ERST LESEN! » njoyed so much depth among his return

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nick Martinez stuck his glove blindly behind his back and stabbed a hard liner out of the air, part of a spectacular double play in a big relief appearance for the Texas Rangers as they got closer to another AL West title.I dont know how he caught it, manager Jeff Banister said after the Rangers 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night cut their magic number to two.I guess it happened so quick that it happened in slow motion, Martinez said. I just kind of threw my glove up there, theres no real explanation for it, in hopes of knocking it down.That play in the fifth by Martinez (2-3) came during his 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He was the first of six Rangers relievers after A.J. Griffin, who was feeling ill, fell behind 3-1 in the second.Rookie Nomar Mazara hit his 20th homer, a go-ahead, two-run shot for the Rangers (90-62) in another testy game with multiple ejections.Mazaras 438-foot drive off rookie right-hander Daniel Wright (0-4) in the fourth made it 4-3. Mitch Moreland added an RBI single an inning later after two batters were hit by pitches.Houston won 2-1 in 10 innings at Oakland later Tuesday to keep the Rangers magic number at two to win their second consecutive AL West title, and seventh overall.The Astros are 9 1/2 games back and the Mariners 10 1/2 back in the AL West. Houston and Seattle both have day games Wednesday before the Rangers series finale against the last-place Angels that night.Angels left-hander Brett Oberholtzer and manager Mike Scioscia were ejected when Elvis Andrus was hit by a pitch in the eighth, an inning after both benches had been warned when Rangers reliever Keona Kela threw a pitch that went behind the head of Andrelton Simmons.Andrus was the third Texas batter hit by a pitch after Mike Trout was hit by a pitch in the Angels second.There was also a short delay in the Rangers seventh when third-base coach Spike Owen walked toward the Angels dugout and had words with a clearly agitated Scioscia.I was upset, Scioscia said. He was the closest guy in an opposing uniform.Banister didnt give any insight about what happened with Owen.I think that my third-base coach got asked out to lunch, Banister said. They were trying to make plans, they interrupted the game, so I went over there and made sure we kept the game going.In the Rangers 3-2 series-opening victory Monday night, Banister (arguing a replay review) and Moreland (questioning a called third strike) were tossed early.Sam Dyson worked the ninth for his 35th save in 40 chances.On that play in the fifth, Martinez made the no-look snag on Simmons hard liner. Once Martinez realized the ball was in his glove, he leisurely tossed to first base to complete the double play before a fist pump while a huge smile took over his face.Simmons threw both of his hands up in disbelief and then put them on his hips as Scioscia shook his head in the Angels dugout. Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre mouthed Wow! when watching the replay on the big video boards.Thats not fun, Simmons said. You try to hit the ball hard, and a guy makes a crazy play. Thats baseball, I guess.TRAINERS ROOMAngels: Wright was hit in the back of the leg by a comebacker in the second, but was OK. ... Scioscia said Jhoulys Chacin, who had a comebacker ricochet off his lower left leg Monday, was sore but should make his next start.Rangers: Reliever Tony Barnette, who hasnt pitched since Sept. 4 because of a strained right oblique, threw a bullpen session with 25 pitches off flat ground before 10 off the mound. Barnette called it an encouraging day.BALL 14, BALL 15Martinez came in with two outs in the second after Griffins last 12 pitches were balls, a stretch when he hit Trout with a pitch to load the bases before consecutive four-pitch walks to Albert Pujols and C.J. Cron that made it 3-1. Martinezs first three pitches were balls before an inning-ending groundout by Simmons.IN THE NETWhen Rangers C Jonathan Lucroy lost the bat on a big swing and miss in the second inning, the bat flew into the protective net behind the plate and lodged several feet above the seats .UP NEXTAngels: Jered Weaver (11-12) will try to join Chuck Finley (165) as the only pitchers to win 150 games in an Angels uniform. The right-handers 17 wins against Texas are his most against any opponent.Rangers: Lefty Derek Holland (7-8) has lost his last two starts, allowing nine runs in 9 2/3 innings.Kosuke Fukudome Cubs Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Daniel Descalso Cubs Jersey . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Greg-Maddux-Kids-Jersey/ . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Brandon Kintzler Cubs Jersey .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. Jon Lester Cubs Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday.SAN DIEGO -- Theyre still the San Diego Chargers, at least for four more home games.Beyond that, the Chargers are uncertain about their future home. At least its not as hyper-hot as last year, when ownership was working with the rival Oakland Raiders on a plan for a stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson. That plan was rejected by NFL owners, who nonetheless gave the Chargers the option to join the Rams in a stadium in Inglewood scheduled to open in 2019.The Chargers then spent most of this year campaigning for a measure that would raise $1.15 billion for a $1.8 billion stadium and convention center annex in downtown San Diego that would replace aging Qualcomm Stadium. All the while, they reminded everyone that they hold the option to move to L.A.Voters called their bluff, voting it down 57-43. It needed 66.7 percent to pass.Chargers chairman Dean Spanos said hell consider his options but wont announce a decision until after the season.Interestingly enough, their first game since Election Day is at home against the Miami Dolphins. The Chargers beat the Dolphins on Dec. 20 on an emotional day in which fans thought they were seeing their beloved Bolts in San Diego for the final time.Quarterback Philip Rivers said hes optimistic enough groundwork has been laid for the team and city to eventually agree to a stadium deal.The love from team to the city and the city to the team has been awesome over the last 55 years and the last 13 Ive been here, Rivers said. I cant see us not here. We have four of our last seven at home and a chance to bounce back and get back in the thick of it, and hopefully we can have some exciting home-field advantage type of atmosphere games down the stretch.Here are some things to look for when the Chargers (4-5) host the Dolphins (4-4):MOO: Being from Wisconsin, Chargers second-year running back Melvin Gordon is OK with coach Mike McCoy referring to him as a bell cow after he went off for a career-high 196 yards on 32 carries and his NFL-leading 11th touchdown in a home victory against Tennessee. He also caught four passes for 65 yards.I mean, its cool, Gordon said. Its all right. I like it, I guess. You hear it a lot at Wisconsin, going there.Gordon is running hard and quickly making people forget his miserable rookie season. Hes run for 768 yards and nine touchdowns, with two receiving TDs.Gordon became the bell cow after Danny Woodhead was lost to a knee injury in the second game.Mores been put on his shoulders. Hes played more snaps and had a lot more carries, Rivers said. You dont want to run himm down, but at the same time the way hes going, you want to give it to him as much as he can.dddddddddddd I dont think its a deal where hes going to get it handed to him 30 times, but were going to need him to keep running the way hes running, because when were able to be that balanced and have those type of drives, it makes us that much better.ANOTHER RUNNER: Miamis Jay Ajayi has rushed for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games, including two straight 200-yard games The last Dolphins running back who had three or more consecutive games with 100-plus yards was Reggie Bush, who had four straight in 2011.Ajayis 529 yards in those three games are third most in team history behind Ricky Williams, who rushed for 587 and 545 yards in two three-game stretches in 2002.OPENING HOLES: Dolphins center Mike Pouncey reached the second level to block a linebacker and seal off a lane for a 20-yard touchdown run by Ajayi. Thats just one small example of the job the offensive line has done to pave the way for the Dolphins recent turnaround.Youve got four guys who can play left tackle, and youve got probably the best center in football, in my eyes, Branden Albert said. Our talent and our experience is helping us out.Albert is the starting left tackle, but left guard Laremy Tunsil, right guard Jermon Bushrod and right tackle JaWuan James all have experience at left tackle.DEEP IN RETURNERS: Darren Rizzi is in his eighth year as the Dolphins special teams coordinator, and hes never enjoyed so much depth among his returners.Rookie Kenyan Drake ran back a kickoff 96 yards for the winning touchdown last Sunday against the Jets. Jakeem Grant scored on a 74-yard punt return in Week 5. Jarvis Landry is averaging 11.1 yards on punt returns.Its a good problem to have, Rizzi said. For a special teams coach to have options back there where youre not just a one-trick pony, it really helps you. This is the first time in eight years weve had this many guys Id feel comfortable putting back there.GATES WATCH: San Diego star Antonio Gates is three touchdown catches shy of matching Tony Gonzalezs NFL record for a tight end (111). Gates has caught 81 touchdown passes from Rivers, an NFL record for a quarterback-tight end combo.---AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Miami contributed.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson ' ' '