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HOUSTON -- Josh Hamilton turned from his locker and saw a group of reporters waiting to talk to him after Saturdays game against Houston. "Im not answering any questions about hitting," he said. That was just fine after the defensive show the Angels struggling slugger put on in Los Angeles 7-2 win over the Houston Astros. Joe Blanton pitched seven sharp innings, and Howie Kendrick and Chris Iannetta both homered to lead the Angels. Alberto Callaspo and Erick Aybar drove in two runs apiece in a big fourth inning, but it was Hamilton who everyone was talking about. He likely robbed Houston of two home runs with his glove. "Through this whole struggle on the offensive side with him trying to find his comfort zone in the box, hes played great defence for us," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "Great range, today he took away a couple home runs. Josh made them look easy." Blanton (2-10) tied season lows with three hits and two runs, pitching six scoreless innings before a two-run home run by Brett Wallace in the seventh. He appreciated the work of Hamilton perhaps more than anybody. "They were both great catches," Blanton said. "Short field over there, he played the wall great, timed his jumps perfectly, made two outstanding plays." Kendricks solo homer came in the fifth and Iannetta tacked on two with a home run in the eighth. Houston starter Jordan Lyles (4-3) was done in by a four-run fourth inning by the Angels. He allowed five hits, four runs and walked two in four innings for his first loss against Los Angeles in three starts. Blanton was perfect through 3 1-3 innings before a double by Jose Altuve. Altuve advanced to third on a wild pitch before a two-out walk to Chris Carter. Blanton escaped the jam when Hamilton leaped to grab a fly ball hit by J.D. Martinez at the wall in right field. It was the second time Martinez hit the ball hard and came away empty. Mike Trout caught another drive from him on the warning track in left-centre in the second inning. Hamiltons second nifty defensive play came when he jumped and reached over the short wall in right field to catch a ball hit by Matt Dominguez in the seventh inning. Hamilton tumbled to the ground after the catch while Dominguez stood motionless and stared at him in disbelief. He didnt think the first one would have been a home run, but was certain that the second one would have gone out. Hamilton, who joined the Angels this season after signing a five-year, $125 million contract, is hitting just .221 with 10 homers this season. He was disappointed in a span earlier this season when he wasnt hitting well and he was struggling on defence. "If you dont do it at the plate you want to do it in the field, and during that stretch I wasnt doing it either way," he said. "I felt like I wasnt. But I feel better. Everybody keeps telling me to go out and play and have fun. Just relax." He did just that on Saturday, and said making plays like that "are favourite things for me, more fun than hitting a home run." Mark Trumbo singled to get things going in the fourth inning. Lyles then started to struggle with control, plunking Howie Kendrick before walking Hamilton to load the bases. Callaspos single scored Trumbo and Kendrick to make it 2-0. Things continued to go downhill for Lyles when he hit Peter Bourjos with a pitch. Aybars two-run single pushed the lead to 4-0, but he was out trying to stretch it into a double. Lyles finally escaped the inning when Trout lined out to Brandon Barnes in centre field. "I think it is one of those things where you try to make the perfect pitch, and you are falling behind and you try to make a better pitch and a better pitch and a better pitch. He could not get his fastball command back," Houston manager Bo Porter said of Lyles in the fourth inning. Kendrick hit his ninth homer of the season to the seats in right field off Josh Fields with two outs in the fifth to make it 5-0. Carter walked with no outs in the seventh before Wallace hit his first homer of the season with one out to the Crawford Boxes in left field to make it 5-2. Bourjos bruised his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch, and he left the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Trout took over in centre field for Bourjos, and J.B. Shuck entered the game in left field. Bourjos said he was sore after the game. Scioscia said he would have X-rays on the wrist as a precaution. NOTES: Houston reliever Travis Blackley shoved Shuck when he tagged him in the back on a rundown eighth inning. He regretted the move soon afterward. "I never try to be malicious toward anyone," he said. "It was one of those things where the heat of the moment kind of got me. I dont mean anything by it." ... The series wraps up on Sunday when Los Angeles left-hander C.J. Wilson opposes Lucas Harrell. ... Someone from Houstons dugout yelled "got it," causing Los Angeles catcher Hank Conger to let a foul ball he could have caught drop during Friday nights game. Porter wouldnt say who did it, but was unhappy with the incident and called Scioscia to apologize on Saturday morning. "I apologized to him on behalf of our ball club," Porter said. "Its not something that I condone, and I take full responsibility. It wont happen again." Scioscia wasnt that concerned about it. "He called and I appreciated it but its no big deal," he said. Nelson Semedo Jersey . Knapp defeated American Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5 to secure Italys victory in the best-of-five series. She held a 5-2 lead in the second set, only to let Riske tie it at five. Aleix Vidal Jersey . Schaub will start for an injured Case Keenum and try to help the Texans end a 12-game skid. 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Radulov scored the lone goal in the shootout, and the Predators edged the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Tuesday night to reach 100 points for the second time in three seasons and fourth in seven.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Dick Parsons is hoping for a short stint running the Los Angeles Clippers, though ready to stay on as long as it takes. Moving the franchise away from Donald Sterling and to new ownership might require a lengthy fight, but its one Parsons thinks is worthwhile. "This is an issue thats actually bigger than just the Clippers, bigger than just the NBA in my judgment," Parsons said. "The whole world is kind of watching how, frankly, we as a country navigate our way through this crisis. So if I can help, Im happy to try." The NBA chose Parsons, a former Citigroup chairman and former Time Warner chairman and CEO, as interim CEO of the Clippers on Friday. Parsons will oversee the management of the franchise and represent it at owners meetings while the league tries to force Sterling to sell following his lifetime ban for making racist remarks. With Sterling barred from anything to do with the team or league, and team President Andy Roeser on an indefinite leave of absence, the league and Clippers worked together to find someone to lead the organization along with coach Doc Rivers. Parsons, who is black, met with Commissioner Adam Silver on Monday and accepted the position Thursday. He had gotten to know Silver, then the deputy commissioner, when Time Warner owned the Atlanta Hawks, and he supports what Silver is trying to do now in his first crisis since replacing David Stern in February. "Hes a good man and hes trying to do the right thing and hes trying to do it in the right way, and he could use some help," Parsons said during a phone interview. Parsons is currently a senior adviser at Providence Equity Partners and sits on the board of directors for the Commission on Presidential Debates. He has also been on President Barack Obamas economic advisory team. A graduate of the University of Hawaii, where he played basketball, Parsons earned a law degree from Albany Law School in 1971 and became a staff lawyer for New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.ddddddddddddHe moved to Washington when Rockefeller was appointed vice-president, and also worked closely with President Gerald Ford. Parsons left the legal field in 1988 to become president, then chairman and CEO of Dime Bancorp, Inc. He was Time Warner chairman and CEO from 2002-08, then chairman of Citigroup from 2009-12. Silver said in a statement that Parsons "will bring extraordinary leadership and immediate stability to the Clippers organization." "Dicks credentials as a proven chief executive speak for themselves and I am extremely grateful he accepted this responsibility," Silver added. The owners advisory/finance committee has already held two conference calls since Silver banned Sterling, fined him $2.5 million and said he would urge owners to force Sterling to sell the franchise he has owned since 1981. That would require Sterling to be charged with violating the leagues constitution and bylaws, followed by a three-fourths vote of owners after a hearing. Sterlings estranged wife, Shelly, wants to keep her 50 per cent ownership stake in the team, her lawyer said Thursday, and Silver said so far the ban only applies to Donald Sterling. While that potential fight goes on, the Clippers are trying to stay focused on the playoffs following their most successful regular season ever. They are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder entering Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Parsons said he wouldnt be involved in an ownership fight and hopes one wont even be necessary, that "cooler heads and rationality" would allow the NBA and the Clippers to work through the turmoil without a legal battle. He doesnt know how long that could take. "I know the NBA would love to get this done before the next season begins, but who knows whats going to happen? Its open ended," Parsons said. "Were here until sort of we can work our way through the point of transition." ' ' '