OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Houston Astros remain in the thick of the AL wild-card race, thanks to a pair of big swings from Evan Gattis and a clutch throw by catcher Jason Castro.Gattis homered twice, Castro threw out a runner to end the game and the contending Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 6-5 on Wednesday to complete a sweep.Just trying to finish strong, said Gattis, speaking both of himself and the Astros. You dont want to limp out of the season. You kind of want to sprint, you know?Houston has been sprinting ever since a 1-6 stretch that ended Sept. 13.The Astros, who began the day two games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild-card spot, have won five of six since then.They had to sweat out their latest win after giving up an unearned run in the ninth.Oakland scored on second baseman Jose Altuves fielding error with two outs to pull within 6-5. Castro then threw out pinch runner Arismendy Alcantara trying to steal second, and the call was upheld on a replay review.I dont think (Alcantara) got his best jump on that one but thats what hes in there for and Castro made a good throw, As manager Bob Melvin said.Collin McHugh (12-10) won his fifth straight decision, allowing two runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings. Five relievers combined to record the final 10 outs, with former As setup man Luke Gregerson retiring three batters for his 15th save.We just need to beat the teams that we should beat, and I think this is one of them, Gregerson said. We need to keep winning, keep us in the wild card and hopefully keep getting bumped up.Gattis reached 30 homers. He hit a two-run drive in the sixth off Daniel Mengden (2-8) for a 4-1 lead and connected again in the eighth.Carlos Correa had two hits, including an RBI double, and Altuve singled twice and scored a run. Gattis homered for third time in three days to finish the three-game sweep.Really just trying to stay inside the ball and behind it instead of trying to come around, Gattis said. There are a lot more outs at the end of the bat.The Astros scored their first run without a hit in the fifth and added three more in the sixth.Altuve, the ALs leading hitter, had a one-out single and scored the go-ahead run on Correas double. Gattis followed with a home run.Gattis homer in the eighth was a towering shot that hit off the fa?ade underneath the luxury suites in center field.Danny Valencia singled and scored twice for the As. Oakland has lost the first three games on its final homestand after an impressive 6-1 road trip.MENGDEN WEARS DOWNMengden needed only 26 pitches to get through the first three innings and didnt give up a hit until Yuli Gurriels one-out single in the fourth before things quickly unraveled. He allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.SEPTEMBER STRONGMcHugh won for the third time in four starts this month and improved to 11-0 in September since 2014.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: OF Colby Rasmus missed his third straight game because of a lot of different physical issues, according to manager A.J. Hinch. Rasmus missed 23 games earlier this season after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst in his right ear. ... Preston Tucker was scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday and the team is confident the outfielder will be healed in time for spring training.Athletics: OF Khris Davis missed his second straight game after being a late scratch Tuesday because of an illness. ... Reliever J.B. Wendelken will seek a second opinion on his right elbow but Melvin indicated its likely Wendelken will undergo Tommy John surgery.UP NEXTAstros: RHP Mike Fiers (11-7) faces the Angels in Anaheim on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series. Fiers has a 4.06 ERA over his previous 19 starts.Athletics: Kendall Graveman (10-10) starts against Texas on Friday at the Coliseum. The right-hander is winless since Aug. 24.Qadree Ollison Jersey . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Julio Jones Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. http://www.falconsrookiestore.com/Falcons-Steve-Bartkowski-Jersey/ . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Brett Favre Jersey .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Takkarist McKinley Falcons Jersey . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season.SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah State and Weber State will play in the first college football game broadcast live on Twitter when the two programs begin the season Thursday.The Mountain West Conference announced the broadcast Tuesday.The game Saturday between Abilene Christian and Air Force will also be streamed live on Twitter.Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said they hope to expand the conferences digital footprint with the Twitter broadcasts.The social media network is attemptinng to move into live sports streaming through over-the-top broadcasts, which do not require a cable subscription.dddddddddddd. In April, Twitter reached a deal with the NFL to stream 10 Thursday Night Football games this fall.Twitter announced last week it will live stream for free one Major League Baseball game and one NHL game per week under a new deal. ' ' '