ANAHEIM, Calif. -- There was a lot of grumbling in the Los Angeles Angels clubhouse following Garrett Richards latest strong performance. Richards won his sixth decision in seven starts and had a career-high 11 strikeouts Sunday, leading the surging Angels to a 6-1 victory over the Houston Astros and completing a four-game sweep that extended Los Angeles home winning streak to 10 games. But when the pitchers and reserves for the AL All-Star team were announced after the game, Richards name wasnt among them. He could still get the final spot on the squad through fan voting on the Internet. "Its a little disappointing," Richards said. "Theres still a chance, and its an honour just to be considered. If it happens, it happens. But Im more concerned with the second half of the season, to be honest. Ill take a World Series over an All-Star game any day." Richards (10-2) allowed six hits over 7 1-3 innings, including an RBI single by Carlos Corporan in the seventh. The right-hander has a 1.45 ERA in his last seven outings and has allowed no more than four hits in six of them. "Its the same thing Ive been doing all year -- getting ahead of hitters with the fastball and breaking ball, putting guys away with two strikes, throwing quality strikes and just attacking guys," Richards said. "Im happy with the work Ive put in so far, but the seasons only halfway over. Ive had a pretty good first half. But more importantly, were playing good baseball as a team right now." Richards strikeout total was the highest by an Angels pitcher since June 18 last season, when Joe Blanton fanned 11 in a no-decision against Seattle at Anaheim. "I think the skys the limit for Garrett," pitching coach Mike Butcher said. "You look at the stuff, and hes got undeniable stuff -- a mid-90s fastball that cuts and sinks, a power slider that has great depth to it, good action and commands it in the zone very well. Hes got one of the better curveballs in the game and a changeup that is still developing -- but hes getting a feel for that, too." Albert Pujols drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single and Kole Calhoun homered, helping the Angels go 15 games over .500 for the first time since ending the 2012 season at 89-73. They swept a four-game set at home for the first time since July 2011 against Seattle and are 21-3 at the "Big A" since May 17 -- their best 24-game stretch at home in franchise history. "Were playing good ball," centre fielder Mike Trout said. "Were pitching well and our timely hittings been pretty good lately. Were having great at-bats and not trying to do too much." Joe Thatcher, obtained in a trade from Arizona on Saturday, threw one pitch in his Angels debut and gave up a one-out single in the eighth by Jason Castro. But Mike Morin finished the inning with a diving catch of Jon Singletons popup after first baseman C. J. Cron collided with catcher Hank Conger to the right of the mound, knocking the ball out of Congers mitt. "When it first went up into that tough sky, I just kept drifting and started creeping back a bit more than I should have," Conger said. "Then I kind of heard C.J. at the last minute. I felt like I fell into a brick wall. I dont like to give pitchers too much respect, fielding-wise, but I told Mike: Nice catch." Collin McHugh (4-8) gave up three runs -- two earned -- and four hits through four innings before leaving with a broken nail on his middle finger. The right-hander walked two and struck out four in his third start against the Angels this year, becoming the first pitcher in Astros history to get at least four strikeouts in each of his first 14 starts of a season. The Angels loaded the bases in the third when McHugh gave up singles by Conger and Calhoun, and hit Trout on the left biceps with a first-pitch fastball. Pujols stroked a two-run single to left field to open the scoring. Until that hit, the three-time NL MVP was 0 for 13 this season in bases-loaded situations. Trout then scored from second on a throwing error by second baseman Jose Altuve, who was trying to complete a double play on Josh Hamiltons grounder to shortstop Marwin Gonzalez. "We didnt play well. But at the same time, the Angels played real well," manager Bo Porter said. "We didnt help ourselves. When you look at the number of strikeouts and the way we played these last four games, they pretty much took it to us in every aspect of the game. "Right now were in a rut, and we have not played well. But nobody is going to feel sorry for you. Its up to the men in this clubhouse. These are the guys that we have and those are the guys were going to run out there. Its going to be up to us to rectify what it is we have going." Calhoun added his ninth homer in the seventh against David Martinez, who was pitching his third inning after getting recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Angels tacked on two more runs in the eighth against Chad Qualls. NOTES: Trout, heading to his third straight All-Star game, said he will not participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby. ... Pujols two RBIs raised his career total to 1,555, tying Willie McCovey for 41st place all-time. ... Hamilton was 2 for 15 with no RBIs and eight strikeouts in the series, after going 29 for 89 with nine homers and 17 RBIs in his previous 25 games against the Astros since the start of last season. ... Altuve, who began the day leading Texas Adrian Beltre by three percentage points in the AL batting race, got his league-leading 122nd hit and needs two more in the Astros next six games to break Bob Watsons 1973 franchise record for hits before the All-Star break. ... Astros rookie RF George Springer struck out all four times up, increasing his AL-worst total to 105. ... Altuve stole his 25th consecutive base in the sixth inning, the longest streak by an Astro since 2004, when Carlos Beltran swiped 28 in a row. Phillip Danault Canadiens Jersey . Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc Spears says that the Boogie Smooth album may have been an elaborate April Fools prank. Larry Robinson Canadiens Jersey .com) - The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with running back Jackie Battle on a one-year contract Friday. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-guy-lafleur-canadiens-jersey/ . According to the Globe and Mail, a decision between the NHL and the Players Association should come within the six months. "I can tell you, (a decision) shouldnt take all that long," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Globe and Mail. Bob Gainey Jersey . Peter Dawson took his long before he started the job. "I was playing an American one year at Oxford Golf Club, and he introduced me to this travelling mulligan," Dawson said. Bob Gainey Canadiens Jersey .com) - St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have been selected as the NHLs top players for last week.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Florida State has made its case to play for a second straight national championship. Jameis Winston threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns, and second-ranked Seminoles held off No. 12 Georgia Tech 37-35 Saturday night to win their third consecutive ACC championship. The Seminoles (13-0, 9-0 ACC, No. 4 CFP) will find out Sunday if its enough to earn them a berth in the first ever College Football Playoff. All four of the top-ranked teams in the playoff rankings were victorious over the weekend. Rashad Greene had seven catches for 123 yards and two scores and freshman Dalvin Cook had 220 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in his first college start to help extend the Seminoles winning streak to 29 games. Nick OLeary added three catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Synjyn Days ran for 67 yards and three touchdowns and Justin Thomas ran for 104 yards threw for a score for Georgia Tech (10-3, 6-3, No. 11 CFP), which rushed for 331 yards. Winston, who threw four interceptions in a win over Florida last Saturday, was near perfect against the Yellow Jackets. He completed 21 of 30 passes, didnt turn the ball over and seemed in total command throughout most of the game as Florida State scored on its final seven possessions. The turning point came with 7:47 left in the game when Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson went for it on fourth and 5 near midfield. The gamble failed when Thomas pass to Darren Waller was underthrown. Until then, the Yellow Jackets had run the ball 58 times and thrown it just five. Florida State quickly took advantage, moving into field goal range for Roberto Aguayo. He converted his third field goal the second half from 28 yards to make it a two-possession game at 37-28 with 4:28 left. The Seminoles sealed the game when LaMarcus Brutus intercepted Thomas on a fourth down heave with 3:22 remaining. Georgia Tech scored on a 25-yard TD strike from Thomas to Darren Waller to cut the lead to 37-35 with 1:47 left. The Yellow Jackets attempted an onside kick, but Florida State recovered and ran out the clock. As theyve done most of the season, the Seminoles dug themsellves an early hole.dddddddddddd. Georgia Techs defence forced a three-and-out on the games first possession when Winston threw behind an open Jesus Wilson on third down while under pressure. The Yellow Jackets immediately seized the momentum, moving 71 yards in eight plays -- all on the ground --with Days scoring on a 1-yard run to take a 7-0 lead. But the Seminoles wouldnt let this one get away from them. Florida State scored on its next four possessions to take a 28-21 lead at halftime. Winston threw for 222 yards and three scores in the first half, including a 45-yarder to 46-yarder to OLeary and a 44-yard strike to Greene, who became the ACCs all-time leader in yards receiving. One score came on a blown coverage and the other when a Georgia Tech defensive back fell down. Georgia Tech, which entered the game with nations third-best ground attack averaging 333.8 yards per game, had its bread and butter working early. The Yellow Jackson opened the game with 26 straight running plays and scored on touchdown drives of 71, 75 and 75 yards. But the game turned near the end of the second quarter when the Seminoles finally managed a defensive stop near midfield and forced a punt. By then Winston was in top form. He quickly moved the Seminoles 75 yards in less than two minutes, finding Greene in the left corner of the end zone for a -yard touchdown to give his team its first lead at 28-21 with 30 seconds left in the first half. Winston has led the team to another undefeated regular season despite off-field distractions. Last years Heisman Trophy winner spent two days this week at a university student code of conduct hearing that could determine his future at Florida State. The hearing was to determine whether Winston violated any or all of four sections of the student code of conduct. The hearing took place approximately two years after a female student said Winston sexually assaulted her in December 2012. No decision was rendered and no definitive timetable was given on when the case will be resolved. The potential ramifications for Winston range from a reprimand to expulsion from school. ' ' '