Vorstellung » twin hundreds in Delhi, and now, a

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Colby Lewis has been a successful postseason pitcher for the Rangers, and the veteran right-hander is trying to get back on track with Texas closing in on another AL West title.Lewis struggled at times with his control, including three of his five walks in the same inning, and the Rangers lost 5-2 Sunday to the Oakland Athletics in only his second start since a two-month stay on the disabled list.I just didnt make pitches. ... I felt great, Lewis said. Its on me. I want to use a word I shouldnt use on camera. Its junk. Yeah, the sixth inning was junk.With two weeks left in the regular season, the magic number for the AL-leading Rangers (88-62) to clinch the division title remained at five games. They lead second-place Seattle by 8 1/2 games in the AL West.Khris Davis homered twice for the As, giving him 40 for the season -- 10 of them in 15 games against the Rangers.Lewis (6-3) gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and five walks over 92 pitches (48 strikes). But the 36-year-old pitcher got through the outing with no apparent issues after missing so much time with a strained right lat.I feel confident that Colbys healthy, and I feel confident that hes going to get things locked in and be a quality pitcher for us, manager Jeff Banister said.Ross Detwiler (2-3) went 5 1/3 innings and limited the Rangers to two runs after going 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA in his previous six games for the As. Ryan Dull pitched the ninth for his third save in five chances.Davis lined a solo shot to left field in the fourth to match Oaklands single-season team record for homers against the Rangers (Reggie Jacksons nine in 1974). Davis broke that mark when he went the opposite way in the eighth, a two-run shot to right off Keone Kela that also pushed his RBI total to 99.Davis is the first As player to hit 40 homers since Jason Giambi had 43 in 2000.Its pretty cool. Im proud of myself, Davis said. At the same time, weve still got a couple more weeks. I dont know why 45 is out of the question.Texas got its runs with four consecutive hits off Detwiler with one out in the third. Delino DeShields had an RBI single and scored when Ian Desmond hit a sharp grounder that ricocheted of Detwilers knee into foul territory.It was the 17th start overall this season for Lewis, who is 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA in eight postseason starts for the Rangers, including Game 6 of the 2010 AL Championship Series that clinched the franchises first World Series berth.Lewis had three walks in the sixth, the last to Marcus Semien with the bases loaded to force in a run and tie the game at 2. The As went ahead when Renato Nunez greeted reliever Alex Claudio with a fielders choice grounder that drove in a run.That loss, its definitely on my back. I take full responsibility for it, Lewis said. If I did my job were having a different conversation.SUCCESSFUL TRIPWhile already guaranteed consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 2007-09, the As (66-83) won two of three in Texas to wrap up a 6-1 road trip in which they scored 65 runs. The only loss was when Texas scored twice with two outs in the ninth inning Friday night.QUICK RUNNER VS LEWISWhen Lewis last faced Oakland on June 16, he retired the games first 23 batters before a two-out walk in the eighth, and didnt give up a hit until a leadoff double in the ninth. On Sunday, Joey Wendle reached with bunt single on the games first pitch, and Lewis then walked Danny Valencia before striking out the next three batters to get out of the first inning without giving up a run. Lewis made only one more start after that June start against the As before going on the DL.NOTHING DEEPThe Rangers streak of 18 consecutive games with a homer, the third-longest in team history, ended.UP NEXTAthletics: Oakland starts its final homestand of the season on Monday night against Houston.Rangers: Texas stays home with lefty Martin Perez (10-10), who has a 1.96 ERA his past three starts, starting the opener of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. Hirving Lozano Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Alfredo Talavera Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. http://www.soccermexicojerseysteamstore.com/hugo-ayala-mexico-jersey/ . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Marco Fabian Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Hector Moreno Jersey . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. In the 137 minutes Ajinkya Rahane spent at the crease in Indias second innings in St Lucia, the most memorable moment possibly came when he was at the non-strikers end. Ravindra Jadeja was on strike, and he dabbed Jason Holder towards gully. The ball went straight to the fielder, a fielder in a nominally catching position, and Rahane, already halfway down the pitch, screamed at Jadeja to start running. By the time the fielder worked out what was happening, Rahane had reached the danger end and Jadeja was safely on his way in the other direction. It was a moment straight out of street cricket, all hustle and opportunism. On the fifth morning in St Lucia, India had to play street cricket in their charge towards a declaration, with West Indies spreading their field and a slow outfield keeping boundaries down but presenting opportunities for the stolen second or third run. With Rahane in the middle, India ran 11 twos and two threes in nine helter-skelter overs, adding 60 to their overnight total.When India declared, Rahane was batting on 78. He had scored his runs at a strike rate of 67.24 despite hitting only two fours and no sixes. Not for the first time in his career, he had simply reached for his gearshift and found the appropriate gear.In the first innings of the same Test, he had scored 35 off 133 balls, defending resolutely through a difficult session-and-a-half when India lost a heap of top-order wickets. He had seemed set for a big score when he was out to a rare error of judgment, seeking to sweep an offspinner bowling stump-to-stump.As every batsman tries to do, Rahane was simply playing the way the respective situations demanded. But with most batsmen, its easy to tell when they are playing out of character. Its not so straightforward with Rahane. He looked as much at home blunting West Indies bowlers in the first innings as he did milking them in the second. It was hard to say which innings was closer to his natural game. It has been hard to pinpoint his natural game right through his career.Its hardly a rigorous use of statistics, but the strike rates at which Rahane has scored his seven Test hundreds point to his versatility: he has made two hundreds at strike rates in the 40s, two in the 50s, and one each in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Add his 1103-ball 98 in Fatullah, and he has a near-hundred with a strike rate of 95 as well.ddddddddddddSuch versatility brings to mind Michael Hussey, who played a similar role for Australia in Test cricket. This is partly because, playing in an Indian team that has won most of its recent Tests, Rahane has had the opportunity to play both kinds of Hussey-style innings. He has had opportunities to drag his team out of tricky spots - as he did against South Africa in the first innings in Delhi, turning 139 for 6 into a total of 334 - as well as to set up declarations. The last six times India have declared in Test cricket, Rahane has been at the crease three times, and on one other occasion was dismissed 2.1 overs before Virat Kohli called his batsmen in.Quietly, through this period, Rahane has become the highest-averaging batsman in Indias Test squad. After the first three Tests of the series against South Africa, his average had slipped below 40. Then came the twin hundreds in Delhi, and now, a series of understated accomplishment in the West Indies. By the end of the St Lucia Test, he was on the cusp of two milestones in his Test career: he had scored 1862 runs, and his average stood at exactly 49.00.By a quirk of mathematics, 50 and 2000 could happen at the same time. It could happen in the fourth Test in Port-of-Spain, if he scores the remaining 138 runs there. If he is only out once, he will only need 88 to lift his average to 50, and if he isnt dismissed at all, 38 will do.Rahane doesnt need his average to affirm the quality he has proved across all conditions, and seeing it tick past 50 probably isnt his most urgent priority at this stage of his career. But if and when it happens, Indian cricket fans will cherish the moment.For most of the 2000s, Indias Test line-up contained three batsmen with 50-plus averages. By the time his career ended, Virender Sehwags had slipped to 49.43. And so, the 50-plus average club, with the qualification of 2000 runs, contains only three Indian batsmen. You know their names, and in case you dont, their initials will do: SMG, SRT, RSD. If and when he gets there, AMR will be in special company. ' ' '