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(Sports Network) - The Texas Rangers had to win seven straight games just to keep their playoff hopes alive. Tim Masthay Super Bowl Packers Jersey . 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. Ray Nitschke Super Bowl Jersey . Parmelee hit a game-ending shot in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins overcame David Ortizs big night to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6 on Tuesday. David Bakhtiari Jersey .S. Cellular Field on Saturday night, hell not only be returning to where his career began.Way back at the start of the season, amid all the whistles and fouls, the defensive-minded teams appeared to be in trouble, a seemingly dying breed hamstrung by the NCAAs new hands-free rules. As the season progressed, the top coaches and teams adjusted to the changes and found ways around the impediments. Now, after the all increases in scoring and shooting percentages and offensive flow, the season has come down to a Final Four of teams held together by one common thread: shutdown defences. "In general, its like most sports: Defence wins championships," said Bill Frieder, a longtime coach and TV/radio analyst. "You still need to score, but basically when it gets right down to it, you have to make stops. The teams that can make a stop or two back to back are the teams that advance." The Final Four teams in this wild ride of an NCAA tournament earned a trip to North Texas this weekend because they can do just that. Florida is the best defensive team in the country, allowing just 88.5 points per 100 possessions, according to the analytics of KenPom.com. The Gators can be downright dominating on the defensive end, swarming ballhandlers and luring shooters into a fall sense of security before rising up to swat shots back in their faces. Defence has been a cornerstone for Bo Ryan since he won four national championships at Division III Wisconsin-Platteville and its been the calling card -- along with that ultra-patient offence -- since he arrived at Madison. The Badgers are fundamental and fierce, allowing about 56 points per game to NCAA opponents -- nearly eight less than before the tournament. For all the flash of Kentuckys fabulous freshmen, these young Cats can get after you on D. Kentuckys latest one-and-done lineup is filled with long, athletic players who can harass on the perimeter and guard the rim -- 10th nationally with 6.1 blocked shots per game -- like few teams in college basketball. And for all the hype heaped on Connecticuts Shabazz Napier, the Huskies are pretty husky when it comes to defence. Ryan Boatright has become a point-guard stopper -- he had four steals and helped limit Michigan States Keith Appling to two points in the East Regional final -- and UConn seems to have an entire roster of rim protectors, ranking 16th nationally with 5.8 blocked shots per game. "We are predators out there," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. In most years, the high-scoring teams often get the attention, whether it was Florida Gulf Coasts Dunk City a year ago or backk to Houstons Phi Slamma Jamma of the early 1980s. Packers Super Bowl Jersey. What usually happens at the finish? The best defensive teams end up with the hardware. Louisville rode its swarming, chaos-inducing defence to a title last season. The year before that, Anthony Davis and Kentuckys shot-swatting young Cats set an NCAA record with 335 blocked shots on their way to the national championship. In 2011: Connecticut 53, Butler 41. Great defensive teams litter the list of national champions throughout history, too. UNLV ran its wrecking crew through the bracket in 1990. North Carolina State and Georgetown let the air out of Phi Slamma Jamma in consecutive title games. Indiana played superb team defence during the last perfect season in 1976. Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton anchored the UCLA teams that ran off 10 titles in 12 years. Go all the way back to the 1950s and the San Francisco teams that won consecutive championships had a young Bill Russell dominating the middle before he went on to do the same thing for the Boston Celtics. "In the NBA, its always seems to come down to the teams that play the best defence and its no different in college basketball," Arizona State associate head coach Eric Musselman said. "At the end of the day, no matter how well you score, youve got to be able stop people." The Final Four teams have proven they can do it so far in the tournament. Wisconsin opened the NCAA tournament by holding American to 35 points and reached the Final Four by preventing Arizona from getting off a potential game-winning shot before the buzzer sounded in overtime. Kentucky held Kansas State to 49 points in its NCAA opener and held Michigan scoreless for nearly 4 1-2 minutes of a three-point Midwest Regional final win that sent the Wildcats to the Final Four for the third time in four seasons. UConn went toe-to-toe with one of the nations best defensive teams in the East Regional final, holding Michigan State to 39 per cent shooting and two field goals -- one at the buzzer after the game was decided -- over the final 5 minutes. Florida is the third team in NCAA tournament history to win four games by double digits and hold opponents under 70 points per game en route to the Final Four, limiting teams to an average of 55 points per game. "We just take so much pride into being able to disrupt the team and being able to lock down guys," Florida forward Patric Young said. So do the other three teams, a big reason why theyre all together in North Texas. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
