ARLINGTON, Texas -- It doesnt matter to John Jaso whether hes Oaklands leadoff batter, as long as hes playing. For the Athletics, hes extremely important at the top of the order, especially with Coco Crisp hurting. Jaso drove in three runs Sunday night, helping Scott Kazmir and Oakland beat the Texas Rangers 9-3. The As catcher had a run-scoring single during a five-run second inning and added a two-run double in the fifth. "I like (leadoff) because Im in the lineup," Jaso said. "I dont care where." Manager Bob Melvin said Crisp, who has led off in 69 of the Athletics 105 games, was going back to Oakland to be examined by the doctors who have been treating a recurring neck injury. "When Cocos out, we certainly need a guy against right-handers," Melvin said. "(Jaso) takes a lot of pitches, and he can be aggressive." Jaso was leading off for the 15th time this season and has had at least one hit each game while batting .380 (19 for 50) in that role. He entered the game with an overall .360 on-base percentage. The Athletics first three batters -- Jaso, Stephen Vogt and Yoenis Cespedes -- each had a double and a single, and Josh Reddick added three singles. Kazmir (12-3) moved into a tie for the American League lead in wins while allowing seven hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out two. "It was maybe not his best command at times," Melvin said. "But seeing him be so good this season, that five-inning outing doesnt look so good." Kazmir would not use the 100-degree temperature at game time as an excuse. "Its tough to have nice weather in Oakland and come here to pitch. It kind of drains you in the beginning. I felt great. I was just inconsistent." Kazmir got out of the third and fifth innings by striking out Texas J.P. Arencibia for the final out each time with a total of five runners on base. "It was pretty much the same sequence," Kazmir said. "Off-speed the first two pitches, and tried to finish him off hard. That was big those two innings." Rangers manager Ron Washington said: "Thats J.P. I dont think he can change. We gotta live with it." The victory enabled Oakland to remain two games ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Angels in the AL West. The Athletics are 7-5 against the Rangers this season. Adam Rosales had a two-run homer in the second for the Rangers, and Adrian Beltre added a solo shot off reliever Evan Scribner in the eighth. Beltre was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk. Miles Mikolas (1-3) allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and four walks in 4 2-3 innings. He was coming off his first win as a major league starter, over the Yankees July 21. "I executed well and made the transition well in the New York game, and kind of fell back into (bad habits)," Mikolas said. "Its hard to break those bad habits, so well do more work on it." Jaso also has an 11-game hitting streak against the Rangers. "I dont know what it is. Ive hit some home runs here. The warm weather is nice, and they have a lot of righties." Jasos single was against Mikolas. Washington brought in left-hander Ryan Feierabend in to face Jaso in the fifth, and he ripped his two-run double with two out. NOTES: Oakland activated INF Alberto Callaspo (strained right hamstring) from the disabled list and optioned 1B Nate Freiman to Triple-A Sacramento. . Rangers LHP Derek Holland is scheduled to pitch two innings in his first game this season Wednesday on an injury-rehab assignment for Double-A Frisco. Holland, on the 60-day disabled list following off-season surgery on his left knee, threw in the bullpen and took fielding practice before Sundays game. ... Texas rookie RHP Roman Mendez pitched a perfect eighth inning. He has not allowed a run in 11 innings during his first eight major league games. ... RHP Nick Tepesch, who left Saturdays start in the seventh inning because of a sore left knee, said he plans to make his next scheduled start Friday in Cleveland. 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As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events.The Vancouver Canucks unloaded an unhappy veteran centre, acquiring three assets in return as new GM Jim Benning starts off his tenure with a major trade. Numbers Game examines the Anaheim Ducks acquiring Ryan Kesler. The Ducks Get: C Ryan Kesler and a third-round pick in 2015. Kesler, 29, has been a very good two-way centre for most of the past seven seasons, scoring at least 20 goals in all six full seasons while missing 31 games during the lockout-shortened 2013 season. He scored 25 goals last season while playing a career-high 21:49 per game, and while Kesler didnt match the outstanding possession numbers he had from 2009 through 2012, he still had positive possession numbers despite facing high quality opposition and starting more of his shifts in the defensive zone, qualities that put him with a sound group of two-way forwards. Holding a no-trade clause, Kesler had control over the situation and that limited Vancouvers options. In Anaheim, Kesler slides into the second-line spot, behind Ryan Getzlaf, and Keslers presence may even free-up Getzlaf a little bit more -- as Getzlaf typically faces a high calibre of opposition with more defensive zone starts. If Kesler takes some of that responsibility, it may