ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish could only smile after Brett Gardner homered off of him for the third time in a week. Darvish got really emotional after his last pitch, with Gardner and Derek Jeter both on base again for the New York Yankees. After striking out his final batter to get out of that jam in the seventh, Darvish shouted out and pumped his fist several times coming off the mound, and the Rangers held on for a 4-2 victory Monday night. "Im just glad they didnt tie the game," Darvish said through his translator about his rare emphatic response. "It was late in the game, and it was a close game, and it got close to a win, so I think I just showed emotions because of that." Darvish (10-6) struck out eight in seven innings, the biggest coming when Brian McCann swung and missed to end the seventh. "That was an example of his competitive juices," manager Ron Washington said. "Once he got out of that inning, he should show excitement. Im glad he did, because it was a tense time." J.P. Arencibia had a tiebreaking two-run single in the fifth, when the Rangers scored all of their runs with five consecutive batters reaching base with two outs. Gardner homered twice and Jeter had three hits to pass Carl Yastrzemski for seventh place on the hits list. The rest of the Yankees managed only three hits off Darvish, who threw 80 of his 108 pitches for strikes five days after losing a rain-shortened game in New York. David Phelps (5-5) lost for the first time in nine starts, allowing four runs and eight hits in six innings. The right-hander, like Darvish, was credited with a complete game last Wednesday in the 2-1 Yankees victory that didnt resume after rain in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Yankees led 2-0 after Gardner homered in the fifth, an at-bat started with him taking three consecutive curveballs in the mid-60s, the first two of them strikes. Darvish smiled Gardner after homered on a 2-2 pitch, an 85-mph slider left over the plate that just cleared the centre field wall. Gardner, also homered in the third, and has 12 homers after the first multihomer game of his career. He also went deep off Darvish last week, though he has little explanation for his success against the Japanese ace. "Im not sure. I try to get good at-bats. Small sample size," Gardner said. "Its hard to have confidence in the batters box when hes on the mound." TRAINERS ROOM Yankees: First baseman Mark Teixeira played for the first time in eight games when he had a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning, then was lifted for a pinch runner. Teixeira took groundballs and batting practice on the field with hopes of being back in the starting lineup Tuesday. Teixeira said the back spasms that have bothered him are gone. "I feel better now than Ive felt in over a month," he said. Rangers: RHP Nick Tepesch, who left Saturdays start with a sore left knee, will have to throw a bullpen session before the Rangers determine if he will start Friday night at Cleveland. "We still want to see how he does," Washington said. ON DECK Yankees: Brandon McCarthy makes his fourth start for the Yankees since being acquired from Arizona on July 6. The 6-foot-7 right-hander, who pitched for Texas from 2007-09, is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA for New York, and is 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA his last five starts overall. Rangers: Rookie right-hander Nick Martinez (1-6) makes his second consecutive start against the Yankees since coming off the disabled list. He threw 5 1-3 scoreless innings last Tuesday, a game the Rangers lost in 14 innings. JETER PASSES YAZ: Jeter now has 3,420th career hit, one more than Yastrzemski. Next on the list is Honus Wagner at 3,430. "Its tough to enjoy when you lose the game," Jeter said. RANGERS RELIEF: After Neal Cotts worked a scoreless eighth, Neftali Feliz got out Gardner and Jeter in a perfect ninth for his second save since taking back the closer role last week after Joakim Soria was traded. New York Mets Shirts . Saltalamacchia drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, Henderson Alvarez won for the first time in three starts and the Miami Marlins beat the Braves 3-2 on Thursday night. Stitched Mets Jerseys . 31-Feb. 2. While organizers havent decided if itll be red or green clay, they feel their choice of surface will give the Americans an advantage over Britain, which is expected to be led by defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/. 98 jersey in a game yet, and already its a big seller. Cheap Mets Jerseys . THE MICHAEL JORDAN FLU GAME First this famous basketball moment. The story goes like this. “Game 5, known as "The Flu Game", was one of Michael Jordans most memorable. Fake Mets Jerseys . The Senators will put the busy off-season and training camp behind them when they open their regular season on the road. They kick things off Friday against the Buffalo Sabres and then head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs on Saturday.LONG POND, Pa. - Matt Kenseth was NASCARs biggest winner in 2013, a dominant run that thrust him into contention for his second championship. He came up just short. Seven wins, no title. Small consolation. Kenseths first year with Joe Gibbs Racing was a smashing success except for winning a championship to bookend with the one he has from 2003. Kenseth found the hard way that wins are nice, but winning it all matters more. Headed into Sundays race at Pocono Raceway, Kenseth is atop the points standings but the only driver in the top nine without at least one checkered flag. NASCAR revamped the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format this year to add great significance to winning a race in the first 26 before the cutoff. Kenseth would be a lock for the field with a victory. Without one, Kenseth might have to hope he keeps his points lead: The regular-season leader earns a spot even with a winless season. Kenseth has won 13 races the last three years and it seems inevitable hell find his way in Victory Lane soon enough. He has never won at Pocono, but has two career wins at next weeks track (Michigan) and hes won three times at Bristol (Aug. 23). Hed surrender the lead for taking the No. 20 Toyota for a spin in Victory Lane soon. "Youd rather have a win at this time of year than be the points leader," he said. "Its definitely different. We knew it was a radical change, but youre sitting here because youre the points leader but you open up the paper and they dont have you in the top-10. Its a little bit confusing at times. So yeah, hopefully we can get a win." Kenseth joins the rest of the field in trying to race his way past Jimmie Johnson. The six-time champion iis coming off back-to-back victories in the Coca-Cola 600 and at Dover International Speedway and will try to win three straight for the first time since 2007.dddddddddddd. Steady as always, Kenseth has been in the hunt for several wins. He just cant find that one edge that will get him one. He has five top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in 13 races for a 9.2 average finish. Hes finished third in each of the last two races. "People always ask about changing your strategies or trying harder or doing this or doing that, but if it was that easy, youd win every week," he said "Ive never not wanted to win. If there was a way to force wins, Id force it every week." With half the season left before the Chase field is set, Kenseth isnt worried too much about his winless season. Former champion Tony Stewart also is winless. So are Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman, on the outside of the Chase and in a lot worse shape. "I think there has been a touch of bad luck and then we just havent put together full races," Kahne said. "Weve had great practices over the last month, maybe a little more than that. Weve been really good in practice; great at times during the race, but we havent put together the full race." Kenseth isnt quite sure why the No. 20 has yet to come close to matching last seasons success. "If we knew exactly that, it would be a lot easier to fix," he said. "Theres been times you get pretty good car balance, but you havent had the speed. You always try to look over everything and look over how you get your vehicles setup better, how you can get your aero setup better, how you can get your engines better." ' ' '