CLEVELAND - In two seasons, Terry Francona helped turn the Cleveland Indians back into contenders.Hell get more time to make them champions.Francona and the Indians agreed Tuesday to a two-year contract extension, a deal which carries through the 2018 season and includes team options for 2019 and 2020.Financial terms of the extension were not immediately known.Francona has been worth every penny since the Indians hired him following a disastrous, 94-loss season in 2012. Hes helped reshape the teams culture, infused enthusiasm into the organization and made Cleveland a more attractive destination for free agents. Players want to play for Francona.As excited as we were on the day we hired him, were even more excited today, having the benefit of working alongside him for the last two years, said general manager Chris Antonetti, who believes Francona can help sell the Indians to free agents. If you survey the player community, Tito is as well regarded as any manager for the environment he creates in the clubhouse and how much players enjoy and respect playing for him.The Indians approached Francona about the extension late last season, and it didnt take the sides long to reach an agreement.I always wanted to be part of the solution, Francona said. I just didnt want to come for a few years and move on. That was never my goal. I wanted to come and stay.The Indians have gone 177-147 under Francona, who won two World Series titles with the Boston Red Sox. The Indians went 92-70 in Franconas first season, winning a wild-card spot and making the post-season for the first time since 2007. He was named AL manager of the year.Francona may have actually done a better job in 2014.Despite injuries, trades, a leaky defence and sub-par seasons from several key players, Francona kept the Indians in the wild-card race. He was forced at times to play several rookies, but Francona was able to mix and match lineups and he got the most out of his bullpen.The Indians finished 85-77 and dropped to third in the AL Central. However, Francona had the Indians close until the final weekend and the club finished with consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2000-01.I think the job he did this past season was equally as good, if not better than the job he did in 2013, Antonetti said. I think that consistency in the way he approaches each day allows him to be able to maintain that success year after year.Since 2004, Franconas teams have posted 10 consecutive winning seasons. Francona has endeared himself to his players with his openness and honesty, and the man known as Tito has become popular with Cleveland fans.Franconas extension coincides with the Indians locking up several young players to long-term deals. Over the past year, the club has signed All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley, second baseman Jason Kipnis and catcher Yan Gomes to multi-year contracts, giving Francona a strong nucleus of players to build around.Were not the finished product and we know it, Francona said. Were not sitting here patting ourselves on the back. But from where we were when I first came on board to where we are now, were getting better. We still want to get a lot better, but were going in the right direction and we have some players — a core group of guys who are not only good players but exceptional people and that bodes well for us.Francona said the negotiation with Antonetti was pretty simple, once they got past an early hurdle.Chris asked me to send him a contract proposal, Francona said. I thought about it for a couple days and I emailed him and I said, Chris, before I can send you a proposal, you need to write me and tell me what Im making now because I didnt know. On one hand, thats not terribly intelligent on my part. On the other hand, I think it shows that once I sign a contract Im comfortable, I dont look back.And thats where I wanted to be with this one, too. I told him, Chris this is sort of a funny way of saying, once I sign it, I dont really care anymore. I want to do baseball.Francona has won at least 90 games seven times and managed in the playoff six times.Francona has a career record of 1,206-1,062. Hes fourth among active managers in career wins behind San Franciscos Bruce Bochy (1,618), the Los Angeles Angels Mike Scioscia (1,331) and Baltimores Buck Showalter (1,259). Wholesale Shoes Black Friday . So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . 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Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation.HOUSTON -- Houston manager Bo Porter knows that many question why he keeps penciling Chris Carter into the lineup game after game when the designated hitter is batting below .200. Carter illustrated perfectly Wednesday night why Porter sticks with him. Carter homered twice, Dallas Keuchel pitched eight strong innings and the Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1. Carters first solo home run made it 3-1 in the fourth inning, and he added an opposite-field shot in the seventh. It was the fifth career multihomer game for Carter and second this year. The slugger has struggled this season and is batting just .199, but his power is undeniable and hes tied for the team lead with 12 homers. "Hes been up and down this year," Porter said. "The power numbers are there. The batting average is not there, but at the same time hes had some big hits and tonight is a step in a huge direction to him getting going." Carter led the Astros with 29 homers and 82 RBIs last year in his first full season in the majors. He feels less pressure at the plate now that the lineup has been beefed up with the addition of rookies Jon Singleton and George Springer. "Its nice to have guys like that where you dont feel like youre the only guy in the lineup where you have to do everything or everyone is looking to you to get a home run or something," Carter said. Keuchel (8-3) won for the sixth time in seven starts. He allowed four hits and a run, striking out five and lowering his ERA to 2.38. Even though the game is more than a month away, Porter was already stumping for Keuchel to get the All-Star call. "You look at the season Dallas Keuchel has put together to this point and if hes not an All-Star, what is? He continues to impress," Porter said. "Its a joy to watch." Brandon McCarthy (1-9) allowed eight hits and four runs in six-plus innings to remain winless since May 3. "I wasnt sharp from the get-go, but I thought I did a good job to get as deep as I could," McCarthy said. "The seventh inning thhere.ddddddddddddThe home run hurts and the guys getting on after that hurts and kind of spoils everything." Aaron Hill homered in the fourth for Arizonas only extra-base hit. Springer had two hits and an RBI and Singleton drove in a run as the Astros won for the fifth time in seven games. McCarthy has had success in Houston in the past and entered the game 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in his career at Minute Maid Park. But the Astros got going against him early, with Springer singling in the first, Singleton drawing a walk and Jason Castro grounding an RBI single. Singleton was thrown out at third on the play. Jonathan Villar singled to start Houstons third before a one-out single by Springer. Both players advanced on a wild pitch by McCarthy before Villar scored on a groundout by Singleton to make it 2-0. The Diamondbacks didnt get a hit until Hill led off the fourth with his homer to the Crawford Boxes in left field to cut the lead to 2-1. Paul Goldschmidt singled after Hills homer, but Keuchel got back on track after that and retired 13 of his next 14 batters. The only hit in that span came on a single by Chris Owings with one out in the sixth inning. Ender Inciarte singled with two outs in the Arizona eighth, but Keuchel retired Owings to end the inning and Keuchels night. Springer drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. NOTES: The series wraps up on Thursday when Arizonas Wade Miley opposes Scott Feldman. ... Houston 2B Jose Altuve missed his first game of the season because of soreness in his oblique muscle. Porter said Altuve didnt want to take the day off and tried to convince him to let him play. ... Diamondbacks OF Gerardo Parra was out of the lineup for a scheduled day off. ... The Astros signed several players taken in last weeks draft. They signed second round pick 1B A.J. Reed, RHP Ryan Thompson (23rd round), RHP Vince Wheeland (24th round), LHP Zach Davis (25th round), INF Mott Hyde (26th round), RHP Brandon McNitt (27th round) and RHP Keegan Yuhl (35th round). ' ' '