CHICAGO -- Nearly a year after throwing a no-hitter at Wrigley Field, Cole Hamels was masterful again in his return to the famed ballpark.Hamels pitched eight dominant innings, and the Texas Rangers stopped a four-game slide by topping the Chicago Cubs 4-1 Sunday in a matchup of division leaders.I got 10 days of rest. You get a whole week of rest, I guess that helps, Hamels said. I know its the second half, want to start off right. This is now the go time.Hamels (10-2) struck out his first six batters. He fanned seven overall and gave up just an unearned run on four hits.The fastball, the cutter allowed him to get to the changeup today, and he was really exceptional, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.Last summer, the lefty threw a no-hitter and struck out 13 at Wrigley in his final start for Philadelphia. He was then traded to the Rangers.Ive always enjoyed coming to Wrigley Field, Hamels said. Growing up as a kid watching it on WGN, its just a great ballpark to come play at. The fans are great here. Im just going out enjoying the moment.Sam Dyson struck out three in the ninth for his 19th save in 21 chances.Ian Desmond homered and Robinson Chirinos drove in two runs as Texas avoided a three-game sweep. The Cubs had won three in a row.John Lackey (7-6) allowed four runs and six hits in eight innings as his winless streak reached seven starts on a warm afternn with the wind blowing out. He is 14-16 in 41 starts against Texas, the team hes faced most often in his career.The story really today was Cole. He pitched really well, Lackey said. We werent able to do anything against him. I was honestly pretty happy about the way I threw the ball. Threw eight innings and definitely not a gd day to pitch.Hamels fanned the side in the first two innings.I was able to execute pretty well, Hamels said. Sometimes things just work enough to miss the barrels. If you can go out and really establish the strike zone early, they cant get as comfortable.The streak ended when Matt Szczur popped out and Albert Almora Jr. reached on third baseman Adrian Beltres error in the third. Javier Baez doubled home a run.Elvis Andrus RBI single and Chirinos sacrifice fly put the Rangers ahead in the second. Almora made a leaping catch in center field to rob Chirinos of extra bases.Chirinos hit an RBI double after Lackey walked the first two batters in the fourth.Desmond led off the eighth with his 16th home run.The Cubs got back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the seventh before a double play and groundout ended the rally.Cole did exactly what we needed today, and we got hits when they counted and we were able to get the win, first baseman Prince Fielder said. Gd defense, great win all around.We needed it really bad. Weve been struggling as a team.TRAINERS RMRangers: OF Shin-S Ch (back) was out of the lineup for a third straight game, but Banister said the team isnt considering putting him on the disabled list just yet. It still seems to bother him when hes throwing, Banister said. . RHP Kyle Lohse (strained oblique) threw a pain-free bullpen session Saturday. Banister expects him to start Tuesday at the Angels.DRAMALackey argued with home plate umpire Cory Blaser after the top of the sixth before right fielder Jason Heyward got between them. Cubs manager Joe Maddon then addressed Blaser. Lackey declined to go into details of the chat.Theyre talking about Christmas cards for next year, Maddon joked. Just let John vent a little bit. Hes fine.UP NEXTRangers: RHP A.J. Griffin (3-1, 3.81 ERA) is scheduled to start Mondays opener of a three-game series at the Angels, who are expected to start RHP Nick Tropeano (3-2, 3.12).Cubs: LHP Jon Lester (9-4, 3.01) is to start Mondays opener of a three-game set against the visiting Mets and LHP Steven Matz (7-5, 3.3. Lester allowed a season-high eight runs in a career-low 1 1/3 innings in his other start against New York this season. Cheap San Diego Padres Jerseys . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Cheap San Francisco Giants Jerseys . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. http://www.cheapmlbjerseysoutlet.com/ . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. Cheap MLB Jerseys Free Shipping . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Discount MLB Jerseys For Sale . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high schl students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. Terry Francona, who guided the Cleveland Indians to their first American League pennant since 1997, was named American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday.Francona wins the award, given by the Baseball Writers Association of America, after guiding the Indians --?beset by injuries and drug suspensions -- to a surprising first-place finish with a 94-67 record. Cleveland also made its first playoff appearance since 2013 and won their first division title since 2007.Im honored, Francona said. ... It also does give me a chance to brag about our guys. If somebody thinks its an individual award, its the furthest thing from the truth. One, its incredible players. Its front office, ownership. The coaches work so hard every day. I wish we could take a bow together.The Indians almost claimed their first World Series title since 1948 before the Chicago Cubs overcame a 3-1 deficit.It was an unbelievably satisfying year, Francona said.Its already been a busy offseason for him, t. The Indians picked up options for his contract in 2019 and 2020, then he had a right hip replacement operation.He received a first-place vote on 22 of the 330 ballots cast and was the only one to be named on every ballot.dddddddddddd Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister finished second with four first-place votes, while Buck Showalter of the Baltimore Orioles and John Farrell of the Boston Red Sox had two first-place votes apiece and finished third and fourth, respectively.In Franconas fourth year managing the club, Cleveland overcame significant injuries to star outfielder Michael Brantley, catcher Yan Gomes and starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar to win the AL Central title by eight games and improve its win total by 13 games from a season ago.This is the second time Francona, 57, has been named Manager of the Year, having won the honor in 2013 after his first season with the Indians, and he is the only two-time winner in franchise history. He is now the sixth active manager to win the award multiple times, joining Dusty Baker, Joe Maddon, Bob Melvin, Mike Scioscia and Buck Showalter.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '