With veteran players. Whree months before the May draft. ' ' '

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nick Tepesch and Robbie Ross helped the Texas Rangers hold off the Seattle Mariners. Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday. Ross, back in the bullpen after an unsuccessful stint in the rotation, bailed Tepesch out of a seventh-inning jam. Neal Cotts, whose ERA has ballooned from 1.11 in 2013 to 4.34 this season, had a strong eighth. Joakim Soria, back in a closers role this year for the first time since 2011, pitched a perfect ninth inning for his eighth save in eight opportunities. The Rangers offence had three first-inning runs and Shin-Soo Choos leadoff home run in the bottom of the fifth that broke a 3-3 tie. Choos fifth homer went into the bullpen in left-centre. "Two strikes, I was in a rough spot. I think about more (getting) on base," he said. "Got a home run that got up in that gust a little bit, thats it," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Its a tough ballpark to pitch in, but I thought (Chris Young) did a pretty darn good job for us. Texas turned two double plays. The second was on Ross second pitch after entering the game with one out and runners on first and second for the Mariners. Pinch hitter Stefen Romero grounded to Adrian Beltre, who stepped on third base and threw to first to complete the inning-ending double play. "I was thinking, Gosh, here we go! Im in a situation where I like to be. I was pretty amped," Ross said. "I wanted to be out of that inning without those runs scoring." Tepesch (1-0) allowed five hits and two walks in 6 1-3 innings for his first win since defeating Houston 10-5 on July 5, 2013. The second-year pitcher threw a career-high 112 pitches. It was his second start this season for the Rangers after being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock, where he was 6-1. Texas manager Ron Washington has noticed a difference. "He has an out pitch right now. Hes got that slider working, and hes able to locate his sinker. With that going on and commanding the baseball, I think theres the difference right there." Washington visited Tepesch on the mound with one out in the seventh and Dustin Ackley coming up. Tepesch assured the manager he was OK. Then he walked both Ackley and John Buck. "I just wanted to know how he was feeling," Washington said. "Did he think he had enough to get this lefty up there? Because I had a lefty ready. The look in his eyes, he convinced me, and I had to end up getting Robbie to bail me out." After that, it was Cotts striking out Robinson Cano, who had homered earlier, and Seager, who entered the game with a .358 average in Arlington, with a runner on second base in the eighth. Against former Rangers right-hander Chris Young (3-2), Daniel Robertson led off the first with a walk and scored on Elvis Andrus homer. Alex Rios singled home the third run. Seattle tied it in the fourth. James Jones tripled and scored on Michael Saunders single. Cano then hit his two-run homer. Center fielder Michael Choice ran back to attempt a catch, but his glove hit the wall as the ball barely cleared it. Seattle had only one baserunner against Tepesch in the first three innings: Seager on a leadoff single in the second. He was erased in an unusual 4-5-3 double play. With Texas defence shifted to the right, Smoak grounded to second baseman Luis Sardinas, who threw to Beltre covering second. Beltres relay throw to first beat Smoak. Young gave up seven hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings. "You have those games where if you can limit the damage early, you feel like youll pitch a good game, and I gave up one too many in the first," Young said. NOTES: Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder (neck) missed a fourth consecutive game, and centre fielder Leonys Martin (stiff neck) was not in the starting lineup for the second game in a row. Martin entered the game as a defensive replacement in the ninth. ... The teams split the two-game series. Wade Boggs Jersey . Luis Enrique signed the deal with club president Josep Bartomeu two days after it was announced by the club. That was two days after coach Gerardo Martino stepped down when Barcelona finished its first season without a major trophy in six years. Wholesale Rays Jerseys .A. Happs hold on a spot in the Blue Jays starting rotation is in question. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/566i-eri...ersey-rays.html. Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Fake Rays Jerseys . "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. Tommy Pham Jersey . The underachieving franchise finished 17th in the 19-team league with a 6-17-11 record this season. "Our soccer team is absolutely in complete disarray," said Leiweke, drawing laughs during an Empire Club luncheon speech about the future of MLSE teams and plans to improve them.IRVING, Texas -- Michael Sams second chance will be with the Dallas Cowboys. Coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday the leagues first openly gay player has been added to the practice squad. The Cowboys, who are seeking help with their pass rush because of injuries and the off-season release of franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware, added Sam four days after he was released by St. Louis when teams had to cut rosters to 53 players. Sam isnt likely to be on the active roster for Sundays opener against San Francisco. Garrett said the move was "about football" and deflected any questions about the impact of bringing in Sam or how it might affect the locker room. "Thats your decision what question you want to ask," Garrett told a larger-than-usual crowd at his daily news conference. "Were focused on football. Thats where our attention is, and what people say outside this organization is really up to them." Any team can sign Sam off the Cowboys practice squad, but would have to put him on the 53-man roster for a minimum of four weeks. Sams CFL rights are owned by the Montreal Alouettes, who placed the former Missouri star on their negotiation list, giving them exclusive negotiating rights to the defensive lineman should he wish to play football in Canada. Being on the Dallas roster means Sam is returning to his home state. He was a lightly regarded recruit out of Hitchcock, Texas, a town of about 7,000 along the Gulf Coast about 65 kilometres southeast of Houston. His first two years at Missouri, Sam backed up Aldon Smith and Jacquies Smith, both of whom are in the NFL. The Cowboys didnt have Sam on their draft board, with owner Jerry Jones saying his size and skill set had him caught between defensive end and outside linebacker. Dallas passed on him with three of five seventh-round picks before the Rams got him at No.dddddddddddd 249 out of 256 selections. But Dallas heads into the opener with serious questions about its defensive line after giving up the most yards in the NFL last year -- and third-most in league history. Defensive end George Selvie, who might miss the opener with a shoulder injury, is the only Dallas lineman who had more than two sacks last year. Tackle Terrell McClain, one of the key free agent signings, is likely out with a sprained ankle. The other major free agent pickup, tackle Henry Melton, missed all the preseason games with a groin injury. He hasnt played since tearing a knee ligament with Chicago in Week 3 last year. Rookie DeMarcus Lawrence, who was drafted in the second round with the hope that he could at least partially fill Wares void, cant play until after the eighth game. Hes on short-term injured reserve with a broken right foot. "Its well-documented the guys we had here last year are no longer with us," Garrett said. "So we want to make sure we are giving ourselves the best chance with young players. With veteran players. With guys who are with us. With guys who are on other teams to come help us be as good as we can be on the defensive line." Sam, the SEC defensive player of the year with 11 1/2 sacks at Missouri last season, couldnt crack a St. Louis roster that was stocked with proven pass rushers. But he also lost out to Ethan Westbrooks, the Rams top target among undrafted rookies. Sam had three sacks, one more than Westbrook. But most of the preseason, he was playing with the second- and third-stringers. Westbrooks was the Division II defensive player of the year when he had 19 1-2 sacks for West Texas A&M. After coming out as gay to his Missouri teammates before his senior season, Sam told the rest of the world about three months before the May draft. ' ' '