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ARLINGTON, Texas -- If you just looked at the names of the starting pitchers for Wednesdays series finale between Texas and Oakland, it would seem like a no-contest on paper.The Rangers will go with one of their aces in right-hander Yu Darvish (3-3) as they look to complete a three-game sweep of the As. Oakland will counter with rookie left-hander Sean Manaea (4-7). That would seem to give the first-place Rangers a clear advantage when you just look at the names and resumes.The numbers say otherwise though.As good as Darvish had been in his career overall, hes been dreadful against the As. Darvish has made 11 career starts against Oakland and has just one win. Hes 1-8 with a 4.76 ERA and has lost eight straight decisions. The last time Darvish beat Oakland was in 2012.There are signs that Darvish should be able to turn things around this year. For one, hes fresh.I dont think Ive pitched 10 games this season so I dont think Im that tired yet, said Darvish, who turned 30 Tuesday and will make his 10th start of the season against the As.In addition to being fresh, Darvish also comes into the start on a roll. Hes logged five straight quality starts despite going just 1/3 since he returned from the disabled list July 16. He got his first win since coming off the DL for right shoulder discomfort Friday against Detroit and has been among the American League leaders in several pitching categories over the last month. That includes strikeouts, as Darvish has struck out 48 in the six starts. Thats second only to Detroits Justin Verlander in the AL (50) in that timeframe.Darvish, who threw a season-high 107 pitches against the Tigers, isnt thinking about strikeouts when hes out there.I threw a lot of pitches in the first two innings of my start and in my mind I was just trying to get quick outs so I was trying to throw in the strike zone and they were hitting early in the counts and I think that helped, said Darvish, who pitched 6 2/3 innings in that game. Thats me just trying to go deep into the game.Like Darvish, Manaea knows a thing of two about strikeouts. Hes second among AL rookies in strikeouts with 87 despite missing two weeks in June with a left pronator strain.Seventeen of those strikeouts have come against the Rangers, as Manaea has faced Texas three times this year and has as many career wins against Texas in that time as Darvish does against Oakland. Manaea is 1-0 against Texas with a 3.06 ERA in his three starts.Oakland manager Bob Melvin didnt want to divulge whats made Manaea so tough against the Rangers, but he did stress how mature the 24-year-old is.Hes just pitching better against everybody right now, Melvin said. Early on he had some more difficult outings. Hes just getting comfortable in the big leagues. When he sees teams a second time, he knows a little bit more so how to pitch guys. I think hes just getting better and better and more comfortable in the big leagues, not just against a particular team. Gerson Bautista Jersey . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. Mariners Jerseys China . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. https://www.cheapmariners.com/625k-mike-blowers-jersey-mariners.html . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Stitched Mariners Jerseys .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Tom Murphy Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. NEW YORK -- Mets second baseman Neil Walker has been diagnosed with a herniated disk in his lower back that has caused some weakness in his foot.The initial medical recommendation is that Walker will do no additional damage by playing through the issue. Still, Mets officials and Walker are playing it safe by having another doctor review the MRI on Wednesday before potentially having him return to the field.Walker has missed the past three games because of the latest flare-up of the back issue. He experienced a similar issue, including the foot weakness, back in 2012 while with the Pittsburgh Pirates.Anytime you have a back issue, you can be symptomatic in various ways, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. He doesnt have any pain. There is some weakness but not significant enough to prevent him from playing. I think the big concern is: Can he further injure his back? Thats the reason for the second opinion.Alderson suggested anybody portraying the injury as career-threatening is uninformed.I think the currently circulating story is a little overblown, Alderson said. Based on the information we have currently, Neil can play. And the notion that what he has currently is career-ending is a fabrication at this stage. I dont want people to become too concerned about where we are, but were getting a second opinion, as we do in a lot of these cases, and well know more today. But as of right now, we dont think its as serious as has been portrayed.Hes got a disk [issue], which is pretty routine, the GM continued. So were not talking about something thats career-threatening in my judgment, based on what Ive heard from the doctors.Mets manager Terry Collins said the weakness caused by Walkers herniated disk is causing numbness in one of his feet and that is what is keeping him from playing.So we are waiting for the second opinion to find out if surgery is necessary immediately. If not, are we waiting? How long? Hes got to get some strength back in his leg in order to play, Collins said. So, yes, he could play. But do we take him out in the sixth inning? The other night it flared up on him. We end up winning the game, and he said, Im not sure I could have gone extra innings.That is where we stand right now. Until the second opinion comes back, we are hesitant to put him out there.Walker isnt the only player getting an additional medical review on Wednesday. Steven Matz is having his balky left shoulder re-examined. Thee Mets had hoped Matz would return from the disabled list to make a start on Thursday, but an impingement is still leading to rotator cuff irritation.ddddddddddddAlderson said there is no immediate thought to shutting down Matz for the remainder of the season, despite the fact Matz already will require offseason surgery to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow.Im pleased with the way in which these issues have been handled, Alderson said. Steven has pitched through the elbow issue over the last couple of months admirably. We certainly are going to be very careful about the shoulder, just as we have, I think, been about the elbow as well. Were not at the point yet where we say, Look, it doesnt make any sense to continue. Until a doctor tells us that or we determine that in discussions with Steven, hes still part of the team.Alderson insisted the mounting injuries have not been frustrating given the teams play of late. With young pitchers such as Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman having stepped into the rotation, the Mets (68-64) have moved to within 2? games of the St. Louis Cardinals for the National Leagues second wild-card spot.Were 8-2 the last 10 games, so its a little hard to be frustrated, Alderson said. Its challenging for Terry and the staff. Its challenging for the players. Its challenging for us. But, as an organization, I think were meeting the challenge. Well see what happens over the next 10 games, but Im very pleased with the way some of our young players have stepped up.Alderson did not rule out acquiring a reliever on Wednesday -- the final day a player can be obtained from outside the organization and be eligible for the postseason roster. Still, Alderson did not portray such a scenario as likely.Were still working on it, he said. We still have some things that are going on. I dont really expect that well be able to do anything significant. Its possible that well do something. But, you know, weve been happy with the young pitching as its developed over the last week or 10 days. Well have plenty of numbers.Really, at this point, its a matter of evaluating and assessing what we have internally available to us versus what we think we can get and what it would cost us in players. We have the players to make a deal. Its just a question of whether we think its worthwhile. ' ' '