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HOUSTON -- A veteran of 10 major league seasons, Carlos Gomez insists he didnt panic when he got off to a slow start to begin this year.However, hes certainly feeling a lot better now that hes started to turn things around.Gomez hit a two-run homer and Mike Fiers and three relievers combined for a shutout to help the surging Houston Astros to a 5-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.Gomez has started heating up after a tough start to the season that included a May when he hit just .136. He has hit four homers, five doubles and driven in 15 runs since June 5 to boost his average from .182 to .225.That makes you better, Gomez said of fighting through his struggles. You have to continue to do your job. When you do this for 10 years thats because youre a pro. The only thing you can do is continue to believe in yourself and work hard.It was Houstons fourth straight victory and 11th in the last 12 games.Fiers (6-3) scattered four hits over six innings. Ken Giles and Luke Gregerson didnt allow a hit in an inning each and Chris Devenski threw a scoreless ninth.The Astros didnt have a baserunner until Miguel Gonzalez (1-4) plunked George Springer to start the fourth inning. He then walked Luis Valbuena before Jose Altuve grounded into a double play that left Springer at third.Houstons first hit came next when Carlos Correas strange infield popup dropped in front of shortstop Tim Anderson and allowed Springer to score and make it 1-0.It was a lucky base hit. Ill take it, Correa said. Obviously throughout the season we hit a lot of balls hard right at people so its good to every once and awhile get a hit like that. It wasnt the best at-bat but it worked out.Gonzalez lamented that no one was able to get to it before it dropped.Looking back on it for the future, someones just got to go all out for it, he said. Its just such a tough play and you almost never see it. It was really tough because it cost us a run, but it wont happen again. Well make that play.Gomez padded the lead when he sent one into the seats in left field with one out in the seventh to make it 3-0. Correa reached on an error by third baseman Tyler Saladino before Gomezs shot.Gonzalez yielded three hits and two runs in a season-high seven innings.Houston first baseman A.J. Reed got his first major league hit with a single with two outs in the fifth inning. He was 0 for 16 since being called up on Saturday before the hit.Kind of a weight lifted off your shoulders and now I dont have to come to the ballpark and think `Todays the day, he said. So go out and relax and have fun.Valbuena added an RBI double in the eighth and Colby Rasmus had a run-scoring single in that inning to make it 5-0.ALTUVES STREAK ENDSAltuve went 0 for 4 without a walk to end a streak where he reached safely in a career-high 32 straight games. The streak was the longest by an Astro since Lance Berkman did it in 37 straight games from July 30-Sept. 8, 2004.TRAINERS ROOMWhite Sox: 3B Matt Davidson had surgery on Friday after breaking his right foot rounding first base in his White Sox debut a day before. Davidson had a screw inserted to repair his foot and the White Sox dont know how long hell be out. They recalled INF Carlos Sanchez from Triple-A Charlotte before Fridays game to take his spot on the roster.Astros: RHP Lance McCullers, who was scratched from his last start on Tuesday with a blister on his right index finger, is doing better and is expected to make his next start on Monday.UP NEXTWhite Sox: Chris Sale (13-2, 2.79) is scheduled to pitch for Chicago on Saturday. Sale, who leads the majors with 13 wins, has a four-game winning streak. Sale is 4-1 with a 0.66 ERA and 56 strikeouts in five career starts against Houston.Astros: Doug Fister (8-4, 3.36) will start for Houston on Saturday. Fister allowed eight hits and four runs in 6 2/3 innings of a loss to the Royals on Sunday to snap a seven-game winning streak.Curry Shoes Clearance . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Cheap Curry 1 Shoes .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. http://www.curryshoesclearance.com/ua-curry-4-shoes.html . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Curry 2 Shoes Cheap .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Curry 5 Wholesale .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team.A-League clubs resume competitive football in the FFA Cup and theyre promising to be just that - competitive.Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners have potentially slippery Cup round of 32 encounters in the form of grassroots clubs, while Western Sydney Wanderers and Wellington Phoenix face each other in Sydneys Campbelltown.City, who face WA National Premier League side Floreat Athena in Perth, know the dangers of playing a hungry lower league side.It took a 94th-minute Aaron Mooy goal against Edgeworth Eagles to send City through to the round of 16 last year, and coach John van t Schip wants a more straightforward success on Tuesday night.They will give everything they have. We have to be focused on our own game and gameplan, he said.Were more than pleased with this competition and we want to get further.Corey Gameiro (knee) and new signing Neil Kilkenny (foot) are absences for City.Van t Schip said Kilkenny would resume training this week after the minor issue.The Mariners arent taking their trip to Green Gully, in Melbournes north-west lightly, Central Coast captain Nick Montgomery expecting a tough test.They will be strong and were preparing for a battle, he told the clubs website.If you go there with the wrong attitude in one of these games youre going tto get turned over and thats something we cant afford to do.ddddddddddddWere chomping at the bit for this game. Its a competitive game early in our pre-season and were delighted to be preparing for it.The Wanderers remain the only A-League club to date to have lost to a state league club - Adelaide City in 2014 - and perhaps for that reason coach Tony Popovic said he was happy to face Wellington.Its good to have the A-League side first up and Im sure the players are looking forward to it, Popovic said.Western Sydney defeated Brisbane 2-1 in a closed-doors friendly last Friday but Popovic suggested it might have come at a cost.A couple of boys, maybe with the change of weather from Gold Coast to here, are struggling with the flu, he said.But were good enough to be more than competitive.Wanderers playmaker Mitch Nichols said he was looking forward to playing against the new-look Phoenix, bolstered by the arrivals of his former Victory teammates Kosta Barbarouses and Gui Finkler.Wellington have recruited well so its going to be a good test, he said.Adelaides Metrostars host 2014 Cup semi-finalists Bentleigh Greens in Tuesdays fourth match. 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