four trials races to easily snag a spot on the mens World C

HOUSTON -- Right-hander Charlie Morton agreed to a contract with Houston on Wednesday, giving the Astros two of the best groundball pitchers in the majors.Morton accepted a $14 million, two-year deal that includes annual salaries of $7 million and performance bonuses of $625,000 apiece for 12, 20, 25 and 30 starts each season.Morton, who ranks second in the majors among active pitchers in career groundball to fly ball ratio (2.48), joins a staff that features last years American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel, a lefty who leads the league in that category (2.84).I think thats where the match comes, his ability to get the ball on the ground and our ability to position our fielders and get the outs on the ground, manager A.J. Hinch said. Were getting pretty good at that. So it seems like a perfect fit for us.Morton made just four starts last season for the Phillies before a torn left hamstring which required surgery ended his year. It was the fourth surgery Morton has had in recent years including Tommy John surgery in 2012. But he said Wednesday that hes healthy now and has thrown six bullpen sessions since recovering from his hamstring injury, including three where he threw more than 50 pitches.The 33-year-old Morton has spent his entire nine-year career in the National League where he played for the Braves, Pirates and Phillies.He doesnt think the transition to the AL will be that difficult.It doesnt really matter who youre facing, it doesnt really matter how lineups are structured, Morton said. If you make quality pitches and take care of ... one hitter at a time, at the end of the day youll look back and have done it right.Morton is 46-71 with a 4.54 ERA in his career. His best season came in 2011 when he pitched a career-high 171.2 innings in 29 starts and won a career-best 10 games.The Astros are trying to add depth to a rotation that was hit hard by injuries late last season, hurting its chase for a wild-card playoff spot.We saw last season with our rotation that depth matters and we had six starters for the whole year until we passed the trade deadline and then all of the sudden two of our starters go on the shelf and we were a little short-handed, general manager Jeff Luhnow said. We know it takes eight or nine starters to get through the year. We really love the quality of what Charlie brings in terms of his pitches and the effectiveness of that pitches and what hes been able to do.---AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report. Custom Seattle Mariners Nike Jerseys . 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Katie Uhlaender is headed back to World Cup skeleton racing for the first time in nearly three years.The three-time Olympian was formally named to this seasons U.S. national team on Thursday, after winning two of the four races in the team trials. Uhlaender earned one of two available spots on the womens World Cup team, with Kendall Wesenberg also being selected to join pre-qualified Annie OShea on the squad.I have my sights on the World Cup, Uhlaender said after the selection races ended in Park City, Utah. My goal has been to progress each week and not focus on things I cant control, but focus on mistakes I can improve on and each week get a little bit better. I still have a long ways to go.Uhlaenders last World Cup race was Jan. 24, 2014. This seasons schedule starts on the 2010 Olympic track in Whistler, Canada, on Dec. 2, then heads to Lake Placid, New York, two weeks later.My feeling on the sled is coming back, said Uhlaender, who was fourth at the 2014 Sochi Games and has needed 10 surgeries -- plus battled concussions -- throughout her injury-plagued career.OShea was fourth in the World Cup standings last season, good enough to lock her into a spot on this team without the pressure of having to qualify in the trials at Park City and Lake Pllacid.dddddddddddd She won a World Cup in Lake Placid and was second in Whistler last season.Reigning Olympic bronze medalist Matt Antoine won all four trials races to easily snag a spot on the mens World Cup team for the U.S., to be joined by Nathan Crumpton and Kyle Tress. Antoine was sixth in last years World Cup standings.Trials is a good way to start the season; it gets you into the racing mindset so when you go into the first World Cup race, youre not going through those first race jitters, Antoine said. It gets you set into a groove so youre ready when the tour starts.Crumpton had two top-10 finishes in six World Cup starts last season, and Tress -- a 2014 Olympian -- is returning to sliding after taking last season off.The U.S. also picked its teams for the Intercontinental Cup season, with Greg West, Stephen Garbett and Kyle Brown to represent the men and Savannah Graybill, Megan Henry and Veronica Day on the womens team. The ICC tour, one step below the World Cup level, has races in Austria, Germany, Canada and Lake Placid this season.The U.S. World Cup bobsled team will be announced Friday, also in Park City. ' ' '