Present yourself! » s said. ... OF Ryan Raburn left th

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Bartolo Colon celebrated his 40th birthday a few days early with something hes enjoyed quite a few times over the years: a win over the Texas Rangers. Seth Smith homered and scored three times, Colon pitched seven strong innings for his first victory in nearly a month and the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 9-2 on Monday night. Colon, who turns 40 on Friday, gave up two runs on six hits and struck out three. It was the first win for Colon (4-2) since April 23 at Boston, and he joined Bert Blyleven, Dennis Leonard and Jack Morris as the pitchers with the most wins over the Rangers at 19. "I like to pitch here," Colon, who has 175 wins in 16 seasons, said through a translator. "I dont know why." Coco Crisp got three hits, and had the first of three straight Oakland doubles in a four-run fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie. He scored when Yoenis Cespedes hit a line drive just over Adrian Beltres head with the third baseman playing in, and Cespedes came home on Brandon Moss line drive to the wall in right. Josh Lindblom (0-1) lost in his 2013 debut and first major league start. Lindblom was replaced by left-hander Joseph Ortiz after striking out Josh Donaldson in the fourth. Smith hit an RBI single and went to second when left fielder David Murphy dropped the ball trying to make a throw home. The error allowed Smith to score on a single by Chris Young for a 5-1 Oakland lead. "The first four innings I was able to make pitches and work myself out of jams," Lindblom said. "That fifth inning, I couldnt make the pitch." Smiths opposite-field homer to left for a 1-0 lead in the second was the 13th straight solo homer for the As, tying a franchise record set in 2007. Jed Lowrie had three hits, including one of five doubles for Oakland. The two outs Smith made were with the bases loaded as the As stranded a season-high 15. Texas pitchers walked a season-high eight, although two were intentional. Even Colon had problems with walks -- by his standards. He matched his season total by walking Geovany Soto twice. "Those dont happen too often," As manager Bob Melvin said. Top Texas prospect Jurickson Profar made his first appearance in the majors this year at second base and was immediately put to the test by Crisp, who had infield hits his first two times up despite Profars best efforts. The 20-year-old went far to his left to grab the first one and fielded the next almost behind the bag at second, but Crisp beat the throw both times. Profar drove in both Texas runs without a hit, scoring Soto with a grounder in the third and Mitch Moreland with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. "The first one, we needed a groundball, he got the groundball," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He handled his at-bats well tonight. We scored two runs, he got both of them." With Ian Kinsler on the disabled list because of bruised ribs, Profar is back with the Rangers after homering in his first big league at-bat as a 19-year-old last year. "Im feeling more comfortable in the box and on the field," said Profar, who hit .424 during an eight-game hitting streak that included the first multihomer game of his career before getting called up from Triple-A Round Rock. "It starts from there." Colon was helped by three double plays in the first four innings, including a pair started by Moss at first base when he snagged hard grounders from Lance Berkman and Moreland, stepped on the bag and got the runners trying to go to second. He came out after throwing 95 pitches. "I mean, hes 40 and wed like to try to get him through a season," Melvin said. "So anything over 100 for me is starting to get a little uncomfortable for me. To give us seven, just short of 100, is terrific." Lindblom, who came to Texas as a reliever in the off-season trade that sent franchise hits leader Michael Young to Philadelphia, gave up seven hits and four runs in 4 2-3 innings filling in for Alexi Ogando, whos on the disabled list with right biceps tendinitis. The 25-year-old had 101 relief appearances over two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Phillies but struggled in the Texas bullpen during spring training. The Rangers decided to try him as a starter at Round Rock, where he was 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA. "Fastball command was a little off today," Lindblom said. "I wasnt able to command my heater in and out, which has kind of been my staple all year." NOTES: Rangers C A.J. Pierzynski (strained oblique) was the designated hitter in the final game of a two-game rehabilitation stint at Double-A Frisco on Monday. He went 1 for 3 with a single and is expected back in the Texas lineup Tuesday, when hes eligible to come off the disabled list. ... Athletics RHP Chris Resop cleared waivers and was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. Oakland designated him for assignment Friday. Cheap Air VaporMax Shoes Online . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Blue Air Max 2018 Shoes Free Shipping . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. http://www.outletairmax.com/ . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Womens White Air Max 2018 . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Black Mens Air Max Sale . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. DENVER -- Chad Bettis held his right fist aloft for a moment as the ovation from the crowd washed over him. He then tapped his chest and pointed toward the sky.Wow, the right-hander said, his immediate reaction after his best-ever performance.Bettis threw a two-hitter for his first career complete game, Carlos Gonzalez hit a grand slam as part of a six-run third and the Colorado Rockies beat the slumping San Francisco Giants 6-0 on Monday.Bettis (12-7) was perfect until Eduardo Nunez singled with two outs in the fifth inning. He struck out seven and walked none.After getting Angel Pagan on a grounder to end the game, he was almost in disbelief. The cheers were great. The hugs from teammates, too. Same with the water over the head.Its something thats once in a lifetime, Bettis said, before adding, hopefully, it occurs a little bit more.San Francisco intentionally walked Nolan Arenado to face Gonzalez in the third. Gonzalez lined a fastball from Matt Moore over the fence in right-center for his second grand slam of the season.Gonzalez understood the move. Arenado is one of the top run-producers in the league and the player nicknamed Cargo is in a funk.They took their chances. Didnt work, Gonzalez said. Good for us, bad for them.An erratic Moore (2-4 with Giants, 9-11 overall) allowed six runs in 2 2/3 innings -- his shortest outing of the season. He walked four and threw two wild pitches.I have to be a ton better than that, Moore said.Moore, who was acquired from Tampa Bay on July 31, had trouble with his release point in the third. He walked the first two batters of the inning, including Bettis when the pitcher tried to put down a bunt. That paved the way to the decisive inning.Two batters after Gonzalezs drive, Nick Hundley hit a solo homer to give the Rockies a 6-0 lead.The Giants had the best record in baseball at the All-Star break, but things have unraveled. Theyve gone a major league-worst 16-31 since then, lost their lead in the NL West and are now trying to hang on to a wild-card spot.Its time for us to wake up here, Giaants manager Bruce Bochy said.dddddddddddd We are better than this.Bettis was stellar in the best outing of his career, getting 15 groundball outs. He surrendered a leadoff double to Trevor Brown in the sixth, but worked his way out of the jam.The 27-year-old Bettis called this his best game in terms of feel for his pitches. He fell behind leadoff hitter Denard Span 3-0 to start the game, before getting him to ground, and was in command the rest of the way.He could throw any pitch for a strike at any time, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. That was outstanding by Chad.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: C Buster Posey received a day off after spending 13 innings behind the plate Sunday during a loss in Chicago against the Cubs. Ive got to keep an eye on these guys and keep them fresh, Bochy said.Rockies: OF Charlie Blackmon was out of the lineup for a third straight game with tightness in his lower back. ... Weiss isnt ruling out the return of rookie SS Trevor Story (torn ligament in left thumb) before the end of the season. Story has been on the DL since Aug. 2. If that happens, great, Weiss said. ... OF Ryan Raburn left the game in the sixth with a bruised left foot.A GRAND TIMEIt was Gonzalezs sixth grand slam with the Rockies, tying him with Dante Bichette and Andres Galarraga for second-most in team history, according to the Rockies. Todd Helton leads with seven.POWER STRUGGLEPart of the problem for the Giants has been a lack of power, with just 36 homers in the second half. Some of their better long ball hitters -- Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt and Posey -- have gone a combined 243 at bats without leaving the yard.I cant explain it for you, Bochy said. Hopefully, that means well hit a few from this point on.UP NEXTGiants: RHP Jeff Samardzija (11-9, 4.06 ERA) is 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA in two starts against Colorado.Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (5-5, 3.43 ERA) has allowed three or less runs in 12 of his 15 starts. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '