mix it up in the post and take the ball down court for hig

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Cole Hamels was masterful on the mound for the AL-best Texas Rangers, and Carlos Gomez provided a big blast in his debut with a fresh start.Hamels allowed only two singles over eight innings for his 14th victory and Gomez hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat as the Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians 9-0 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series matching division leaders.You can always tell the passion he has in the game. ... Its nice to be able to have him on this side because hes a tremendous asset, Hamels said of Gomez. Its going to be dramatic in our lineup.Hamels (14-4) struck out eight without a walk and retired 19 straight batters after Francisco Lindors solid two-out single to left in the first. The only other baserunner for the Indians against the lefty was Carlos Santana after a leadoff hit in the eighth, though he was stranded at second after advancing on a passed ball.Hes got the whole thing. Hes got a fastball, he can cut it, a great changeup, Indians manager Terry Francona said. He had everything working tonight, and you give him a lead, he knows what to do with it.Gomez hit a drive deep into the seats in left field for a 3-0 lead in the second. Adrian Beltre added his own three-run homer in the fifth to make it 8-0 and chase Josh Tomlin (11-8).The first home run of my career that I feel that I want to cry, Gomez said.Gomez made his Rangers debut five days after signing a minor league deal with the team and playing three games at Triple-A Round Rock. The 30-year-old two-time All-Star outfielder hit .210 with five homers in 85 games this season with the Houston Astros before being designated for assignment and then last week given his unconditional release.Hes hungry, he wants to prove to the baseball world that hes still a very relevant player in this game, kind of a perfect storm for a guy that got a little discombobulated, manager Jeff Banister said. But an instant impact. He can do this type of stuff.Rougned Odor also homered for the Rangers (75-53), who matched their largest winning margin of the season.The AL Central-leading Indians (72-54) were shut out for the fourth time this season, and that came after being held to exactly one run in each of their three games at Oakland earlier this week.Tomlin lost his fifth consecutive start in August and has a 10.80 ERA in those games. This was the fourth time in that stretch the right-handed Texas native didnt make it out of the fifth, allowing eight runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.Hamels improved to 21-5 in his 38 starts since the Rangers acquired him last season when he was coming off a no-hitter in his last start for the Philadelphia Phillies. It was the longest scoreless outing for a Texas starter this season.You have to stick to your game plan, but at the same time you have to have some sort of surprise just so they cant sit on certain pitches, Hamels said. Thats kind of been the main focus this whole year, is really be able to execute all four or five pitches I throw, both sides of the zone, not really stray away or be afraid to try something new. Thats what we were able to do.WINNING AGAINST WINNERSThe Rangers are an MLB-best 52-26 against teams currently with a .500 record or better. They are 23-27 against sub-.500 teams.LOT LESS STRAINIn his last home start Aug. 13, Hamels had allowed a career-high 14 hits plus three walks. He still allowed only two runs in a 2-0 loss to Detroit.SHORT HOPSTony Barnette pitched the ninth to wrap up the third shutout this season for the Rangers. ... Texas had eight hits, one each by eight players. The only Texas starter without a hit was Beltran, who is in an 0-for-28 slide after going hitless in four at-bats.TRAINERS ROOMIndians: Instead of activating reliever Tommy Hunter from the DL next week as planned, the Indians released the right-hander who has been out since the All-Star break with a back issue.Rangers: RHP Colby Lewis (right lat strain) said he was sore in all the right places after throwing 44 pitches in his first rehab start Wednesday. He will make another rehab start Monday and hopes to return to the Rangers rotation Sept. 3.UP NEXTIndians: All-Star RHP Corey Kluber (13-8), the 2014 AL Cy Young winner, is 5-0 with a 1.78 ERA his last eight starts.Rangers: LHP Martin Perez (8-9) is 7-1 with a 2.36 ERA in 13 home starts this season. Fake Nike Air Max 97 . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Black Friday Nike Air Max 97 . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. https://www.fakeairmax97wholesale.com/ . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Nike Air Max 97 Outlet . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Cheap Nike Air Max 97 ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State had already planned on losing Georges Niang, perhaps the best player in school history, to graduation. The Cyclones were left to hope that star point guard Monte Morris wouldnt follow Niang to the NBA.The surprising return of Morris , a senior, should keep Iowa State in Big 12 contention and beyond in 2016-17.The Cyclones wont have as much sheer talent at the top of its rotation as it did a year ago, when it was led by Niang and his 20.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.But Iowa States depth, a major concern last season, should be markedly improved this year.Beyond Morris, the Big 12 preseason player of the year, the Cyclones return shooting guard Naz Mitrou-Long from season-ending injuries and swing man Matt Thomas, who blossomed into a high-level Big 12 starter in 2015-16. A pair of 6-foot-8, one-and-done senior transfers, Merrill Holden (Louisiana Tech) and Darrell Bowie (Northern Illinois), replace Jameel McKay at center.Junior forward Deonte Burton is expected to take a big step forward in his first full season in Ames, and second-year coach Steve Prohm said newly-eligible guard Nick Weiler-Babb has the most NBA potential of anyone on the roster. Even the expected loss of Morris turned out to be a blessing for Iowa State. It recruited junior college standout Donovan Jackson to replace Morris and now has both.Morris has been terrific. He had a great summer. He got bigger. He got stronger. He understands he has to be a leader on this team, Prohm said.Here are some of the story lines to follow as Iowa State looks to make its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this March.MORRISS ROLEProhm built a reputation for developing lead guard-type players while at Murray State, so itll be interesting to see how Morriss role develops in 2016-17. Morris has always been happy to dish out assists, setting the NCAA record for assist-to-turnover ratio as a freshman aand a sophomore.dddddddddddd But last season Morris began to look for his own shot more than ever, finishing with a career-high 13.8 points per game.NAZ IS BACKMitrou-Longs decision to seek a medical redshirt after just eight games in 2015-16 robbed the Cyclones of some much-needed depth. But his return should make Iowa State better than expected in 2016-17. Mitrou-Long, a fifth-year senior that Prohm said is among the best leaders hes ever coached, has promised to be the Cyclones glue guy this season. Mitrou-Long averaged 12 points a game a year ago.BEAST OF BURTONBurton, at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, is a unique player in that he can mix it up in the post and take the ball down court for high-flying dunks. But Burton was inconsistent last season, dominating one night and disappearing the next. Prohm said he wants Burton, who scored 9.7 points a game with 3.9 rebounds in his Iowa State debut, to average a double-double this season. His work ethic has been exceptional, Prohm said.HOLDEN AND BOWIEIowa State likely wont need either of them to play like stars. In the Cyclones small-ball system, Holden and Bowie will be asked to provide a front-court presence, gets as many rebounds as they can and fling it up the court so that Morris and the backcourt can exploit matchups in transition. Holden had 8.1 points with five rebounds a game for Tech last season. Bowie was averaging 13 and seven for the Huskies before a shoulder injury set him back.THE SCHEDULEProhm must have figured that the Big 12 round-robin was tough enough, because Iowa States non-conference schedule is far from daunting. A home date with Cincinnati and a road game at Iowa are the highlights, although the Cyclones could get Miami in a tournament game the day after Thanksgiving.---Online: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '