handed batters. Feel free to fire up the right-handed Pirates bats, including Andrew McCutchen, who has done more damage versus righties this year.Most likely to go yard: Yoenis CespedesCespedes mashes lefties, and Morgan has trouble with righties. Lets not overthink this one.Most likely to swipe a bag: Jonathan VillarFrancisco Cervelli has allowed an MLB-high 101 stolen bases this season. Meanwhile, the Brewers lead all of baseball in steals. Villar must be licking his chops. ' ' '