ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rougned Odor and the Texas Rangers took full advantage of an unprecedented bad night by Baltimore shortstop J.J. Hardy to avoid a three-game sweep after blowing a big early lead. Odour had a leadoff single in the seventh and scored the tiebreaking run with the help of two errors by Hardy as the Rangers went on to beat the Orioles 8-6 on Thursday night. "He usually comes up with that stuff. He didnt come up with it tonight, and it opened the inning us," Rangers manager Ron Washington said of the Hardy miscues. "Hes a class infielder, and it just goes to show you it can happen to anyone." The Rangers blew an early 5-0 lead, but their three-run seventh started when speedy No. 9 batter Odor had an infield single off reliever Brian Matusz (2-2) and moved up after Hardy, who had a throwing error after fielding the ball in the hole. "I had to make a quick throw on (Odour) and I just threw it a little too low," Hardy said. "The next one, I cant explain it. I just missed it." Odour came home when Hardy misplayed a grounder hit by Elvis Andrus to make it 6-5. Alex Rios and Chris Jimenez then added consecutive RBI singles off Preston Guilmet, the fifth Baltimore pitcher. "Nobody in this clubhouse thinks twice about it," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "Its an honour to watch him play every night and Im blessed to have had him pass my way, so we dont give that two thoughts." Hardy, an All-Star for the second time last season, also had a throwing error in the fourth for the first three-error game in his career. In 1,152 games at shortstop since 2005 before Thursday, he had only one multi-error game -- seven years ago when he had two in a game for Milwaukee. Adam Jones had three RBIs for the Orioles, including his two-run double in the fifth and a homer leading off the eighth. Nick Markakis also homered for Baltimore, a two-run shot in the third. Robbie Ross (2-4) struck out two in two scoreless innings before Tanner Scheppers, another reliever who started this season in the Texas starting rotation, gave up the homer to Jones. Joakim Soria worked a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances. Scheppers, the opening day starter who went 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA in four starts before going on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation, was recalled from an injury rehab assignment earlier Thursday. Baltimore starter Chris Tillman faced only 11 batters, and was gone without recording an out in the second inning. Nine of those batters reached, including all five in the second. Tillman pitched in place of Miguel Gonzalez, the right-hander who was scratched a day before his scheduled start because of soreness in his side. Mitch Moreland, the Rangers No. 3 batter, had a slicing two-run single to left in the first. Leonys Martin led off the Texas second with a single before Michael Choices two-run homer to left. After Odor and Shin-Soo Choo walked, Andrus had an RBI single that made it 5-0 and chased Tillman. Jones doubled off Texas starter Colby Lewis, then scored on a single by Chris Davis that tied it 5-all. But Lewis wasnt blaming centre fielder Martin, who had the ball hit by Jones come out of his glove while falling to the ground on what would have been the third out. "Its one of those outings where Im excited we won," Lewis said. "I dont think it should have been in that situation. I put it on myself. Im not really worried about that." NOTES: Texas had lost seven in a row against Baltimore. ... The Orioles finished 5-5 on a 10-game road trip. They play their next 10 games, and 20 of 26, at home. ... Texas picked right-hander Luis Ortiz from Sanger High School in California with the 30th overall pick in the draft. That was the Rangers compensation pick for the Orioles signing Nelson Cruz, who was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the series finale. Nolan Ryan Jersey .C. -- Steve Spurrier was much happier about South Carolinas improved performance than about his lastest career milestone. Albert Pujols Jersey . "I just think what it does for everybody in life is real simple," said Babcock early on Friday afternoon. "You dont give in. You just keep on keeping on. Is it going to go your way every time? No. But you choose your attitude and how you perform and how hard you dig in." Nearly four years to the day of the 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver, his team dug in with its best effort of these Olympics, snuffing out the high-powered Americans for another opportunity at gold. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/ju...-angels-jersey/. Jones, from Winnipeg, built a 3-0 advantage after three ends by scoring two in the second and one in the third. Chinas skip Bingyu Wang cut that lead to 3-1 in the fourth before Canada added another three in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. Mike Trout Jersey . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. J. C. Ramirez Jersey . Make that, almost always subjective. Saturday at Carrow Road, the spirit of fair play trumped the rulebook, costing Norwich City three points.TORONTO - With just over seven seconds left on the clock and Fridays game hanging in the balance, a sellout Air Canada Centre crowd rose to their feet, holding their breath in anticipation. Theyve been holding their breath for six years now, but finally they can exhale. As Celtics forward Jared Sullinger forced up a wild, off-balance runner, the building erupted. It was official. The Raptors are heading back to the post-season. "We made it," shouted Amir Johnson repeatedly as the media filtered into Torontos locker room. "Its a satisfying, kind of overwhelming feeling," he described, following his teams 105-103 victory over Boston, officially snapping the Raptor five-year playoff drought. "Its been six years since this team, this organization made it to the playoffs. This team has worked so hard. We deserved it. Weve been playing our butts off, playing through injuries. Weve had our ups and downs." "Weve made it." Not lost on the team was the fact that they stole a game, their 41st victory of the season, that probably shouldnt have come down to the final possession. Down by four with under three minutes to play, it looked like the Raptors would have to hope for a New York Knicks loss later in the evening or wait until Sunday to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Theyve been resilient all year, so why wouldnt they be now? First DeMar DeRozan drained a fadeaway jumper, then Johnson hit the game-winning put-back layup. "It was fitting," Dwane Casey said. DeRozan and Johnson, the teams longest tenured players, were responsible for Torontos final four points. For them, this moment was a little sweeter. "It means a lot, honestly, man," said DeRozan, the Raptors fifth-year guard, who will make his post-season debut next month. "Especially for me and Amir and what weve been through here with the tough seasons, through the ups and downs and the struggles. We stuck with it." The only player in the building that could give a firsthand account of the Raptors last playoff experience - a five-game, first round defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic in 2007-08 - was Celtics forward Kris Humphries. Only four other players from that team are currently on an NBA roster, but DeRozan and Johnson – who arrived the year after – have both been in Toronto long enough to appreciate what a night like this means to the franchise, the city and the Raptors long-suffering fan base. "It was all worth it," said DeRozan. "These fans stuck behind us every single day and theyre going to continue to do so. Thats the reason why we work extremely hard. Our fans definitely push us." Of course, it was just a formality. It was inevitable, only a matter of time. Toronto wasnt going to go winless in its remaining games, just like the Knicks were not going to run the table the rest of the way. Still, they have refused to count their chickens before they hatched and for that you can credit the humility and focus of their head coach. Moments after the win, a loud chorus of applause could be heard from outside the teams locker room. Finally, they could celebrate, albeit behind closed doors. Even Casey, who wouldnt pat himself on the back and likely never will, found a way to indulge in what the evening represented. "Were excited about it," he admitted. "My hat is off to all the guys whove come through here," said Casey, crediting MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum as well as former general manager Bryan Colangelo for their contributions to the process. "To DeMar DeRozan [and] Amir Johnson, who have been through it all and for the fans, the fans for understanding and being patient. I know they didnt see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but its a process. You dont build Rome overnight in this league. Is very difficult to do. You talk about rebuilding, its a hard gig." The Raptors have surpassed every rationaal expectation, going 35-19 since the trade of Rudy Gay in early December.dddddddddddd Its been a season of firsts for a franchise on the cusp of its 20th birthday, a franchise many pundits wrote off for dead after selling off its highest-paid player. "Everybody who writes something on a piece of paper isnt always right, thats how I look at it," said DeRozan, the first-time All-Star. Hes right. He and his team have proven a lot of people wrong. As the Celtics made their run, cutting their deficit - once 14 - down and ultimately taking the lead, DeRozan came through yet again. With Kyle Lowry slowed by an ankle injury he sustained in the first half, DeRozan picked him up and scored 24 of his game-high 30 points in the final 24 minutes. 16 of his 27 career 30-point games have come this season. With 10 games remaining and their spot in the pos-tseason locked up, the team can shift its attention to seeding but most importantly, going into the playoffs healthy and with momentum. "We cant be satisfied," Casey repeated, with his team moving into soul possession of the third seed following the Chicago Bulls loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. "We still want to continue on and weve still got to get better." Lowrys injury scare With three minutes to go in the second quarter, Lowry limped to the locker room after turning his right ankle while back-pedaling to get back on defence. After being examined by the medical staff, the Raptor point guard and most important player was able to return, starting the second half with his ankle taped up. As per usual, Lowry shrugged off whatever pain he was in after the win. "Im a little sore, but Im fine," he said after scoring nine points in 33 minutes. "Im okay. Good to go." Revenge of the second unit Naturally, Casey was frustrated with his under-performing bench after they were outscored 51-7 in Boston on Wednesday. "I challenged them before the game," said the Raptors coach. "I got on them about their productivity or lack thereof in the Boston game. I challenged them. I said, Look, guys want playing time, when the opportunity comes, youve got to do something, whether its defence, knocking somebody down, taking a charge, whatever. And they came through." Greivis Vasquez, who scored all seven of the benchs points on Wednesday, led the teams reserves with 15, but Chuck Hayes and John Salmons were also productive on both ends of the floor. Combined, the three former Kings - along with Tyler Hansbrough, who logged five minutes - totalled 28 points on the night. Patterson nearing a return Although he missed his 12th straight game, Patrick Patterson has been making progress and appears to be on the verge of returning from his right elbow injury. Although the Raptors havent had much practice time to get Patterson back up to speed - a concern Casey expressed before Fridays game - the Raptors forward has been able to participate in smaller, three-on-three scrimmages since being cleared for contact earlier this week. "[His] conditioning is probably going to be step behind a little bit," Casey acknowledged. "Its not going to be where he was before stepping away, so thats going to be expected. Thats why now we need to kind of get him back in rhythm and with the lack of practice time its going to have to be in a game situation." Patterson could be back in uniform this weekend in Florida, as the Raptors begin a back-to-back set with the Magic on Sunday before visiting the Heat Monday evening. The stat With their 41st win of the season, the Raptors secured a .500 record for the sixth time in franchise history and first since 2007-08, the last year they qualified for the playoffs. The quote "My grandmother called," Johnson told the media after his team clinched a spot in the playoffs. "She said that she was proud." 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