allow Getzlaf to get more favourable offensive matchups. While Kesler is a pretty effective shooter, 9.9% or above every year since 2006-2007, his on-ice shooting percentage (which includes the shooting of all others on the ice with him at 5on-5) was his lowest in that span last season, when he played primarily with Chris Higgins on left wing and then a rotating cast of right wingers. The positive of that is that, statistically, hes likely to have better luck next year, in terms of other players shooting percentage, so there may be room for a boost in Keslers production. The Ducks have a variety of young wingers that will be bucking for playing time and a couple of Patrick Maroon, Jakob Silfverberg, Kyle Palmieri, Matt Beleskey, Emerson Etem and Devante Smith-Pelly should have a shot to play on Keslers wings. Anticipating some boost in Keslers production operates on the assumption that he will be getting first-unit power play time because Bonino held that spot with the Ducks last season. For as much as Keslers reputation is built on being a two-way player who can check the oppositions best forwards, hes also been a productive triggerman on the Vancouver power play, ranking among the leaders in power play goals per minute of 5-on-4 play over the past five seasons. Kesler, in addition to being a valuable two-way forward, also comes at a reasonable cost for a veteran player. He has two years remaining on his contract, with a $5-million cap hit. If he plays well over the next couple seasons, there may be a decent chance to get him extended or re-signed, considering that Kesler virtually hand-picked his trade destination. The third-round pick offers about a 30% of chance of netting an NHLer, with maybe a six or seven percent chance of yielding a top-six forward, top-four defenceman or starting goaltender. The Canucks Get: C Nick Bonino, D Luca Sbisa, a first-round and third-round pick.. Bonino is a 26-year-old centre coming off a careerr year, in the first full season that hes played in the NHL.dddddddddddd Boninos 22 goals and 49 points were solid showings, tied for 75th and 72nd, respectively and he scored 20 points on the power play. Bonino has not typically faced tough opposition and has always started more shifts in the offensive zone, yet his possession numbers havent been very good. He was just below break-even last season for the Ducks, but was productive, in part, because he had a high on-ice shooting percentage, which makes Bonino something of a mirror image of Kesler, more likely to see his production fall. Hes not as good, but there was no chance the Ducks were getting a better centre in exchange for a player with a no-trade clause that wanted to be moved out of town. That said, Bonino is an okay option as a second or third-line centre for the Canucks. An inexpensive option for a rebuilding team, signed for three more years at a total cost of $5.7-million, a very reasonable $1.9-million cap hit. Sbisa, 24, was well on his way to a signficant role before he was bypassed on the Ducks depth chart this season. In the previous two years, he had played all but nine games and was up to a career-high 19:50 average time on ice per game last season. The first-round pick of the Flyers in 2008 appeared to be making progress, but then he sprained his ankle in training camp, and later tore tendon in his hand. Those two injuries cost him 41 games and the Ducks had new defencemen -- Ben Lovejoy, Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen -- pull ahead of Sbisa on the depth chart. So, while Sbisa hasnt really established that he can handle a big role, its not unreasonable for the Canucks to put him on their third pairing next year to see if he can get back on track. Sbisa is under contract for one more season, at a cap hit of $2.175-million, after which he will be a restricted free agent. The 24th pick in the draft has typically yielded an NHL player 70% of the time, with a top-six forward, top-four defenceman or starting goaltender 25% of the time. The third-round pick was subsequently moved to the New York Rangers, to acquire veteran winger Derek Dorsett. Dorsett is a 27-year-old who is a willing scrapper, but has also played some tough minutes in a checking role over the past three seasons, with a lot of defensive zone starts. Dorsett is in the final year of a deal that brings a cap hit of $1.633-million. He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Will the Canucks be just as good without Ryan Kesler? Not likely. Does this move put them in a decent position going forward, in terms of having assets that they can use to re-shape the team? For sure. Big changes have begun in Vancouver and the first steps may be back before they are in position to move ahead. For the Ducks, theyve raised exectations with the addition of Kesler. They lost in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup champs and, justifiably, made a move to improve their odds next season by getting a player that they tried to acquire before the trade deadline last season. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. China Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Jerseys NFL Cheap Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Stitched NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys China ' ' '