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NEW YORK -- Brandon McCarthy and Chase Headley are quickly putting their stamp on a playoff surge for the New York Yankees. Acquired earlier this month from NL West also-rans, they teamed up Thursday to help the Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 4-2. McCarthy threw six more solid innings, Headley delivered another timely hit and New York won for the sixth time in seven games. "From the beginning of spring training, its about giving yourself a chance in the post-season," said Headley, obtained this week in a trade with San Diego. "What an opportunity for me," he said. "I take it as an honour and privilege to be here." McCarthy improved to 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in three starts since the Yankees got him from Arizona. He was 3-10 with a 5.01 ERA at the time of the trade. "I really felt I wanted more pressure," he said. "Its ramped up all the way. I feel like Ive responded." "Its the opposite of how I felt earlier in this year. I was a burden on the team and holding things up," he said. With the Yankees, the newcomers are now in the thick of the race for the AL East crown and the wild-card spots. "When you go out and get players that produce, its a lift for your team," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. Texas fell to 3-17 in July and dropped 22 games under .500 for the first time since the final week of the 1988 season. "Right now, were just not getting it done," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. McCarthy limited Texas to one run and four hits in six innings. He struck out five, and fanned Alex Rios to finish off an 11-pitch at-bat that ended the first inning. Rios almost got even in the eighth with Texas trailing 3-2, hitting a drive off All-Star reliever Dellin Betances that was caught on the warning track in right field. David Robertson pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 27 chances. Colby Lewis (6-8) gave up three runs and four hits in 6 1-3 innings. He took the loss, but kept his composure -- in his previous start, he got rankled when Torontos Colby Rasmus bunted for a two-out single midway through the game. There were no problems with the field at Yankee Stadium, either. New York won 2-1 Wednesday night when a sudden, heavy storm prevented the grounds crew from quickly putting the tarp down in the fifth inning. The rain stopped soon enough, but the field was too wet to continue. Texas took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Elvis Andrus. Brett Gardner doubled in the fourth and scored on Headleys two-out single off the right-field wall. Headley was acquired from the Padres on Tuesday and beat Texas that night with a single in the 14th inning. Francisco Cervelli hit a go-ahead double in the fifth and later scored when left fielder Shin-Soo Choo made a fine running catch on Gardners sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead. Earlier, Rangers centre fielder Leonys Martin ran way back to grab Ichiro Suzukis drive. J.P. Arencibia homered in the Texas seventh. Brian McCann had an RBI double in the New York eighth. "Im not frustrated, I think its going to happen, I think were going to turn the hitting around," Arencibia said. NOTES: The Yankees evened their home record at 24-24. They have 33 home games left, most in the AL. ... A day after Texas traded closer Joakim Soria to Detroit, RHP Neftali Feliz will inherit the role for the time being, Washington said. ... Yankees SS Derek Jeter got a day off for rest. ... Toronto LHP Mark Buehrle (10-6, 2.86) starts Friday night at Yankee Stadium against RHP Hiroki Kuroda (6-6, 3.88). Buehrle is 1-11 lifetime vs. the Yankees. ... Texas RHP Yu Darvish will remain on regular rest after pitching 4 1-3 innings in the rain-shortened loss, Washington said. ... Texas pitching coach Mike Maddux will miss the weekend series vs. Oakland to see brother Greg inducted into the Hall of Fame. Bullpen coach Andy Hawkins will fill in for Maddux, and Triple-A pitching coach Brad Holman will be the bullpen coach for the three games against the As. Nike Off White Sverige .C. -- Charles Oakley, one of the NBAs all-time tough guys, may not return to the Charlotte Bobcats bench next season because of a painful back condition he says was caused during an assault last year in Las Vegas. Nike Air Max Thea Rabatt . Despite 11-1 records, theyre out and Big Ten winner Ohio State is into the national semifinals. http://www.reaairmaxsverige.com/air-max-...e-rabatt.html.J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Nike Air Max Billigt . Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 22-year-old threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced up and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller on the right hip after Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second out. Nike Air Max 270 Rea .com) - Pavel Datsyuk and Gustav Nyquist both scored in the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings denied the Minnesota Wilds comeback bid with a 5-4 win on Tuesday. LAS VEGAS -- T.J. McConnell laid out like a baserunner diving headfirst into a base. He missed the ball, but, after landing with a thud, jumped up and raced the other direction. Aaron Gordon, who did get the steal because of McConnells effort, flipped the ball ahead and Arizonas point guard ran under it, scoring an easy basket in transition. The play, and countless others like it in a spirit-crushing rout over Utah, let the rest of the Pac-12 field -- and the country -- know that one of the nations best defensive is in high gear for the post-season. Playing with a feverish intensity from the opening tip, Arizona raced through the record book and overwhelmed the stunned Utes in a 71-39 rout on Thursday to match the most lopsided game in Pac-12 tournament history. "We were locked in," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "Everything that we wanted to do defensively, we were able to do it." Nick Johnson scored 14 points, McConnell 13 and Gordon added 11 for Arizona, which shot 53 per cent. That was just a side note to what the Wildcats were doing defensively. After playing two close games against Utah during the regular season, top-seeded Arizona (29-3) opened the tournament with a have-to-see-it-to-believe-it defensive performance. Energized by a raucous crowd that made it feel like the McKale Center, the Wildcats were at their lane-jumping, shot-contesting best against the Utes (21-11) to move into Fridays semifinals against Colorado or California. Arizona jumped on Utah early and had stamped its name in the record books by then, setting marks for fewest points allowed, fewest field goals (12) and lowest shooting percentage (25). The Wildcats held the Utes to 13 points in the first half, another record, and matched UCLAs 32-point win over Oregon State in 2006 to move into Fridays semifinals against Colorado or California. Jordan Loveridge and Delon Wright, Utahhs leading scorers, combined for seven points on 1-of-4 shooting and Utah lost by 13 fewer points than its 10 previous losses combined.dddddddddddd "When we get stops and get rebounds and get the push, our athleticism is really at play," Johnson said. "I think finishing with dunks and around the basket gets everybody going. Arizona had hoped to make a statement in the Pac-12 tournament to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Pac-12 regular-season champion Wildcats certainly did in their tournament opener, playing with an intensity Utah had no chance of matching after playing a close game against Washington the night before. The crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena started chants of "U of A! U of A!" long before the opening tip and the Wildcats turned the game into a rout not long after the ball went up. Racing out for dunks and 3-pointers in transition set up by their climb-in-your-jersey defence, the Wildcats stormed past the Utes with an 18-2 run that put them up 22-6. Arizona kept its foot on the Utes behind its defence, contesting every shot, pass and dribble. The Wildcats held Utah to 5-of-19 shooting while forcing eight turnovers in the first half. Loveridge and Wright, who combine for over 31 points per game, took four shots and had no points between them. "They were really putting on a defensive clinic in the first half," Utah centre Dallin Bachynski said. Second half, more of the same. Utah missed its first 11 shots -- its first field goal came 9:15 in -- and at one point had five players on the court who had yet to score in the game. Yep, it was that bad. The only thing in doubt at that point was whether the Utes would get to 30 points. They got there with 4:17 left, but, boy, was it ugly. "They took pride in guarding us," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "They took the life out of us." ' ' '