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ARLINGTON, Texas - Nelson Cruz thrust his right arm into the air and shouted out in relief while running the bases after hitting his second homer of the night for the Texas Rangers. After a tough stretch, the Rangers had a loud and clear response Monday night to the message manager Ron Washington delivered the previous day. Cruz homered twice and the Rangers ended a six-game losing streak with an 8-7 victory over the AL West-leading Oakland Athletics, matching their run total during what had been the majors longest active skid. "We were looking for what happened, get some base hits in RBI situations and just keep grinding," Washington said. "They just showed what they have the capability of doing — what they did tonight. That was the only thing that I stressed to them." Washington had a rare postgame meeting with his team after the Rangers were swept in a four-game series by Toronto, extending their longest home losing streak since 2005. That was part of a 4-11 stretch that dropped them out of first place. Cruzs second homer was a two-run shot onto the hill in straightaway centre field on an 0-2 pitch from Jesse Chavez (1-1) in the fifth. Cruz emphatically responded while rounding the bases on his 18th homer of the season, and second in two innings. It came right after A.J. Pierzynskis RBI double and put the Rangers up 7-6. "It was the run we need in that situation. It was very emotional," Cruz said. "In our minds, we believe we can do it. We showed what were capable of doing." Oakland, which entered the four-game series opener with a three-game division lead over Texas, wiped out an early 3-0 deficit with a six-run fourth ignited by a bizarre play before Neal Cotts (3-1) worked 2 1-3 perfect innings in relief of rookie Nick Tepesch. Robbie Ross and Tanner Scheppers each worked 1-2-3 innings, then Joe Nathan gave up a run before securing his 21st save in 22 chances. After being held to two runs or less in a team record-matching six games in a row, the Rangers took care of that in the first three innings. Pierzynski pulled a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole in the second, an inning before an RBI double by Ian Kinsler. That was Kinslers first hit in 10 at-bats since coming off the disabled list Saturday after missing 25 games with a rib cage injury. The Rangers eight runs and 12 hits were both their most in 16 games this month. In the Oakland fourth, Yoenis Cespedes hit a grounder that ricocheted off third baseman Adrian Beltre toward shortstop. Elvis Andrus was about to throw to first when he saw John Jaso running in front of him toward third. Andrus threw to Beltre, who made a swiping attempt at a tag. Jaso, sliding headfirst in front of him, lifted his arm into the air trying to avoid the tag and then dived into the base with his left hand. He was called safe by third base umpire Jordan Baker even though it appeared his hand came off the bag while being tagged. Beltre was irate and Washington also came out to argue the call. "Its a little odd that the umpire can miss the call twice. ... Hes right on top of the play and he still missed it," Beltre said. "I got him twice. I know that, because I did it myself, and I went to see the replay to confirm. The replay showed I tagged him twice. I dont know what he saw." Tepesch then allowed three hits and a walk to the next four hitters, including a two-run single by Seth Smith, who scored on Jed Lowries double. Eric Sogard had a sacrifice fly and Coco Crisps RBI single made it 6-3 and chased Tepesch. "He made some good pitches in the bottom of the strike zone, and they went down there and they got them and they found holes," Washington said. Oakland rookie Dan Straily had a 2.21 ERA in his previous five starts, a stretch that began at Texas on May 21 when the right-hander worked seven scoreless innings and faced 22 batters — one more than the minimum for that span — in a 1-0 win over Yu Darvish. Straily hadnt allowed a homer in his last six starts and 38 innings until Pierzynski went deep. The first of Cruzs two homers came off him as well. Cruz was the first batter faced by Chavez when he took over for Straily, who allowed six runs and eight hits over 4 2-3 innings. "I was up in the strike zone. They were aggressive and I just got beat, plain and simple," Straily said. "Swing early and often. I feel like everyone up there was trying to swing out of their shoes on every single pitch. They got me, thats all there is to it." NOTES: Cespedes started his fourth consecutive game as Oaklands DH after missing two games because of left hamstring tightness. Manager Bob Melvin wants to see him in the field during batting practice before putting him back in the outfield. ... Rangers starting pitchers have gone 16 games in a row without a victory this month, matching a team record set in 1975. ... It was Cruzs 10th career multihomer game. Fake Sabres Jerseys . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Buffalo Sabres Store . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. https://www.cheapsabres.com/ . 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. Sabres Jerseys 2020 . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Cheap Sabres Jerseys . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. GLENDALE, Ariz. -- As the NHL offseason extended into July, Arizona Coyotes fans became concerned. Captain Shane Doan had not re-signed with the team.Behind the scenes there was no need to worry. Once Doan decided he wanted to play a 21st season, it was just a matter of working out the details and finding time to get a contract done.Doan signed a one-year contract with a base salary of $2.5 million on Tuesday, ensuring the NHLs longest-tenured captain will remain in the desert for at least one more season. The total deal will be around $5 million with a deferred signing bonus and deferred incentives.Obviously, I wanted to get it done as soon as possible, but I know there were things that needed to be put in place, Doan said. It wasnt anything I had anxiety about or anything like that. Its something we knew eventually would get done.The 39-year-old Doan is coming off one of his best seasons, leading Arizona with 28 goals and finishing with 19 assists in 72 games. He has spent his entire 20-year career with the franchise, starting when it was in Winnipeg in 1995, and is its all-time leader in goals (296), points (945) and games (1,466).Doan had opportunities to be traded to or sign with Stanley Cup-caliber teams, particularly after becoming a free agent four years ago. Instead, he remained loyal to the only franchise hes played for, further endearinng him to an Arizona fan base that already appreciated his blue-collar work ethic and contributions to the community.dddddddddddd.Hes captain, our leader, someone who brings everyone to the next level, Coyotes general manager John Chayka said. Were excited to reach an agreement with him and get him on a team we feel has a chance to be real good by the end of the season.Doan had previously signed a four-year, $21.2 million contract that expired at the start of free agency this month and had been debating whether to continue playing.Arizonas youth movement helped lure him back.The Coyotes had a disappointing 2015-16 season and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year, but have a strong core of young players. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair had solid rookie seasons in 2015-16 and Arizonas system is considered one of the NHLs best.Those young guys, I cant say enough about how much they made me feel relevant, Doan said. With a young group, its easy to be the old guy nagging, kind of pointing things out all the time, but our young guys were always respectful and eager to listen, want to listen. That makes it fun.Doan was drafted by the Coyotes with the seventh overall pick of the 1995 draft and was named captain in 2003. 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