(SportsNetwork. Yogi Berra Yankees Jersey .com) - Still in search of their first home win of the season, the Boston Red Sox welcome the Texas Rangers to Fenway Park Monday for the opener of a three-game set. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7:00pm et/4:00 pm pt. Texas avoided a series sweep at Tampa Bay on Sunday thanks largely to Yu Darvish, who blanked the Rays for a 3-0 victory in his season debut. A stiff neck forced Darvish to skip his scheduled opening day start, but he was downright nasty on Sunday with six strikeouts and a walk in seven shutout innings. In the process, he also surpassed Kerry Wood to become the fastest player in MLB history to reach 500 career strikeouts. Elvis Andrus went deep in the eighth inning for only the Rangers second home run of the season, and closer Joakim Soria retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save since Sept. 11, 2011. Meanwhile, Boston is looking to get back on track after being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers at home over the weekend. The Red Sox had not lost an interleague series in their previous 12 tries. "Weve had a difficult time bunching hits together," manager John Farrell said. "Were doing our damnedest, I know that, to try to build an inning, to try to hit to the situation. At some point, you credit the quality of pitches made in key spots by the opposing pitcher." Despite Bostons struggles over the weekend, Rangers manager Ron Washington knows his team faces a tough test in this series. "Theyre still nine tough innings there," Washington said. "I just hope we can pitch, get some hits, put some runs on the board and win some ballgames." Making the start for Boston is John Lackey, and the former Angels hurler will face Texas for the 39th time in his career. However, the right-hander has an unsightly 6.01 ERA for his career against Texas, his highest ERA against any American League team. For Texas, Tanner Scheppers looks to rebound after getting tagged for seven runs in just four innings against Philadelphia on opening day. That start was the first of Scheppers big league career, as he got the nod in place of an injured Darvish. The Rangers boast a .674 winning percentage against Boston since 2009, the best percentage of any Red Sox foe in that span. This will be the Rangers only trip to Fenway this season. Brian Roberts Yankees Jersey . - The NFLs officiating chief has cleared Broncos receiver Wes Welker of any wrongdoing for his hit that knocked Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib out of Sundays AFC Championship. Wade Boggs Yankees Jersey . The Nets continued their winning ways Tuesday by sweeping a back-to-back set for the first time this season, beating the Orlando Magic 101-90 a night after routing the crosstown rival New York Knicks.A late goal by Carlyle Mitchell wasnt enough for Vancouver Whitecaps FC to avoid their second straight 2-1 loss to Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday morning at the Kino Sports Complex. Down 2-0, the Trinidadian defender brought the Caps to within one goal after heading in a Nicolas Mezquida corner in the 78th minute. Vancouver nearly equalized moments later, when Uruguayan midfielder Sebastien Fernandez released Darren Mattocks into the Sounders 18-yard-box, but the Jamaicans left-footed effort trickled just wide of the post as Whitecaps FCs comeback bid fell just short. "Winning and losing is a fine line," said head coach Carl Robinson. "You saw today that it was pretty even game. They took their two chances, we ended up scoring and missing a penalty and getting a chance in the last minute and we lose the game. Its preseason … Im not really focused on results at the moment. Im focused on fitness and also on combinations." Unlike Vancouvers first two preseason matches in Casa Grande, Sundays contest in Tucson was made up of three 30-minute periods rather than two halves. The Caps went with an experienced squad again on Sunday, with players like David Ousted, Jay DeMerit, and Nigel Reo-Coker making their second straight starts. Right back Steven Beitashour also made his first start as a member of Whitecaps FC and midfielder Russell Teibert made his first appearance of the preseason. The 21-year-old Canadian, who played in a holding midfielder position alongside Reo-Coker, was lively throughout the opening 45 minutes in defending and attacking positions. Brian McCann Yankees Jersey. After a fairly uneventful opening 20 minutes, in which Whitecaps FC looked comfortable in possession, Seattle broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute on the strength of a Kevin Parsemain volley from the top of the box. Teibert had Vancouvers best chance to even the match in the 38th, as he took to the penalty spot after Hurtado was hauled down, only to see his attempt sail over the goal. Despite the miss, the Caps manager said he liked what he saw from the young Canadian. "I thought he was great," said Robinson. "He wanted the ball all the time, he was dropping deep to get on the ball, and he was spraying passes. I thought it was a very positive performance from Russell." Andy Rose scored the eventual winner for Sounders FC in the 50th minute. In the build-up, Sean Okoli headed a Chad Barrett cross across goal to the near post, where Rose headed it in past a sprawling Marco Carducci. The Caps will return to Casa Grande on Sunday, where a number of Vancouvers trialists and recent draft picks will play a scrimmage against Indy Eleven on Monday, before flying back to Vancouver on Wednesday. Their next preseason match is set for Sunday, February 16 against the University of Victoria Vikes at Centennial Stadium. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |