ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington decided it was time to shake up his lineup a bit. With a few switches in the batting order, and an impressive performance by young starter Nick Tepesch, the Rangers ended their longest losing streak in nearly nine years. Adrian Beltre homered and Shin-Soo Choo had three hits in his return to the leadoff spot while Tepesch allowed only three singles over 7 1-3 scoreless innings, and the Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Friday night. "He was outstanding. We needed a well-pitched game and he gave it to us," said Washington, who liked his lineup. "Well run the same one out there tomorrow and see what happens." The Rangers went into the opener of the weekend series mired in its first eight-game losing streak since August 2005. "Its nice to end any negative streak," said Beltre, who added a sacrifice fly in the eighth that proved to be the margin of victory. "Its one of those things, you dont want to throw any at-bat away." Minnesota has lost its last nine road games, including a three-game sweep at the Los Angeles Angels before getting to Texas. The Twins came up short after scoring four runs in the ninth off Texas closer Joakim Soria, making only his second appearance since June 14. Choo led off for the first time in 18 games while Carlos Pena, in only his fourth game back with the Rangers, took over the No. 3 spot where Choo had hit .149 (10 for 67) since June 7. And Washingtons change paid off immediately when Choo had a leadoff single in the first and scored on Beltres ninth homer, which just cleared the fence and landed in the Rangers bullpen in right-centre field. "I said earlier that doesnt make a difference. I knew this would happen after the game and I was sure people would ask me about it, but its not ... I dont think anything changed as far as approach," Choo said about leading off, though he acknowledged that, "Im a little more comfortable there, Ive done it for the last two years." Tepesch (3-3) struck out five, walked two and hit two batters, while matching his longest major league start. He has won all three of his career starts against the Twins, allowing only three earned runs in 20 2-3 innings. "Just able to command all four of my pitches, and just commanding them in the zone and out of the zone," Tepesch said. Kevin Correia (4-9) allowed four runs and six hits over six innings. The right-hander, who struck out three and walked two, had given up only two earned runs over 18 innings his previous three starts. Jason Frasor and Neal Cotts each got an out in the eighth after Tepesch gave up a one-out hit to Minnesota leadoff hitter Brian Dozer. Jorge Polancos two-run triple in the ninth for his first major league hit that made it 5-4. Soria, who had given up just one earned over 20 2-3 innings his previous 22 games, then got a strikeout and grounder to end the game. Luis Sardinas and Choo had RBI doubles in the fifth, both on balls that left fielder Josh Willingham tried to catch. Sardinas hit a sinking liner down the left-field line that rolled into the corner after Willingham made a diving attempt to catch it. Choo hit a flyball that glanced off Willinghams glove when he ran into the 14-foot fence. "Diving full out down the line, diving up against the wall in left field," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "What cant you like about that? Hes trying to make a play." NOTES: Rangers ace Yu Darvish (7-4, 2.62 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday. He lost his last two starts, allowing 12 runs (eight earned) over 11 innings. ... Phil Hughes (8-3) pitches the middle game for the Twins. ... 1B/OF Brad Snyder declined an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock and took free agency Friday, three days after the Rangers designated him for assignment. Marshall Faulk Jersey . The stress, the waiting, the whispers about whether he doped during his stellar cycling career, all of it ended when - after nearly two years - federal prosecutors closed an investigation of him last week without bringing any charges. Peyton Manning Jersey .com) - Jeff Teague finished with a game-high 26 points and eight assists as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Utah Jazz, 98-92, on Friday. http://www.officialindianapoliscoltspro....n-colts-jersey/. -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat. Darius Leonard Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. Johnny Unitas Jersey . People familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Friday that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz could issue his decision this weekend.EDMONTON -- It would be difficult to find a team much harder to figure out than the Edmonton Oilers. Taylor Hall scored a hat trick and added an assist as the Oilers bounced back from a stinker of a loss with a surprising 8-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. "Its always a fun night when you get a hat trick, but for us to win in the fashion that we did gives us some confidence," said Hall, who recorded his fourth career hat trick. "This homestand could prove to be big for us. "I havent been in this league long, but Ive been in it enough to know that anything can happen on any night against any team. You have to be ready for the opportunity. You just have to come out and play your game. Sometimes youre going to get eight and some nights youre going to get zero. And tonight was a great night." Ales Hemsky, David Perron, Mark Arcobello, Jordan Eberle and Sam Gagner also scored for the Oilers (10-18-2) who replaced a quarter of their lineup for the game after a 6-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday. The Oilers improved to just 4-9-0 at home, but have won six of their last nine overall. "I dont know if you see a score like that coming, but I think every morning you come into a game youre optimistic," said Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins. "Over the last few weeks our group has taken a step in mental toughness and something in that degree. I didnt see a win of that score coming though, I definitely thought wed be in a tight game." Nick Holden and P.A. Parenteau responded for the Avalanche (19-7-0) who had won two in a row and five of their last six coming into the game. Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov allowed eight goals on 28 shots, however three of those came in the final five minutes with the game clearly out of reach. "What happened in the last five minutes, we have to look at each other and play for our goaltender there," said Avalanche assistant captain Paul Stastny. "Those last two goals are on us. We cant quit on our goaltender like that. He has been our best player all year. Hanging him out to dry like that is unacceptable." Head coach Patrick Roy wasnt as upset after the game as could have been expected from such a lopsided score. "Im not disappointed at all," he said. "(The Oilers) played well and scored power-play goals, they scored on the rush. We knew before the game that its a team that it would be very dangerous to exchange chances with. If they go on the rush, its their game and we played into it. We need to learn from it. "They scored three goals in the last four minutes or so. It was a closer game than the score showed I think." The Oilers started the scoring before the game was four minutes old as Philip Larsen sent a long breakaway pass up ice that Hall was able to catch up to before sliding the puck through Varlamovs pads. Colorado had a chance to pull even four minutes later on a five-on-three power play, but Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk stoned Matt Duchene on a glorious opportunity at the side of the net to preserve the lead. Avalanche defenceman Jan Hejda had to be helped off the ice with eight minutes to play in the first period after losing an edge and going heavily feet first into the boards. Edmonton made it 3-0 with power-play goals just 15 seconds apart with just over two minutes remaining in the openinng frame.dddddddddddd Hall got his second of the night and ninth of the season with 2:18 remaining on a five-on-three advantage, unleashing a bullet of a one-timer from the right face-off dot. The Oilers then took advantage of the remaining time on the power play as Ryan Smyth sent a pass to hit Hemsky in full flight and he undressed Varlamov with a deke before scoring on the backhand. Colorado got a goal back four minutes into the second period as a Holden point shot caromed off a couple of Oilers players before ending up in the Edmonton net. The Avalanche made it 3-2 midway through the second period. Parenteau was able to swoop in and pick up the rebound of a big Dubnyk glove save on a point-blank shot by Gabriel Landeskog and hook it into a wide-open net. The Oilers went back up by two goals with eight minutes left in the middle period as Perron went in on a 2-on-1 before electing to shoot it himself. It was Perrons third goal in the last two games and team-leading 12th of the season. Edmonton restored its three-goal lead with 11 minutes left in the third period as a pass ticked off of defenceman Nate Guenin before Arcobello kicked it up to his stick and beat Varlamov. The Oilers made it 6-2 with just under five minutes left as Smyth showed good patience on a 2-on-1 before hitting Eberle for his 10th of the year. It was Smyths third assist of the game. Edmonton added insult to injury with a pair of late goals. With a minute-and-a-half left, Gagner intercepted a pass and then took a nice return feed from Hall before sniping the puck past Varlamovs glove. Hall then got the hat trick with just 11 seconds left as he tipped a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins shot on net and then followed it up to put home his own rebound. "There is tremendous amount of skill here and we have to utilize it on a daily basis," Smyth said. "We cant just sporadically use it. If we get consistent at it, were going to be successful." The Avs play the second of a three-game Western Canada trip on Friday in Calgary. Edmonton next plays host to the Flames on Saturday. Notes: It was the first of three scheduled meetings between the two teams this season. Edmonton came into the game with a fair amount of recent success against the Avalanche, having won seven of their previous 10 games at home against Colorado. ... Deeply disappointed in Tuesdays 6-2 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes at home, the Oilers switched out a quarter of their lineup from that game. Forward Will Acton and defencemen Denis Grebeshkov and Anton Belov were sent down to Oklahoma City while defenceman Jeff Petry and forward Jesse Joensuu were healthy scratches. Call-ups Anton Lander (forward) and Martin Marincin were inserted into the lineup, the first NHL game for Marincin. Also coming in were defencemen Philip Larsen and Corey Potter and forward Luke Gazdic. ... Edmonton goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was put on injured reserve with concussion/whiplash symptoms after being run over in the crease last Sunday in Dallas. ... Avalanche defenceman Ryan Wilson (back) and forward Alex Tanguay (knee) remained on injured reserve, while veteran defenceman Cory Sarich was a healthy scratch for Colorado, which came into the game after a four-day break. ... The Avs came into the game having recorded a penalty-free game against Minnesota on Saturday, but allowed three power play goals on Thursday. 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