for a game last season and it appeared his days in New York were n

NEW YORK -- After more than two weeks of mostly misery, the Texas Rangers werent about to start patting themselves on the back for winning one game. Robinson Chirinos hit an early three-run homer, Adrian Beltre connected again and Texas ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night. "I know we finally won a ballgame, but weve got to win more than just today," manager Ron Washington said. Alex Rios had three hits, including an RBI double off longtime Texas nemesis Bartolo Colon in a four-run first, and Colby Lewis (6-5) pitched six steady innings to help the banged-up Rangers win for only the third time in 17 games. They snapped a 10-game skid on the road, their longest since a club-record slide of 12 games in 2003, with their first win away from home since June 16 in Oakland. "Its been a rough season and weve talked plenty about this, and its a shame that it happened to us with as good of a team that we were going to have," Rios said. "But we just have to go out and play like we did tonight, have fun and enjoy what we do." Travis dArnaud homered for the Mets, who have dropped five of six and eight of 10. David Wright had a double in four at-bats as he returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a bruised left rotator cuff. Colon (8-7) went seven innings but lost his second consecutive outing after going 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA in his previous seven starts. The 41-year-old right-hander fell to 20-9 in 34 starts against the Rangers, his most wins against any team and the most by any pitcher vs. Texas. The first inning has been a bugaboo for Colon all season. "I have no idea why," he said through a translator. "I was just having trouble getting my pitches where I wanted them that first inning." Lewis allowed three runs -- two earned -- and eight hits. He struck out seven, walked none and pitched around Wrights leadoff double in the fifth, retiring his final six batters to protect a two-run lead. The right-hander has lasted at least six innings in three straight starts, compiling 21 strikeouts and no walks during that stretch. Shawn Tolleson escaped an eighth-inning jam after Texas turned Juan Lagares hard grounder into a double play. Joakim Soria, pitching for the first time in six days, worked a one-hit ninth for his 16th save in 17 chances. "Were supposed to be winning more ballgames right now," Beltre said. "All the injuries and stuff -- we still have a pretty good team, and we shouldnt be losing as much as weve been. No excuse. We should be playing better, and thats what we expect." Elvis Andrus and Rios hit consecutive doubles in the first to put Texas ahead. Colon had a chance to get out of the inning down by only one, but Chirinos drove a 1-2 pitch the other way to right-centre for his eighth home run. He has six homers and 15 RBIs in his last 20 games. Beltre, who also homered Friday in the Rangers first visit to Citi Field, made it 5-0 in the third with his sixth career home run off Colon. Curtis Granderson hit an RBI double, and Bobby Abreu had a run-scoring single in the bottom half, but Lewis limited the damage. With the bases loaded, Wright flied out to shallow centre, Lucas Duda struck out, and Lagares grounded out. "Just fell short tonight," said dArnaud, who hit a leadoff homer in the fourth. Chirinos was a bit shaken up in the fifth when a foul ball hit him in the mask. After a trainer and Washington came out for a look, Chirinos and his manager playfully shoved each other before the catcher returned to his spot behind the plate. "Were not out of this thing," Lewis said. "Its only the All-Star break, so you never know what can kind of happen." NOTES: The Mets said right-handed reliever Buddy Carlyle was on his way from Triple-A Las Vegas to New York, and manager Terry Collins confirmed "there is a possibility" left-hander Jonathon Niese will be placed on the disabled list with shoulder trouble. "We will make the announcement (Sunday)," Collins said. "We are going to wait to see when he gets in here, how he is doing." ... The Rangers fielded a different lineup for the 20th straight game. Theyve used 45 players this season, most in the majors and one shy of their total from last year. ... Washington said he would encourage Yu Darvish to participate in the All-Star game if the Japanese right-hander is chosen for the AL roster on Sunday -- but he doesnt want his ace throwing more than 20 pitches. Darvishs next scheduled start is Wednesday against Houston. ... Texas 1B Carlos Pena snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an eighth-inning double. He is 4 for 36 (.111) since getting called up from Triple-A Round Rock on June 24. ... Wright extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... RHP Nick Tepesch (3-3) starts the series finale Sunday against Mets RHP Zack Wheeler (3-8). Custom Titans Jerseys . His absence against the Celtics comes a day after he scored 43 points in the Heats 100-96 win at Cleveland. Tennessee Titans Jerseys China . Bradley is one of eight players selected to the team who also played in this years World Cup in Brazil. The MLS all-stars will compete against German giants Bayern Munich in Portland on Aug. http://www.titanscheap.com/ .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court. Stitched Tennessee Titans Jerseys .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence. Discount Tennessee Titans Jerseys . Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward who plays his first exhibition game on Wednesday against Pitt State, was the top prospect in the class of 2013. FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Geno Smith is the new face of the franchise for the New York Jets. Well, at least for the opening game of the season. Beyond that, well see. The rookie quarterback will start in the opener at home Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team finally confirmed Wednesday what had been expected since Mark Sanchez injured his right shoulder in a preseason game against the Giants on Aug. 24. "Theyll try to rattle my cage," Smith said about the Buccaneers. "I expect those guys to come out fired up and they want to make a statement. Theyve got a rookie quarterback and theyll want to hit me and get me off my game, but I expect those things. And I look forward to it." But, will Greg Schianos defence be able to unnerve him? "No," Smith said with a confident smile. Smith, who had an up-and-down preseason, was the teams second-round draft pick out of West Virginia after he was projected by many to be selected early in the opening round. After Smith threw three interceptions and took a safety in three-plus quarters against the Giants, it was widely assumed Sanchez had won the job. But Rex Ryan chose to put Sanchez in the game in the fourth quarter -- and he suffered the injury that could sideline him several weeks. "We realize that a rookie quarterback and all that, thats certainly a challenge," Ryan said. "I think our guys are ready to rally behind Geno, and the big thing weve told Geno is, You just have to be part of the solution." Despite announcing Smith as the starter for this week, Ryan wouldnt commit to him as the long-term guy under centre. It was an approach that was echoed by owner Woody Johnson and general manager John Idzik. "Well always put the best player we can on the field on Sunday, and that will continue," Johnson said. "The competitions ongoing." With Smith stepping into the starters role, it makes Sanchezs status with the team unclear. Ryan has still never declared a winner to the competition -- and he might not ever do so. If Smith can be solid during Sanchezs absence, he could make it hard for Ryan to pull him. And, by never saying whether Smith or Sanchez had won the job, Ryan would never technically have benched the anointed starter. While many look at the move as the team moving forward with a new quarterback, Idzik was asked if, when healthy, Sanchez has a chance to be the starter again. "Yes, of course he does," Idzik said. The Jets also have the inexperienced Matt Simms, who had a terrific preseason, and recently signed journeyman Brady Quinn. But with Sanchez not ready to play Sunday, the choice for Ryan, Idzik and offensive co-ordinator Marty Mornhinweg was easy for this week. "Well go through some ups and downs, I guarantee you that," Mornhinweg told the teams website. "Knowing Geno, hopefully there will be more ups than there are downs." Smith was off to a great start in training camp, going several practices without throwing an interception and outperforming Sanchez on some days. But Smith sprained his right ankle in the third quarter of the Jets preseason opener at Detroit and didnt play in the second game against Jacksonville because of the injury. He started against the Giants, with the general thought being he could potentially secure the starting job with a soliid performance.dddddddddddd Instead, Smith showed his inexperience during a miserable performance -- hurt in part by his ailing ankle -- that appeared to tip the tightly contested competition in Sanchezs favour. "I dont think Ive been rushed," said Smith, who took 69 snaps in preseason games. "They wouldnt put me out there if they didnt think I was ready." But the quarterback situation changed when Sanchez took a crunching hit to the shoulder from the Giants Marvin Austin. "We all regret that Mark got hurt, and obviously thats unfortunate," Ryan said. "Its unfortunate that it happened, but these things do happen and weve moved on." The Jets have said only that Sanchez -- the starter since his rookie season in 2009 -- was day to day with simply a "shoulder injury." The fact he hasnt practiced since, and the Jets signing Quinn on Monday were signs that Sanchezs injury was more serious than the team was initially letting on. But placing Sanchez on injured reserve doesnt appear to be an option at the moment. "Were not looking at that," Idzik said. Smith said his ankle is "steadily improving," and is "a ways away" from where it was in training camp, when he wasnt able to fully drive the ball as he planted his foot. "Nothing is given in this league," Smith said about needing to prove himself each week. "Im going to go out there and Im going to do that." Sanchez was once considered the future of the franchise, a terrific talent with GQ looks, and consecutive trips to the AFC title game in his first two years drew natural comparisons to Joe Namath. But Sanchez struggled over the next few seasons, including an NFL-leading 52 turnovers the last two years, and failed to develop into the elite passer the Jets had hoped. Ryan benched Sanchez for a game last season and it appeared his days in New York were numbered. His contract, however, and the $8.25 million in guarantees for this year made him unmovable. Still some have speculated that the Jets could simply cut Sanchez and move forward entirely with Smith. "Mark is going to be on the team," Johnson said. "I dont think theres a question." It appeared in spring that the Jets would let Sanchez compete with veteran David Garrard for the starting job. During the draft in April, the Jets went for defence with their two first-round picks, selecting cornerback Dee Milliner and defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson. But when their pick came up in the second round and Smith was still available, they jumped at the chance to take him. In May, knee trouble caused Garrard to retire, leaving the competition between Sanchez and Smith. A few months later, Smith has the opportunity -- starting Sunday against Tampa Bay -- to try to prove he might be the type of franchise-changing quarterback the Jets have been looking for. "Id like to be," Smith said. "Thats a tough question, but honestly, Id love to be the franchise quarterback here. I think thats the reason they brought me here." NOTES: Ryan announced that Vladimir Ducasse would start at left guard, and Antonio Allen would start at safety opposite Dawan Landry. Those were the two other main competitions in training camp. ... Simms will serve as the backup to Smith over Quinn on Sunday. 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