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Carter’s homer gives Astros 5-4 win over Arizona

By WTOP Staff

JORDAN GODWIN
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — Arizona’s pitchers can’t seem to keep opponents from getting extra-base hits.

After starter Wade Miley had extended his National League lead for extra-base hits allowed, reliever J.J. Putz (1-1) gave up a leadoff homer to Chris Carter in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Houston Astros beat the Diamondbacks 5-4 on Thursday night.

Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said the Diamondbacks fell into a hole early because of Miley’s inability to keep the ball on the ground.

“He’s just got to make different pitches in different situations and keep the ball in the ballpark,” Gibson said. “He didn’t do a very good job of that tonight. Three home runs sunk us.”

Miley allowed two of the home runs, bringing his June total to six in just three starts. He allowed nine homers in his previous 11 starts in 2014.

“I wasn’t locating at all, and balls were all over the place,” Miley said. “It was a bad night. I couldn’t hit a spot — ever.”

Carter, who homered twice on Wednesday, hit his 13th homer of the season into the Crawford Boxes in left field off Putz.

“He put a pretty good swing on it,” Putz said. “There’s nothing else to say. I just didn’t make the right pitch, I guess.”

Miguel Montero tied it at 4-4 in the ninth with a home run to left field on the first pitch from closer Chad Qualls.

Carlos Corporan had a two-run home run and Jon Singleton homered and drove in two runs for the Astros, who have won six of their last eight games.

Tony Sipp (1-0) struck out one in a scoreless 10th for the win.

Singleton drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and broke a 1-all tie with his solo shot to right field in the third. Corporan extended Houston’s lead to 4-1 with his home run to left field in the fourth.

Chris Owings hit a solo homer to get Arizona within 4-3 in the seventh inning.

Houston second baseman Jose Altuve was hit on the right hand by a pitch in the seventh inning. X-rays were negative and he is listed as day to day.

David Peralta singled for Arizona’s first hit with one out in the third inning. Ender Inciarte reached on an error by Altuve that left Peralta at third and he scored on a sacrifice fly by Didi Gregorius to tie it at 1-1.

Enciarte was shaken up in that inning when he took a knee to the head from Jonathan Villar while stealing second base. He remained in the game but was replaced by Cody Ross in the bottom of the sixth as a precaution.

George Springer had two nifty defensive plays. The first one came when he sprinted from right field to center and dived to make the catch on a ball hit by Owings for the first out of the fifth.

Springer made another excellent diving catch on a fly ball by Martin Prado to start a double play to end the eighth. Paul Goldschimdt was on second and had almost reached home when Springer caught it, allowing Villar to step on second base to end the inning.

The pivotal play put an end to a potential Arizona rally.

“I saw it off the bat, paused for a second and didn’t think there was any way he’d be able to catch it,” Goldschmidt said. “I was wrong. To get a good read, cover so much ground and dive on it, with potentially the game on the line, he made an unbelievable play.”

The Astros celebrated “Drake Day” on Thursday with the Grammy Award-winning rapper attending the game and talking to students from the Astros Urban Youth Academy before the game. Each player came up to bat to music by the rapper and Singleton chose the tune “All Me.”

Seconds after the music trailed off with one out in the third inning, Singleton caught all of a 90 mph fastball from Miley and launched a towering homer into the second deck in right field to give Houston a 2-1 lead.

Astros starter Scott Feldman plunked Gregorius to start the sixth inning and Goldschmidt hit a double with one out, before Gregorius scored on a wild pitch with two outs to cut the lead to 4-2.

Miley yielded seven hits and four runs with eight strikeouts in five innings.

NOTES: The Diamondbacks acquired INF/C Jordan Pacheco from the Rockies and designated INF/OF Nick Evans for assignment before the game. … Gibson said he doesn’t expect OF Mark Trumbo, who has been out since April 22 with a stress fracture in his left foot, to return to full baseball activities for at least three more weeks.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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