said they would fine the Rio organizing committee nearly $

HOUSTON -- In these lean times for the Houston Astros, Chris Carter is showing more and more that he can be a difference-maker for this young team. Carter homered twice, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh, to back seven strong innings from Bud Norris and give the Astros a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night. The victory breaks a five-game skid for the Astros, who had been shut out in their last two games. Carter broke a 22-inning scoring drought for Houston with his solo homer in the second off Roberto Hernandez (4-10) that tied it 1-1. He connected on a full-count pitch from Jake McGee on his second home run to make it 4-1 in the seventh. Carter leads the Astros with 17 homers and his 44 RBIs are tied for the team lead. He is the first Astro to reach 17 homers by July 3 since Lance Berkman in 2009. Just over halfway through the season, Carter is one homer shy of the 18 Justin Maxwell hit all of last season to lead the club. The Astros are enamoured with Carters power and impressed with his increased discipline at the plate recently. "He has a chance to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "When you see that kind of progression and you see the adjustments being made, you really say to yourself moving forward that this guy has a chance to be a middle-of-the-order bat who can be very productive." He has reached base safely in 15 of his last 16 games and his hitting .315 with four homers and 10 RBIs in that span. Carter was just glad he could help the team get back on track after a tough couple of games. "Its nice to score some runs and get a win after the last two games where we didnt score and they outscored us by 20 runs," he said. "Im just happy we came out with a win right there." Norris (6-7) allowed six hits and one run with five strikeouts to break a three-game losing streak and pick up his first win since June 1. Jose Veras allowed a hit in a scoreless ninth for his 17th save. "Bud was absolutely outstanding," Porter said. "I thought he threw probably the best game of the season this year. His slider just had unbelievable depth ... hes our No. 1 guy and he pitched like a No. 1 guy again tonight." Hernandez allowed four hits and three runs in six-plus innings for his fourth consecutive loss. James Loney had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and Ben Zobrist drove in Tampa Bays only run with a sacrifice fly in the first. Carters homer in the second pinged off the facade on the wall above the Crawford Boxes in left field, giving the Astros their first earned run in 31 innings. It also broke a team record-tying 24-inning scoreless streak for Rays pitchers. It was the third time in team history theyd reached the mark. Jose Altuve singled with two outs in the third, but was caught stealing second to end the inning. Hernandez starting rolling after that and retired the next nine straight. He ran into trouble in the seventh when Brett Wallace doubled with no outs before he was chased by a single from Jason Castro. He was replaced by McGee, and Carter sent his 98 mph fastball to the train tracks atop the wall in left field. It was Carters second multi-homer game of the season and of his career. "Carter hurt us," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "He didnt miss two pitches. That one from Jake (McGee) was properly struck. That is back wall anywhere. That was incredible. You have to give them credit for the way they bounced back today, and their pitcher set up the whole thing." Norris hasnt had much run support lately, with the Astros scoring just three runs combined in his last three losses. A relieved-looking Norris greeted Carter with a hug and a huge smile in the dugout after his homer put Houston on top. The feeling Norris had when as he watched Carters homer was simple. "Pure joy," he said. "CCs (Carter) done it a few times for me, so weve just got to keep it going." The Rays had trouble stringing together hits against Norris. Their best chance to add to their run total came in the fifth. Jose Molinas comebacker sailed just inches above Norriss head for a single to start the inning. Norris then struck out Yunel Escobar and Molina was caught stealing second on the play. Norris walked consecutive batters, but escaped the jam by retiring Zobrist for the third out. Escobar singled with one out in the seventh before Jennings grounded into a double play to end the inning. NOTES: The series wraps up Thursday when Tampa Bays Chris Archer opposes Jordan Lyles. ... Houston DH Carlos Pena was back in the lineup after taking time to travel to the Dominican Republic following the drowning death of his nephew. He returned to the team on Tuesday after missing two games, but did not play. Pena said it was a difficult time for his family, but the support the team showed him made it a bit easier. "We have a lot of signs around here that we have family first and thats something that I saw firsthand, how they reacted to this situation," Pena said. "They did everything they could to make sure my family was all right and taken care of, which I appreciate."... Evan Longoria was Tampa Bays designated hitter for the second straight game after missing the previous three games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Manager Joe Maddon said he doesnt know when the All-Star third baseman will feel good enough to play defence, but thats OK with him. "Well just have to wait to get him on the field, but we have him as a DH well take it," Maddon said. Louis Williams Clippers Jersey . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Terance Mann Clippers Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. https://www.clipperslockerroom.com/Ivica-Zubac-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Rodney McGruder Clippers Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. Kawhi Leonard Clippers Jersey .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. RIO DE JANEIRO -- A near-diplomatic incident -- as Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes termed it -- came to an end on Wednesday ahead of the Olympics.The Australian delegation gave the mayor a tiny boxing kangaroo doll as the sign of a truce. It also said its now happy with its rooms at Rios Olympic Athletes Village.The 700-member delegation refused to check in three days earlier because of water and gas leaks, electrical shorts, malfunctioning toilets and general filth.The unfinished village, built at a cost of about $1.5 billion, marks the first organizational crisis of South Americas first Olympics, which open in just over a week. Attention now shifts to dozens of venues, which will be filling up in the next few days with thousands of athletes hoping to practice. Problems here could make village problems seems small.It was almost a diplomatic thing, the mayor said, speaking to Australian officials and members of the mens field hockey team at the 31-building village.Paes apologized and acknowledged Australias was the worst building.Australia was right, he said. It was not in good shape. That was a mistake of the organization. What we have to do now is go ahead and organize it. Theyve got their building now, and I hope things go well from now on.As his offering, Paes gave delegation head Kitty Chiller the keys to the city, and a doll representing the official mascot Vinicius.Australian officials said about 50 athletes were living in the village on Wednesday accompanied by almost 100 additional staff members.Rio organizers said 2,902 people occupied the village on Wednesday -- 849 of them athletes.The village will accommodate 18,000 athletes and staff at its peak, but many delegations are still away at private training venues for a few more days.dddddddddddd The crunch should come next week in the run-up to the opening ceremony on Aug. 5.After battling leaks for a week, Australia complained openly on Sunday. Dozens of other delegations also flagged up problems about their rooms, with many calling in their own workmen to fix the problems.The complaints led to hundreds of cleaners, plumbers, safety inspectors and electricians working 24-7 to resolve the issues.On Wednesday, Brazilian labor inspectors said they would fine the Rio organizing committee nearly $100,000 (about 315,000 reals) for hiring workers without proper contracts required by law. Inspector Hercules Terra told the Globo network that about 630 workers did not enjoy benefits that protect them from workplace injuries.The same inspector also said the organizing committee was going to be punished for withholding documents that would show how the employees were hired.Paes was asked four times about who would pay any bills run up by teams trying to fix their own problems. He walked away without answering, which Chiller also noted.He left immediately after that question, she said. Well sort all that out afterwards.Chiller promised to speak out again if things are not ready.Everything that weve ever said, and everything I will continue to say is about making sure that we have the best possible environment for our athletes, she said. And well stop at nothing to ensure that we get that. Whatever that takes.---Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP .His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade ' ' '