hitting -- if he hits.Right-hander Collin McHugh will pitch for Houston against southpaw Matt Boyd of Detroit.Right-hander Mike Fiers and southpaw Dallas Keuchel will go Saturday and

METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Pelicans say guard Lance Stephenson will need surgery to repair a groin injury.The club says Stephensons groin tear was confirmed by an MRI scan performed Saturday. The Pelicans have not yet set a timetable for Stephensons return.The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Stephenson signed with New Orleans on Sept. 14.He has averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 27.0 minutes during New Orleans first six games of the regular season, which all have been losses.The Pelicans next game is at Golden State on Monday night.Air Max Clearance . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Air Max Cheap Outlet China . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. http://www.airmaxcheapoutlet.com/ . 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. Air Max Cheap Outlet . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Cheap Air Max Shoes Sale .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.DETROIT -- Viable.The Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers see that as their watchword during a three-game weekend series between two resurgent teams seeking to overtake their respective division leaders.Houston trails Texas in the AL West while Detroit is stalking Cleveland in the AL Central. Neither can claim first place by Mondays non-waiver trade deadline, but both will remain contenders regardless of how the series plays out.The Astros are seen as more of a buyer than the Tigers, who are limited by their $200 million payroll and limited trade chips, but neither club will be in sell mode. Detroit may make a minor cosmetic move but Houston would not surprise if it made a nice splash before the trade deadline.Detroit and Houston were off Thursday, a plus for both sides.Tigers manager Brad Ausmus used the day off plus another scheduled break Monday to rearrange his rotation as he awaits the return of injured starters Jordan Zimmermann and Daniel Norris, both of whom will have one final rehab start this week prior to rejoining the staff. He is also using the breaks to push back rookie Michael Fulmer and further limit his starts and innings.Exactly which day Fulmer pitches again has not been determined and may be contingent on where Ausmus wants to slot in Zimmermann and Norris next week.Astros skipper A.J. Hinch has two regulars nursing sore hamstrings -- third baseman Luis Valbuena and center fielder Carlos Gomez. Valbuena was injured Tuesday and Gomez had to come out of Wednesdays game early.Its a mild strain, Gomez told MLB.com. We have the advantage of the off-day (Thursday) and (then) we have a night game. Like I said before, I had it in the past. I know how I feel. I dont think this is going to be something that will take me long to heal. In the past, I have had it worse than that and I was ready in six or seven days, and they put me on the DL. In this case, I dont think its necessary.Valbuena wont play Friday, Hinch said earlier in the week, but is possible for one of the next two games.Its not comfortabble when the bench is pretty much empty with the exception of (Evan) Gattis as a pinch-hitter/catcher, Hinch said to MLB.ddddddddddddcom. Weve got some fortunate timing, if I can call it that, because were expected to put (right-hander Doug) Fister on the paternity leave soon. His wife is going to deliver his first child in the next couple of days, so we might have a transaction in Detroit that will probably be a position player.Fister worked Wednesday, so he wont pitch in Detroit. If hes placed on paternity leave Friday, the Astros can bring up a position player for the weekend.Valbuenas strain is higher in the hamstring than Gomezs, which is just above the back of the knee.Hes unlikely to play Friday, Hinch said of his third baseman, and well assess him on Saturday. Where its located, sort of behind the knee really low, makes for some tricky diagnosis.That would give rookie Alex Bregman, just up from the minors, at least one more start at third. Hes been working out in left field and likely will play the left side of the infield, outfield and do some designated hitting -- if he hits.Right-hander Collin McHugh will pitch for Houston against southpaw Matt Boyd of Detroit.Right-hander Mike Fiers and southpaw Dallas Keuchel will go Saturday and Sunday, respectively, for the Astros while the Tigers counter with right-handers Justin Verlander and Mike Pelfrey.McHugh (7-6, 4.18 ERA) has never beaten Detroit but has only started three times against it, going 0-2 with a 3.72 ERA. He won his last start, against the Los Angeles Angels.Boyd has been a fill-in starter for the Tigers this season and is currently holding place for the return of Zimmermann and Norris He is 1-2 with a 4.63 ERA in eight starts but is 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA over his last three starts. Boyd has started just once against Houston, not getting a decision in a five-inning outing in which he gave up five runs on six hits. ' ' '