record for shutouts to 74

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SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Texas Rangers say ace Yu Darvish has no structural damage in his stiff neck but will likely begin the season on the disabled list. Darvish was examined Wednesday by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas. The right-hander will start a throwing program this weekend and wont need any injections. Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says he expects Darvish will be put on the 15-day DL. The Rangers open Monday at home against Philadelphia. "I would think so, yes," Daniels said. "Thats kind of where its headed. Were looking at 10 days already. He will play catch Saturday and if he continues to improve, then well put a plan together from there." "Thats going to be two weeks. Hes not going to ready to break. Its a relief thats its positive news from the exam," he said. Darvish led the majors in strikeouts last year. With him out, Tanner Scheppers will start the season opener. Scheppers will be making his first big league start after 115 relief appearances. "Scheppers is making his first big league start on opening day," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "Hes profiled as a No. 1 kind of guy. The innings he pitched last year were under a lot of pressure and I think he can handle the pressure that goes along with opening day." The Rangers said Nick Martinez will be their No. 5 starter to begin the season. He has pitched in just five games above Class A. Martin Perez will start the second game and Robbie Ross the third and Joe Saunders the fourth, giving the Rangers four left-handers to start the season. None of the five was in the Texas rotation to start last year. Martinez, a right-hander, was not even in the big league camp. He finished last season 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA with Double-A Frisco. He was 12-7 with a 2.50 ERA last year between Myrtle Beach and Frisco. "Martinez gives us an opportunity," Washington said. "He has the stuff to pitch at the major league level. I think its on us to make certain to keep him in the mental state that he needs to be in. I think he can go out there and hold that spot down until we get Colby (Lewis) and Harry (Matt Harrison) back." Harrison, an 18-game winner in 2012, is rehabbing from a neck injury. Derek Holland will start the season on the DL because of knee surgery and Lewis is recovering from forearm and hip issues. "We, maybe not you, but we feel confident that we are going to be competitive and are going to win some ballgames," he said. The 23-year-old Martinez, 23, was an 18th-round pick in 2011 out of Fordham. "Weve had a number of injuries to our pitching staff," Daniels said. "Its obviously a little quicker than we anticipated with Nick. Given the injuries and looking at our options, we had the most confidence in Nick. There was an opportunity for someone to seize it." "As an organization, we feel Nicks the right guy for that opportunity," he said. "Nicks got three solid pitches, four really, plus command and has tremendous makeup. Hes an athlete, a shortstop-second baseman in college. Hes been durable. Hes smart. Hes poised. He attacks the strike zone." The Rangers made a series of roster moves. They signed right-hander Scott Baker, who was released by Seattle, to a Triple-A Round Rock contract. The 32-year-old Baker has a 63-48 record with a 4.14 ERA in 160 big league games. Texas claimed two players off waivers, getting infielder Donnie Murphy from the Cubs and right-hander Seth Rosin from the Dodgers. Rosin is a Rule 5 draft pick and must remain on the 25-man major league roster all season or be offered back to Philadelphia. Murphy can play second base, shortstop and third. The Rangers were in the market for a second baseman with Jurickson Profar out 10 to 12 weeks with a torn muscle in his right shoulder. The 31-year-old has played in 290 major league games in eight seasons with Kansas City, Oakland, Miami and the Chicago Cubs. He spent most of last season with Triple-A Iowa, hitting .265. The Rangers also released right-hander Tommy Hanson rather than guaranteeing his $500,000 salary, which would have increased to $2 million when the season started. Hanson was 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in four exhibition games. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . - Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . It all would have been for naught, however, had it not been for some clutch shooting in the fourth quarter by Kobe Bryant and a couple of equally critical hustle plays by Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol in the final minutes. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. JOHNS, N. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . This game was inside. Adrian Peterson was missing. The stage was set for another step toward the playoffs. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season.KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Abby Wambach scored in the 54th minute to help the United States beat Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 on Wednesday night in their opening Womens World Cup qualifying game.Wambach scored on a header off Alex Morgans cross for her record-extending 171st international goal. Hope Solo made one save to push her U.S. record for shutouts to 74.It was frustrating, Wambach said. We created a lot of chances but their goalie basically stood on her head this game until the end. We just couldnt break them down. In this tournament, we knew that we were going to be up against teams bunkering back and making things difficult for us in the 18, and we just werent on our last bits. We were just a little bit off.Trinidad goalkeeper Kimika Forbes made 11 saves and the United States had a 29-7 shots advantage.She was big time tonight, Trinidad coach Randy Waldrym said. She was the player of the game for us. She kept it close and kept us in it. Shes special. She was fantastic tonight.The game was the United States first competitive match since Jill Ellis took over as coach.I was happy, relieved, thankful that Abby put one away because, at the end of the day, with all those opportunities you need to put one in the net, Ellis said. Credit to Trinidad. We dont see teams that often that sit as organized and put so many numbers behind the ball. I thought it was an excellent challenge for us. We created a lot of opportunities, but defensivvely gave up some big mistakes.dddddddddddd. We should have done a better job finishing.The Americans are 23-1-0 in Womens World Cup qualifying. They are 4-0-0 against Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup qualifying and 8-0-0 overall in the series.There was definitely relief, Morgan said about Wambachs goal and the victory, but there was also a lot of thinking that we should have had a higher score than that from the beginning. It was great to get that goal, and that was the game-winner at the end of the day, but we should have done better than that.The United States and Trinidad and Tobago are in Group A along with Haiti and Guatemala. In the opener at Sporting Park, Haiti beat Guatemala 1-0 on Lindsey Zullos goal.On Friday night in Bridgeview, Illinois, the United States will play Guatemala, and Haiti will face Trinidad and Tobago. On Monday night in Washington, the United States will play Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago will face Guatemala.Right now, its about regrouping, getting ready, and being happy that we have three points in the first match, Ellis said.Group B play opens Thursday night at Sporting Park. Jamaica will face Martinique, and Costa Rica will play Mexico.The top two teams in each group will advance to the CONCACAF semifinals Oct. 24 in Chester, Pennsylvania. The top three teams will qualify for the Womens World Cup next year in Canada, while the fourth-place team will face Ecuador for a spot. ' ' '