HOUSTON -- Ian Desmond keeps coming up with big hits for the Texas Rangers.Sunday was no different.Desmond hit a tiebreaking single in the 11th inning and the Rangers got past Houston 5-3, beating the Astros for the 11th time in 13 meetings this season.For a guy like Desmond, whos had some challenges here lately but had been so big for us all year long in those type of situations to come up with the big hit for us was a great day for him, Texas manager Jeff Banister said.Texas took two of three in the weekend series and extended its AL West lead to 7 1/2 games over the Astros.This is the type of game good teams need to win, Banister said. This is a group of guys that are going to continue fighting. Theyre engaged. We came out on the top of it today. Things worked out for us today.Houston went 2-5 on its and has lost eight of its last 10 games.Anytime I leave this podium after a loss I hate it, Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. I dont care what teams on the other side, I dont care what division theyre in, what league theyre in and how the loss happened.Clearly games against the Rangers matter when theyre ahead of us, they matter when theyre behind us, theyre in our division. So Im not naive, I know that those games are going to be magnified. You get into August and were in a playoff race, these games get a little heightened awareness, he said.After Shin-Soo Choo led off the 11th with a double, Desmond followed with a single against Chris Devenski (0-4).Desmond is tied for the major league lead with Houstons Carlos Correa with seven go-ahead RBI in the seventh inning or later this season.I just want to make sure I feel good in those situations, and I have, Desmond said.Rougned Odor later hit an RBI double.We were 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position, Banister said. In those types of situations these guys are up there trying to put the best at-bat they can together. We got a little anxious in some of the at-bats and then hit some balls fairly well. We needed that big one and Desmond was able to come through.Matt Bush (5-2) pitched the 10th, then struck out George Springer with runners on the corners in the 11th.Texas starter Yu Darvish pitched seven shutout innings, striking out eight and giving up five hits.Darvish said through a translator the outing was the best he has felt since coming off the 15-day disabled list July 16.Alex Bregman hit an RBI double, and Jose Altuve followed with an RBI single off Jeremy Jeffress to cut the Rangers lead to 3-2 in the eighth.Tony Kemp tied it in the ninth with a single off Sam Dyson that scored pinch-runner Carlos Gomez, who slid around Jonathan Lucroys tag.Lucroy put the Rangers ahead with an RBI double in the fifth. Jurickson Profar hit a two-run double off Ken Giles to extend the lead to 3-0 in the eighth.Kemp had three hits after coming on as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.Joe Musgrove allowed one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out six in his first major league start. The right-hander threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in relief in his debut Tuesday.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: OF Carlos Beltran was out of the lineup after leaving Saturdays game with a left quad contusion. He pinch-hit in the 10th and flied out to leave the bases loaded.Astros: OF Colby Rasmus was put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a cyst in his right ear.Its been bothering him for a while, Hinch said. Clearly, there are some things going on there that we need to look into further. Kemp was recalled from Triple-A Fresno. ... INF Luis Valbuena (right hamstring strain) is progressing slowly and hasnt done any baseball activities, Hinch said.UP NEXTRangers: LHP Cole Hamels (12-3) will start the first of a two-game series in Colorado on Monday. Hamels is second in the AL in ERA at 2.89 and has the lowest road ERA in the AL at 1.90 in 12 road starts.Astros: RHP Collin McHugh (7-8) starts the first of four games in Minnesota on Monday. McHugh allowed a season-high three home runs in his last outing Wednesday against Toronto. Geronimo Allison Super Bowl Jersey . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Dean Lowry Super Bowl Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. https://www.packersrookiestore.com/Packers-Davante-Adams-Jersey/ . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. David Bakhtiari Super Bowl Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Billy Turner Super Bowl Jersey . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Matthew Centrowitz always wanted to be an Olympic runner. Kind of like Matt Centrowitz.Like father, like son -- as the tattoo across his chest says. Only the son, who goes by Matthew, is bringing home a gold medal and neither he nor his dad, known as Matt, can believe it.During his victory lap after a surprise win in the 1,500 meters at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Saturday, the American runner suddenly spotted his dad in the stands.I was like, `Are you kidding me? Centrowitz recounted. It hasnt sunk in. Were both just absolutely astonished right now.Centrowitz surprised himself as he took the lead in a leisurely paced race with around two laps remaining. He only got stronger with the finish line in sight. It was the first title in the event for the United States since Mel Sheppard won the metric mile more than 100 years ago at the 1908 London Games.Im a confident guy, Centrowitz explained. But I dont know if I was this confident.I thought, on the best day, maybe Id get a silver medal. But sure, in the back of my head, I thought I could get a gold.He was motivated by a good-luck email from running great Jim Ryun, a silver medalist in the 1,500 in 1968. He was spurred on by a rock-solid race plan -- a couple of them depending on what transpired. And he was in awe of the person handing out the gifts at the medal ceremony -- Sebastian Coe, the president of the IAAF and a middle-distance running icon.Seeing dad and the rest of his family was a big highlight.Distance running just so happens to run in the Centrowitz family. His father represented the United States at the 1976 Montreal Games. His sister, Lauren, competed in college for Stanford.Then theres Matthew -- the confident runner who aalways believed he was going to be the next big thing in the 1,500.dddddddddddd have a lot of respect for everyone in that field, said Centrowitz, who finished fourth at the 2012 London Games, missing out on a medal by 0.04 seconds. I never took anything for granted.Thats why he had so many race plans -- so nothing would surprise him.Steadily pulling away, then holding on at the end, Centro finished in 3 minutes, 50 seconds, beating defending champion Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria by 0.11 seconds. Nicholas Willis of New Zealand captured bronze.After crossing the line, Centrowitz looked straight ahead, stunned at what he had just done. He then dropped to his knees and put his hands on top of his head.It was that unbelievable.His dad took in the entire scene from the stands. These two are tight, so much so that the son has that tattoo across his chest that reads, Like father, like son.Matt couldnt find the right words when asked about what his sons win meant to him, responding in a text message, Wow, impossible to say.Matthew Centrowitz went to the University of Oregon, home of the late Steve Prefontaine -- the training partner of his father before Pres death in a car accident at the age of 24.The 26-year-old Centrowitz grew up hearing all the stories. He even hung posters on his wall of Prefontaine, the charismatic and talented runner who finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the 1972 Munich Olympics.Its great to make history, Centrowitz said. Ive been joking since Ive gotten this medal, that I dont have to do anything for the rest of my career now and its not a complete failure. ' ' '
