or Tests this season, and Pakistan scheduled to play in New Zea

SEATTLE -- At about 10:15 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday, the retractable roof at Safeco Field made its methodical closure while the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers played the eighth inning of another high-scoring baseball game.It seemed like the only way to contain the Rangers unlimited offense.Texas and its loaded lineup will try to provide some more fireworks against the Mariners on Wednesday night, when struggling Seattle rookie Ariel Miranda (2-1, 5.76 ERA) takes the mound to face the Rangers A.J. Griffin (7-3, 4.41 ERA).Texas (83-56) has scored six or more runs in eight consecutive games and is averaging 7.5 runs per game over its past 13 games.Their offense is obviously really good; its rolling right now, Seattle manager Scott Servais said after Texas pounded out 15 hits and hit two home runs to beat the Mariners 10-7 on Tuesday night. Were having trouble slowing it down.The Mariners (70-68) arent alone in that respect. Texas already had a pretty good offense before adding Lucroy and Carlos Beltran in deadline deals, and now the Rangers are nothing short of loaded.Its a pretty special batting order, Lucroy said after hitting his ninth home run in 28 games as a Ranger on Tuesday night. Any guy in the lineup can hurt you.The Rangers, who have some question marks in their pitching rotation, have largely ridden their bats to a huge lead in the American League West. Tuesdays win kept Texas 8 1/2 games ahead of second-place Houston, and the Rangers magic number sits at 16.Griffin has won two consecutive starts heading into his scheduled outing Wednesday night in Seattle. He threw six shutout innings against Cleveland on Aug. 27, then Griffin had a shakier start the last time out, walking three while allowing two home runs over 5 2/3 innings in an 8-6 win over Houston.The Texas offense gives any starter room for error, and the Rangers should feel good about their chances against Seattle starter Miranda on Wednesday. Although Texas has yet to face the rookie left-hander, the 27-year-old Miranda has struggled in recent outings as he tries to prove himself as a long-term option in the Mariners rotation.Hes one of many Seattle starters who are in a funk heading down the stretch. Veterans Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma are losing some of their command, while youngsters James Paxton and Taijuan Walker have been unable to sustain any kind of consistency.Walker, who is scheduled to start Thursdays series finale, has been particularly bad as of late. He only got two outs in his last start, so it wouldnt be a big surprised to the Texas offense continue to rip through its final two games in Seattle.Texas has virtually wrapped up the division but is still trying to hold off Cleveland and whatever team wins the AL East for homefield advantage. The Rangers currently have the best record in the American League heading into Wednesday nights game in Seattle.Air Max 90 Sale Cheap . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Nike Air Max 90 Cheap Wholesale .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. http://www.australiaairmax90cheap.com/ .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Cheap Air Max 90 Australia . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human.Notwithstanding the results over the last couple of days, when Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe and West Indies notched up a rare away against Pakistan, home teams have been enjoying plenty of success in Test cricket recently. Sri Lanka pummelled Australia 3-0, India were similarly dominant against New Zealand, and Bangladesh got one past England. There have been a few strong performances by overseas teams too over the last year - Pakistan drew in England, Australia won in New Zealand and England beat South Africa, but is it fair to say that home teams are doing better now than they used to? Heres what the numbers indicate.In this decade, the overall win-loss ratio for home teams is 1.805, which is the highest it has ever been in a decade after the 1870s. (Tests in the UAE have been considered home games for Pakistan.) It has been fairly high over the last couple of decades, but since the start of 2010, it has been inching closer to two wins per defeat.A team-wise look at the home numbers shows Indias dominance at home during this period. In away Tests since 2010 they have won ten and lost 18, but at home they have been unstoppable, winning 21 and losing just three, two of which were in the series defeat against England in 2012-13. Australia and Pakistan have impressive win-loss ratios of more than three as well. The difference between the batting and bowling averages is more than ten for four of these teams, which is another strong indicator of home dominance. The table above also has a distinct split between the top seven teams and the bottom three. The top seven all have a win-loss ratio of 1.5 or more in home Tests since the start of 2010, while West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe - the bottom three - have ratios of lower of 0.70. Combining the numbers for the top seven teams, they have a ratio of nearly three wins per defeat at home, while the bottom three have lost twice as many as they have won. Apart from the weak numbers of the bottom three teams - though Bangladesh have shown strong evidence recently that they are ready to mix it with the bigger boys even in Test cricket - what stands out in recent years is the inability of teams to win Test matches in unfamiliar conditions. India winning in Sri Lanka isnt a surprise, and neither is Australia winning in New Zealand unexpected, but teams from outside the subcontinent have all struggled when they have travelled to Asia, just as Asian teams have come a cropper in series in Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa.The graph below clearly shows the rise in home dominance when the three top Asian teams have played in home conditions against the non-subcontinent teams; there are similar one-sided numbers when Australia, England, New Zealand or South Africa have played at home against the top three Asian sides. New Zealand werent so dominant historically, but since 2010 they have a 5-1 record against these Asian teams, winning four Tests against Sri Lanka and one against India. Inn the 1970s, 80s and 90s, the overseas teams were more competitive both in Asia and outside, but over the last seven years, the numbers have increasingly become more skewed.dddddddddddd. Among the three Asian teams, Pakistan have the best win-loss record in these countries during this period, but even they have a win-loss of 4-10. India have been poor, losing 16 and winning just two, while Sri Lanka have a 2-12 record. Similarly, the non-Asian teams have struggled in Asia. South Africa had a superb record there before their 3-0 drubbing in India, while England beat India 2-1 but have lost five out of six Tests in the UAE. West Indies did their numbers no harm with a win in Sharjah, but Australias stats in Asia are terrible - one win, 11 defeats in 14 Tests. A look at the numbers for the main batsmen from each team reveal the home bias for most of them. Among the Asian batsmen, Azhar Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq and Cheteshwar Pujara have done significantly better at home, with a difference of more than 20 between their home and away averages. (UAE counted as home Tests for Pakistan; away Tests includes games played in Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa.) Virat Kohli and Dimuth Karunaratne have higher overseas averages, but Karunaratne has ordinary numbers both home and away.Among batsmen from outside Asia, the difference in averages stand out for the two Australian batsmen, David Warner and Steven Smith - they are both outstanding at home but not so hot in Asia. (All Asia numbers exclude Tests in Bangladesh.) At the other end of the spectrum are Darren Bravo, Alastair Cook and Hashim Amla - the numbers for the last two are particularly impressive as they are strong at home, but even better in Asia.*Tests in the UAE counted as home Tests for Pakistan; away Tests are matches in Aus, Eng, NZ and SA* Away Tests are matches in Asia, excluding Bangladesh Among the bowlers, the gap between home and away averages for Indias top bowlers is especially glaring, and a big reason why the team has been so impressive at home but failed to win much overseas. The difference between home and away averages is 36.21 for R Ashwin, 28.63 for Ravindra Jadeja, and 19.77 for Mohammed Shami. Similarly, Rangana Herath has been exceptional at home, but averages more than 42 overseas. On the other hand, James Anderson and Dale Steyn have been stellar in Asian conditions.With England and Australia both touring India for Tests this season, and Pakistan scheduled to play in New Zealand and Australia, there is plenty of opportunity to Asian and non-Asian teams to buck the recent trend. Hopefully, the results in these matches will be less predictable than what we have come to expect over the last few years.*Tests in the UAE counted as home Tests for Pakistan; away Tests are matches in Aus, Eng, NZ and SA* Excludes Tests in Bangladesh ' ' '