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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics returned from an impressive, winning trip, and manager Bob Melvin hoped that would create momentum heading into his clubs final homestand of 2016.Instead, the As lost a fifth straight at the Coliseum and left Melvin reflecting Saturday on previous seasons when the ballpark had a vibe, fans were into it and they showed up carrying signs.Elvis Andrus hit a pair of two-run homers for the newly crowned AL West champion Texas Rangers and Oakland was shut out for the second straight day, losing 5-0 behind rookie Raul Alcantara.We were scoring runs in bunches, wed won six out of seven, had a chance to sweep seven in a row, we really had a good feeling coming in here and then havent been able to sustain anything since weve been home, Melvin said.Yu Darvish (6-5) baffled the As for a change. And he had all the run support he needed on a couple of big swings from Andrus, who had his first career multi-homer game. Andrus, who asked to play Saturday after the team celebrated a night earlier and will get a break Sunday, also established career highs for homers with eight and RBI with 68.Darvish had been 0-3 on the road, winning for the first time in seven away starts, but he had no-decisions in his last three.He was all out today, he owned us, Oaklands Bruce Maxwell said.Darvish gave up two hits, struck out nine and walked one in seven innings a day after Texas became the first AL team to clinch a playoff spot with its second straight division title and seventh AL West title overall.Darvish allowed only Stephen Vogts two-out single in the first until Yonder Alonso singled with one out in the fifth. Marcus Semien followed with a walk, but Darvish escaped unscathed.Certainly today thats as good as weve seen Darvish pitch in a while, Melvin said.Alcantara (1-2), someone Melvin considers a candidate for the rotation next season, struck out six with one walk over six innings. He allowed four runs on seven hits and has surrendered five home runs in four major league starts.Oakland had the bases loaded in the eighth but Vogt flied out.Andrus said it means a lot to have that kind of production, and told teammates he would one day have two home runs in a game.Theyre going to laugh when I bring up a conversation about homers, for sure, I dont have too many in my career, he said. They didnt today.Manager Jeff Banister rested his regulars aside from right fielder Nomar Mazara and Andrus, who had his second career four-RBI game.Robinson Chirinos added an RBI double in the ninth for Texas (92-63), which moved 29 games above .500 for the first time since exactly four years ago on Sept. 24, 2012.Three relievers finished the five-hit shutout. Darvish had lost to the As his previous time out, allowing seven runs over five innings in an 11-2 loss last Saturday in Arlington.Now, ace lefty Cole Hamels and Darvish seem poised to give the Rangers a powerful 1-2 to start the playoffs.Im sure the confidence level is high, Banister said.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: RHP Tony Barnette threw 20 pitches to hitters as he works back from a strained oblique and could get into games early in the week. He has no lingering discomfort in his left side. Im ready to roll, he said. Back to normal. ... OF Shin-Soo Choo hit against Barnette. On Friday, he took batting practice for the first time since August surgery to have a plate inserted for a fracture near the left wrist. Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray threw close to 50 pitches between his warmups and a simulated game with the hopes he still can get into a game situation before seasons end. Gray hasnt pitched since Aug. 6 because of a strained right forearm. How Melvin uses him is still to be determined. I know his routine suggests hes used to starting, Melvin said. Well see.UP NEXTRangers: RHP Colby Lewis (6-3, 3.40 ERA) seeks his first win in three starts since coming off a two-month stint on the disabled list with a back strain. Lewis, projected the No. 3 playoff starter, has won four straight starts at the Coliseum since June 2014 and is 7-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 12 outings in Oakland since returning to the U.S. from Japan in 2010.Athletics: Rookie RHP Jharel Cotton (1-0, 1.50), another young pitcher chasing a rotation spot for 2017, has allowed one or fewer earned runs and pitched at least five innings in his first three major league starts. Cheap China Shoes Free Shipping Worldwide . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. Cheap Shoes China Free Shipping . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask. http://www.cheapshoeschinafreeshipping.com/ . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Cheap Shoes For Sale Online . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Discount Shoes Online Free Shipping . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Run Mama Run is a film series created for the espnW Film Fellowship, presented by Walmart. Filmmaker Daniele Anastasion was chosen for her documentary series about elite runner Sarah Brown, who was training to make the 2016 U.S. Olympic track team while pregnant. The film will be presented as a five-episode digital series in Summer 2016.When I pitched this series to espnW, I laid out a four-episode structure that would culminate with Sarah Brown competing in the Olympic Trials in Episode 4. Ill try not to include any spoilers here, but its safe to say that things didnt exactly unfold that way.For this process, I used a method that many filmmakers use to structure their stories in pre-production. You try to outline your story in advance, so that you have a basic plan for shooting. This is how I figure out shot lists, sequences and interview questions before shoots. The index cards often move around and change, but at least you startt with a plan.ddddddddddddAnd you have to be prepared to throw it all away.We had finished editing Episodes 1 and 2 when Sarah began to experience pain in her hip and lower back. She went in for an MRI to find out what was causing the problem. We werent supposed to be shooting with Sarah that day, but I grabbed a camera and drove out to her house in rural Virginia. I arrived just in time to capture the phone call when her doctor delivers some pretty devastating news.To find out what happens, youll have to watch Episode 4 above. We ended up adding an unplanned fifth episode, to follow all the twists and turns that this story takes. We were lucky that espnW supported us in restructuring the series in a way that would do the story justice.Stay tuned for Episode 5, which we are in the middle of filming now! ' ' '