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HOUSTON -- Colby Rasmus used his bat and his arm to make a big difference in his return to the lineup Tuesday night.Collin McHugh threw six scoreless innings, Rasmus and Evan Gattis homered and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1.Rasmus put Houston up 1-0 with a homer in the second inning in his first at-bat since returning from the 15-day disabled list.Its about as good a feeling as you can have being a baseball player, Rasmus said. I was just glad to be able to get out there and contribute and do some good for the team in a time where we needed a little spark.Rasmus went on the DL on Aug. 5 with a cyst in his right ear. He has a scar behind his upper right ear.We all said welcome back to him, Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. That was a nice way to get back on the active club. Thats exactly why you want him in the lineup.In the second, Oakland put runners on the corners with one out, but Rasmus caught Max Muncys flyout and threw home in time to get Ryon Healy and end the inning.That was a really big hit tonight for the team, but also for him to be able jump back in and pick up right where he left off was huge, McHugh said. Hats off to him. Then he made that great play in the field. I think he made that either right before or right after that, so that was in my opinion, the play of the game. It was his game.Gattis hit a solo homer in the seventh to make it 3-0.McHugh (9-10) allowed four hits and struck out five. He had allowed at least three runs in each of his previous six starts.It feels good to have a good outing to help the team, McHugh said. Especially in a game where their guy was throwing good, too. It was a tight game. Our guys put us on the board early, and to be able to hold steady was huge.Houston remained two games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card.Alex Bregman had an RBI single in the third for Houston.Will Harris threw a perfect seventh, and Luke Gregerson allowed an unearned run in the eighth before Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his sixth save.Marcus Semien cut the lead to 3-1 with an RBI groundout to short in the eighth.Kendall Graveman (10-9) allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings. Graveman had allowed one run in his previous two starts.He was great, Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. Up until the second home run, they hit three balls hard the whole game off of him. We just didnt do enough offensively to give him support. Well take that stuff every night.AS DEAL CRISPOakland is nearing a deal to trade outfielder Coco Crisp to the Cleveland Indians, according to a person familiar with the trade. The exchange has been agreed to by both teams, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has to be approved by Major League Baseball.The trade would have to be official by Wednesday for Crisp to be eligible for the postseason.The 36-year-old Crisp is batting .234 with 11 homers and 47 RBI in 102 games this season.FRONT OFFICE PROMOTIONSThe Astros promoted Mike Elias to assistant general manager, scouting and player development. Elias had been the director of amateur scouting. In addition to Elias promotion, the Astros promoted Pete Putila to director of player development and Armando Velasco to assistant director of player development.TRAINING ROOMAthletics: LHP Sean Manaea (left rhomboid strain) will likely miss his next start, Melvin said.Astros: The Astros optioned RHP Brad Peacock to Triple-A Fresno to make room on the roster for Rasmus.UP NEXTAthletics: LHP Ross Detwiler (1-3, 5.74) takes the mound Wednesday in the finale of the three-game series. Detwiler has allowed 14 runs in his last three starts, covering 14 innings.Astros: RHP Mike Fiers (9-6, 4.40) makes his 25th start of the season Wednesday. Fiers pitched into the seventh in his last outing Friday against Tampa Bay, allowing three runs. Cheap Air Max 270 . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. 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Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Wholesale Nike Air Max From China . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. NEW ORLEANS -- The fortunes of the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints have changed considerably in little more than a month, making their midseason meeting in the Superdome on Sunday all the more compelling.The defending champion Broncos (6-3) have dropped three of five and fallen out of first place in the AFC West since breaking out to a 4-0 start. The New Orleans Saints (4-4) have won four of five and climbed into second place in the NFC South since starting 0-3.I do not care what our record is. I do not care what their record is, Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. There is a reason that they are defending Super Bowl champs. ... This will be the best team that we have played thus far.The 37-year-old Brees , energized by a thriving, young receiver corps, has New Orleans atop the NFL in passing, averaging 324.6 yards per game. Denver boasts the leagues best pass defense, allowing a mere 183.3 yards per game. Those rankings make this matchup intriguing, but what makes the Saints a credible threat to Denver is the way theyve run the ball lately -- and the fact Denvers run defense ranks among the NFLs worst, at 29th.Last week, New Orleans racked up a whopping 248 yards rushing, with Mark Ingram gaining 158 yards and Tim Hightower 87.For Denvers coaching staff, trying to anticipate how Brees and the Saints offense might choose to attack this week is a tall order.Right now, when you watch them play, from a receivers standpoint, everybodys making plays. They have two tight ends going and the last two weeks the running games been going with two different backs, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. When youre getting ready to play people and looking at where the balls going and those types of things, its hard to zero in on anything because theyre so consistent and so unified throughout, because of everybody contributing and knowing whats going on.Some other things to know about the Broncos visit to New Orleans:MILLERS RUSHING: Denvers secondary has been banged-up recently, putting more pressure on Broncos pass rushers to make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable. Thats where outside linebacker Von Miller comes in. Nine games into the season, Miller is averaging slightly better than a sack per game with 9+. Saints coach Sean Payton said Miller clearly is the best pass rusher in the NFL.He wins with speed. He wins with power. His get-off is outstanding, Payton said. He plays with leverage so he can convert speed and all of a sudden be underneeath and pushing you back into the pocket.dddddddddddd He plays the run well, hes a fantastic player.AIR TIME: Miller is feeling as much urgency to pressure Brees as any quarterback he has, or will, play against all season. He knows that giving the Saints record-setting QB too much time to throw is a sure recipe for a miserable afternoon. Brees has already passed for more than 300 yards in a game five times this season, and more than 400 yards twice.Drews the best passer in the league right now, Miller said. I mean, hes leading the league in passing yards and its not the first time he has done it, either.LEARNING CURVE: Denver rookie QB Trevor Siemian has hit a rough patch lately, completing fewer than half of his passes in last weeks loss to Oakland. But Denvers struggles on the ground havent helped, either. The Broncos have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in six of seven games, and just 33 yards last week .Were all a little frustrated, Siemian said. Guys are working hard and were not seeing it pay off on Sundays like we want it to, but we all have the right mentality and were going about things the right way.LIMITED LIABILITY: Currently, the Saints rank 30th in yards allowed per game (408.5) and points allowed per game (29.8). Theyre also last in yards passing allowed per game (300). However, the Saints defense has not allowed more than 23 points in any of New Orleans past three games. Two of New Orleans opponents in that stretch, Kansas City and Seattle, each scored defensive touchdowns. The unit is also getting healthier. Top cornerback Delvin Breaux and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, the clubs top draft choice last spring, returned from injuries last week.FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS: Denvers defensive backfield includes two players, cornerbacks Lorenzo Doss and Taurean Nixon, from south Louisiana who played college football for Tulane in New Orleans. Kubiak called the pair, two good young players that this organizations counting on in the future.Obviously theyve been a big part of what weve been doing lately because weve had some secondary issues with Aqib (Talib) and Kayvon (Webster) being out, Kubiak noted. So, theyre two good kids who work their tails off, both very bright and just working hard for their opportunity.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '