HOUSTON -- Houston starter Bud Norris spoke to manager Brad Mills before the season about being more consistent and pitching deeper into games this year. So far, Norris is getting just what he wanted. Carlos Lee had three hits, including his first homer since April 22, and three RBIs to back another solid outing by Norris, and the Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-3 on Wednesday night. Norris (4-1) yielded four hits and a run with a season-high nine strikeouts in seven innings, improving to 3-0 in his last four starts to help Houston end a four-game skid. "He came in saying he wanted to have a different year this year and I think with the way hes gone about his business and gone about how hes pitched has been along those lines," Mills said. "Theres no reason to think thats going to change as he continues to put together good outing after good outing." The team is 7-1 in his eight starts this season and hes pitched fewer than six innings just once this year. "Im growing up and I guess Im getting a little older and a little wiser," the 27-year-old said. "Each off-season Im going to try to make strides in the right direction and Ive got a lot of people around me helping." Lees home run was a solo shot to left-centre field in the seventh inning that put Houston up 8-1. His third homer of the season came just moments after he narrowly avoided being hit by a foul ball from J.D. Martinez while waiting in the on-deck circle. "It was too close," he said. "If the ball is coming right at you, youre so close right there that by the time you react, the balls already by you. So its scary to be out there." Lee looked a bit shaken after ducking to avoid the ball and running out of the way. He recovered by the time he was at the plate, and the homer was the culmination of a good night for Lee, who singled and scored in the second then drove in two runs with a single in Houstons three-run third. Hes had 10 hits combined in the last four games after getting nine in the previous 10 games. "Im feeling real good right now," he said. "Ive kind of found something thats keeping me in a good position to hit." Milwaukee starter Randy Wolf (2-4) allowed seven hits and seven runs -- six earned -- in a season-worst four innings. His performance ended a streak of seven straight quality starts for the Brewers, whose starters combined for a 1.37 ERA in that span. "Randy got behind guys and they started finding holes," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "Ive said before these guys are a scrappy team. Offensively, these guys can swing the bat. They are always on base. They are hard to get out." The Brewers were disappointed that they werent able to build on Tuesdays 8-0 win over the Mets. "I can only speak for myself, and I know Im miserable," Wolf said when asked about the mood of the team. The only mistake by Norris came in the fourth inning against Corey Hart. Harts eighth homer of the season sailed to the back of the Crawford Boxes in left field to get Milwaukee within 5-1. But the Brewers werent able to build on it and Norris retired 11 straight after that, striking out six. Milwaukee didnt get another runner on base until Cesar Izturis singled with two outs in the seventh inning, but Norris struck out pinch-hitter Taylor Green to end the inning. Pinch-hitter Jonathan Lucroys triple in the ninth inning drove in two runs to cut the lead to 8-3. Lee singled in the second before scoring on a double by Jed Lowrie, which bounced off the wall in left field, to put Houston up 1-0. Justin Maxwell followed with an RBI single on a grounder to centre field which pushed the lead to 2-0. Norris started Houstons third with a single that was deflected into the outfield by Rickie Weeks. Jose Altuve singled with one out before Wolf walked J.D. Martinez to load the bases. A groundball single by Lee scored Norris and Altuve to extend Houstons lead to 4-0. Lowrie reached second base and Martinez scored on an error by Hart, the right fielder, when he couldnt make an over-the-shoulder catch on a fly ball at the wall. Jordan Schafer drove in a run with a single in the fourth to make it 6-1. Altuve walked after Schafers hit and the pair pulled off a double steal. Schafer scored on a sacrifice fly by Martinez. Weeks struck out four times to lower his average to .154. The slumping Weeks has had just one hit -- a home run -- in his last 27 at-bats. NOTES: Brewers SS Alex Gonzalez is scheduled to have surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on Thursday in Milwaukee. ... Houston pitching coach Doug Brocail turned 45 on Wednesday. ... Jackie Robinsons daughter Sharon Robinson was at Wednesday nights game to honour local seventh grader Aeliya Arif for winning second place in a national essay contest where students tell how theyve used Jackie Robinsons values to face obstacles. ... These teams wrap up this short, two-game series on Thursday when Houston lefthander J.A. Happ meets Milwaukees Shaun Marcum. cheap jerseys from china . -- Kyle Wiltjer had his first career double-double, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds in Kentuckys 88-50 win Saturday over Lipscomb. cheap nfl jerseys .J. Pollock and infielder Cody Ransom. Young, an NL All-Star in 2010, injured his right shoulder crashing into the padded wall in centre for a catch in the fourth inning Tuesday. An MRI confirmed he had a bruised right shoulder. http://www.wholesalejerseychinastore.com/ . Monfils will meet top-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4. Simon rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the final set, levelling at 4-4, but he dropped serve again to lose the all-French match. wholesale nfl jerseys . They had partnered for 12 seasons -- an eternity in this day and age for a franchise and a manager. They had won a lot of games together -- 998 to be exact -- and six division titles. wholesale jerseys . Wandy Rodriguez pitched six innings, and three relievers completed a three-hitter to help the unbeaten Dominican Republic top Puerto Rico 2-0 Saturday.NEW YORK -- Carmelo Anthony called it a statement game, and the message should be clear for the Chicago Bulls. If they do meet in the playoffs, the Bulls better finish off Anthony and the Knicks when they have the chance. Anthony scored 43 points, his most since coming to New York last February, and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds left in overtime as the Knicks spoiled the return to the lineup for a rusty Derrick Rose and beat the Bulls 100-99 on Sunday. Anthony tied it with a 3 late in regulation and scored the final five points of overtime in his signature performance since coming to New York last February. He only had the chance to pull it out because the Bulls missed four straight free throws in the final 34 seconds of regulation. "This was a playoff game. We have a chance, we might play these guys in the playoffs if we keep doing what were doing and get that seed, so this was a big statement game for us and we willed this one tonight," Anthony said. It had the look and sound of a playoff game in the tense final minutes at a frenzied Madison Square Garden. The loudest roars went to Anthony, who screamed "This is my house!" after the second 3-pointer in a place where he heard boos just last month. He said Sundays big basket was one of the best of his career. "This was one of the top," he said. "Overtime, Easter Sunday, everybodys watching, everybodys in the Garden, so this ranks as one of the top." The Bulls trailed by 21 in the first quarter, fought back to lead by 10 in the fourth, then lost for the third time in four games despite having their starting five together for only the 11th time this season. Their NBA-best record fell to 43-14. Rose scored 29 points after missing the previous 12 games with a strained right groin, but he shot only 8 of 26 from the field and missed a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left in regulation and the Bulls ahead by three. "Its tough. It was definitely tough," Rose said. "When you lose a game, especially for us, its tough. Its going to hurt us no matter who we lose to, but that team played great, man. They were knocking down shots. Didnt give up when we went up that big lead. They kept fighting." The Knicks increased their lead over Milwaukee to one game for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They travel to Chicago on Tuesday, visit Milwaukee on Wednesday, and close a difficult week by hosting Miami next Sunday. "I was proud of my teammates the way we stuck in there," centre Tyson Chandler said. "Thats a great team that we faced today. We knew they would battle back. You know, a lot of ups and downs in the game, but the one thing we did was keep our composure, kept believing in each other and we were able to will through to win." Iman Shumpert scored 15 points and JR Smith had 14 despite 6-of-22 shooting for the Knicks, still without the injured Amare Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin but with a sensational effort from Anthony, who made 16 of 31 shots. Chandler grabbed 16 rebounds. Carlos Boozer had 13 points and 16 boards for the Bulls, who fell to 9-2 with their regular starting five.ddddddddddddRose committed eight of Chicagos 20 turnovers. Rose had only seven points on 1-of-6 shooting in the first half, then scored 14 in the third quarter. After trailing the entire game, Chicago finally took its first lead in the final minute of the period, later going ahead 89-80 on Roses four-point play with 5:04 remaining in the fourth. The Knicks were down 10 before Smith made a 3-pointer -- his fourth basket in 21 attempts -- and Anthony scored four in a row to make it 91-88. Luol Deng missed two free throws with 34 seconds left, and after Steve Novaks potential tying 3-point attempt went all around the rim before coming out, Rose missed a pair from the line with 19 seconds to go. Anthony rushed up the floor and pulled up for a long 3 that tied it at 91 with 11 seconds remaining, and it went to overtime when Rose missed everything on a jumper. Chicago took a pair of four-point leads on baskets by Rose, but was shut out after his jumper with 2:51 remaining. Anthony gave the Knicks a 100-99 lead with 8.2 seconds remaining and the Bulls had trouble getting into their offence on the final possession, with Rose forced to shoot and miss a tough runner as time expired. Chicago hadnt had its regular five of Rose, Richard Hamilton, Boozer, Deng and Joakim Noah together since March 5 against Indiana. Hamilton left that game in the opening minutes with an injured right shoulder and only recently returned with his minutes closely monitored, and Rose was hurt a week later in a victory over the Knicks. Their lack of cohesion was obvious early. Chicago missed 11 of its first 12 shots and perhaps let the struggles affect its usual rock-solid defence. The Knicks started 12 of 16 from the floor, building a 27-6 lead when Shumpert converted a three-point play with 3:30 remaining in the period. "We should be able to overcome all of that stuff," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You just have to do the right things. We do the right things, youre not going to have those problems. Youre not going to have those turnovers. Simple plays: Protect the ball, keep the ball moving, quick decisions, hit the first open man, sustain your spacing, protect the ball, tuck it on the catch, fight for your space, get your space. Simple." The Bulls trailed 53-45 at even though Rose and Hamilton shot 2 of 11 and All-Star Deng was 3 of 10 while Anthony repeatedly beat him on his way to 22 points. NOTES: Lin said before the game he was feeling good after surgery on his left knee Monday but didnt think he could return in time for the first round of the playoffs. ... The Knicks hired former Knicks forward Larry Johnson as a basketball and business operations representative on Sunday. Johnson, who played with the Knicks from 1996-01 and converted a memorable four-point play in the 1999 Eastern Conference finals against Indiana, will focus on player development and be involved in numerous business initiatives. ... Jared Jeffries returned for the Knicks after missing eight games with a sore right knee. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '