Willkommen » and I look forward to seeing how he does that.---Follow

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Oakland Athletics have more wins against Yu Darvish than any other major league team, and Coco Crisp quickly put them ahead again with a homer on the second pitch of the game.Jake Smolinski also went deep, but that was all the As got and they lost to Darvish for the first time since their first meeting against the right-hander from Japan more than four years ago.Darvish struck out nine and walked one pitching into the eighth, and the AL-best Rangers won 6-2 on Wednesday night.They just got bigger hits than we did, As manager Bob Melvin said. We had a couple of opportunities where we could have extended our lead early or gotten closer after they took the lead. Then they got big hits when they needed to.Oakland had gone 8-0 in its previous 10 games against Darvish, whose only win over the As had been the first time they faced him on May 16, 2012, only his eighth game in the majors after the previous seven seasons in Japan. No other MLB team has more than three wins against him.Its a different lineup. But like me, I change, too, Darvish said through his interpreter. I feel just fortunate that I got a win.Darvish (4-3) had a demonstrative show of emotion, pumping his fist and letting out a shout, after striking out Crisp to end the seventh inning. Darvish came back for the eighth, but was pulled after Danny Valencias leadoff double.Crisp struck out three times after homering on the second pitch of the game. Smolinski went deep leading off the fifth.All-Star center fielder Ian Desmond and recently acquired Jonathan Lucroy each had three RBI as the AL-best Rangers completed a three-game series sweep.The As (52-69) have lost five straight and are a season-high 17 games under .500 -- and 19 1/2 games behind Texas in the AL West.Desmond had a two-run single in the fifth for a 3-2 lead against rookie lefty Sean Manaea (4-8), and put the Rangers ahead to stay.Manaea, 1-4 in his nine starts since the end of June, gave up four runs and nine hits over six innings, He struck out five without a walk.It just wasnt there today I guess. It just wasnt there. Just make better pitches, Manaea said. Its pretty frustrating but theres nothing I can do about it now. I just have to move on.Texas added three runs in the seventh, on an RBI single by Desmond before Lucroys two-run double.TAKE 4 ADRIANWith first base empty and two outs in the seventh, the Athletics opted to intentionally walk Adrian Beltre to load the bases for the second straight game. Lucroy followed with his two-run double Tuesday. In the 10th inning on Tuesday night, Rougned Odor was hit by the very next pitch after Beltre was walked, forcing in the winning run for the Rangers in a 5-4 victory.SHORT HOPSThe As have lost eight of their last nine road games. ... Lucroys homer in the fourth was his seventh in 15 games since being traded to Texas from Milwaukee on Aug. 1, and his career-high 20th overall for the season.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: INF Tyler Ladendorf was put on the 15-day DL with a sprained left wrist. He is the 26th Oakland player to go on the DL this season, a franchise record. ... RHP Jesse Hahn (strained right shoulder) threw 75 pitches in a rehab start and could start for the As on Sunday, a day after he is eligible to come off the DL.UP NEXTThe Athletics and Rangers have the day off Thursday, the first for both since Aug. 1. Oakland opens a three-game series Friday at the Chicago White Sox, and Texas plays at Tampa Bay.Joe Mauer Twins Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Twins Jerseys China . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. https://www.cheaptwins.com/2172t-david-ortiz-jersey-twins.html . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Kohl Stewart Jersey . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Jose Berrios Jersey . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season.RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina States Matt Dayes is back from injury and determined to be the programs first 1,000-yard rusher in more than a decade. And hes got plenty of help, too, in a backfield that will carry a big load this season for the Wolfpack.N.C. State opens the season Thursday against William & Mary of the Championship Subdivision with a pair of inexperienced quarterbacks. And that could cause first-year coordinator Eli Drinkwitz to lean heavily on that backfield, which has plenty of options from Dayes to do-everything threat Jaylen Samuels.I think its going to be a huge weapon, Samuels said. With all the running backs weve got . weve just got a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things. Its going to put a lot on defenses with all our motions and shifts, just getting their eyes in the right place.Dayes had run for 865 yards and 12 touchdowns with five 100-yard games before suffering a foot injury that sidelined him for the final five games. The senior was limited in the spring while rehabbing the injury after surgery. He said he had some soreness early on in preseason camp but is 100 percent.Hes trying to become the first N.C. State rusher to crack 1,000 yards since T.A. McLendon in 2002.I want to pass 1,000 because I know I can get 1,000, Dayes said. I know I have a great group of O-linemen that are going to help me do that. Im not even worried about that right now because I know its going to come. Im just trying to do what I can do for the team at this moment.ddddddddddddehind Dayes on the depth chart is redshirt junior Dakwa Nichols and sophomore Reggie Gallaspy II, who played well against Syracuse and North Carolina after Dayes injury. Theres also redshirt freshman Johnny Frasier, a former four-star instate recruit who first committed to Florida State before flipping to N.C. State.Throw in Samuels -- who had a combined 16 rushing and receiving scores, and the Wolfpack will have no shortage of options.As for Drinkwitz, hes proven hes willing to run the ball.He was co-coordinator at Arkansas State in 2013, helping direct a Red Wolves offense that averaged nearly 45 rushing attempts and 206 yards per game.Drinkwitz served as Boise States offensive coordinator last year. The Broncos averaged about 191 yards rushing last year, ending the year with 277 yards and four scores on 56 attempts in a blowout win against Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl.Elis got a challenge in front of him like all offensive coordinators do in the first year of putting the pieces together, fourth-year head coach Dave Doeren said. The nice thing for him is hes got some weapons around him to use and I look forward to seeing how he does that.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap and the APs college football site at http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '