e Ole Miss fan base has been melancholy for most of the fall after early lo

BALTIMORE -- Wade Miley will not look back fondly at his first start with the Baltimore Orioles.The left-hander took a line drive off his left calf and limped off the mound at the conclusion of a lackluster performance that contributed heavily to a 5-3 loss to. the Texas Rangers on Thursday night.Obtained in a trade with the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, Miley (7-9) allowed four runs and eight hits over five innings in his Baltimore debut.Obviously, I wish the results would have been a little better, he said. I had some jitters. After the first inning, everything kind of went away. But I just really didnt have good command tonight.The line drive that hit Mileys leg was turned into an out, thanks to a favorable rebound. Even more fortunate: It appears the injury was not serious.I dont think its a big concern at all, he said.The Orioles got solo homers from Mark Trumbo, Pedro Alvarez and Hyun-Soo Kim but were denied their first three-game sweep of Texas at home since 2000.Still, Baltimore beat Yu Darvish and Cole Hamels earlier in the series and kept a potent Rangers offense pretty much in check throughout.I was impressed with how well our guys pitched against them because thats a tough lineup to go through, manager Buck Showalter said. Thats the type of thing were going to have be able to do to get where we want to go.Texas received contributions from all three players it acquired before Mondays non-waiver trade deadline. Jonathan Lucroy homered in the second inning, Carlos Beltran singled in a run in the fifth and Jeremy Jeffress pitched a scoreless seventh.For those guys to go a new ballclub, the travel, and assimilating themselves into the clubhouse ... theyre professionals but anytime you make that move it can be a change, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. But it was nice to see theyre starting to perk up and do what they do. We saw tonight what this lineup can be capable of.Shin-Soo Choo came off the disabled list to get two hits and scored a run for the Rangers, who took back from Baltimore the distinction of owning the best record in the AL.Texas won the season series 4-3 and would have home-field advantage in the postseason if the teams finish with the same regular-season record and meet in the playoffs.Baltimore fell to 39-17 at home despite getting Trumbos major league leading 31st home run.A.J. Griffin (5-1) allowed three homers in 5 1/3 innings but won a second straight start following a six-game run without a victory. Sam Dyson, the fifth Texas pitcher, worked a perfect ninth for his 23rd save.After Lucroy put the Rangers up 1-0, Ian Desmond added a run-scoring groundout in the second.Texas made it 4-0 in the fifth on RBI singles by Desmond and Beltran. Desmonds single bounced past first baseman Chris Davis, who was screened by Choo advancing to second, and Beltrans pop bounced off the glove of second baseman Jonathan Schoop in right field.Trumbo and Alvarez homered in succession in the bottom half, and Kim led off the sixth with his fourth homer of the season -- his first at Camden Yards.Back-to-back doubles by Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor off Logan Ondrusek made it 5-3 in the eighth.SHORT HOPSRangers: Griffin has allowed at least one HR in eight straight starts. ... Texas hit a season-high six doubles.Orioles: Miley is the first lefty to start for Baltimore this season. ... The Orioles have hit back-to-back homers 12 times this season.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: Choo spent the minimum 15 days on the disabled list with lower back inflammation. It was his third stint on the DL this season.UP NEXTRangers: Martin Perez (7-7, 4.22 ERA) starts for Texas on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series in Houston. The Rangers are 9-1 against the Astros this season.Orioles: Baltimore starts a 10-game trip Friday night by facing former teammate Miguel Gonzalez (2-5, 4.06) and the Chicago White Sox.Custom Blazers Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Cheap Custom Blazers Jersey . 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Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs.OXFORD, Miss. -- Mississippis Shea Patterson was nervous in the moments before Gary Wunderlich lined up for a game-winning field goal attempt against Texas A&M, so the quarterback said a few encouraging words to his kicker.Wunderlich then nailed the 39-yarder for a 29-28 win over the then-No. 10 Aggies.After the game, the kicker had a good-natured message for Patterson: Dont do that again.He doesnt like people talking to him when he goes out there, Patterson said with a sheepish grin.Turns out even a precocious freshman like Patterson has a few things to learn on the field, even if his college debut was a stunning success in nearly every other facet . Patterson finished 25 of 42 passing for 338 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 64 yards.The raw numbers were certainly impressive. The fact he led a come-from-behind win in front of more than 100,000 fans in a road environment against a nationally ranked team makes it even more astounding.I thought Shea handled himself well, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said. I really believed he would or I wouldnt have done what I did in pulling his redshirt.Freeze had originally planned to redshirt Patterson this season. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was one of the nations top quarterback recruits last year, but he was stuck behind senior Chad Kelly, who threw for more than 4,000 yards in 2015.But Kelly tore two knee ligaments in a Nov. 5 game against Georgia Southern, pushing Patterson into the spotlight one year earlier than expected.The Shreveport, Louisiana, native was a little shaky at first against Texas A&M, but improved as the game progressed. Ole Miss trailed 21-6 after three quarters, but Patterson led the Rebels on four scoring drives in the fourthh quarter, including the game-winner that ended with Wunderlichs field goal.ddddddddddddI never really felt pressure, Patterson said. Having that offensive line in front of me and having those receivers making plays for me made my job a lot easier.Freeze said Patterson still has plenty to learn as the Rebels (5-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) try to become bowl eligible for a fifth straight season. Ole Miss travels to play Vanderbilt (4-6, 1-5) on Saturday.The coach would like to expand the playbook some against the Commodores, especially since Vanderbilts strength is a defense that is giving up 22 points per game, which ranks sixth out of 14 teams in the SEC.Against Texas A&M, the playbook was limited.The second half we ran four plays, really, when you get down to it, Freeze said.Now Patterson is dealing with the playbook along with his newfound celebrity on campus.The Ole Miss fan base has been melancholy for most of the fall after early losses to Alabama and Florida State derailed any hope of a dream season. But Pattersons debut has given the program a much-needed lift.He said he had around 300 text messages after the game from well-wishers, but is confident he can keep his focus on the field in the seasons final weeks.We have a great group of seniors in (tight end) Evan Engram and (offensive lineman) Robert Conyers keeping me level-headed throughout the game, Patterson said. They just made my job so easy. So I just try to control what I can control and do what I can to help the team win.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . ' ' '