CITY » 16 before signing a minor league deal with the Bra

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The AL West-leading Texas Rangers have made their first move to get more pitching, acquiring right-handed starter Lucas Harrell and left-handed reliever Dario Alvarez from the Atlanta Braves for an infield prospect.Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Wednesday that Texas may not be done shopping for pitching with the non-waiver trading deadline five days away. He said there are still ongoing conversations with other teams but didnt get into details.Well see where they go. I cant really handicap it at this point, Daniels said. But yes, thats still our focus.Harrell is 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA in five starts for the Braves since they purchased his contract from Triple-A Gwinnett earlier this month. The 31-year-old sinkerballer pitched in Korea last year after appearing in 88 major league games (62 starts) the previous five seasons for the Chicago White Sox (2010-11) and Houston (2011-14), where he worked with current Rangers pitching coach Doug Brocail.The Rangers sent 2013 first-round pick Travis Demeritte to Atlanta. They needed a starter for Sundays series finale at home against Kansas City, and Daniels said the plan for now is to start Harrell then.In his last start for the Braves, Harrell threw six scoreless innings Tuesday night in a win at Minnesota.Alvarez was 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 16 relief appearances for the Braves, with 28 strikeouts in 15 innings. The left-hander set an Atlanta franchise record by striking out nine consecutive batters over three games earlier this month.Looking at both of the pitchers we got, we feel like they can help our club, Daniels said. They fill roles on the club, they add depth.The deal was announced before Wednesday nights game against Oakland, when right-hander Yu Darvish made only his third start for Texas since coming off the disabled list. It was only Darvishs sixth start this season after missing all of last year following Tommy John surgery.Cole Hamels (11-2), who the Rangers acquired from Philadelphia before the deadline last July, starts Thursday in the series opener against Kansas City.Two other starters, right-hander Colby Lewis (right lat strain) and lefty Derek Holland (shoulder inflammation) are on the 60-day disabled list and could be back by late August.The Rangers had one open spot on their 40-man roster and designated Triple-A Round Rock infielder Matt Duffy for assignment to create another spot. They will have to make moves on their 25-man roster when Harrell and Alvarez join the team, which could be as early as Thursday.Atlanta, with the worst record in the majors, had added Harrell and Alvarez from other organizations within a week of each other in May.Harrell signed a minor league contract with Detroit on March 1 and was released May 16 before signing a minor league deal with the Braves on May 21. Alvarez began this year in the New York Mets organization before he was designated for assignment on May 23 and sent Atlanta on a waiver claim May 25.You look at two guys that werent even with our system in the middle of May, and now they did well enough that a contending team wants them, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said. That says a lot for what they accomplished here.The 21-year-old Demeritte was in the All-Star Futures Game in San Diego earlier this month. In 88 games with Class A High Desert, the second baseman batted .272 with 25 home runs, 59 RBI and 13 stolen bases.---AP freelance writer Tyler Mason contributed to this report from Minnesota. Throwback Bulbs Ehlers Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Throwback Walt Dropo Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. http://www.cheapbasketballthrowback.com/ . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Throwback Clifton McNeely Jersey .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Throwback . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. NEW YORK -- Henrik Lundqvist stopped two personal losing streaks and helped the New York Rangers start the new season with a big win against their crosstown rivals.Lundqvist stopped 25 shots, Chris Kreider scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Rangers scored three times over a 7:52 stretch to beat the Islanders 5-3 Thursday night.I was impressed with how the guys played with a lot of jump and great energy, Lundqvist said. It was great to see the way we started off this season. I thought we played really well, a fast game. We had a stretch in the third where obviously we just have to manage the puck a little better.Lundqvist beat Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak for the first time since Jan. 17, 2010, ending Halaks eight-game winning streak in the matchups -- including the last five since joining the Islanders before the 2014-15 season. Lundqvist had also lost six straight overall (0-5-1) against the Islanders.Michael Grabner, Mats Zuccarello, Brandon Pirri and J.T. Miller also scored for the Rangers, who were opening a season at home for the first time since 2007.I think just for the team it was a really good effort, Kreider said. A couple things we struggled with last year that we focused on right from the start, which I think is a great sign. You see us playing fast again. There are 81 games to play, but you want to play well in game one, game two, three, etc.Nick Leddy and Cal Clutterbuck scored 3:17 apart early in the third period to tie it for the Islanders. Brock Nelson also had a goal and Halak finished with 34 saves.Islanders captain John Tavares briefly left the game after getting whacked on his left hand in the opening minute of the third.On the go-ahead goal, Kreider took a pass from rookie Pavel Buchnevich, skated in on Halak, crossed over to the right side and backhanded the puck past Halak at 9:45 of the third period.We are playing a good team and theyve got some good speed, Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. Kreider got behind one of our guys on the game-winning goal. Its as simple as that. Its a game of inches.Pirri made it 4-2 with 3:49 left on a power-play goal from the right faceoff dot. Miller added an empty-netter to make it 5-2 with 2:23 remaining before Nelson closed the scoring just more than a minute later.Rangers coach Alain Vigneault liked the way his team bounced back after giving up the lead.ddddddddddddThey make it 2-2, we made a couple of mistakes on rush coverage, but I liked the way we responded and came right back and made it 3-2, Vigneault said. Power play went out in a pressure moment and gave us a two-goal lead and that was a big part of getting two points in this game.Trailing 2-0, Leddy got the Islanders on the scoreboard 47 seconds into the third period as he took a pass from Casey Cizikas and fired it in off the left post.Clutterbuck tied it at 4:04 when he deflected a shot by Nikolay Kulemin from the left faceoff circle past Lundqvist.Grabner, who played for the Islanders from 2010-15, started the scoring with 6:19 left in the first period. Pirri got the puck from Jesper Fast and his shot from the inner edge of the left circle was stopped by Halak, but the puck deflected to Grabner on the right side and he put it in.Zuccarello made it 2-0 when his backhander toward the front of the goal deflected off Islanders forward Ryan Stromes skate and through Halaks five-hole with 2:19 left in the second period.Halak denied J.T. Miller on a breakaway during a Rangers power play about 5 1/2 minutes into the second period, moving up out of the crease to challenge the play.The Islanders started slow and had just two shots on goal through the first 9:45, but then had three in a 26-second stretch. Ladd had a tip attempt and follow, and Shane Prince a wrister.Game notes The Rangers celebrated the start of their 90th season in a pregame ceremony. Former players in attendance included Eddie Giacomin, Rod Gilbert, Ron Duguay, Dave Maloney, Ron Greschner, John Vanbiesbrouck, Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, Mark Messier and 1994 Stanley Cup champion head coach Mike Keenan. ... Lundqvist became the second goalie in franchise history to start 11 consecutive season openers, joining Giacomin (11 from 1965-66 to `75-76). ... The Islanders won all four matchups last season, marking the first time they have swept a season series. The teams meet again Dec. 6 and Feb. 16 in Brooklyn, and March 22 back at MSG.UP NEXTIslanders: visit reigning Presidents Trophy-winning Washington on Saturday night.Rangers: visit St. Louis on Saturday night. ' ' '