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NEW YORK -- Zack Wheeler learned a couple things Sunday. Pitching with a big, early lead is fun. And, its possible to work through an issue with his motion without losing rhythm on the mound. Both lessons helped the 24-year-old rising star breeze into the seventh inning, Anthony Recker hit a three-run homer in a five-run first and the New York Mets beat the Texas Rangers 8-4 for a series win. "Its a big thing for me because not always I was able to find it," Wheeler said of fixing a timing glitch in his mechanics. "It felt good to come back out there and compete." Lucas Duda had an RBI double and Juan Lagares a run-scoring single in the Mets biggest opening inning of the season, with all the runs scoring with two outs. New York then got only one hit off Nick Tepesch (3-4) until Kirk Nieuwenhuis led off the sixth with a long ball to right field. Daniel Murphys RBI double in the seventh made it 7-1, but reliever Gonzalez Germen allowed Alex Rios first homer in 46 games and Leonys Martins two-run drive before getting an out in the eighth. Ruben Tejada had an RBI single in the eighth to increase New Yorks lead to a four runs. "The kind of hit Ruben got in the eighth wins games," manager Terry Collins said. Jeurys Familia cleaned up for Gonzalez by getting the final two outs in the eighth and closer Jenrry Mejia pitched the ninth. The Mets needed five relievers to help send Texas to its sixth loss on a seven-game road trip that ended Sunday. "We still had a lot of baseball to play and we ended up doing that," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We just couldnt make up for the runs that they put on the board." Wheeler (4-8) had his second straight solid outing in an up-and-down season to help the Mets win for just the third time in 11 games. The lanky right-hander lasted 6 1-3 innings and gave up a run and six hits, including Robinson Chirinos second homer of the series. It was Wheelers first victory in his last 10 home starts. He is 1-6 over that span. "Weve got a young pitcher on our hands whos going to be really, really good," Collins said. "Zack gets better each start. Today his velocity was consistent throughout the game." A day after Texas rode Chirinos three-run shot in a four-run first for a 5-3 victory, Recker put New York up 5-0 with a flyball that down the left-field line. "To put up five in the first inning is pretty cool," Recker said. Tepesch, whose start was pushed back twice last week and pitched nine days ago, was hurt by two walks in the first. Curtis Granderson walked leading off and, after Duda drove in his 12th run 15 games with a two-out double, Nieuwenhuis was walked to extend the inning for Lagares. Tejada walked after Reckers homer but Wheeler struck out. But Tepesch settled until Tejada had a one-out double in the fourth. In six innings, Tepesch allowed six runs and five hits. He walked four and struck out four. "Just tried to get back to just commanding it down in the zone and making good pitches down in the zone," Tepesch said of rebounding from the first. The 25-year-old Tepesch got his first big league hit in his fifth career at-bat, sending a bouncer past diving shortstop Tejada leading off the fifth. Tejada robbed Tepesch of a hit in the third inning with a diving catch. NOTES: The Mets have scored 60 runs in the first, their best inning this season. ... Texas starting pitchers have hits in each of the three games. ... LHP Joe Saunders has cleared waivers and is now a free agent. The Rangers designated him for assignment Tuesday after he went winless in eight starts. He is 0-5 with a 6.13 ERA. ... The Mets placed LHP Jonathon Niese on the DL with shoulder fatigue. RHP Dillon Gee (right lat strain), on the DL since May 11, threw a bullpen Sunday and could take Nieses spot in the rotation Wednesday. ... Up next: The Mets host NL East-leading Atlanta Braves for four games. The Rangers return to Texas for a three-game set with Houston. The Rangers have lost 15 of 23 at home. Under Armour Outlet Sale . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Cheap Under Armour Free Shipping . Reyes, 26, was traded from Atlanta to Toronto in July 2010 and spent the remainder of the season in the minors. He began 2011 in the majors and made 20 starts with the Blue Jays, going 5-8 with a 5.40 earned run average before he was waived on Aug. http://www.underarmouroutletonline.com/ . As if the individual strands of grey hair or the increasing amount of joint pain werent reminders enough, the impending end of Jeters career is a slap-in-the-face indicator of a generations fleeting youth. Wholesale Under Armour Shop .S. military base for UFC: Fight for the Troops 3. This fight card, which takes place in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has had a number of changes, including headliner Lyoto Machida replaced by fellow Brazilian Rafael Natal. Discount Under Armour Shoes . Next up is another showdown with Michigan. Payne scored 18 points, Branden Dawson had 14 and No. 22 Michigan State beat No. 12 Wisconsin 83-75 on Saturday to reach the Big Ten tournament championship.ORLANDO, Fla. -- After enduring a rough stretch over the past two months, the Indiana Pacers will enter the playoffs on a bit of a roll. Rasual Butler and Chris Copeland each scored 19 points as the Pacers rested their key players and cruised to a 101-86 victory over the Orlando Magic in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Pacers sat three starters -- Paul George, Lance Stephenson and David West -- and played George Hill and Roy Hibbert sparingly. But they got good output from their understudies in the second half to put the game out of reach. It was the second time in two weeks Indiana won with starters on the bench. Coach Frank Vogel pulled all five starters during their victory over Milwaukee last week. "Theres always value in winning games, but anytime you have bench guys that have a chance to get extended minutes, thats really good for their rhythm and confidence," Vogel said. "Weve had pretty good health from our starters most of the season. So those bench guys havent had opportunities to get extended minutes like this. So the Milwaukee game was good and this game was good." The Eastern Conferences top seed ended the season winning three of four to shake off a nasty late-season slump. The victory was just Indianas 10th in their last 23 games. Still for a team expected to be one of the defending champion Miami Heats biggest impediments to a third consecutive NBA championship, its an encouraging boost for the post-season. The Pacers will open the playoffs against eighth-seed Atlanta. "Through all the ups and downs, were still locked into the No. 1 seed so we have to tip our hat for that," Hill said. "But its a new game now. Its playoff time -- 0-0. Its the first to 16 (wins)." The Magic trimmed what had been an 18-point, second-half deficit down to 12 in the fourth quarter before another late surge by Indiana helped secure the victory. Indiana also knocked down 11 3-pointers, and racked up 40 points in the paint.dddddddddddd The Pacers didnt look short-handed as they went back and forth with the Magic in the first half, and took a six-point halftime lead. Evan Turner had 11 first-half points, including one of the Indianas six 3-pointers in the opening 24 minutes. The Magic played 11 players in the half, with nine of them scoring. Orlando struggled from the field, though, shooting just 37 per cent. Maurice Harkless led the Magic with 14 points, and ETwaun Moore added 13 for an Orlando team that ended the season losing 16 of 20 and had the fifth-worst record in franchise history. It was not a huge surprise for a franchise looking toward future. To help with the ongoing rebuilding process theyll have two lottery picks in Junes NBA draft. The plan is to add more building blocks around rookie guard Victor Oladipo, and big man Nik Vucevic. That doesnt mean there were any happy feelings Wednesday night. "Im pretty sure everybody in the locker room is tired of losing and its something that we dont want to do again next year," Harkless said. "Hopefully its something that we can fix." Now that their brief rest period is done, Hill said he feels like he and his teammates are ready for the challenge that awaits them. "Its going to be tough, but nobody gets us without having the advantage of being at home in a seven-game series," he said. "Its great without any back to backs, which is really the toughest part of the season. Its just great, now that we have some rest, our guys can prepare to go from game to game." NOTES: Orlando played without starters Jameer Nelson and Vucevic. Nelson missed his third straight game with a strained left groin, and Vucevic was out for the seventh consecutive game with a sore left Achilles....The Magic were just 7-42 this season when their opponent scored 100 or more points. 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