enough to justify the suspension and criticised Goodell for sayi

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. Cody Bellinger Jersey . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Kirk Gibson Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.dodgerssale.com/dodgers-fernando-valenzuela-jersey/ . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Babe Herman Jersey . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Justin Turner Jersey .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA.Deflategate will be back in the headlines on Thursday when the long-running legal battle between Tom Brady and the NFL heads back to the courtroom in New York City. That is day when the NFL will have their appeal heard against Judge Richard Bermans decision to throw out Bradys four-game suspension last September.The ban was originally handed down to the 38-year-old quarterback by the NFL for being generally aware of a scheme to deflate New England Patriots footballs before the 2014 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts. Bradys ban overturned Tom Brady has four-game NFL ban overturned by judge but appeal is confirmed On Thursday, the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals will hear lawyers from both sides argue over whether Judge Berman was correct to overturn the NFLs suspension.When overturning NFL commissioner Roger Goodells ruling, Berman found the leagues basis for issuing the suspension was plagued by several significant legal deficiencies, including a failure to notify Brady beforehand that his alleged conduct could be punished by suspension.The court finds that Brady had no notice that he could receive a four-game suspension for general awareness of ball deflation by others or participation in any scheme to deflate footballs, Berman wrote. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was criticised by Judge Berman Berman also said the Wells Report was not enough to justify the suspension and criticised Goodell for saying that Brady deserved the same penalty as a player who used steroids.ddddddddddddThursdays hearing, which will be heard by three judges, will feature oral arguments from both sides outlining why Judge Bermans ruling should be overturned or upheld.The league, which has hired former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement for this appeal, will argue Bradys suspension was unlawfully overturned. The NFLPA will attempt to reinforce its argument that the league didnt objectively investigate the Deflategate case and then gave Brady an unfair, unprecedented punishment.A decision in the appeal is not expected before the NFL Draft at the end of April but could be later in the summer as neither side in the case has asked for an expedited hearing. Last year both sides requested a decision before the regular-season opener, and Judge Berman granted that wish.Depending on the outcome of this appeal, this saga could rumble into 2017 as either side will have the option of bringing the matter to the Supreme Court if it is unhappy with the outcome. Also See: AFC North: In Focus AFC South: In Focus AFC West: In Focus AFC East: In Focus ' ' '