HOUSTON -- Houston manager Bo Porter knows that many question why he keeps penciling Chris Carter into the lineup game after game when the designated hitter is batting below .200. Carter illustrated perfectly Wednesday night why Porter sticks with him. Carter homered twice, Dallas Keuchel pitched eight strong innings and the Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1. Carters first solo home run made it 3-1 in the fourth inning, and he added an opposite-field shot in the seventh. It was the fifth career multihomer game for Carter and second this year. The slugger has struggled this season and is batting just .199, but his power is undeniable and hes tied for the team lead with 12 homers. "Hes been up and down this year," Porter said. "The power numbers are there. The batting average is not there, but at the same time hes had some big hits and tonight is a step in a huge direction to him getting going." Carter led the Astros with 29 homers and 82 RBIs last year in his first full season in the majors. He feels less pressure at the plate now that the lineup has been beefed up with the addition of rookies Jon Singleton and George Springer. "Its nice to have guys like that where you dont feel like youre the only guy in the lineup where you have to do everything or everyone is looking to you to get a home run or something," Carter said. Keuchel (8-3) won for the sixth time in seven starts. He allowed four hits and a run, striking out five and lowering his ERA to 2.38. Even though the game is more than a month away, Porter was already stumping for Keuchel to get the All-Star call. "You look at the season Dallas Keuchel has put together to this point and if hes not an All-Star, what is? He continues to impress," Porter said. "Its a joy to watch." Brandon McCarthy (1-9) allowed eight hits and four runs in six-plus innings to remain winless since May 3. "I wasnt sharp from the get-go, but I thought I did a good job to get as deep as I could," McCarthy said. "The seventh inning there. The home run hurts and the guys getting on after that hurts and kind of spoils everything." Aaron Hill homered in the fourth for Arizonas only extra-base hit. Springer had two hits and an RBI and Singleton drove in a run as the Astros won for the fifth time in seven games. McCarthy has had success in Houston in the past and entered the game 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in his career at Minute Maid Park. But the Astros got going against him early, with Springer singling in the first, Singleton drawing a walk and Jason Castro grounding an RBI single. Singleton was thrown out at third on the play. Jonathan Villar singled to start Houstons third before a one-out single by Springer. Both players advanced on a wild pitch by McCarthy before Villar scored on a groundout by Singleton to make it 2-0. The Diamondbacks didnt get a hit until Hill led off the fourth with his homer to the Crawford Boxes in left field to cut the lead to 2-1. Paul Goldschmidt singled after Hills homer, but Keuchel got back on track after that and retired 13 of his next 14 batters. The only hit in that span came on a single by Chris Owings with one out in the sixth inning. Ender Inciarte singled with two outs in the Arizona eighth, but Keuchel retired Owings to end the inning and Keuchels night. Springer drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. NOTES: The series wraps up on Thursday when Arizonas Wade Miley opposes Scott Feldman. ... Houston 2B Jose Altuve missed his first game of the season because of soreness in his oblique muscle. Porter said Altuve didnt want to take the day off and tried to convince him to let him play. ... Diamondbacks OF Gerardo Parra was out of the lineup for a scheduled day off. ... The Astros signed several players taken in last weeks draft. They signed second round pick 1B A.J. Reed, RHP Ryan Thompson (23rd round), RHP Vince Wheeland (24th round), LHP Zach Davis (25th round), INF Mott Hyde (26th round), RHP Brandon McNitt (27th round) and RHP Keegan Yuhl (35th round). NBA Jerseys China .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Bobby Brown Jersey Signed .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale...-jersey-signed/. The 42-ranked Czech saved seven break points while converting his one chance, and defeated the No. 3 seed in 1 hour 46 minutes. Rosol, who lost in the final in Stuttgart against Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday, awaits the winner between Philipp Kohlschreiber or 2011 champion Gilles Simon. Darrell Brown Jersey Signed . Costa Rica followed up its wins over Uruguay and Italy by holding England to a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday, enough to finish first in Group D. J.R. Bremer Jersey Signed .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes placed defenseman John-Michael Liles on injured reserve Tuesday.Glendale, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu both scored in the shootout to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Parise, Minnesotas first shooter, beat Devan Dubnyk with a wrist shot, but Antoine Vermette answered back for Arizona by firing the puck under the arm of Niklas Backstrom. Koivu skated up the left side, cut across the slot, and roofed the puck over Dubnyk. Tobias Rieders shot was wide to seal the win for the Wild. Parise netted the game-tying goal late in regulation, Nino Niederreiter and Jason Zucker also scored and Backstrom made 26 saves for the Wild, who bounced back from a 2-1 loss to San Jose on Thursday. I thought that our guys, not only the urgency, the way that we executed and I thought it was a good job, Wild coach Mike Yeo said. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Lauri Korpikoski and Vermette all lit the lamp for the Coyotes, who lost their ninth straight home game. Dubnyk made 32 stops in defeat. Jason Pominvilles shot from the left side of the net was blocked by an Arizona defender, but he gathered the rebound and sent a pass through the crease to Parise, who tapped in the puck for a power-play goal and a tied game with 5:53 remaining. Early in the extra session, Koivu was alone on the doorstep, but Dubnyk made a sensational glove save oon his backhander.dddddddddddd After Joe Vitale went off for holding, Niederreiter deflected Ryan Suters point shot past Dubnyk for a Minnesota lead 2:48 into the game. Arizona answered right back with a power-play goal of its own just 1:04 later as Ekman-Larsson skated up to the right circle and one-timed a cross-ice feed from Mikkel Boedker into the net for a tied game. Vermettes wrister from the high slot flipped off Backstroms blocker and back into the back of the net for a 2-1 Coyotes lead just 1:40 into the second. Zucker stripped a defender of the puck and finished off a breakaway by lifting a backhander over Dubnyk for a 2-2 score with 6:35 left in the middle stanza. Kuemper stopped Korpikoskis initial shot off a 3-on-1, but allowed a generous rebound right in the slot. Korpikosi buried the rebound for a 3-2 lead with 28 seconds remaining in the second. We said the other night we are going to have to play harder, were going to have to be harder to play against, Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. Game Notes The Coyotes have gone 1-6-2 over their last nine games ... Minnesota is 7-2-0 in its last nine games against Arizona ... The Wild upped their record to 12-3-0 when scoring first this season ... The season series will conclude Jan. 17 at Xcel Energy Center. ' ' '