next June.Zimbabwe Cricket is anxious to find other opponents to avoid spending more than six months off the international stage. But that is dependent on cash-flow as much as it is on other teams

HOUSTON -- Evan Gattis doesnt know why he hits better when he catches compared to when hes the designated hitter.Ive seen the stats and heard its kind of a big split, but I just want to pretend like Im catching when Im not, Gattis said.He was catching Saturday night, and his bat came alive.Gattis had two home runs and four RBI in his return to the lineup, Collin McHugh threw six strong innings and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2.Gattis sat Friday with a bruised right hand after being hit by a pitch Wednesday. He came back Saturday and launched a three-run homer into the Crawford Boxes in left field in the second inning and added a solo shot off the facade in left-center in the fourth to give Houston a 5-0 lead.Glad I got a good pitch to hit, Gattis said. The first one I took I thought I took it well. It was borderline ball/strike away. Just really let the ball travel a little bit today as best I could.It was his sixth career multihomer game and first since hitting a pair Aug. 26, 2015, against the Yankees.For his career, Gattis entered hitting .260 with a .512 slugging percentage as a catcher, compared to .230 with a .422 slugging percentage when hes the DH. Hes also hit 38 homers in 153 games as a catcher, compared to 31 homers in 187 games as DH.Im sure someone smarter than me can figure it out, Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. I dont know if its actually true in the numbers. It feels like it and in all seriousness I think its the result of keeping him occupied, keeping his mind occupied, keeping his mind in the game.Carlos Correa had a solo home run to right in the fifth.McHugh (7-6) allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in six innings. He continued his string of solid outings, allowing two runs or fewer for the sixth time in his last seven starts.I probably could have made some better pitches in better situations, McHugh said. But I think for the stuff we had Gatty did a really good job of guiding me through a couple of spots where I just wasnt feeling it.Houston has won 10 straight against the Angels. It tacked on a run in the third when Jered Weaver (8-8) hit Preston Tucker with the bases loaded, scoring George Springer. Springer knocked an RBI single in the fourth.Ji-Man Choi had a solo home run to the upper deck in right field to lead off the fifth, and Andrelton Simmons hit an RBI single in the sixth for the Angels.Weaver was roughed up for six runs and seven hits in four innings. The right-hander has struggled against Houston this season, allowing 16 runs in 15 1/3 innings.I just think that obviously, I dont have the same (stuff) that I used to have is first and foremost, Weaver said. They have become a pretty patient team. Not as free swinging. They make you work for it. I had to work my (butt) off there in the second and third.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: C Jason Castro was out of the lineup Saturday after being hit on the back of his right hand on a foul tip in the ninth inning Friday. This morning he felt it was OK, Hinch said. He took a few swings and felt a little bit of soreness, so I decided to scratch him.ROSTER MOVESAngels: Los Angeles called up Carlos Perez from Triple-A Salt Lake. Perez started at catcher and went 0 for 3. The Angels optioned C Juan Graterol to Salt Lake.Astros: 3B Matt Duffy was claimed off waivers by Texas. Duffy was designated for assignment July 16. ... Houston announced the signing of 22-year-old Cuban SS Anibal Sierra.UP NEXTAngels: RHP Tim Lincecum (2-3) will make his seventh start of the season Sunday and is looking for his second straight win.Astros: RHP Mike Fiers (6-4) will make his 18th start of the season and look to bounce back from two straight starts of four innings or less, including Mondays outing in Oakland where he was tagged for six runs in 3 2/3 innings. Swell Levně . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Swell Lahev Cz . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. http://www.swelllahevcz.com/ . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Zimbabwe have announced an extended domestic season, running from December until the end of August, incorporating both club and provincial cricket. The schedule consisted of the Logan Cup (first-class matches) for the four provinces, a forty-over Zimbabwe Premier League, fifty-over List A games for the provinces, two T20 tournament windows and opportunities for the under-19 side to face the provinces.The second edition of the ZPL was set to kick off the season from December 10. The tournament is run in league format, with no final, and is contested between eight clubs across four cities.More interest would likely be on the provincial matches, especially after Zimbabwe scrapped the franchise system at the end of last season. The national players would be part of this competition, depending on it for form and fitness ahead of the series against Sri Lanka next June.Zimbabwe Cricket is anxious to find other opponents to avoid spending more than six months off the international stage. But that is dependent on cash-flow as much as it is on other teams availability.dddddddddddd And it may be that the board has to rely on domestic structures alone to keep the game alive.To that end, the Logan Cup would feature 12 rounds - each team plays the other four times - from December to May. The 50-over List A tournament in the winter would have the same number of matches. Harare, Bulawayo, Kwekwe and Mutare have been chosen as the venues, however, there has been no confirmation over whether the provincial sides have issued contracts to players yet.Meanwhile, Zimbabwes head coach Heath Streak, who oversaw their progression into the final of the recently-completed triangular series which featured Sri Lanka and West Indies, is in the UAE completing a Level Three coaching coach at the ICC. According to the Sunday News , Streak footed the bill for the course himself. ' ' '