with a ground-rule double to right-centre field with two ou

HOUSTON -- After a tough June where Justin Upton has hit under .200, the Atlanta Braves hope the last two games are an indication that hell get back to where he was earlier this season. Upton homered for the second straight game and drove in three runs and Alex Wood pitched seven scoreless innings to help the Braves to a 4-0 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night. "When he gets hot like this its really, really something to watch," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Hopefully this is the beginning of one of those big runs that he can give us." Upton is hitting just .185 this month, but his average for the season is .272 after a great start to the year. "Im seeing the ball and hitting it, thats about it," Upton said. "Ive gotten some good pitches to hit and Ive put good swings on them." Shae Simmons and Juan Jaime finished the three-hitter as the Astros were shut out for the 10th time this season. The Braves had just two hits when Upton launched his 16th homer, a two-run shot into the bullpen in right-centre, to make it 3-0 in the seventh inning. Collin McHugh (4-6) had plunked Jason Heyward to set up things for Upton. Upton drove in Atlantas first run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. He joked that Wood owed him a treat of some kind for providing most of the offence in the win. "Just maybe get an ice cream cone or something," Upton said with a laugh. "Theyve got some good ice cream in there, at least get a scoop of ice cream." Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman left in the eighth after being hit by a pitch on what appeared to be his right elbow. He was examined by a doctor and said he was fine and hoped the swelling wasnt too bad on Thursday so he could play. Wood (6-6) was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to make his first start since May 4 after appearing in 11 games out of the bullpen in his last stint with the Braves. He allowed three hits and struck out four with one walk. "He did a nice job," Gonzalez said. "Mixed all his pitches ... his breaking ball, his fastball, threw some nice change ups." Gonzalez was encouraged by Woods performance in filling in for Gavin Floyd, who had surgery this week after breaking a bone in his throwing elbow. Simmons and Jaime struck out two apiece in a hitless inning apiece. McHugh struck out nine in his third straight loss. "He made a mistake to a really good hitter, and he didnt miss it," manager Bo Porter said of Uptons homer. "But outside of that one pitch, I feel like he was in complete control of the game the entire time." B.J. Upton doubled and took third on a balk before scoring on a groundout by Tommy La Stella to push Atlantas lead to 4-0 in the eighth. Evan Gattis doubled to start the second and scored on the one-out sacrifice fly by Justin Upton. McHugh walked a pair in the fourth inning, but the Braves didnt get another hit until Freeman singled with two outs in the sixth. Freeman was tagged out trying to stretch it into a double to end the inning. Dexter Fowler hit a leadoff double in the first, and was thrown out at third trying to advance on Jose Altuves grounder. Houston didnt get another runner until rookie Jon Singleton snapped an 0-for-17 skid with a ground-rule double to right-centre field with two outs in the fourth. The ball got lodged under the wall and Singleton was already heading toward home when he was called back to second base. Wood got right back on track after Singletons hit and set down the next five Astros before walking Fowler with one out in the sixth. George Springer singled with two outs to put runners at the corners, but Wood struck out Singleton to escape the jam. NOTES: Braves LHP Ryan Buchter was optioned to Gwinnett to make room for Wood on the roster. ... The Astros recalled OF L.J. Hoes from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned OF Robbie Grossman there before the game. ... Atlanta RHP David Carpenter, on the disabled list with a strained right biceps, felt good after throwing a bullpen on Tuesday and is scheduled to throw another one on Thursday. ... SS Carlos Correa, Houstons top prospect and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, had season-ending surgery on Wednesday after breaking his right fibula. L.J. Collier Youth Jersey . McCutchen was cut before the series opener against Seattle on Monday night, when Lewis was set for his first start for Texas since July 18, 2012. Texas selected Lewis contract from Triple-A Round Rock. Chris Carson Jersey . Now, he might be their hottest pitcher. Lobstein earned up his first major league victory Sunday night, allowing one run in 5 2-3 innings in the Tigers 6-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/shaq...iffin-jersey/.S. - Nova Scotias Mary Fay guaranteed at least one more match and a shot at the Canadian junior curling championships final on home ice. Steve Largent Womens Jersey . On Sunday, hell attempt to become the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Nationwide race on Iowas short track. The 20-year-old Blaney wont be the only kid pushing a podium finish. Cortez Kennedy Youth Jersey .Y. -- Florida Panthers captain Ed Jovanovski finally has something to show for all the pain he went through in overcoming a string of injuries that kept him sidelined for much of the past two years.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - UFC fighters will wear uniforms made by Reebok next year after the promotion agreed to a sponsorship deal with the sports apparel company.UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said the six-year deal will change the esthetics and economics of the worlds dominant mixed martial arts promotion by creating a professional, standard look for fighters shorts and additional gear in a famously individualistic sport. The uniforms will be revealed shortly before the fighters don them in July.It elevates the sport, UFC President Dana White said. For everybody to be dressed the same, to look the same, it just makes everything more professional. Every year, we take this thing to another level.The UFC will no longer allow its fighters to sell sponsorship patches on their trunks, a time-honoured tradition in MMA and boxing. White and Fertitta said the new deal largely will make up for the lost revenue, and the fighters still can have sponsorship deals outside the octagon.Fertitta said the promotion is distributing the vast majority of the money from its Reebok deal directly to its fighters, partly in a tiered system based on divisional rankings. White said the UFC itself will make almost no money from the deal for the first few years.Weve done a lot of research in the last two to three years, Fertitta said. We feel like weve created a program thats going to be worth at least as much, and in some cases more, than theyre making (with sponsorships).Some fighters have criticized the prospect of UFC uniforms when the idea was floated by White in recent years, concerned about the interruption of sponsorship deals that sometimes pay the fighters more than their UFC contracts. Other fighters welcome their piece of a major sportswear deal while fighting in uniforms comparable to the gear worn by athletes in the other major sports.I think its good for the UFC brand, welterweight title contender Robbie Lawler told The Associated Press. I think its going to be nice for the fighters to get a little extra money, and I think in the end its going to be a little easier. Were going to be getting some of the sponsorship money that the UFC is already getting. Its going to be big for the sport.dddddddddddd.Yet the UFC will eliminate many of its fighters current methods of making money in a sport thats notoriously unprofitable for up-and-coming fighters. For instance, the UFC also is doing away with those garish, sometimes amateurish sponsorship banners typically hung behind competitors during MMA fight introductions.It makes me physically sick to my stomach when I see those guys rolling out that banner, but I never stopped it because I didnt want to take money away from guys when I couldnt supplement that money, White said. Now we can give them something better.Fertitta said the UFC could put corporate logos on its uniforms in the future, although the deals probably would be limited to one sponsor at one event.If we do put a company on there, its going to be a major global brand, he said. Think along the lines of European soccer.The UFCs deal with Reebok is its biggest financial agreement outside its television contracts, White said, although the UFC is a private company that is notoriously reluctant to discuss its finances, including fighter pay.Not all individuality will be lost under the deal. Fighters will be free to choose from different styles of uniforms, from the board shorts worn by many fighters to the tighter bicycle shorts favoured by former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and others. Women will have the option of wearing shorts with a skirt front.UFC executives have chafed in recent years when its fighters uniform misadventures reflected negatively on a company pursuing a more polished, professional image in line with its Fox broadcast deal and increased international presence.Welterweight Dennis Hallman became a viral sensation — and not in a good way — after wearing incredibly skimpy blue shorts at UFC 133 in August 2011, briefly expos