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BALTIMORE -- It sure didnt take long for new players on the Texas Rangers to get comfortable in a different environment. The trio has made a good team even better.Jonathan Lucroy hit his first homer with Texas, Carlos Beltran had two hits and an RBI, and the Rangers beat Wade Miley and the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 Thursday night to avoid a three-game sweep.Texas received contributions from the threesome it acquired before Mondays non-waiver trade deadline. Lucroy homered in the second inning. Beltran -- who homered Wednesday -- singled in a run in the fifth. And Jeremy Jeffress pitched a scoreless seventh.For those guys to go a new ballclub, the travel, and assimilating themselves into the clubhouse ... theyre professionals but anytime you make that move it can be a change, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. But it was nice to see theyre starting to perk up and do what they do. We saw tonight what this lineup can be capable of.Ian Desmond drove in two runs and Shin-Soo Choo came off the disabled list to get two hits and score a run for the Rangers, who took back from Baltimore the distinction of owning the best record in the AL.Texas won the season series 4-3 and would have home-field advantage in the postseason if the teams finish with the same regular-season record and meet in the playoffs.Its been a dogfight with these guys. Thats another first-place team over there, Lucroy said. Its another team that can hit, hit a lot of home runs, especially in this park. It feels good to pull that one out and kind of break out offensively.Mark Trumbo hit his major-league leading 31st homer for the Orioles, who fell to 39-17 at home. Pedro Alvarez and Hyun-Soo Kim also hit solo shots.Miley (7-9) gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings in his debut with the Orioles. The left-hander was traded by Seattle on Sunday.I wish the results would have been a little better, Miley said. I had some jitters.After Miley took a line drive off his left calf for the final out in the fifth, manager Buck Showalter went to bullpen in the sixth.I dont think its a big concern at all, Miley said.A.J. Griffin (5-1) allowed three homers in 5 1/3 innings but won a second straight start following a six-game run without a victory.Theyve got some power, but for the most part I felt like we kept them off-balance really well, Griffin said.Sam Dyson, the fifth Texas pitcher, worked a perfect ninth for his 23rd save.After Lucroy put the Rangers up 1-0, Desmond added a run-scoring groundout in the second.Texas made it 4-0 in the fifth on RBI singles by Desmond and Beltran. Desmonds single bounced past first baseman Chris Davis, who was screened by Choo advancing to second, and Beltrans pop bounced off the glove of second baseman Jonathan Schoop in right field.Trumbo and Alvarez homered in succession in the bottom half, and Kim led off the sixth with his fourth homer of the season -- his first at Camden Yards.Consecutive doubles by Adrian Beltre and Roughned Odor off Logan Ondrusek made it 5-3 in the eighth.SHORT HOPSRangers: Griffin has allowed at least one HR in eight straight starts. ... Texas hit a season-high six doubles.Orioles: Miley is the first lefty to start for Baltimore this season. ... The Orioles have hit back-to-back homers 12 times this season.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: Choo spent the minimum 15 days on the disabled list with lower back inflammation. It was his third stint on the DL this season.UP NEXTRangers: Martin Perez (7-7, 4.22 ERA) starts for Texas on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series in Houston. The Rangers are 9-1 against the Astros this season.Orioles: Baltimore starts a 10-game trip Friday night by facing former teammate Miguel Gonzalez (2-5, 4.06) and the Chicago White Sox. Joe Pepitone Jersey .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Bob Watson Astros Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. https://www.cheapastros.com/2453o-gerrit-cole-jersey-astros.html . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Aaron Sanchez Jersey . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Abraham Toro Astros Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. PITTSBURGH -- The signs of progress at Pittsburgh are unmistakable. From the remodeled offices to the return of the popular script logo on the helmets to the arrival of living, breathing adrenaline rush Pat Narduzzi as head coach in December 2014, the vibe today is in stark contrast to the one tackle Adam Bisnowaty felt when he arrived in the summer of 2012.And while all those things are great, what Bisnowaty will miss the most isnt the place so much as the people, including the fellow seniors who will storm out onto the Heinz Field tunnel one final time on Saturday when the Panthers (7-4, 4-3 ACC) host Syracuse (4-7, 2-5). The program was in the middle of a bumpy patch when Bisnowaty signed in February 2012. Paul Chryst had been on the job less than two months after Todd Graham abruptly left after one season for Arizona State. Then Chryst walked out the door, too, given a chance to return home to Wisconsin.All that adversity, however, only deepened the bonds forged in the locker room and on the practice field.We all came here to play football for Pitt no matter who was our coach, Bisnowaty said. Thats what we decided we were going to do. Thats what were going for every day.Just dont expect Bisnowaty or his teammates to get too sentimental. That will come later. Theres too much at stake against the Orange. A loss would blunt the momentum of a regular season that already includes wins over rival Penn State and ACC powerhouse Clemson. A win would also better their already promising bowl prospects and give the Panthers consecutive seasons of at least eight victories for the first time since 2008-09.The stakes arent quite so high for the Orange, who have dropped three straight by an average of 33.3 points.We need to go out there and we need to play a good football game -- a competitive football game down to the fourth quarter when we have a chance to win, first-year coach Dino Babers said. I think thats the key to bouncing back from all this stuff and trying to send the seniors out on a positive note.Some things to look for as Pitt goes for its 13th win in its last 15 meetings in a series that dates back to 11916.ddddddddddddGOODBYE JAMES?: A year ago, Pitt running back James Conner was diagnosed with cancer. Last Saturday, he scored his 53rd career touchdown to set a new ACC record. The 2014 ACC Player of the Year is keeping quiet about whether hell return for his senior season, saying this week he wont make any decision until after the bowl game.POROUS LINE: Syracuse QB Zack Mahoney was sacked eight times last week by Florida State and never could develop any kind of rhythm on offense. That means Pitts Ejuan Price is more than likely salivating just a little bit. The senior defensive end has compiled 19 TFLs and 11 sacks on the year.Its a different game when a quarterback is getting hit a lot, Babers said. Theyre not supposed to get hit a lot. Weve got to find a way to help him.BLAME CANADA: Pitt has already set a school record with 432 points despite entering the season with serious questions at wide receiver. Much of the credit goes to offensive coordinator Matt Canada, whose creative approach has created plenty of open space for Conner and do-everything wide receiver Quadree Henderson. Canada could become a candidate to land his first head coaching job in the offseason though he insisted hes happy getting in the lab with the rest of the Panthers staff and finding ways to exploit mismatches.DRIVE FOR FIVE: A Syracuse victory would place the Orange in the mix for a possible bowl invitation if enough teams dont reach six wins to fill all 80 bowl slots. Last year, three 5-7 teams played in bowl games. Babers, however, is more focused on his team simply playing better.When you look at our 12-game schedule, weve only been favored to win one game, Babers said. For us to have (four) wins out of that situation with one game left to play, I think is a testament to the seniors and the staff and also that were trending up.---AP Sports Writer John Kekis in Syracuse, New York, contributed to this report.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '