e notes DL DeForest Buckner (left foot) and CB Jimmie W

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nelson Cruzs case for a spot in the All-Star game just got a little stronger. Cruz hit a grand slam, Nick Tepesch took a shutout into the sixth inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 10-5 on Friday night. With the All-Star rosters set to be announced Saturday, and likely no Texas players among the starters for the first time since 2007, Cruz sent his 21st homer into the bullpen in left-centre field to make it 6-0 in the second. Cruzs fate is in the hands of Detroit manager Jim Leyland, with a combination of player and fan voting making the final choice. He is hitting .268 and leads the team in homers and RBIs (65). "He certainly deserves it," said manager Ron Washington, who had Leylands job the previous two years after the Rangers went to the World Series. "I do believe Jim will make the right decision and the players will make the right decision." David Murphy and Adrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers, who won the first American League game in Arlington between the in-state rivals and beat Houston for the 10th time in 11 games overall. Tepesch (4-6) had five strikeouts the first time through the Astros lineup and had a career high of nine by the fourth inning. The rookie right-handers previous best of eight strikeouts came in his last win -- nine starts ago against the Astros on May 12. Lucas Harrell (5-9) walked four in the first two innings and three of them scored. Cruzs homer came after consecutive walks to Ian Kinsler and Murphy. Elvis Andrus also was aboard on a one-out single. New Astros president Reid Ryan had a front-row view of just how far his last-place team has to go to become a contender. He was sitting next to his dad, Hall of Fame pitcher and Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan. The younger Ryan couldnt have been pleased by what he saw in the fourth inning. With two outs, Brett Wallace barely had to move before dropping a popup by Cruz near first base. Beltre followed with a shot off the foul pole in left for his third homer in six at-bats and No. 17 on the season. "The effort and focus is definitely there," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "That goes without question with these guys. Its one of those things weve played good teams that have played well and we have not played our best baseball. We just need to clean it up, play solid baseball." Tepesch, who had a 12-1 lead before the bullpen struggled in a 12-7 win in Houston in May, was up 10-0 when he once again had trouble getting outs the third time through the order. Four straight Astros reached to start the sixth, capped by a two-run double from Chris Carter that knocked out Tepesch. Carlos Pena and J.D. Martinez singled before Ross Wolf got a flyout and turned a double play on a soft liner back to him from Matt Dominguez. Tepesch was charged with four runs and seven hits in five innings to go along with his nine strikeouts. Opposing batters are hitting .158 the first time they see Tepesch in a game, but .465 the third or fourth time. "All in all, he threw the ball well," Cruz said. The Rangers had scored one run in the first inning over their previous 25 games when Murphy hit a drive into the Texas bullpen in right-centre after Kinslers leadoff walk. It was Murphys 10th homer and sent the Rangers to their highest scoring game since they beat Detroit 11-8 on May 19. "We know what were capable of as an offence," said Murphy, who was moved up to No. 2 in the order despite hitting just .221 because of a recent slump by Andrus. "Its been up and down a little this year. Were trying to finish strong (before the All-Star break) and tonight was a great way to do that." Harrell, who was the losing pitcher when Texas ace Yu Darvish came within an out of a perfect game in the second game of the season, walked six to bring his season total to 53 in 103 2-3 innings. The Rangers had just five hits while scoring nine runs -- seven earned -- against him. "You walk six guys, youre going to give up a lot of runs," said Harrell, who gave up just one run in six innings in the loss to Darvish. "I couldnt throw a breaking ball for a strike." NOTES: Cruzs grand slam was his sixth at Rangers Ballpark, a record, and second this year. He also did it on April 21 against Seattle. ... Astros C Jason Castro had two hits and an RBI. ... Manny Ramirez, the 41-year-old slugger who signed a minor league deal with Texas this week, will serve as the designated hitter when he plays his first game for Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday. ... Rangers RHP Kyle McClellan accepted an outright assignment to Double-A Frisco and is expected to report Sunday. ... RHP Alexi Ogando (right shoulder inflammation) is set for his first rehab start Saturday at Round Rock. Hes on the DL for the second time this season. Air Max 1 Destockage . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Air Max 1 Pas Cher . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. http://www.franceairmax1.fr/ .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Air Max 1 France Pas Cher ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Air Max 1 France . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Torrey Smith entered the season as one of the few San Francisco receivers with any proven track record in the NFL.One quarter of the way through the season, the Niners have struggled to get their best deep threat the ball.Smith has just nine catches for 106 yards and one touchdown through four games with the NFLs least productive passing offense and the frustration was apparent when he threw his helmet on the sideline after one failed attempt last game.Im fine being patient, Im completely fine not getting the ball as long as were moving the ball and were scoring points, Smith said Tuesday. Ill never complain about that. Its tough when Im waiting and I know we have an opportunity to change a game like that and we miss. Its tough.Smith had a couple of outbursts during Sundays loss to Dallas when he was targeted just twice all game. The most notable came when he threw his helmet on the sideline after Blaine Gabbert badly underthrew a deep pass, turning a possible go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter into an interception.I feel like if we hit that, we win the game, Smith said. I was frustrated. I shouldnt probably show it as much but I want to win. Im passionate about winning. We work too hard not to win here and I know that we can. It was just a little frustration moment but it wont happen again.That was the first time all game that Gabbert even threw the ball in Smiths direction. The only other pass to Smith came on San Franciscos final drive when he caught a 3-yard pass on fourth-and-6 that ended the Niners hopes for a comeback.But the rest of the day most of the passes went toward slot receiver Jeremy Kerley and tight end Garrett Celek.Were not ttrying to force anybody the ball, offensive coordinator Curtis Modkins said.dddddddddddd Torrey is going to get his looks. Thats going to happen. Were confident in that. Torrey is confident in that. What the defense tells us is kind of where the ball goes and hes going to get his fair share as the season goes on. Im confident in that.Smiths biggest strength as a receiver is his ability to get deep and that has not meshed well with Gabberts abilities. Gabbert has completed just one of 10 pass attempts at least 20 yards down field -- a 28-yard TD catch by Smith against Carolina -- and his 33.3 rating on those attempts is the second worst in the league, according to SportRadar.The Niners had their best success a year ago throwing to Smith, generating a 116.9 passer rating on those throws in 2015, according to Pro Football Focus. That has not been the case this year when that rating has dropped to 37.7Smith was targeted 16 times the first two games -- catching just five of those passes -- but has been rather invisible the past two games with just six targets and four catches for 38 yards.A lot of it just depends on how people play us and what theyre doing, coach Chip Kelly said. Weve gotten a lot of man coverage out there. Sometimes people are leaning safeties toward his side. So, were taking advantage of whats going on.Game notes DL DeForest Buckner (left foot) and CB Jimmie Ward (quadriceps) did not take part in practice. ... Kerley was upgraded to limited with an ankle injury.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '