BALTIMORE -- After struggling earlier in the week, the Baltimore Orioles bats finally came alive in the series opener against the Houston Astros.Baltimore will look to keep that momentum going Friday.After scoring four runs in two games against Boston, the Orioles managed 18 hits in the 13-5 victory over the Astros on Thursday. Baltimore slugged six home runs and leads the majors with 183.It was big, said shortstop J.J. Hardy, who went deep twice. We havent been swinging the bats all that great, and to bust out like that. Hopefully, it keeps going and we can keep that confidence.The Orioles have spent 111 of 136 days in first place of the AL East this season, but have struggled since the All-Star break, going 16-17. However, with the win Thursday, the Orioles moved into a second-place tie with the Red Sox and trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 1 1/2 games in the American League East.Houston has lost five straight and is mired in third place in the AL West behind Texas and Seattle. The Astros, however, are still within striking distance in the wild card standings.When you play these four-game series, the first couple of games are key because it puts you in a powerful position to potentially win the series, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. We know these guys are in the middle of this race as well. I think it tells us how muddy the waters are going to be when it comes down to this. As much as wed like to watch what Baltimore is doing, or Detroit, or Toronto, or Boston, or Seattle, the teams that are in this race, we need to take care of ourselves. We need to win our own games and not worry about what everyone else is doing.Left-hander Wade Miley (7-10, 5.23 ERA) is still looking for his first win with the Orioles since being acquired from Seattle at the trade deadline. Miley has taken the loss in two of his past three starts. He didnt get a decision in his previous outing Saturday against the Giants when he allowed seven runs (six earned) in 4 1/3 innings. In his three starts with the Orioles, Miley has a 7.04 ERA, with a 8:5 strikeout to walk ratio.Collin McHugh (7-10, 4.70) gets the start for Houston and tries to snap a four-game losing streak. McHugh has not earned a win since July 23 against the Angels. In his last start, McHugh gave up three runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings in a 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays.McHugh will be challenged to contain the Orioles powerful lineup, which especially thrives at hitter-friendly Camden Yards. Baltimore owns the best home record in the American League at 40-19. Cheap Stitched Jerseys . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. Cheap Jerseys AUthentic . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. http://www.cheapnfljerseyschinayear.com/ . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. NFL Jerseys Wholesale .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Wholesale China Jerseys . PAUL, Minn. BOULDER, Colo. -- Mike MacIntyre has the reputation as a turnaround artist. Give him a program, any program, and he will transform it.Colorado, though, had the looks of being the sort of program that not even MacIntyre could fix.After three years that resulted in a grand total of 10 victories, MacIntyre led the 11th-ranked Buffaloes to a 10-win season, a spot in the Pac-12 Championship game and even onto the fringes of the national-title conversation for a week or two. Colorado also will make its first bowl appearance since 2007.For that, MacIntyre is The Associated Press college football Coach of the Year. He received 109 points and 25 first-place votes from the AP college football poll panel, while Penn States James Franklin was second with 98 and 16. Alabamas Nick Saban was third with 57 and 13.We played a lot of young guys and they worked hard and got better, explained MacIntyre, who became the first Colorado coach to win the award since it began in 1998. They grew into their talent and kept right on going.To comprehend just how far Colorado has come, its important to know where the Buffaloes were before MacIntyre arrived. In 2012, they led the nation in games started by true freshmen, got outscored by a 552-214 margin and lost a school-high 11 games that ultimately cost coach Jon Embree his job.MacIntyre realized he was inheriting a program that had fallen on hard times. But the depths of that decline caught him off guard.Overall, to be able to compete, to be in the Pac-12 Championship game, we werent very close, MacIntyre said.MacIntyre gradually revamped the program -- just like he did at San Jose State when he inherited a 2-10 squad and in three seasons turned the Spartans into a double-digit win team.All he needed was time and a chance to develop his talent. After going 2-25 in conference games over his first three seasons at Colorado, some publications listed him on the hot seat heading into the season.Now, hes one of the hottest coaches in the business.Its been remarkable, whats occurred this season, said former Colorado coach Gary Barnett, whos now a radio analyst for Buffs football games. Theyve acted like theyve been there before, acted like a mature team thats used to winning. They have this resiliency to find a way to win, every single game theyve been in.The Rise -- as Colorrado has labeled it -- has been no surprise to his players.dddddddddddd They bought in from the beginning. Take junior running back Phillip Lindsay. He was recruited by the previous regime and didnt know if his scholarship would still be honored after suffering a serious knee injury in high school.MacIntyre visited him and assured Lindsay that one day he would play a role in leading this team back to prominence. Lindsay rushed for 1,189 yards and 16 scores this season. He wont forget that trust from MacIntyre.He believed. His teammates believed -- even as the Buffaloes struggled.Rome wasnt built in one day. He just needed time to build a program, Lindsay said. Hes a big reason we are where we are today.And thats a program trending in the right direction -- with big crowds showing up again at Folsom Field. They appeared in their first conference title game -- losing 41-10 to No. 4 Washington -- since 2005, when they were in the Big 12. Theyre also heading to the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma State -- with a chance to become just the fourth team in school history to win 11 games.Weve been making steps. Some of them were baby steps, but we were moving forward, said MacIntyre, whose late father, George MacIntyre, was the coach at Vanderbilt from 1979 to 1985. We werent going backward at all.This helped, too -- upgrades to the athletic facilities, including a new indoor practice field. Recently, MacIntyre took the team over to their old digs, just as a reminder of how far theyve come.Those young freshmen were like, `Whats this? MacIntyre recounted. You cant kick it high, the lights are weird. But this is what it was for us all the time.There might be some times we go back down there and do some morning drills like we used to and make them realize how nice weve got it.MacIntyres always been an emotional coach. After a win at Oregon, MacIntyre hugged his son Jay, a sophomore receiver, as he wiped away tears. His players appreciate that side of him.A lot of ups and downs, a lot of heartbreaks, a lot of happy times, a lot of crying over the years, Lindsay said. We are a figure of him. Now, youre seeing the final product.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '