Portrait » season, and the Dane showed

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nick Tepesch and Robbie Ross helped the Texas Rangers hold off the Seattle Mariners. Tepesch, back from the minor leagues, earned his first major league victory in more than 10 months and the Rangers edged the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Wednesday. Ross, back in the bullpen after an unsuccessful stint in the rotation, bailed Tepesch out of a seventh-inning jam. Neal Cotts, whose ERA has ballooned from 1.11 in 2013 to 4.34 this season, had a strong eighth. Joakim Soria, back in a closers role this year for the first time since 2011, pitched a perfect ninth inning for his eighth save in eight opportunities. The Rangers offence had three first-inning runs and Shin-Soo Choos leadoff home run in the bottom of the fifth that broke a 3-3 tie. Choos fifth homer went into the bullpen in left-centre. "Two strikes, I was in a rough spot. I think about more (getting) on base," he said. "Got a home run that got up in that gust a little bit, thats it," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Its a tough ballpark to pitch in, but I thought (Chris Young) did a pretty darn good job for us. Texas turned two double plays. The second was on Ross second pitch after entering the game with one out and runners on first and second for the Mariners. Pinch hitter Stefen Romero grounded to Adrian Beltre, who stepped on third base and threw to first to complete the inning-ending double play. "I was thinking, Gosh, here we go! Im in a situation where I like to be. I was pretty amped," Ross said. "I wanted to be out of that inning without those runs scoring." Tepesch (1-0) allowed five hits and two walks in 6 1-3 innings for his first win since defeating Houston 10-5 on July 5, 2013. The second-year pitcher threw a career-high 112 pitches. It was his second start this season for the Rangers after being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock, where he was 6-1. Texas manager Ron Washington has noticed a difference. "He has an out pitch right now. Hes got that slider working, and hes able to locate his sinker. With that going on and commanding the baseball, I think theres the difference right there." Washington visited Tepesch on the mound with one out in the seventh and Dustin Ackley coming up. Tepesch assured the manager he was OK. Then he walked both Ackley and John Buck. "I just wanted to know how he was feeling," Washington said. "Did he think he had enough to get this lefty up there? Because I had a lefty ready. The look in his eyes, he convinced me, and I had to end up getting Robbie to bail me out." After that, it was Cotts striking out Robinson Cano, who had homered earlier, and Seager, who entered the game with a .358 average in Arlington, with a runner on second base in the eighth. Against former Rangers right-hander Chris Young (3-2), Daniel Robertson led off the first with a walk and scored on Elvis Andrus homer. Alex Rios singled home the third run. Seattle tied it in the fourth. James Jones tripled and scored on Michael Saunders single. Cano then hit his two-run homer. Center fielder Michael Choice ran back to attempt a catch, but his glove hit the wall as the ball barely cleared it. Seattle had only one baserunner against Tepesch in the first three innings: Seager on a leadoff single in the second. He was erased in an unusual 4-5-3 double play. With Texas defence shifted to the right, Smoak grounded to second baseman Luis Sardinas, who threw to Beltre covering second. Beltres relay throw to first beat Smoak. Young gave up seven hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings. "You have those games where if you can limit the damage early, you feel like youll pitch a good game, and I gave up one too many in the first," Young said. NOTES: Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder (neck) missed a fourth consecutive game, and centre fielder Leonys Martin (stiff neck) was not in the starting lineup for the second game in a row. Martin entered the game as a defensive replacement in the ninth. ... The teams split the two-game series. Kurt Coleman Jersey . "Last year didnt go the way we wanted it to, but we need to look at what went well and what didnt go so well. Hopefully this year we will be better," Brendan Gallagher said after practice. This year, the Canadiens have a little more depth to work with by adding players like Daniel Briere, Dale Weise, Mike Weaver, Douglas Murray and arguably, the biggest addition to this playoff roster, Thomas Vanek, who the Canadiens were able to land at the trade deadline. 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The 27-year-old goaltender from Edmonton backstopped the Canadian womens hockey team to Olympic gold Feb.Tottenham kept up the pressure on Leicester with an emphatic 4-0 win over Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Monday night. The result keeps their title hopes alive but with Mauricio Pochettino at the helm of this young squad, the long-term prospects are equally encouraging, writes Adam Bate. Leicester City are having the season of their lives. The annus mirabilis. The perfect storm. But whatever anybody is calling it, nobody is in a rush to suggest it will happen again. For second-placed Tottenham, theres a growing feeling that the situation is rather different.Ive said it a lot this season that this is an unbelievable chance for Spurs to win a title and this chance may not come again, said Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football. But I think I may be wrong. The more I watch them, the more I think this chance might come again. I was expecting Spurs to go back to being challenging for top