MINNEAPOLIS -- It had been nearly two months since Joe Saunders pitched in the majors and 10 days since his last rehab start in the minor leagues. So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence. Saunders pitched five scoreless innings and Luis Sardinas drove in the only run of the game to lift the Rangers to a 1-0 victory over the Twins on Wednesday night. "It was a battle for the first time coming back in almost two months," Saunders said. "It was a struggle, but I made some good pitches, got some clutch strikeouts against some pretty good hitters and kept the team right where it needed to be." Saunders gave up five hits and struck out six after being activated from the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day. "I had to take a step back there in the first inning, relax and calm the nerves a little bit," Saunders said. "Its been a long time coming for me. Its the longest Ive ever been out. It was a good start." Sardinas had a two-out single off struggling Twins reliever Jared Burton (1-2) in the seventh inning to help propel the Rangers to their seventh win in the past 10 games. Kyle Gibson gave up six hits and struck out four in six scoreless innings, but the Twins left nine runners on base and went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Joe Mauer went 0 for 4. Shawn Tolleson (1-1) pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings of relief for the win and Joakim Soria picked up his ninth save in 10 tries, one night after his error in the ninth inning led to his first blown save of the season. Saunders had only made one other start this season, but he took a line drive from Evan Longoria off his left ankle in his season debut on April 4. Saunders made four rehab starts and had his breaking ball working in his return to the Rangers rotation on Wednesday night. Saunders stranded seven baserunners, including getting Brian Dozier to fly out with the bases loaded in the second. With his pitch count at 97 after five innings, manager Ron Washington elected to go to the bullpen rather than push Saunders too hard in his first start back. "Hes a competitor and he had to compete tonight, especially early in the game when they couldve done some damage," Washington said. Gibson was just as sharp, allowing just one extra-base hit and breezing through six. But he didnt get any help from a slumping offence that has scored just 10 runs in the past six games. Mauer had a chance in the seventh inning with the tying run on third base and two outs, but he chased a breaking ball for strike three and heard boos from a frustrated hometown fan base. Mauer is hitting .277 with 15 RBIs and six doubles on the season. "I feel pretty good actually, which is even more frustrating," said Mauer, who has been dealing with a sore back for parts of the season. "Im hitting a lot of balls hard and just not having much to show for it. So hopefully that turns here soon. just got to try to have some good at bats, keep having good at-bats and hopefully they start falling." Elvis Andrus was ejected in the sixth inning after he muttered something to home plate umpire Pat Hoberg regarding a low strike called earlier in his at-bat. It was the second ejection of the season for Andrus and Washington moved Sardinas from second base to shortstop and put Rougned Odor at second base to fill the hole. NOTES: Twins CF Aaron Hicks was a late scratch with a back issue, forcing manager Ron Gardenhire to start SS Danny Santana in CF. ... While on a rehab assignment for a groin injury, Twins RHP Mike Pelfrey felt soreness in his shoulder and was brought to Minnesota for examination. Another stint on the disabled list is likely after the Twins diagnose the injury. ... Alex Rios extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the fourth. ... Gardenhire challenged a play in the seventh inning when Leonys Martin was ruled safe on a steal. Gardenhire claimed Dozier applied the tag, but the play was upheld after a 51-second review. Cedric Ceballos Jersey . -- Aaron Rodgers looked fine on the practice field Thursday. Suns Jerseys China . For one, he still gets to crank the intensity to the max. "I push pretty angry. I ran pretty angry too though, but I have fun doing it," Lumsden said. https://www.cheapsunsonline.com/1089z-ty-jerome-jersey-suns.html . On the eve of the 2013-14 NBA season, he can finally take a step back and allow his team to do the talking. Dario Saric Jersey . A veteran of 16 NHL seasons, Prospals career was highlighted by him ranking fourth in points scored, third in assists and sixth in games played among all Czech Republic born players in NHL history. Tyler Johnson Jersey . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night.PHILADELPHIA -- The 76ers have fumbled their way toward the wrong kind of NBA history. Amare Stoudemire had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 21 and the New York Knicks won their eighth straight game, 93-92 over Philadelphia on Friday night, sending the Sixers to their 23rd straight loss. The Sixers have matched the Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-96), Denver Nuggets (1997-98) and Charlotte Bobcats (2011-12) for the second-longest single-season losing streak in NBA history. The Cleveland Cavaliers set the record of 26 consecutive losses in the 2010-11 season. The Sixers (15-54) would have to pull off an upset to avoid tying the record. Up next, three straight road games at Chicago, San Antonio and Houston. If the Sixers lose all three, the potential record 27th loss would come March 29 vs. Detroit. With 8.6 seconds left and the Sixers down 92-90, Sixers guard James Anderson mishandled the ball as he attempted to pass it to Thaddeus Young, and it bounced out of bounds. After Anthony hit 1 of 2 free throws, Michael Carter-Williams missed the tying 3-point attempt, and a putback at the buzzer made no difference in ending the streak. Tyson Chandler had 17 points for the Knicks, who are suddenly charging for a playoff spot. Carter-Williams, one of the few bright spots this season, led Philly with 22 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Young hit a 3-pointer with 32.5 seconds left, Philadelphias 40th attempt, that pulled the Sixers to 92-90 with 32.5 seconds left. He scored 21 points and the Sixers set a team mark with 41 3-point attempts. They made only 10. The Knicks entered the day only four gamess back of Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.ddddddddddddTheir recent surge started right around the time news broke that New York wanted to hire Phil Jackson as team president. Jackson was officially introduced on Tuesday, and the Knicks are starting to give him reason to believe he might be in charge of a playoff contender. The Knicks never dominated, but did enough to hold off a Sixers team freefalling toward one of the worst seasons in NBA history. New York shook off 33 per cent shooting in the first half to hit a slew of big 3s and throw down one-handed jams that turned back Philadelphia at every run. After the Knicks started 1 for 16 from 3-point range, J.R. Smith hit a pair early in the third that gave them some needed breathing room. And in the fourth, Stoudemires dunk pushed the lead to 11 and Tim Hardaway Jr., followed with one of his own that brought a huge pro-Knicks crowd to their feet. For a team that ranked 29th in attendance, the blue-and-orange fans that colored the arena gave the fourth quarter a rare, lively atmosphere. The losses have piled up for the Sixers -- and now, an injury. Shooting guard Tony Wroten, their third-leading scorer, left the game in the fourth with a sprained right ankle. They could have used his scoring punch in the final minute. Instead, the put the ball in Andersons hands, and he put it out of reach of an overdue win. The Sixers lost their 18th straight home game since beating Charlotte on Jan. 15. Notes: 76ers coach Brett Brown was whistled for a technical foul in the fourth. ... The Sixers previous high in 3-point attempts was 35. ' ' '