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ARLINGTON, Texas -- It doesnt matter to John Jaso whether hes Oaklands leadoff batter, as long as hes playing. For the Athletics, hes extremely important at the top of the order, especially with Coco Crisp hurting. Jaso drove in three runs Sunday night, helping Scott Kazmir and Oakland beat the Texas Rangers 9-3. The As catcher had a run-scoring single during a five-run second inning and added a two-run double in the fifth. "I like (leadoff) because Im in the lineup," Jaso said. "I dont care where." Manager Bob Melvin said Crisp, who has led off in 69 of the Athletics 105 games, was going back to Oakland to be examined by the doctors who have been treating a recurring neck injury. "When Cocos out, we certainly need a guy against right-handers," Melvin said. "(Jaso) takes a lot of pitches, and he can be aggressive." Jaso was leading off for the 15th time this season and has had at least one hit each game while batting .380 (19 for 50) in that role. He entered the game with an overall .360 on-base percentage. The Athletics first three batters -- Jaso, Stephen Vogt and Yoenis Cespedes -- each had a double and a single, and Josh Reddick added three singles. Kazmir (12-3) moved into a tie for the American League lead in wins while allowing seven hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out two. "It was maybe not his best command at times," Melvin said. "But seeing him be so good this season, that five-inning outing doesnt look so good." Kazmir would not use the 100-degree temperature at game time as an excuse. "Its tough to have nice weather in Oakland and come here to pitch. It kind of drains you in the beginning. I felt great. I was just inconsistent." Kazmir got out of the third and fifth innings by striking out Texas J.P. Arencibia for the final out each time with a total of five runners on base. "It was pretty much the same sequence," Kazmir said. "Off-speed the first two pitches, and tried to finish him off hard. That was big those two innings." Rangers manager Ron Washington said: "Thats J.P. I dont think he can change. We gotta live with it." The victory enabled Oakland to remain two games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Angels in the AL West. The Athletics are 7-5 against the Rangers this season. Adam Rosales had a two-run homer in the second for the Rangers, and Adrian Beltre added a solo shot off reliever Evan Scribner in the eighth. Beltre was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. Miles Mikolas (1-3) allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and four walks in 4 2-3 innings. He was coming off his first win as a major league starter, over the Yankees July 21. "I executed well and made the transition well in the New York game, and kind of fell back into (bad habits)," Mikolas said. "Its hard to break those bad habits, so well do more work on it." Jaso also has an 11-game hitting streak against the Rangers. "I dont know what it is. Ive hit some home runs here. The warm weather is nice, and they have a lot of righties." Jasos single was against Mikolas. Washington brought in left-hander Ryan Feierabend in to face Jaso in the fifth, and he ripped his two-run double with two out. NOTES: Oakland activated INF Alberto Callaspo (strained right hamstring) from the disabled list and optioned 1B Nate Freiman to Triple-A Sacramento. . Rangers LHP Derek Holland is scheduled to pitch two innings in his first game this season Wednesday on an injury-rehab assignment for Double-A Frisco. Holland, on the 60-day disabled list following off-season surgery on his left knee, threw in the bullpen and took fielding practice before Sundays game. ... Texas rookie RHP Roman Mendez pitched a perfect eighth inning. He has not allowed a run in 11 innings during his first eight major league games. ... RHP Nick Tepesch, who left Saturdays start in the seventh inning because of a sore left knee, said he plans to make his next scheduled start Friday in Cleveland. Tony Oliva Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto won at Denver and Utah, but lost in Portland and Sacramento. The Kings loss was the most recent game for the Raptors. Max Kepler Jersey . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-bert-blyleven-jersey/ . After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports. Harmon Killebrew Jersey .Shipulin pulled away from Martin Fourcade of France, Simon Eder of Austria and Fredrik Lindstrom of Sweden to finish in 35 minutes 16.8 seconds. Fourcade was 1.2 seconds back in second place to reclaim the overall World Cup lead, with Eder another 0. Kent Hrbek Jersey . Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. Wittmans approach helped turn the Wizards from pushover to playoff winners.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Cincinnati Bengals looked at their prime-time visit to Pittsburgh as a chance to make a statement about their legitimacy as AFC contenders. In one sense, the Bengals fit right in. Just like Denver and New England earlier in the weekend, Cincinnati let a chance to take firm control of its playoff fate disappear against a scuffling rival. Pittsburghs Antonio Brown caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt for a score in a 64-second span in the first quarter and the Steelers jumped on the Bengals early in a 30-20 victory Sunday night. Given a chance to all but clinch the AFC North and move into the No. 2 spot behind Denver in the AFC, the Bengals (9-5) let Pittsburgh race to a 21-0 lead and never recovered. "Its tough, for sure, because we had everything in front of us," Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green said. "We could have had ourselves set up in a great position if we could have come out here and won today." Green finished with nine receptions for 93 yards, but the Bengals didnt make much happen downfield. Cincinnatis longest play was 19 yards, preventing the Bengals from making speedy inroads on the Steelers (6-8) after falling behind so quickly. Andy Dalton completed 25 of 44 passes for 230 yards and two second-half touchdowns, but Cincinnatis only chance to draw within one score ended when Daltons 2-point conversion was batted down with 5:51 remaining. "Theres no panic," Dalton said. "Theres no worry about anything. Were not frantic. We still have two games at home and have everything to accomplish, so weve got to take care of our business." Shaun Suisham added three field goals for Pittsburgh, which built a 24-point lead and hardly looked like a team playing out the string. Ben Roethlisberger completed 20 of 25 passes for 191 yards with a touchdown and an interception. LeVeon Bell added 117 yards of total offence and a touchdown. "I have said for a bunch of weeks now that there is going to be no quit from me or from anybody," Roethlisberger said. "I thought tonight was a good example of that." Looking to move closer to a third straight playoff berth, the Bengals were undone by a series of miscues on special teams. Bell scored two plays after Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber dropped a snap while standing near the goal line after the Bengals first possession. Pittsburghs Will Allen dropped Huber at the 1 andd Bell bulled into the end zone on second down for his sixth touchdown of the season.dddddddddddd Cincinnatis issues continued on the ensuing kickoff. Officials ruled Cedric Peerman called for a fair catch at the Cincinnati 9, wiping out a lengthy return. The Bengals eventually punted, setting up the Steelers with a short field. Pittsburgh went 47 yards in eight plays, with Roethlisberger buying enough time for Brown to get open for a 12-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-0. Browns early work wasnt done. Cincinnati punted yet again and Brown took it 67 yards right up the middle, breaking a tackle at midfield on his way to the second punt return for a score in his four-year career for Pittsburghs third touchdown of the quarter. Huber took a hard hit from Pittsburghs Terence Garvin during the return. Huber was down on the field for several minutes before walking straight to the Cincinnati locker room with a fractured jaw. Cincinnati kicker Mike Nugent took over Hubers punting duties. Pittsburgh extended its lead to 24-0 before the Bengals steadied themselves with a 47-yard touchdown drive capped by Giovani Bernards 1-yard run. The Steelers responded late in the half with Suishams 45-yard field goal by to give them their biggest halftime lead of the season. Suishams third field goal pushed Pittsburghs advantage to 30-7 before the Bengals responded with Daltons 1-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Eifert. Dalton later found Marvin Jones for a 13-yard score on fourth-and-5 with 5:51 to play, but Pittsburgh rookie linebacker Jarvis Jones got his hands on Daltons conversion attempt to keep it a two-score game. The Bengals got the ball back one more time, and Daltons long heave to Green on fourth down fell incomplete. "It was a snowball effect," Cincinnati centre Kyle Cook said. "Its tough when youre all bundled up like that to start the game, and then the next thing you know youre down 21-0. So, that makes it tough to get going and come back from that deficit." NOTES: The crowd of 45,873 was the smallest in the 13-year history of Heinz Field. ... Brown caught five passes for 66 yards and a score and now has 95 receptions on the season, tied for second-most in team history. ... Bengals linebacker James Harrison, making his first appearance in Pittsburgh since leaving the Steelers to sign with Cincinnati in the off-season, left in the first quarter with a concussion. ' ' '