Ive been so impressed with the way our veterans have

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Yu Darvish just never got into a rhythm and the AL-best Texas Rangers never got into the lead to end what otherwise was a very successful homestand.Darvish allowed the first three Houston batters in the game to reach base, including George Springers leadoff homer, and the Astros held on for a 7-6 victory Sunday to avoid a series sweep and end the Rangers seven-game winning streak.I feel these guys are in a good place right now, very confident, manager Jeff Banister said. Theyre going to continue to play hard.The Rangers went 8-2 during the homestand that included four games against AL Central-leading Cleveland before taking on Seattle and Houston, their closest competitors in the AL West. They still have a 9 1/2-game division lead over the Astros with 25 games left in the regular season.Were feeling good for sure. Were in the drivers seat right now, said shortstop Elvis Andrus, who had the day off. We cant take anything for granted. Theres a lot of baseball ahead and we have to keep grinding.Rougned Odor had three hits and drove in three runs, including his 29th homer and an RBI single. The feisty second baseman has homered in four of the last five games, finishing with six homers and 17 homers on the homestand.Houston had a 5-0 lead when Darvish (5-4) came off the mound to end the fourth in his shortest out this season. The right-hander from Japan struck out four, walked three and had two wild pitches.His command was not where it had been previously. ... Worked from behind the hitters and really couldnt get it in the soft contact zones, Banister said. So (he) looked a little out of rhythm in my opinion. Just very uncharacteristic.Chris Devenski (3-4) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings after taking over for starter Collin McHugh with one out in bottom of the fifth when Texas still had a runner on base and had already scored three runs in the inning to get within 6-5.Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 11 chances, the final out coming when the right-hander struck out Odor.After the fast start, going ahead 2-0 in the first against Darvish, the Astros had their first four batters reach base in the fourth and scored three more times.Got him out of the game and got into their bullpen and fortunate enough to come out of here with a win, said Alex Bregman, the Astros rookie that had three hits. Thats what you have to do against good teams like this, get ahead of them early and continue to apply pressure.BRUISED AND BLEEDINGRangers LF Carlos Gomez had blood streaming down his face after getting cut by his own helmet when sliding headfirst into second base on a stolen base in the sixth inning. The helmet popped off, bounced off the ground and into his face. A trainer came out and looked at Gomez, who then disappeared briefly into the dugout before returning with two bandages -- one on the bridge of his nose, and another over the top corner of his left eye. A few pitches later, he was picked off second base.SHORT HOPSEvan Gattis also homered for the Astros. He struck out in each of his other four at-bats. ... Ian Desmond and Carlos Beltran had consecutive RBI doubles in the Rangers fifth before Odors run-scoring single chased McHugh. ... Odor had his 20th error of the season, when the ball hit off the side of his glove in the sixth after SS Jurickson Profar made a diving play to his left, and flipped the ball to him while still flat on the ground.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: C Jonathan Lucroy was back in the lineup and not feeling any lingering issues from flu-like symptoms that kept him to miss Saturdays game. ... RHP Keone Kela said he was OK after a liner deflected off the palm of his right hand in Saturdays game.UP NEXTAstros: Continue their stretch of 13 consecutive games against division leaders. They open a four-game series Monday at AL Central leader Cleveland.Rangers: Open a 10-game road trip when they will face three AL West rivals before playing 12 of their last 15 games at home. The trip starts Monday in Seattle, and ends the following week with three games in Houston. Zach Collins Jersey . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Brandon Roy Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Cj-Mccollum-Blazers-Jersey/ . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. C.J. McCollum Jersey . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Gary Trent Jr. Jersey . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. The Chicago Bulls are still trying to figure out how good they can be amid a whole lot of positive early season signs. Theyll receive an awfully good barometer reading when they see the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.The Bulls, riding a four-game winning streak, will play the third of six consecutive games on the road during their annual circus trip. Theyll venture into the home of the NBAs best team this season, and one of the best early season clubs ever to take the floor.The Clippers (11-2) extended the best start in franchise history with a 121-115 road victory at the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. They took control early, led by 20 points early in the fourth quarter and held off a furious Sacramento rally.But for a team outscoring opponents by an average of 14.2 points per game this season, among the best 10 teams in NBA history through 13 contests, it was not a result that made them happy.No question, guard Chris Paul said. Its nice to look at film of a game and see what you did wrong and still be able to talk about a win. But we expect to be better that that.The Bulls (8-4) have been better than anticipated during the seasons first month, but whether its a springboard to better things remains to be seen.The early results have been encouraging. Chicago has won its past four by an average of 14 points per game, leads the NBA in rebounding and is sixth in preventing opponents from scoring.In doing so, theyve taken some heat off second-year coach Fred Hoiberg, who survived a tumultuous debut campaign in 2015-16 that ended with only 42 victories and Chicago watching the playoffs.Theres greaat accountability in the locker room with these guys, Hoiberg told the Chicago Sun-Times before the teams 85-77 victory over at Utah on Thursday.dddddddddddd It starts with our veterans. ... Ive been so impressed with the way our veterans have handled things and hopefully we can keep moving in the right direction.Sixth-year guard Jimmy Butler leads the Bulls in scoring at 24.2 points per game. Free-agent acquisitions Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo have added 17.3 points and 6.5 assists per game, respectively. Rondo is questionable to play because a sprained left ankle; second-year guard Jerian Grant has started the past two games in his place.Wades presence also has healed a clubhouse that was fractured a season ago but received a facelift after the the departures of guard Derrick Rose and center Joakim Noah.I wouldnt have come here if I didnt think I could help this organization and help Jimmy, Wade told the Chicago Sun-Times. This organization to me is important. Its my childhoods favorite organization. I knew I could help from what Ive learned in this league.Chicago makes most of its hay on the boards. Theyve outrebounded opponents by an average of 49-31 this season, including 52-42 in their eight victories.Against the Clippers, theyll face a team that ranks fifth in scoring at 109.6 per game and is second in rebounds at 53.2.Clippers guard J.J. Redick will be seeking to extend his consecutive-games streak with at least one 3-pointer to 70, the longest active run in the NBA. ' ' '