Die Serie » Tucker before Castro drew a walk to chase

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- One thing you can always count on in sports is that the New England Patriots will never say anything bad about an upcoming opponent.Even when someone like Ben Roethlisberger isnt going to play.Its tough to see any injury for any player, and hes obviously dealing with a significant one, but Im sure theyll still be ready to go, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Wednesday, looking ahead to New Englands visit to Pittsburgh to meet the Roethlisberger-less Steelers on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).Theyve got a lot of good players, especially on defense, Brady said. Its a very veteran group, and they play well at home. They lost two games on the road, but were not playing them on the road. Were playing them at home where theyve won them all, so its going to be a big challenge for us.Roethlisberger, injured Sunday during a loss to the Miami Dolphins, underwent left knee surgery and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Landry Jones, who has been no more than so-so during his chances the past two years, is the quarterback as the 4-2 Steelers look to down the 5-1 Patriots.Hes obviously a good quarterback, running back LeVeon Bell said on a conference call Wednesday. I think he has a lot of good things that he can bring to the table. Weve just got to, as a whole entire offense, help him out and get him comfortable and get him confident in himself, and thats when he really will start striking.Bell, of course, and wide receiver Antonio Brown still have to be dealt with, but not having Roethlisberger with those guys has to make a difference.Asked about Bell, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, Oh my God. Oh yeah, tremendous player. Great hands, catch the ball, very quick, makes people miss. Strong, breaks tackles, excellent balance, tough, doesnt run out of bounds, fights for extra yardage. Great player.Brady returned from his four-game Deflategate suspension two games ago and came out on fire. With Rob Gronkowski recovered from his hamstring injury, Brady is 57 of 75 for 782 yards with six touchdown passes and no interceptions.Brady is 6-2 lifetime against the Steelers with 22 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. His two pick-free games this year extended the teams run of no interceptions through the first six games.The scary thing about Bradys numbers is that he thinks he can even be better, that he has yet to work out all the kinks from the suspension.No ... Im not going to dispute his assessment of his game, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. Obviously, from my perspective, hes Tom Brady. Hes got six touchdowns, no interceptions and completing 76 percent of his balls, so from my perspective, we face a stiff challenge. But Im not going to question his perspective regarding his game.Last Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Patriots linebacker Donta Hightower dominated the game on that side of the ball, tackling Andy Dalton in the end zone for a safety to start the New England charge, then adding another half-sack later in the second half. He finished with 13 tackles and was named AFC defensive player of the week.The Steelers, who are 3-0 at home, wasted no time in declaring Roethlisberger out of this game, with Tomlin perhaps even sending a mild shot at other coaches (Belichick) when it comes to injury reports.Were a transparent group. We dont hide. We are who we are, he said. He had a surgical procedure to address his knee issue, so to eliminate any potential questions or distractions regarding his availability and get firmly focused on the task at hand with the man playing quarterback thats playing quarterback this week, thats the approach.Jones, who has thrown only one pass this season, was 16 of 29 for 209 yards with one touchdown pass and two interceptions in a loss at Kansas City last season. He had three TD passes and four picks in 2015.Sunday also will be the first game for Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount against the team that released him in 2014 -- after he walked off the bench during a game. Blount has been outstanding so far this season, scoring six touchdowns in six games.Were still very tight, Bell said of Blount. Me and him still talk a lot to this day. Obviously, hes doing great things on the field. I watch his games, he watches my games, we still critique each other and talk about some of the things we did good, some of the things we did bad with one another. Fake Basketball Shoes . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. https://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.com/ . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Cheap Basketball Shoes China .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. Basketball Shoes Online Store . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. HOUSTON -- Lance McCullers is finally feeling like himself on the mound after spending the first five weeks of the season on the disabled list with a sore shoulder.The way I started the season and the injury and coming back I was really feeling for some stuff, McCullers said. I just feel more confident when Im going out there recently.That confidence was on display Friday night when he struck out 10 in eight-plus solid innings to lead the Houston Astros to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.Will Harris finished the ninth for his 10th save.McCullers was lifted for Harris after walking Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout with no outs in the ninth. Carlos Correa saved a run when he dived to stop a grounder hit by Daniel Nava and tossed the ball to second for a force for the second out.To knock that ball down was a success in its own right; to get an out (from) it saved the game, manager A.J. Hinch said.An RBI single by Andrelton Simmons came next to get the Angels within one, but Harris struck out Ji-Man Choi for his 10th save.The win snaps a season-high six-game winning streak for the Angels and is Houstons ninth straight win over Los Angeles.Jason Castro and George Springer provided the offense for Houston with an RBI each.McCullers (5-4) allowed four hits and his 10 strikeouts tied a season-high in his longest outing of the season.He had a good game, Hinch said. That was as effective with his fastball as hes been this season and obviously he mixed in his curveball as he usually does.He had some traffic on the bases early, but was helped out by a defense that turned double plays to end both the second and fifth innings. He sailed through the next three innings, retiring nine straight and striking out the side in the eighth.Los Angeles starter Matt Shoemaker (5-10) allowed five hits and two runs with five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. The performance comes after he threww his first career complete game and struck out a career-high 13 in a 1-0 win over the White Sox in his last start.ddddddddddddPreston Tucker, who was called up from Triple-A Fresno on Friday, tripled onto Tals Hill in center field with one out in the fifth inning. Castro followed with his single to shallow right field to score Tucker and make it 1-0.Carlos Gomez bunted for a single with one out in the seventh inning and stole second. He reached third on a groundout by Tucker before Castro drew a walk to chase Shoemaker.Springer greeted Joe Smith with a single to left field to score Gomez and push the lead to 2-0.TRAINERS ROOMAngels: LHP Tyler Skaggs (shoulder tightness) felt good after a rehabilitation start for Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday. Hell throw a bullpen on Saturday before the Angels decide whether hell need another start in the minors or joins the rotation.Astros: C Evan Gattis was out of the lineup with a bruised right hand on Friday. He was injured on Wednesday when he was hit by a pitch. Hinch said he was feeling better on Friday and they didnt expect him to be out long.FANNING TROUTMcCullers fanned Trout three times to become the first pitcher to strike him out three times in a game since Tampa Bays Chris Archer did it on June 2, 2015.He threw me curveballs all night. I just wasnt picking them up, Trout said. It was tough. That last at-bat, I was just trying to get on base.UP NEXTAngels: Jered Weaver (8-7, 5.02) will make his 19th start on Saturday. Weaver has struggled in two starts against Houston this year, going 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA.Astros: Collin McHugh (6-6, 4.25) is scheduled to start for Houston on Saturday. McHugh allowed four hits and fanned 10 in six scoreless innings in an 8-1 win over Seattle in his last start. ' ' '