redress the balance between bat and ball and add context to every

HOUSTON -- Not even a ninth-inning home run that ended his bid at a first career shutout could ruin Martin Perezs day. Perez threw a four-hitter for his first career complete game, leading the Texas Rangers to their seventh straight victory, 6-1 over the Houston Astros on Sunday. "When I go to the mound I think, Im the best here, and I have the ball," Perez said. "I just want to throw. Thats what I did tonight. I took the ball and threw the pitch where (catcher Geovany Soto) called it." Perez (5-3) struck out a career-high eight while walking two in earning his second straight win. Perez has allowed four runs over his last 22 2-3 innings, spanning his last three starts. "He threw a lot of strikes out there today," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Hes good at keeping the ball down. He has good mechanics. I think when he gets erratic its only because he tries to do too much. As long as he stays throwing the ball through the catcher and spots his fastball down in the zone the way hes capable of doing, hell be fine." Perez retired 15 of 17 batters from the third to the eighth, including nine in a row before Jake Elmores single with two outs in the eighth. "His fastball command was there. His changeup was there," Soto said. "He had a lot of early outs in the third, fourth, fifth innings. "I think he looks a little bit different. He has more conviction, more aggressiveness, more attack. I feel like hes doing that. Whenever he needs a strike leading off the inning or leading off an at-bat, he got a strike. He uses all his pitches real well and he used all his pitches well today." The left-hander gave a lot of credit to Soto. "He helped me out with pitches, and we have a good relationship," Perez said. "He called the pitches. I just threw it 100 per cent. Hes a good catcher and called a good game." Chris Carter ruined Perezs shutout bid with a home run with two outs in the ninth inning, but Perez said the home run didnt matter because the most important thing was the Rangers won. Alex Rios had two hits, drove in a run and scored twice in his second game with the Rangers, who have won 12 of their last 13 games. Adrian Beltre also had two hits. Dallas Keuchel (5-7) allowed six runs and eight hits with eight strikeouts in 8 2-3 innings. He was the second Astros starter to go into the ninth this season, as Bud Norris threw eight-plus innings May 8 against the Los Angeles Angels. "That was the best I felt all year," Keuchel said. "(Perez) was better than me today, and I didnt make pitches when I needed to." Keuchel set down the first 13 batters before Rios beat out a grounder to short with one out in the fifth for the Rangers first hit. Soto then put the Rangers ahead 1-0 with a ground-rule double to centre field. Rios laced a two-out double down the right-field line in the sixth to extend the lead to 2-0. Elvis Andrus reached on an error with one out and advanced to second on Beltres single before scoring on Rios double. Perez had his offence to thank for the opportunity to finish off the complete game, as he was told he would not be given a chance to finish it if the Rangers did not score at least two runs in the ninth. The offence plated four in the inning. Texas upped the lead to 5-0 in the ninth on Jurickson Profars based-loaded single with two outs, plating Rios and Jeff Baker. Craig Gentry came around to score on an errant thrown by L.J. Hoes, and Profar scored on Leonys Martins single to make it 6-0. Houston has lost five in a row and nine of the last 10 games. The Astros own the worst record in the majors at 37-79. "I think we were overly aggressive," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "It would have been a better idea to slow the game down and get the pace in your favour, but it felt like the more outs (Perez) recorded, the quicker our at-bats got." NOTES: Texas DH Lance Berkman went 2 for 3 with a home run and drove in two runs in his first rehab game Saturday night for the Rangers Triple-A affiliate, Round Rock. Berkman has been on the disabled list since July 7 with left hip inflammation. . Texas RHP Neftali Feliz was expected to throw Saturday for Round Rock but did not pitch as a precaution because of mild right arm triceps tendinitis. He will throw on flat ground Sunday and be re-evaluated. Feliz has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery last year. . Texas sent SS Leury Garcia to the White Sox on Sunday to complete the trade for Rios. . Houston SS Jonathan Villar, who had not started the previous three games because of a left thumb sprain, did not start Sundays game, either. Porter said Villar was not in the lineup Sunday because the Rangers were starting a left-hander and the thumb bothers Villar more batting right, but Villar is expected to start Monday. Clay Matthews Womens Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Gerald Everett Womens Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-darrell-henderson-rams-jersey/ . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. David Long Rams Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Darrell Henderson Rams Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. One of the worlds premier batsmen was furiously practicing his forward defensives. He lunged as far as he could and leaned over the imaginary ball so his bat could sing a little lullaby. Go to sleep... go to sleep... go to sleep, little darling. Dont you spin... Dont you spin... Dont you spin off the rough now... And ruddy send me sprawling.Elsewhere, a bowler capable of waking every last demon in a pitch warmed up with great vigour.There was activity everywhere. Some seemed nervous, others excited. Visakhapatnam had never hosted a Test before and its people were being spoiled rotten by India, England and the theatre of the fifth day.They saw a debutant produce the delivery of the match, making it drift in the air to force Ben Stokes to square up and play inside the line. Not even Liam Neeson could have stopped the off stump from being taken. So now Jayant Yadav has a decision to make. He had said dismissing AB de Villiers in a warm-up match last year was the best wicket of his career.Then Mohammed Shami conjured reverse-swing in the eighth over with the new ball. Neither of these incidents would have happened had the pitch not been so abrasive. It had needed a fifth day to get that way. The fifth day is under threat.There is merit to the argument that Test cricket needs help. It asks a lot of people who prefer their news in 140 characters and their videos to get to the point in 120 seconds. Besides, there are far more convenient ways to follow the game.The Andhra Cricket Association allowed free entry on the first day here and while the crowd was impressive it didnt threaten the stadiums capacity. Why would it, when iinstead of travelling outside the city, getting probed by security, sitting in the sun, and barely getting to see your favourite players, you just touch a button on your phone, get your info and move on with your life.dddddddddddd It is hard to imagine making Tests a day lighter would change any of this. A better effort might be to make the pitches more responsive, redress the balance between bat and ball and add context to every match that happens.Besides, why must we push for something that wont allow for Haseeb Hameed and Alastair Cooks remarkable stonewalling. Something that could lead to a savage pursuit for home advantage and limit the chances for a team to grow. Something that reduces the time available for a narrative shift - like in Visakhapatnam when four days of hard-fought cricket and spirited counters culminated in two and a half hours of spectacular action.R Ashwin tossed the ball up with cover open for the right-hander to beat his inside edge by miles. Ravindra Jadeja did not care for point as he aimed for the footmarks to generate variable bounce. No reasonable person will grudge this when it happens on the fifth day.Good batsmen go so far as to enjoy it. Kohli produced a masterful innings in tough conditions. Joe Root combated them by adjusting his technique mid-match, crouching more in his stance and shortening his backlift to be ready for the grubber.At a time when cricket is under pressure to shed its flab, this series has strengthened the argument to keep it roly-poly. ' ' '