Rangers

Bedard dazzles After his previous start, in which he tied a season high by giving up six runs and four walks and set a career high by surrendering three home runs, Erik Bedard said he was going through a "dead arm" period that was causing him to exert himself more than usual to reach his normal velocity. But there was no reason to fret, Bedard added. It happens once or twice a season. Bedard then went out last night and alleviated any concerns, shutting down the Rangers in perhaps the finest performance of his career.

Today, @Yankees 1:05 p.m., MASN Tomorrow, @Blue Jays 7:07 p.m., MASN Saturday, @Blue Jays 1:07 p.m., Ch. 13, MASN Sunday, @Blue Jays 1:07 p.m., Ch. 13, MASN Monday, Rangers 7:05 p.m., MASN [Radio: All games on 105.7 FM]

Quote: "They definitely deserve those nods. I just hope I've earned some consideration."-- Rangers pitcher John Burkett, who is behind Aaron Sele, Rick Helling and Esteban Loaiza in the playoff rotation.It's a fact: Bartolo Colon, Charles Nagy and Dave Burba have a combined 50-24 record, giving the Indians three 15-game winners in a season for the first time since Early Wynn, Bob Lemon and Herb Score in 1956.Who's hot: The Rangers' Ivan Rodriguez has 196 hits, five shy of the major-league record for a catcher set by Mike Piazza with the Dodgers in 1997.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rafael Palmeiro and the Orioles crossed paths last night for the first time since the first baseman walked away from the club and its five-year, $50 million contract offer.The acknowledgments were made at arm's length, the comments offered with predictable caution. However, Palmeiro defended his decision to sign a lesser deal with the Texas Rangers on Dec. 1, only hours after Orioles general manager Frank Wren believed the two parties had agreed in principle."There never was a deal," Palmeiro said about 2 1/2 hours before the first pitch.

BOSTON -- Can there be a more unlikely All-Star than Texas Rangers pitcher Jeff Zimmerman?Check the history of this mid-summer classic and you won't find many rookie middle relievers, especially those who were pitching in Single-A last season and in two other countries before that.So what's he doing here, sitting among baseball's elite? Judging by his numbers, he's blending in nicely.Zimmerman has been crucial to the Rangers' success this season, going 8-0 with one save and a 0.86 ERA in 35 appearances.

Rangers: New York has scored only three goals in three games and has lost two straight after an opening-night tie.Sharks: Owen Nolan and Jeff Friesen each had three goals Monday, the first time in team history two players had hat tricks in the same game. Nolan added three assists, giving him six points for the game, a San Jose record.

NEW YORK -- The Texas Rangers stepped out of character and tried to do it with pitching last night, but the New York Yankees seem destined for an American League Championship Series showdown with the Cleveland Indians.Despite a superb performance by Rangers starter Rick Helling, the Yankees stretched their Division Series winning streak against Texas to a record eight games with a 3-1 victory in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium.Promising left fielder Ricky Ledee's seventh-inning double brought home the go-ahead run, propelling left-hander Andy Pettitte to his fifth career postseason victory and pushing the punchless Rangers to the threshold of another quick October exit.

NEW YORK -- If this is October, the New York Yankees must be teaching the ever-hopeful Texas Rangers another hard lesson about life in the big city.If this is October, $87 million outfielder Bernie Williams must be slashing and dashing his way into the postseason record books.It is October, indeed.Williams drove in six runs with a single, a double and a record-tying three-run home run last night as the Yankees dominated the Rangers, 8-0, in Game 1 of the best-of-five Division Series before 57,099 at Yankee Stadium.

He sat in the visitors' dugout at Camden Yards, defending once more his decision to sign with the Texas Rangers and wondering what kind of reception he'd get from a crowd that used to cheer his every heroic move.Rafael Palmeiro was back in Baltimore last night for the first time since spurning the Orioles' five-year, $50 million offer for the chance to return to his home state. Unable to play first base because of two arthroscopic surgeries on his right knee this spring, Palmeiro has been serving as designated hitter and a constant reminder of what the Orioles once had in their possession.

NEW YORK -- Texas Rangers general manager Doug Melvin watched from the stands on Tuesday night as New York Yankees star Bernie Williams turned Game 1 of the Division Series into another personal playoff showcase and proved again that no good deed goes unpunished.Every time Williams stings a game-breaking hit or makes a game-saving catch -- and he did both on Tuesday night against the Rangers -- Melvin remembers the day in September 1985 that he handed the raw Puerto Rican teen-ager a $15,000 bonus to sign with the Yankees.

Third baseman Melvin Mora has four more weeks left before his ninth and likely final full season with the Orioles is over. Brian Matusz's Orioles career is just starting, but he's part of a young nucleus that the organization hopes will bring better days. With the Orioles one loss away from clinching their 12th straight losing season, the two players at vastly different stages of their careers helped push aside the inevitable for one more day. Matusz, making his sixth career start, rebounded from a rocky first and turned in seven quality innings.

There are certain responsibilities that come with being a staff ace, and Jeremy Guthrie, though still relatively new to the role, has not shied away from any of them. He would be the first to acknowledge that when given a multi-run lead early in the game, he's expected to put up zeros and preserve it. However, it's a task the right-hander is struggling with. Ten days after letting a seven-run lead over the Boston Red Sox slip away, Guthrie contributed to a four-run advantage over the Texas Rangers going to waste Monday night.

Caps beat Rangers, 4-0, avoid elimination nhl Matt Bradley scored his first two playoff goals, Alex Ovechkin added a highlight-reel tally, rookie Simeon Varlamov posted his second shutout of the opening round, and the host Washington Capitals beat the New York Rangers, 4-0, in Game 5 on Friday night to avoid elimination. The seventh-seeded Rangers, minus Sean Avery, lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading to Game 6 in New York on Sunday. Alexander Semin also scored for No. 2 Washington.

Texas makes its first of two trips to Camden Yards this season, and the Rangers will be looking for a little revenge. The Orioles took two of three in Arlington, Texas, last week. As usual, the Rangers are crushing the ball. The team leads the majors in home runs, hitting 27 in its first 14 games. And the Rangers' batting average is toward the top of the American League as well, thanks in part to second baseman Ian Kinsler, who is in the top 10 in hits, total bases, doubles, RBIs and stolen bases.

1 Swish pitch: The O's and Rangers (8 p.m., MASN2) might want to look at Yankees first baseman Nick Swisher (left) to pitch. He threw a shutout inning Monday. 2 It helps: Please watch the White Sox-Tigers game at 1 p.m. on WGN. The station is owned by Tribune. 3 The Alex O Show: Not too late to jump on the Capitals' bandwagon. They open the playoffs against the Rangers (7 p.m., Comcast SportsNet). 4 Clear skies?: It's supposed to rain Wednesday, but No. 1 North County is scheduled to visit No. 13 Old Mill at 4 p.m. in baseball.

If the ball hadn't soared directly into the sun, maybe Chris Waters' second career start would have gone differently. But into the sun it went, and Orioles shortstop Alex Cintron couldn't see well enough to keep the ball from dropping to the grass. Waters walked the game's second batter on four pitches, several nowhere near the plate. Then, as big league stars will do, Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton punished him with a thunderous homer. Just like that, a pitcher who had been masterful in his one-hit debut was on his way to allowing six runs.

Start after start this season, Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie has pitched the kind of baseball that usually leads to wins. In the first three months, however, his teammates often failed to reciprocate with the necessary run support. The sides have forged a more equal partnership of late, and that trend continued last night against the Texas Rangers. Guthrie pitched seven superb innings, and Kevin Millar slugged two home runs to lead an ample offensive attack as the Orioles defeated the Rangers, 9-1, before an announced 33,351 at Camden Yards.

A recap of the Orioles' 10-4 win over the Rangers yesterday: Slump busting Kevin Millar is trying his hardest. The Orioles first baseman, lowered to seventh in the order, was 5-for-33 in his previous nine games and his average sank to .236. He turned in three quality at-bats yesterday, though. Millar ran the count to 3-2 in the first two, drawing a walk and lining a run-scoring single to center field. Millar's first at-bat against Rangers starter Vicente Padilla lasted 13 pitches before he walked and later scored on Brandon Fahey's double.

It's easy to see why Texas began last night tied with the Boston Red Sox for the highest batting average in the American League at .279. Second baseman Ian Kinsler was third in the league with a .323 average, and outfielder Milton Bradley was sixth at .320. Kinsler also led the league in hits with 114, runs with 74 and total bases with 188, and ranked third in doubles with 27, tied for third in triples with four and was third in stolen bases with 23. Outfielder Josh Hamilton led the league in RBIs with 82 and was tied for second in home runs with 19. On the flip side, the Rangers had the highest team ERA at 4.91.

The NHL is threatening to kick the owners of the New York Rangers out of the league or force them to sell the team as punishment for accusing league officials of violating antitrust laws. The NHL filed court papers Wednesday that included a draft letter from commissioner Gary Bettman proposing discipline against Madison Square Garden L.P. that could lead to suspension or termination of its ownership of the Rangers. The Garden responded by accusing the NHL of using "bullying tactics." In its court filing, the NHL asked a judge to agree Madison Square Garden breached its contract by challenging league rules.