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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are hopeful that a successful series against Houston is the start of a turnaround. Yunel Escobar drove in two runs during a three-run sixth inning and the Rays beat the Astors 5-2 on Sunday. Escobar hit a two-run single and Sean Rodriguez had an RBI grounder off Dallas Keuchel (8-5) to give the Rays a 4-2 lead in the sixth. The Rays are 8-18 over their past 26 games, including five wins in seven games against Houston. Tampa Bay took three of four in the weekend series. "We won, thats the bottom line," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. "Weve got a lot of work to do. We put ourselves in a pretty good hole, but I think that the belief on a daily basis is still we can come to the ballpark and win." Keuchel allowed five runs and nine hits in an eight-inning complete game. It was his third complete game this season. "We did some good things today against a tough pitcher," Longoria said. Dexter Fowler put the Astros up 1-0 when he hit the first pitch of the game from Erik Bedard into the left-field seats. It was his ninth career leadoff homer and third this season. Bedard, who was with Houston last season, gave up two runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. Juan Carlos Oviedo (3-2) got two outs in the sixth for the win. Joel Peralta pitched the ninth for his first save. Rodriguez made it 5-2 on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. Houston took a 2-1 lead in the third on Jose Altuves single. Jonathan Villar opened the inning with a double, was awarded a steal of third after a replay challenge resulted in an out call being overturned and scored on the hit by Altuve. Altuve has 13 hits in his past 24 at-bats. The Rays tied it at 1 in the bottom of the first on Longorias single Desmond Jennings was caught attempting to steal home with Longoria batting to end the third, a call that was confirmed by a replay review. After catcher Carlos Corporan threw the ball back to Keuchel, Jennings broke for the plate, but was tagged by Corporan after a return throw from Keuchel. "I know he does some uncharacteristic stuff," Kuechel said. "I dont turn my back from the guy on third, so I caught him out of the corner of my eye and just tried to get the ball out as soon as possible." "I still think Desmond was safe," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I think throughout this whole process, the think thats really standing out to me, Im into replay, I still believe there needs to be a separate group of umpires that are just out there specifically for replay only. That I hope would be the next step in regards to getting this thing nailed down." NOTES: SS Carlos Correa, taken first overall in the 2012 draft by the Astros, left Saturdays game with Class A Lancaster with a right ankle injury, which occurred while sliding. He will go on the disabled list. "Carlos was examined last night at a local hospital in California," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "He will travel to Houston early this week to be evaluated further by the Astros medical staff before determining next steps." ... Rays RHP Alex Cobb (2-5) will go against Pirates RHP Edinson Volquez (4-6) in the opener of a three-game series Monday. ... The Astros are off Monday. ... Houston starts a three-game series Tuesday against Atlanta with RHP Scott Feldman (3-4) and Braves RHP Aaron Harang (5-6) the scheduled starters. ... Three-year old Ireland Nugent, who has been fitted with leg prosthetics after a lawnmower accident, threw the ceremonial first pitch. Marcus Smart Jersey . Philbin said Thursday he wants players to treat one another with civility and he wont tolerate anything less. In taking questions for the first time since Ted Wells released his report into the bullying scandal that rocked the league, Philbin made it clear things would be cleaned up. 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Morgenstern has moved to a rehabilitation clinic in Klagenfurt for further recovery.El Paso, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Demario Richard posted four touchdowns and Kweishi Brown came up with a key late interception as No. 15 Arizona State held on to take out Duke, 36-31, in the Sun Bowl. Richard racked up just 63 yards of total offense, yet crossed the goal line twice on rushes and twice more on Taylor Kelly passes for the Sun Devils (10-3). Kelly finished 24-of-34 for 240 yards, while Jaelen Strong led all receivers with 103 yards on seven receptions. Anthony Boone completed only 15 of his 31 attempts for 193 yards, two scores and that late pick for the Blue Devils (9-4). Jamison Crowder also threw a TD pass and racked up 102 yards on seven catches while also recording a 68-yard punt return score. Isaac Blakeney, Shaquille Powell and Johnell Barnes each posted a touchdown reception in defeat. Powell also totaled 117 yards on 29 carries. Final Score: Virginia Tech 33, Cincinnati 17 Annapolis, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Coach Frank Beamer may not have been on the sideline for Virginia Tech, but the Hokies were still able to earn a 33-17 win over Cincinnati in the Military Bowl. Virginia Tech (7-6) registered its 22nd consecutive winning season with the victory. J.C. Coleman ran for a season-high 157 yards for the Hokies, who piled up 210 yards on the ground. Michael Brewer threw for just 94 yards on 14-of-24 passing with a touchdown and interception. Beamer was coaching from the coaches box, where he was ordered to be following throat surgery earlier in the month. His son Shane Beamer was the acting head coach. Gunner Kiel completed 14-of-26 passes for 244 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Bearcats (9-4), most of which came in the first half. Kiel exited the game early in the third quarter with a reported head injury. Chris Moore and Shaq Washington had 103 and 100 receiving yards, respectively, for Cincinnati, and Moore caught a pair of touchdowns. Final Score: South Carolina 24, Miami-Florida 21 Shreveport, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Dylan Thompson scored the decisive touchdown on a quarterback keeper after a Duke Johnson fumble, as South Carolina edged Miami-Florida 24-21 in Saturdays Independence Bowl. Thompson threw two touchdown passes while finishing 22-of-34 for 294 yards. Pharoh Cooper had 170 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions for the Gamecocks (7-6), who won a school-record fourth straight bowl game. Johnson rushed 24 times for 132 yards, but the junior suffered an ankle injury and fumbled on what is expected to be his final collegiate carry. Johnsons mother, Cassandra Mitchell, told the Palm Beach Post on Saturday that her son will enter the 2015 NFL Draft. Brad Kaaya was 19-of-33 for 236 yards with a touchdown and one interception for Miami (6-7), which ended the season onn a four-game losing streak.dddddddddddd. The Hurricanes also suffered a school-record fifth consecutive bowl defeat. Final Score: Penn State 31, Boston College 30 (OT) Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Sam Ficken gave Penn State a walk-off win at Yankee Stadium. The Nittany Lions have paid their penance. Now its time to celebrate. Christian Hackenberg threw for 371 yards and four touchdowns, including a game-winning 10-yard TD pass to Kyle Carter in overtime, as Penn State edged Boston College 31-30 in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Nittany Lions appeared in their first bowl game since a loss to Houston in the TicketCity Bowl in January of 2012. Penn State was originally banned from participating in a bowl until 2016 after the NCAA levied sanctions against the school in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. The NCAA, though, lifted the severe sanctions in early September due to Penn States good behavior. The institution will also have all of their scholarships returned next year. Tyler Murphy hit David Dudeck for a 21-yard score to conclude Boston Colleges overtime march, but Mike Knoll hooked the ensuing extra point. It was the Eagles nation-leading eighth PAT miss of the season. Hackenberg connected with Jesse James for a 17-yard completion on a 3rd-and-15 and then lofted his 10-yard score for Carter in the front-left corner of the end zone. Ficken, who nailed a game-tying 45-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation, split the uprights on the extra point to give Penn State (7-6) the dramatic comeback victory. Final Score: (24) USC 45, (25) Nebraska 42 San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Cody Kessler had three touchdown passes and Javorius Allen ran for two scores as 24th-ranked Southern California held off No. 25 Nebraska, 45-42, in a wild Holiday Bowl. Kessler finished 23-of-39 for 321 yards with an interception. Allen carried the ball 26 times for 152 yards for the Trojans (9-4), who won their sixth bowl game in the last seven tries. Adoree Jackson scored on a 98-yard kickoff return and caught a 71-yard TD pass. The Cornhuskers (9-4), guided by interim coach Barney Cotton, nearly rallied from an 18-point, second-half deficit in a game the teams combined for 1,040 yards. Tommy Armstrong Jr. completed 32-of-51 for 381 yards with three TDs and an interception. Ameer Abdullah rushed 27 times for 88 yards and a score, while DeMornay Pierson-El had eight receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. Cotton, who has been on the staff as an associate head coach for the past seven seasons, replaced the fired Bo Pelini. The Cornhuskers let Pelini go on Nov. 30 despite winning at least nine games in each of his seven seasons at the school. Mike Riley, who spent 14 seasons at Oregon State, was named the new Cornhuskers coach earlier this month. 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