(Sports Network) - The Texas Rangers had to win seven straight games just to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, they will need to win another game at home on Monday if they intend on reaching the postseason for a fourth straight year. For the fourth time in the last seven years the regular season will be extended by one game, as the Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays play a one-game tiebreaker to decide the final American League wild card spot. "Tampa Bay is coming into town, now we have to keep our game elevated and do what we have been doing. We dont change anything," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Just continue to play Texas Rangers baseball and hope to sustain it for a long time to come." The winner of Mondays contest at Rangers Ballpark will face Cleveland on Wednesday. Texas, which will be hosting the contest based on its 4-3 mark versus the Rays during the season, comes into this contest, having won 10 of its last 13, including a 7-0 homestand to close the slate. Its quite a contrast from last year when the Rangers lost six of their final eight regular season games to blow their chance at winning an American League West title. The poor finish carried into the postseason, as the Rangers lost the wild card game at home to Baltimore. History seemed to be repeating itself this year, as Washingtons club lost 13 of 17 and cost themselves a shot at a division title and seemingly a postseason spot. It all turned around, though, when the Rangers returned home, as they swept a three-game set from the woeful Houston Astros before forcing the tiebreaker with four straight wins over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. "We never thought back to last year," Texas closer Joe Nathan said. "Thats what you guys are for, to bring up old stuff. The history for us is exactly that: Its history. This is a new team in here, a lot of new faces, so last year never came across anybodys mind." The Rangers could get a boost in their lineup on Monday, as the team has activated outfielder Nelson Cruz, who is done serving his 50-game suspension for his involvement the now-defunct Biogenesis clinic. "It feels special to be back," said Cruz. "It shows they believe in me. I have been working every day to make sure I am ready. I want to play. I want to be a part of this team and help them win championships." Texas will also have its hottest pitcher on the hill in left-hander Martin Perez, who is 7-2 with a 3.26 ERA over his last 10 starts. Overall, he was 10-5 with a 3.55 ERA. "I feel good. Hes one of the reasons why we are getting this opportunity, and its his turn," Washington said. "Hes well rested. We have plenty of guys to back him up. If it gets out of control, we can stop it quickly. We have a lot of confidence in him." This will be Perezs first-ever start versus the Rays. Should he stumble, Washington has stated that righties Alexi Ogando and Matt Garza will be available out of the bullpen. Tampa closed the season just as strong as Texas, but nearly cost itself a shot at the postseason when it lost the first two of its three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. The Rays salvaged the series, and their season, with a victory on Sunday to win for the eighth time in 10 tries and force the tiebreaker. "Were not in the playoffs yet, but weve gotten to this point," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Lets just let the air out and go play." While the Rangers will be throwing a 22-year-old rookie on Monday, the Rays will hand the ball to the American Leagues reigning Cy Young Award winner in David Price. Price, though, has been inconsistent this season, posting a 9-8 mark to go along with a 3.39 ERA. However, he has pitched to a 2.73 ERA over his last four starts. "This is hands down my biggest game of this year," Price said. "Its night and day bigger than Opening Day. Its big. This is the moment that I want to be in. I want to be able to relish this moment and just go out there and have fun." Texas has traditionally given the left-hander problems, as Price is just 1-4 with a 5.98 ERA in eight starts versus the Rangers. Its been even worse in Arlington, where has totaled a 10.26 ERA in four starts. This is the first one-game tiebreaker since 2009 when Minnesota beat Detroit to decide the AL Central. Stephen Curry Shoes Price . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Under Armour Sneakers Sale .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. http://www.underarmouroutletstore.ca/stephen-curry-shoes-canada/ua-stephen-curry-one.html . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Under Armour Sneakers Canada . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Stephen Curry Mvp Shoes . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5.ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis backup goalie Brian Elliott may not enjoy his limited role. He sure knows how to make the most of it. Elliott made 34 saves in only his fifth start of the season and the Blues got goals from six players in their third straight win, a 6-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night. St. Louis (16-3-3) has won five of six and is off to the fastest start in franchise history. Dallas had its six-game road winning streak snapped. St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock recorded his 621st win, moving him into sole possession of eighth place in career wins. Vladimir Sobotka, Vladimir Tarasenko, David Backes, Derek Roy, Chris Stewart and T.J. Oshie scored for the Blues, who have won six of their last seven against the Stars. Elliott, the backup to Jaroslav Halak, stopped the final 27 shots in improving 4-0-1. He has a 1.79 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. "You always want to be in there and fight for the guys and be part of it," Elliott said. "(Halak) is playing well and I want to play well so we can move this train forward." Elliott made numerous key saves, especially in the first period when the game was close. He robbed Valeri Nichushkin from close range and also stopped Antoine Roussel on a breakaway in the second period. "He was absolutely tremendous," St. Louis defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said. Dallas coach Lindy Ruff agreed, "He made the saves that kept them in the game." Brenden Dillon scored for Dallas, which fell to 8-6 on the road. Elliott says the key to his success as a backup comes from his mental preparation. "You just trust in your game and everything else will take care of itself," he said. "When you dont get a lot of opportunities, its hard to get in that peak performmance state.dddddddddddd I think it just comes with experience and a lot of patience." Tarasenko put the Blues ahead to stay with his eighth goal of the season at 11:02 of the first period, just 9 seconds after the Stars had tied it 1-all. Backes pushed the lead to 3-1 by converting on a two-on-one. Backes, using Jaden Schwartz as a screen, held the puck before beating goalie Kari Lehtonen, who was pulled in the third period after allowing five goals on 18 shots. The Blues balanced four-line attack did a good job taking advantage of limited opportunities. St. Louis had 25 shots on goal. "Through the whole lineup everybody was solid," Oshie said. "When we can go at them in waves, I think thats when were at our best." The Stars were coming off a season-high 43 shots in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers. They managed to create numerous opportunities on Saturday, but could not solve Elliott. "It might be the most misleading 6-1 game Ive ever been in," Ruff said. "For the most part, we outskated them and in a lot of areas we outworked them." Lehtonen took full blame for the loss, "I had a bad night," he said. "I feel bad for the guys. They tried hard." Sobotka scored 1:39 into the game for his 100th career point. St. Louis RW Ryan Reaves broke his right hand in a first-period fight with Dillon and will be out up to four weeks. NOTES: This was first of five meetings between the new Central Division rivals. ... Dallas LW Ray Whitney missed his fifth successive game with a groin injury. ... Stars C Cody Eakin played in his 100th game. ... St. Louis is 11-2-1 in its last 14 contests. ... Blues LW Brenden Morrow, who spent 13 seasons with Dallas, picked up an assist on Stewarts goal and now has a point against every NHL team. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China ' ' '
Statistics: Posted by sxx123 — Sat Sep 24, 2016 9:43 am