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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The only thing Bartolo Colon cares about is staying healthy and helping his team win. He simply has no idea how to answer the constant questions about how hes doing both. Colon tossed eight innings of one-run ball to win his eighth straight start, powering the Oakland Athletics past the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Friday night to tie the best streak of his career. "I dont even know what I can say," Colon said. "Thank you, God." Colon (11-2) controlled the game with an efficient fastball the way he has so many others this season, burnishing his All-Star credentials and confounding critics who wonder how the 40-year-old continues to dominate. He allowed six hits, struck out five and walked one to match Max Scherzer of Detroit for the most wins in the AL this season. Stephen Vogt stole some of the spotlight from Colons latest gem when he homered to end an 0-for-32 stretch to start his career, and four players drove in runs during the second inning to chase Shelby Miller (8-6) and help Oakland win its third straight game. Colon hugged his catcher in the dugout when he came out after the eighth and whispered in Vogts ear: "Thank you, Poppy." Vogts line-drive homer against reliever Joe Kelly in the fourth ended the longest hitless streak to start a career by a non-pitcher since Chris Carter began 0 for 33 with the As in 2010. "I cant imagine anything better," Vogt said. The Cardinals (48-31) dropped a game behind Pittsburgh for the best record in the majors -- and the NL Central lead. Kelly, who last pitched on June 21, allowed just the one run and three hits in 5 1-3 innings of relief in one of the few bright spots for the Cardinals, who couldnt solve Colons deceptive fastballs. "He has a different kind of movement and throws harder than what the gun reads," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. Dan Otero pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the best first half of the season for Oakland (47-34) since 1992, when the club started 48-33. The As remain a half-game behind Texas for the AL West lead, and the reigning division champions owe much of it to the big, burly pitcher on the mound. The As are 13-3 in Colons starts. "Do the math," As manager Bob Melvin said. "Its halfway through the season and hes got 11 wins." Colon tied his career high with eight consecutive wins -- which he did in 2005, when he won a career-best 21 games for the Angels and captured the AL Cy Young Award -- and hasnt lost since May 9 at Cleveland. Hes the first As pitcher since Barry Zito in 2005 to win eight in a row. The right-hander also is the first pitcher to win his first seven starts since turning 40, according to information from the Elias Sports Bureau provided by the As. But with every win, Colon also brings more attention and more scrutiny -- fair or not -- about how he is finding so much success at this stage of his career. Colon is among more than a dozen players who have been connected to a now-closed Miami anti-aging clinic under investigation by Major League Baseball for performance-enhancing drugs. The right-hander also missed the end of last season when he was suspended 50 games for testing positive for synthetic testosterone. The As and Colon have brushed off any clouds that come the pitchers way with the motto Melvin has instilled with everything else about his team: focus on the days task and nothing else. Colon carried a perfect game into the fifth, when Matt Holliday walked with one out. Matt Adams added a short fly that dropped in front of a diving Coco Crisp in centre field for the first hit off Colon, and David Freese followed with an RBI single for the Cardinals lone run. With Colon in complete control again, the As sent 10 batters to the plate and forced Miller to throw 51 pitches in the second inning. It was the most thrown in an inning by one pitcher this season, topping the 50 tossed by Arizonas Ian Kennedy against the Cardinals on June 6. "I just struggled. I wasnt throwing strikes and when I did throw strikes, they were right down the middle," Miller said. Vogt, filling in for the injured John Jaso, added his first career hit in the fourth and teammates initially acted as if nothing happened when he jogged back in the dugout. Then, everybody charged him at once. Vogt got the ball back from a 5-year-old in the stands. The youngster was given another ball and team memorabilia in exchange. NOTES: Members of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum presented Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo with his induction plaque in the dugout before the game. "Its a great honour and great privilege," said Oquendo, who batted .256 in 12 seasons and earned the nickname "The Secret Weapon" for playing every position during his career. ... As manager Bob Melvin said Jaso (injured left hand) might not start over the weekend but is available off the bench. ... San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh was in the stands and wearing an As cap. ... The Cardinals send Adam Wainwright (10-5, 2.31) to the mound against Jarrod Parker (6-6, 4.27 ERA) on Saturday.Fake Balenciaga Shoes . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Fake Balenciaga From China .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. https://www.fakebalenciaga.com/ . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Fake Balenciaga For Sale . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Fake Balenciaga Cheap . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros added Carlos Pena to bring a veteran presence to their young team. They also thought he could help move the offence. On Thursday the 35-year-old showed his value in both areas, encouraging his teammates after a tough start and coming through in the 10th inning with a three-run homer to give the Astros a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. "Hes been tremendous on and off the field," manager Bo Porter said. "He is a first-class guy that really has helped mentor a lot of these guys we have here. You look at some of the big hits hes been able to get for our ball club (and) it speaks to the reason why we brought him aboard." Pena takes pride in getting the team back on track when things go wrong. "I do try to bring a good attitude every single day and throughout the ball game regardless of whats going on motivating my teammates and encouraging," he said. Carlos Corporan struck out but reached on a wild pitch with one out in the 10th and J.D. Martinez followed with a double. Pena then launched the first-pitch homer off Michael Gonzalez (0-3) to the second deck in right field. It was his sixth career last at-bat homer and his first since Aug. 2008 when he was with Tampa Bay. "It never gets old," he said, still recovering from a post-game shower of Gatorade, water and shaving cream. "What a ball game. What a game. What a great homestand. I thought we were in every single game. This is a lot of momentum moving forward." Houston went 5-2 in this homestand and is 18-16 since May 15. Things didnt look good early on Thursday though, when the Astros fell behind 3-0. It was a sloppy game that featured six unearned runs and four errors. Hector Ambriz (2-4) pitched a scoreless 10th to help Houston take two of three in the series. Corporan tied it with a solo home run in the eighth. Matt Dominguez tied a career-high with three hits. The Brewers led by a run before Jonathan Lucroys homer in the sixth, which bounced on top of the low wall in right field, made it 4-2 and chased Lucas Harrell. Houston got back within one when Martinez reached on an error by second baseman Scooter Gennett leading off the bottom half. Dominguez hit an RBI double with two outs that made it 4-3. Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke was troubled by his teams performance on Thursday. "Thats as bad as it gets," Roenickee said.dddddddddddd "Sometimes we might lose big, or we may not pitch well, but all the things we did wrong in that game, thats a bad game." Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo allowed five hits and three runs -- none earned -- in seven innings. He has not permitted an earned run in 21 straight innings spanning three starts. Gallardo didnt exactly let his defence off the hook for struggling in this one. When asked if the mistakes on defence bothered him he said: "Not really; maybe a little bit." Then he backtracked a bit saying that its part of the game. "I know for a fact the guys behind me dont want to make errors," he said. "They want to get every out they can. That is just how it is. As a pitcher, you have to move past it, whether its an error or a misplayed ball. You have to focus on the next guy." Jim Henderson replaced Gallardo for the eighth and immediately gave up the homer to Corporan. Gennett was thrown out at home on a grounder for the second out in the ninth. Dominguez doubled to lead off the ninth and reached third with one out, but John Axford retired the next two batters to send it to the 10th. Carlos Gomez doubled to start the Milwaukee eighth before a peculiar error on second baseman Jose Altuve. He missed catching the ball on a pickoff attempt, allowing Gomez to take third. Altuve immediately looked down at his glove and ran to the Astros dugout. Television shots showed that his mitt had come apart, leaving a big hole in it that allowed the ball to get through. An Astros official tied it back together and he returned to the field. Astros centre fielder Justin Maxwell dropped a fly ball hit by Caleb Gindl that sent two runs home in the second for a 3-0 lead. Houston right fielder Trevor Crowe injured his right shoulder crashing into the wall attempting to catch the home run by Lucroy and left the game. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right shoulder after the game. Marc Krauss was promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take his place on the roster. NOTES: Houston plays another one of its former NL Central rivals when it opens a three-game series with the Cubs on Friday. Dallas Keuchel is scheduled to pitch for the Astros against Matt Garza. ... The Brewers return home to begin a three-game series with Atlanta on Friday. Wily Peralta opposes Atlantas Julio Teheran. ' ' '