— At last Joe Montana 49ers Jersey , a new face on the other side of the line.

The Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions conducted the first of two joint practices Tuesday in preparation for their preseason opener Friday at the Oakland Coliseum, allowing players on both teams to get a new perspective after practicing against teammates for the past two weeks.

“It was nice to see some new coverages, some different stuff,” Oakland quarterback Derek Carr said. “It was good for us. It’ll be good film. A lot of things happened today, good and bad things that we needed to have happen that we haven’t had happen in practice yet.”

The practice was conducted in a controlled environment after Raiders coach Jon Gruden met with first-year Detroit coach Matt Patricia in the offseason. The two friends mapped out the workouts well before the Lions arrived in Northern California.

Patricia said the joint practices offer an opportunity for rookies and young players from both teams to make an impression.

“For a lot of the young guys that haven’t stepped onto an NFL field with anyone except for their own teammates it certainly brings a different element from the standpoint of competitiveness and an evaluation standpoint,” Patricia said. “Even the veteran guys, it’s good to get out there and compete against somebody else. You kind of get into that rhythm and that mentality of going against the same guy every day.”

Unlike in previous years when the Raiders have held combined practices with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, there were no fights and only a few minor scuffles.

Oakland linebacker Tahir Whitehead was at the center of one after hitting a Lions player who was getting up after making a long catch near the end zone. Whitehead http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/saquon-barkley-jersey , who played six seasons in Detroit, including the last four as a starter, also exchanged good-natured ribbing with Lions running back Ameer Abdullah during a goal line drill near the end of practice.

“It was fun getting a chance to catch up with the guys even though we’re chirping and everything going back and forth,” Whitehead said. “When I was there we did the same exact thing. We were going back and forth. It’s all competitive and we’re just trying to get each other better. This time I’m in the black and silver and it’s just a different feel.”

The teams went through individual position drills on separate fields before coming together on both fields for team scrimmages.

Fans filled the east stands while members of the military and a handful of youth football teams sat on the west side, adding a livelier feel to practice.

“The fans made it even better,” Detroit running back Kerryon Johnson said. “Everybody’s tired of hitting each other for however many weeks we’ve been going against each other. It’s a new face, a new venue. It made it fun and it made it like a real game and we really enjoyed it.”

Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford looked crisp while leading the Lions’ first unit. At one point he completed a deep throw to Marvin Jones Jr. for a touchdown after Jones raced past Raiders cornerback Antonio Hamilton.

Carr was equally sharp but threw his first interception of training camp when he was picked off by Detroit’s Darius Slay.

“On a stupid scramble drill, too Jason Witten Jersey Elite ,” Carr said. “I was bummed.”

Notes: Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah made it through his second practice after coming off the physically unable to perform list earlier in the week. “There’s certainly some different things for him that we’re going to have to learn this year to be able to do,” Patricia said. “Just getting him on the field is one step closer.” . Raiders running back Chris Warren provided the play of the day when he leveled Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis and sent the former first-round draft pick flying back.

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Mired in the worst slump of his career, George Springer has been trying everything to break out of it.

His latest tactic came on Thursday night when he swiped reigning American League MVP Jose Altuve’s bat to use in the ninth inning.

The change worked, with Springer hitting an RBI single in Houston’s two-run rally that helped lift the Astros to a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.

”My bat wasn’t seeming to work, so I figured I would try somebody else’s bat so I went with the hit king. I went with (No.) 27,” he said of Altuve, who has led the AL in hits the last four seasons and is in first place this year. ”It’s mine now, but it has his name on it.”

The Astros trailed by 1 when Joakim Soria (0-3) walked pinch-hitter Tony Kemp with no outs in the ninth before advancing to third on a single by pinch-hitter Marwin Gonzalez. Springer snapped an 0 for 8 slump and tied it at 3-3 with his RBI single to shallow center field. It was a much-needed hit for the World Series MVP who has been struggling lately Odell Beckham Jr Jersey Youth , going 6 for 70 since June 15.

”I didn’t execute my pitches when I needed to,” Soria said.

Manager A.J. Hinch noted that Springer’s clutch hit was even more impressive considering the success Soria’s had against right-handers this season.

”Tough matchup for any right-handed hitter, especially if you’re carrying the weight of 65, 70 at-bats that players do when they go through what George has gone through,” Hinch said.

Alex Bregman walked to load the bases and Altuve struck out before Yuli Gurriel sent a ball over second baseman Yoan Moncada’s head into right field to start the celebration.

Altuve hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to help Houston to the victory.

Justin Verlander bounced back from his last start where he allowed nine hits and five runs – both season highs – in a loss to Tampa Bay with a solid outing. He yielded four hits and two runs and struck out 10 in seven innings.

Joe Smith (3-1) allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth for the win in his first appearance since June 6.

Omar Narvaez homered with two hits and Leury Garcia’s solo shot in the eighth inning put the White Sox up 3-2.

The score was tied at 2-all with one out in the eighth when Garcia sent a fastball from Chris Devenski into the bullpen in right-center to put the White Sox on top.

Chicago trailed 2-0 when Narvaez got Chicago within one with his solo homer to right field off Verlander to lead off the sixth. Moncada singled with two outs in the inning and Chicago tied it up when Yolmer Sanchez doubled to left field.

White Sox starter Carlos Rodon allowed five hits and two runs while tying a career-high with six walks in six innings.

Gurriel was on third base with one out in the eighth inning, but got caught in a rundown before Tyler White struck out to end the inning.

Rodon worked around singles by White and Jake Marisnick in the second inning and a pair of walks in the third. Houston couldn’t get anything going on offense until Bregman doubled with one out in the fifth inning and Altuve followed with his eighth homer of the season to make it 2-0.

Chicago’s Avisail Garcia went 0 for 4 with a strikeout to end his career-high 14-game hitting streak, which was the longest active streak in the majors.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Manager A.J. Hinch said SS Carlos Correa (back stiffness) is unlikely to come off the disabled list before Monday and he wouldn’t speculate on Thursday about whether he’ll return before the All-Star break. ”I don’t know how the next 11 days are going to go,” Hinch said. ”I know he’s probably not going to play this series. We’ll get to Monday and ask me again.”

White Sox: SS Tim Anderson left the game with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning after being plunked on the left forearm by Devenski in the top of the frame. He looked to be in quite a bit of pain Zack Martin Jersey Elite , but remained in the game and stole second base before leaving in the bottom of the inning. ”It’s always the next day, the after effects of a blow like that,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. ”We’ll re-evaluate him (Friday). He’s day-to-day until I know more.”

THEY SAID IT

Narvaez on homering off Verlander after going 0 for 5 in his career against the right-hander: ”I had three years facing him and I haven’t gotten any hits. It was kind of exciting.”

UP NEXT

Houston’s Lance McCullers (9-3, 3.55 ERA) opposes Chicago’s Reynaldo Lopez (4-5, 3.68) when the series continues on Friday night. McCullers allowed three hits in seven innings of a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay for his third straight win in his last start. Lopez yielded seven hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings of a 10-5 win over Texas his last time out.

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