WASHINGTON -- After getting pummeled by Washington in two straight games, the Texas Rangers were eager to stop the Nationals seemingly interminable parade around the bases.
Jakub Voracek Jersey . Yu Darvish gave the Rangers just what they needed to avert a humbling sweep. Darvish struck out 12 over eight innings, Leonys Martin broke open a scoreless duel with a homer in the seventh and Texas secured a 2-0 victory Sunday. The Rangers won despite losing an apparent run in a rare double challenge on the same play. Managers Ron Washington of Texas and Matt Williams lodged separate complaints after a double steal in the first inning. Pitching for the first time since May 22 after missing his last turn with a stiff neck, Darvish (5-2) gave up five hits and walked two in dropping his ERA to 2.08. The right-hander matched his season high in strikeouts and overpowered a club that won 9-2 on Friday and 10-2 Saturday. "That team for two days just swung the bats at will, threw the ball around the ballpark, out of the ballpark," Washington said. "We certainly needed to try to slow them down, and (Darvish) did that. He slowed them down. Yu was good today. He was very good. When the team needed him to be very good, he was." Joakim Soria worked a perfect ninth to earn his 11th save and seal Texas major league-leading 11th shutout. Darvish struck out the side in the second and fanned two in each of the next three innings before encountering trouble in the sixth. One-out singles by Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche put runners at first and third before Darvish struck out Wilson Ramos and retired Ian Desmond on a deep fly to right field. Darvish yielded a two-out walk in the seventh and left after a 1-2-3 eighth. "We just needed Yu to pitch well," Washington said, "and he pitched well." Darvish was worried that neck stiffness might be a problem, but it obviously didnt turn out to be an issue. "Last night before I went to bed, I was very scared to wake up with a neck injury so I probably woke up 20 times," he said through a translator. "But I didnt have any pain when I woke up this morning." Darvish got the only run he needed when Martin hit an 0-1 pitch from Tanner Roark (3-4) into the Washington bullpen beyond the right-field wall. It was his third home run in 183 at-bats this season and ended the Rangers run of homerless games at six. Roark allowed only one run and seven hits in seven innings but lost his third straight start. "He made one mistake to Martin, a changeup that was up in the strike zone," Williams said. "Other than that, he matched him perfectly." Roark has lost three straight starts but owns a 3.25 ERA and has allowed only eight earned runs over his last 32 2-3 innings. In this one, he kept the Rangers at bay until Martin connected. "It was just a bad changeup. It was up and I didnt throw it with conviction," Roark said. "Thats how its been the past couple games, just one pitch." Donnie Murphy added an RBI single off Drew Storen in the eighth. Murphy had a season-high three hits and was flawless in his first career game at first base. "Hes a pro," Washington said of Murphy. "Every time he goes out there he does something for us." In the first inning, both managers talked to the umpires. With two outs and runners on the corners, Elvis Andrus and Alex Rios executed a double steal. Rios was called out for coming off second base after the steal, but umpires ruled Andrus crossed the plate before the tag. The Texas manager challenged the call at second and Williams insisted the out occurred before Andrus crossed the plate. After replays were reviewed over a span of 2 minutes, 45 seconds, Texas lost its challenge and the Nationals assertion was confirmed. "I might have reacted too soon," Washington acknowledged. "I should have waited until the first inning was over and I would have had my challenge. I was just trying to protect myself." In the bottom half, Ramos looked at a third strike with two outs and runners at first and third. It was the first of five straight strikeouts for Darvish. NOTES: Rangers LF Michael Choice was scratched from the starting lineup with a bruised left shin. ... Both teams are off Monday. Washington hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday night and the Rangers face visiting Baltimore. ... Denard Span got his eighth steal in the third inning, Washingtons 27th this season. Only five Nats have been caught stealing. ... Texas finished its 11-game road trip with a 7-4 record and ended a four-game road losing streak against NL foes. ... Washington fell to 4-26 when scoring fewer than four runs.
Nolan Patrick Jersey . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing.
Nolan Patrick Flyers Jersey . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal.MILWAUKEE - The Bucks made their coach proud with the way they moved the ball against the Detroit Pistons.With a season-high 33 assists on 41 baskets, former All-Star point guard Jason Kidd loved the way that Milwaukee got open looks in a 101-86 victory on Saturday night.You know guys turned down a good shot to get a better shot for a teammate, Kidd said. Make or miss thats what good teams do.O.J. Mayo scored 20 points and Khris Middleton had 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a rare easy victory.The Bucks went 11 for 17 from 3-point range, including a 4-for-5 performance from Mayo. The reserve guard made three 3s in a 47-second span of the second quarter to spark an 18-2 run that gave Milwaukee a 54-40 lead with 4:27 left in the second quarter.Milwaukee also opened the second half with a 17-2 run. The Bucks played a near-flawless game in the second and third quarters before letting up in the fourth, allowing the Pistons to cut 30-point lead in half.I thought for three quarters the pace was good. That fourth quarter was awful, Kidd said.At least the Bucks go into Sunday nights tough road game at San Antonio with a confidence boost.The Pistons will be without guard Brandon Jennings when they take on the Raptors in Toronto on Sunday night. He scored 16 points before leaving late in the third with a lower left leg injury.The Pistons said Jennings would undergo further evaluation after the guard needed help getting to the locker room. Jennings was on the floor in pain for several seconds after planting off his left leg while guarding an inbounds pass.It doesnt look good, coach Stan Van Gundy said. It is a major, major loss.The Pistons have lost two straight on the road after tying a franchise record with seven straight wins away from Detroit.It wouldnt matter if we had Brandon or not, Van Gundy said. If we are going to pllay like that, we are not beating anybody.
Samuel Morin Jersey. REPLACING JENNINGSJennings got hurt while playing against the team that drafted him in the first round in 2009. Van Gundy said D.J. Augustin will have to play a bigger role with Jennings out for the forseeable future.It is always a scary situation, especially when you are talking about a non-contact foul, teammate Greg Monroe said.POWERING UPThe game was essentially over when the Pistons fell flat coming out at halftime.Mayos hot shooting in the second quarter helped give the Bucks to their big cushion. He hit a straightaway 3 before getting another 3 on a fall-away jumper from the left corner.Each time he hit a shot, the public address announcer would yell Mayos nickname, Juice!He has come in plenty of games and just gave us a big scoring lift, a lot of energy, guard Brandon Knight said in describing Mayos play this season. When youve got somebody that can do that and keep it rolling and keep the energy up, thats big time.Anthony Tolliver was then whistled for stepping on the end line on the next inbounds play for a turnover. Mayo hit another 3 to give Milwaukee a 14-point lead.The Pistons shot 36 per cent (31 of 86) for the night.TIP-INSPistons: Monroe matched his season average of 10 rebounds per game by halftime. He finished with 16 boards in 28 minutes. ... Jennings had four assists after dishing out a career-high and NBA season-high 21 on Wednesday against the Magic.Bucks: Knight, who was traded from Detroit for Jennings before the 2013-14 season, finished with 14 points. ... The Bucks welcomed former player Vin Baker back to the Bradley Center. Baker, the eighth-overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, averaged 18.3 points and 9.5 rebounds in four seasons with Milwaukee.UP NEXTPistons: Visit Toronto on Sunday night.Bucks: Visit San Antonio on Sunday night. ' ' '