Pirate Galaxy » Sri Lanka As recent tour to England

MINNEAPOLIS -- Cole Hamels lost control of his signature cutter, and that led to another victory by last-place Minnesota over first-place Texas.I just all of a sudden couldnt find it, Hamels said Sunday after the Rangers 5-4 defeat.Hamels (9-2) was knocked out in the fifth inning of his shortest start this season and lost for the first time since May 27 and only the third time since Texas acquired him last summer.Hamels had won a Rangers record nine consecutive road decisions and went 4-0 in June with a 1.51 ERA over six starts. And after watching his team get routed 17-5 on Saturday, Texas was hoping he would spark a rebound.Instead, he allowed five runs and a season-high 10 hits while walking three. He left after walking his first two batters in the fifth.No pitchers immune to having a game like this, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. He still continued to try to battle and give us as much as he could. I made the decision. That was about as far as I was willing to go.It was just the second time this season Hamels failed to complete five innings.They had a really good game plan going into the game, Banister said. They were going to make him work. It looked like he had trouble finding his rhythm, finding that good release pointBrian Dozier drove in two runs and scored a pair to back Kyle Gibson (2-5), who won his second straight start after going winless in his first seven. The Twins stranded plenty of runners against Hamels -- in the fourth, they had a double, two singles and stolen base, but still couldnt score. Even so, they did just enough damage as Hamels struggled to control his cutter.He had to go to his fastball and then he lost command and started leaving stuff over the middle of the plate, Dozier said. Against good pitchers like that you really have to take advantage of the mistakes, and we did that today.Shin-Soo Choo drove in three runs. He led off a game with a home run for the third time this year, a drive into the left-center seats. Gibson then retired eight straight batters -- he a stretch he repeated later in the game.Dozier hit a two-run triple in the third and scored on Robbie Grossmans single for a 3-1 lead.For me, I know Im going to face them again in my next start, so just get ready for that, keep the same sort of approach with being aggressive like I was in the first inning and try to maintain that for a little bit longer than that, Hamels said.LAST GASPElvis Andrus singled in a run in the fifth, but the Twins opened a 5-2 lead in the bottom half when Max Kepler singled in a run and Eddie Rosario hit into a run-scoring forceout against Tony Barnette. Choo hit a two-run double in the seventh off Ryan Pressley to cut the lead to one run, but Brandon Kintzler pitched around Robinson Chirinos two-out double in the ninth for his fourth save in as many chances, retiring Choo on a game-ending groundout.PATRIOTIC RANGERSThe Rangers were in a patriotic mood as they headed to the airport after the game. The players wore matching outfits- a navy blue blazer covered in white stars, bright red pants, a white shirt, and a red-and-white striped tie. Many even had red or blue shoes for the special occasion. Fittingly, the team was flying to Boston, where they will face the Red Sox in a July 4 matinee.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: RHP Colby Lewis (right latissimus dorsi) was transferred to the 60-day DL to make room for newly promoted Michael Roth.Twins: 3B Trevor Plouffe was scratched before the game with sore ribs. ... INF Eduardo Escobar is day to day with a hamstring injury. General manager Terry Ryan said he isnt expecting a DL stint. ... Trevor May, who hasnt played since June 9 because of back spasms, was back in the clubhouse. Manager Paul Molitor said May wasnt activated Sunday because he was coming off pitching in back-to-back games in his minor league rehab assignment.UP NEXTRangers: Nick Martinez (1-1) is to make his fourth start this season when the Rangers travel to Boston to open a three-game series against the Red Sox. Martinez has not had a decision in his three previous starts.Twins: Minnesota opens a three-game set against Oakland, with Ricky Nolasco (3-6) set to make his team-leading 17th start. Nolasco is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts against the Athletics. Maury Wills Youth Jersey . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. 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A starring turn in the recent Sri Lanka Under-19 teams tour of England has earned top-order batsman Avishka Fernando a call-up to Sri Lankas squad for the first two ODIs against Australia. Left-arm spinner Amila Aponso has also been named in a national squad for the first time, following good outings in South Africa with the Sri Lanka emerging team.Allrounders Milinda Siriwardana and Thisara Perera returned to the ODI squad, having been dropped for the series against England. Batsman Upul Tharanga and allrounder Dasun Shanaka was omitted, as were Farveez Maharoof, Suraj Randiv and Chaminda Bandara. Tharangas omission is despite his having had moderate success in the lower middle order, in England. Tillakaratne Dilshan returned to the side after having missed the England tour due to personal reasons.Fernando, 18, has not yet played any senior cricket, but recently hit consecutive hundreds - at Chelmsford and Canterbury - to help lead Sri Lanka Under-19 to an unprecedented whitewash over England Under-19. A bruising right-hand batsman, who had played for St. Sebastians College in Moratuwa, Fernando hit 285 runs in that three-match Youth ODI series, at an average of 95 and a strike rate of 103. He had also struck 97 in a Youth ODI against South Africa Under-19, in July.Aponso, meanwhile, had taken 13 wickets for 207 runs against South Africa Emerging XI, in a four-day game in Potchefstroom last week, and returned good figures in the one-day matches on the same tour. He was particularly impressive in first-class cricket for Ragama Cricket Club. He claimed 47 wickets at an average of 20.97 in tthe most recent Premier League Tournament, to finish third on the wicket-takers list.ddddddddddddThe man who topped that list - left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan - was also selected. He had once been in an ODI squad during a home series against England, in 2014, but did not play a game.Siriwardana, who had made a good start to his career with bat and ball, missed out on Test selection, but has now returned to the ODI team. Thisara had only been picked for Sri Lanka As recent tour to England but, despite proving expensive with the ball and only sporadically effective with the bat in that series, he was picked for Sri Lanka again. Allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva was also selected, following promising returns in his debut Test series. De Silva has played one ODI - against Ireland, in June.Nuwan Pradeep had recovered from the hamstring injury he sustained in the Test series, but Suranga Lakmal was the only other specialist seam bowler in this squad. Dushmantha Chameera and Lasith Malinga continued to be unavailable through injury.The first of five ODIs will be played on Sunday, at Khettarama. The series later moves to Dambulla and Pallekele.Sri Lanka ODI squad for first two ODIs: Angelo Mathews (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Thisara Perera, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Avishka Fernando, Amila Aponso ' ' '