four, but the more I watch this team, I think in terms of years to come, this is going to be a side thats challenging for the title. Such talk is enough to get Tottenham fans giddy. But the logic is sound.For while seven of Leicesters favoured starting line-up this season have already turned 29 years old, thats the age of Spurs senior man - goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris. Not a single outfield player in their squad has celebrated that particular birthday just yet. Leicester and Tottenham age comparison Age Leicester Tottenham Age 29 Kasper Schmeichel Hugo Lloris 29 29 Danny Simpson Kyle Walker 25 30 Christian Fuchs Danny Rose 25 32 Wes Morgan Toby Alderweireld 27 31 Robert Huth Jan Vertonghen 28 25 NGolo Kante Eric Dier 22 26 Danny Drinkwater Mousa Dembele 28 25 Riyad Mahrez Christian Eriksen 24 26 Marc Albrighton Erik Lamela 24 30 Shinji Okazaki Dele Alli 20 29 Jamie Vardy Harry Kane 22 Stoke manager Mark Hughes described Tottenham as an outstanding side That in itself can bring a certain exuberance. They were quicker to everything, said Stoke boss Mark Hughes after seeing his side dismantled. But its not just the youth and dynamism of Mauricio Pochettinos side thats proving so impressive. Its the discipline. Its the quality.Tottenham might well be the best coached team in the Premier League and theyre playing football to excite. The league table is no liar, of course, but the underlying data is there to support the story and its telling quite the tale. Pochettinos Tottenham are top on many Premier League metrics this season They are the top goalscorers in the division with 64 goals, having created more chances than any other side (449). And yet, theyve also conceded the fewest goals, having let in only 25 at the other end. Its a combination only Spurs can boast in Englands professional leagues.Whats more, theres momentum too. Thirteen of the last 14 goals scored in Spurs games have been by them. If Leicester are all about getting over the line, Spurs are just getting better. This is a team now freed from cup distractions and powering towards the finish. Jamie Carragher believes Tottenham are more than capable of winning titles Harry Kane and Dele Alli took the headlines on Monday and Carragher understandably called them superstars for their contributions.dddddddddddd Kane tops the scoring charts, while theres no younger player in Europes biggest four leagues with as many goals or assists as Alli.But everywhere around the pitch there are success stories. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose provide the energy on the flanks - they produced more than 70 high-intensity sprints each against Stoke - while fellow England international Eric Dier is there to drop back and cover.In the centre of defence, the Belgian pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have impressed, with the latter arguably the finest centre-back in the country this season. Ahead of them in midfield, compatriot Mousa Dembele has been a statistical sensation.Dembele ranks fourth in the league for both dribbles and tackles - an unusual combination that hints at his all-round skillset. There was even a rare assist at Stoke and the visiting fans made a mockery of the suggestion that hes an unsung hero by chanting his name repeatedly. Patrick Davison was joined by Andy Hinchcliffe to discuss Tottenhams 4-0 victory Christian Eriksen is Spurs playmaker supreme, with only Mesut Ozil having created more chances this season, and the Dane showed remarkable vision to pick out Alli for the second goal of the night. Meanwhile, Erik Lamela is in the form of his White Hart Lane career.The Argentine laid on Kanes second and its clear that both men have fused application with talent - Eriksen in covering more ground than anyone (12.2 kilometres), Lamela in making more sprints (82). Its testament not only to their hard work but the work of the manager. Harry Kane feels the teams 4-0 win over Stoke was a statement of intent Sometimes when youre picking a player of the match for Spurs, it could be five or six of them because its all about the team, added Carragher. The man who should get most of the credit is the manager, because what hes created here is something very special.What Pochettino has created is a culture, and that can be far more powerful than mere personnel. It can endure even when players are replaced. And it can win titles. The Spurs fans at the Britannia Stadium on Monday evening are sensing one might not be far away. Pochettino says his Tottenham side are still fighting for the title Leicester City, were coming for you, they chanted, with increasing gusto as the goals went in. Theres no denying that pipping the Foxes to the Premier League crown should be the primary focus right now. But Tottenham can look beyond that too.For while its true that the big guns will be adding to their arsenal in the summer, its apparent that Arsenal and the rest are the ones now playing catch up. Those same Spurs fan know it too. Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay, they sang. Leicester and Tottenham are going head-to-head for the Premier League title Of course, theyll want Pochettino to stay too but then why would he leave? Everything is there for Tottenham, added Carragher. Hes got to try to win a lot of trophies with this team because theyre very capable.Capable and hungry. Were not going to stop, Alli told Sky Sports after the game. Thats a worry for Leicester City right now. But in the longer term, it should be a worry for each and every other team hoping to win a Premier League title any time soon too. Also See: Carra: Why would Pochettino leave? 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