WASHINGTON -- After getting pummeled by Washington in two straight games, the Texas Rangers were eager to stop the Nationals seemingly interminable parade around the bases. Yu Darvish gave the Rangers just what they needed to avert a humbling sweep. Darvish struck out 12 over eight innings, Leonys Martin broke open a scoreless duel with a homer in the seventh and Texas secured a 2-0 victory Sunday. The Rangers won despite losing an apparent run in a rare double challenge on the same play. Managers Ron Washington of Texas and Matt Williams lodged separate complaints after a double steal in the first inning. Pitching for the first time since May 22 after missing his last turn with a stiff neck, Darvish (5-2) gave up five hits and walked two in dropping his ERA to 2.08. The right-hander matched his season high in strikeouts and overpowered a club that won 9-2 on Friday and 10-2 Saturday. "That team for two days just swung the bats at will, threw the ball around the ballpark, out of the ballpark," Washington said. "We certainly needed to try to slow them down, and (Darvish) did that. He slowed them down. Yu was good today. He was very good. When the team needed him to be very good, he was." Joakim Soria worked a perfect ninth to earn his 11th save and seal Texas major league-leading 11th shutout. Darvish struck out the side in the second and fanned two in each of the next three innings before encountering trouble in the sixth. One-out singles by Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche put runners at first and third before Darvish struck out Wilson Ramos and retired Ian Desmond on a deep fly to right field. Darvish yielded a two-out walk in the seventh and left after a 1-2-3 eighth. "We just needed Yu to pitch well," Washington said, "and he pitched well." Darvish was worried that neck stiffness might be a problem, but it obviously didnt turn out to be an issue. "Last night before I went to bed, I was very scared to wake up with a neck injury so I probably woke up 20 times," he said through a translator. "But I didnt have any pain when I woke up this morning." Darvish got the only run he needed when Martin hit an 0-1 pitch from Tanner Roark (3-4) into the Washington bullpen beyond the right-field wall. It was his third home run in 183 at-bats this season and ended the Rangers run of homerless games at six. Roark allowed only one run and seven hits in seven innings but lost his third straight start. "He made one mistake to Martin, a changeup that was up in the strike zone," Williams said. "Other than that, he matched him perfectly." Roark has lost three straight starts but owns a 3.25 ERA and has allowed only eight earned runs over his last 32 2-3 innings. In this one, he kept the Rangers at bay until Martin connected. "It was just a bad changeup. It was up and I didnt throw it with conviction," Roark said. "Thats how its been the past couple games, just one pitch." Donnie Murphy added an RBI single off Drew Storen in the eighth. Murphy had a season-high three hits and was flawless in his first career game at first base. "Hes a pro," Washington said of Murphy. "Every time he goes out there he does something for us." In the first inning, both managers talked to the umpires. With two outs and runners on the corners, Elvis Andrus and Alex Rios executed a double steal. Rios was called out for coming off second base after the steal, but umpires ruled Andrus crossed the plate before the tag. The Texas manager challenged the call at second and Williams insisted the out occurred before Andrus crossed the plate. After replays were reviewed over a span of 2 minutes, 45 seconds, Texas lost its challenge and the Nationals assertion was confirmed. "I might have reacted too soon," Washington acknowledged. "I should have waited until the first inning was over and I would have had my challenge. I was just trying to protect myself." In the bottom half, Ramos looked at a third strike with two outs and runners at first and third. It was the first of five straight strikeouts for Darvish. NOTES: Rangers LF Michael Choice was scratched from the starting lineup with a bruised left shin. ... Both teams are off Monday. Washington hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday night and the Rangers face visiting Baltimore. ... Denard Span got his eighth steal in the third inning, Washingtons 27th this season. Only five Nats have been caught stealing. ... Texas finished its 11-game road trip with a 7-4 record and ended a four-game road losing streak against NL foes. ... Washington fell to 4-26 when scoring fewer than four runs. Cheap Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . The Wild, playing their first game since leading scorer Mikko Koivu broke his ankle Saturday at Washington, have won three straight for the first time since Nov. 1-5. Koivu underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. Tyler Johnson Jersey . Mark Teahen scored the go-ahead run in the home seventh on an error by Scott Sizemore, who had knotted the game with a solo homer in the previous half- inning. Paul Konerko then hit an RBI single which proved to be the winning run. http://www.cheaplightningjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-slater-koekkoek-jersey. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. Braydon Coburn Jersey .C. -- When Michael Jordan speaks, people still listen. Victor Hedman Jersey . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute.Australia head coach Michael Cheika has admitted the Wallabies’ poor run of recent form has forced the coaching staff to overhaul the squad. Since their impressive run to the World Cup final in 2015, where they lost 34-17 to New Zealand at Twickenham, Australia have lost six of their eight Tests under Cheika.The Wallabies suffered the humiliation of a 3-0 series whitewash by England on home soil in the summer and have managed just two wins from their five Rugby Championship games so far this season. Timani, Arnold start for Australia Lopeti Timani and Rory Arnold to start for Australia against Argentina Only seven of the starting 15 from that World Cup final - Israel Folau, Bernard Foley, Will Genia, Scott Sio, Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu and Michael Hooper - will start Australias final Rugby Championship match of the season against Argentina at Twickenham on Saturday. Israel Folau is one of seven Australian starters retained from the 2015 World Cup final Cheika accepts that is a drastic overhaul of a team that was viewed as the second best in world rugby less than 12 months ago but says it is what the Wallabies must do if they are to close the gap on their rivals.I think its pretty clear were going through a generational change, Cheika said. We understand that our challenge in Australian rugby is to build more depth and were going to do that.But were not going to cry about it, talking about losing players overseas. We wont whinge about a lack of depth - well go out and make that depth instead. That said, winning matches is still what its all about. No one cares about second - I cant remember who was in the World Cup finaal; I only remember that New Zealand won it.ddddddddddddI really believe this is the way to go, its the right thing to do, I dont know if takes guts or not, its just what weve got to do. Eddie Jones masterminded a 3-0 series whitewash for England in Australia Australias defence was badly exposed by Eddie Jones England in June as they conceded a total of 106 points combined in their three Test defeats.But they have improved in that category in recent games, conceding a combined total of 47 points in their last three Tests against South Africa (twice) and Argentina. Cheika is confident his side are now turning the corner and is proud of how his team have dealt with the flood of recent criticism which has come their way.Against England we had two games where we scored more tries than them and still lost, Cheika said.We were outplayed in the two games against New Zealand, but aside from that we could have won the others. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just £6.99. No contract. Im not looking to say thats any excuse for losing games, its not. But weve solved our defensive issues, so were getting there.Weve had a lot of heat thrown our way in different directions and weve dealt with that, so Im proud of the lads.You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! 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