walked Nelson Cruz on a 3-2 pitch in the second inning and gave up

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- The Carl Edwards hauler sits 10th among the haulers in the Sprint Cup garage area, where they line up by organization based on owner points.With Joe Gibbs Racing having the third-best spot in owner points (behind Hendrick and Penske) and Edwards last among the JGR drivers in points, it would appear as if this team is among those in the dogfight for a spot in the championship.But thanks to Edwards win Sunday at Texas, he doesnt have to worry about his finish this weekend. Its the same for Jimmie Johnson, who won at Martinsville.When those two drivers talk about this weekend, they dont mind looking ahead. They are among the four drivers who will advance out of the semifinal round and be eligible for the championship Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Johnson can barely remember -- or doesnt choose to remember -- his 11th-place run at Phoenix in March. The Chase for the Sprint Cup makes its next stop Sunday in Phoenix.I know I ran OK, but even that is a little vague because I jumped right over my Phoenix prep and have been focused on Homestead, Johnson readily admitted earlier this week.The same could be said for Edwards, who got out of his race-winning car at Texas and minutes later was talking to crew chief Dave Rogers about Homestead.Dave was actually trying to shut me up, Edwards said. I started talking about Homestead already.Everything we do now will be geared to making sure that that Homestead weekend, we do it perfectly. I relish the opportunity to go focus for ... 14 days on trying to give a championship effort.While Edwards celebrated, he has three teammates who enter Homestead without a guarantee they will advance. Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin are among the six drivers vying for the two remaining spots.Obviously, theyre a little more relaxed, I would assume, this weekend in a way, Kenseth said. But yet Im sure theyre also thinking ahead to Homestead. Im sure theyre thinking about this weekend to try to get their car running as good as they can to try to help two more cars get in there from the organization.I dont know that its a lot different.Edwards wont have to worry about anything this weekend. He wont have to play over what happened in March at Phoenix, where he probably could have won if he had raced a little rougher on the final lap and slammed doors a little harder with Kevin Harvick.Its one last week to just go have some fun, hopefully get another trophy and prepare for Homestead, Edwards said. Texas was the biggest win of our season, and coming off of that we are really looking forward to going to Phoenix and just focus on getting another win.Phoenix is a special track for me. Its the first place I ever raced on pavement. [Ive had a] lot of great runs there and a lot of wins [and a] very close race in the spring. That last lap was a blast.Johnson will try to keep the pressure on his team only in hopes that they continue to feel a sense of having to perform under pressure. Thats a noble goal, but no one can pretend to mimic the pressure of Homestead when the finish at Phoenix doesnt matter.Still, Johnson hopes his team takes a businesslike approach even knowing they have a clean slate next week.We could all use practice with pressure because Homestead will bring a lot of pressure, Johnson said. So pressure is good for us. We will be racing for every point we can race for, even if we are locked in. We will race our race and let everyone else race theirs.The difference between Johnson and Edwards comes in the number of championships they have won. Johnson has six and goes for his seventh next week. Edwards has none, losing by the closest of margins in 2011 when Tony Stewart beat him on a tiebreaker by winning at Homestead, with Edwards finishing second.Its not just going there like we did in 2011 to race against one guy in championship form -- were going to go there and race against three guys, one of which is a six-time champion [at the] top of his game, Edwards said. I know whoever else is in there is going to be tough as nails.Its cool. If were able to win that, stand ... with that championship trophy, were going to have earned it. Thats as good as it gets. Wholesale Golden Knights Jerseys . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Cheap Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys . 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Justin Grimm struggled early only to rebound and turn in another quality start. The Texas Rangers had a little of everything go in their favour Friday night, even a double play that shouldnt have been. Jeff Baker hit a two-run homer and Berkman added a three-run shot, both off Seattle starter Joe Saunders, and the Rangers beat the Mariners 9-5. Bakers shot in the second inning gave the Rangers the lead, but it was Berkmans fourth homer of the season into the left-field seats that broke the game open in the third and sent Saunders to his first career loss at Safeco Field. It was the first homer for Baker since May 10 and first for Berkman since May 11. "We got him into some counts where he had to throw a strike and we didnt miss it," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "The big blow was the one Berkman got. We just kept battling him and battling him and got it done." Grimm (4-3) overcame a rough first few innings to pitch into the seventh despite giving up 10 hits. Grimm avoided a big inning, didnt walk a batter and struck out five in beating the Mariners for the second time this season. Joe Nathan got his 15th save of the season getting Michael Morse for the final out of the game after Seattle scored twice and had two runners on in the ninth. Grimm wasnt at his best early in the game as Seattle battered him for eight hits in the first 2 2-3 innings with relievers warming in the Rangers bullpen. But Grimm managed to limit any major damage — helped by a blown call by first base umpire Jeff Nelson in the second — before settling down and retiring seven straight batters at one point. Seattles chance at a big second inning took a hit with a botched call by Nelson. Jesus Sucre hit a grounder to Mitch Moreland at first, who threw down to second to get the lead runner. The relay from Elvis Andrus back to first was in time to get Sucre but the throw was caught by Grimm running over to cover and not Moreland, whose foot was on the bag. Nelson missed that it was Grimm who caught the throw and called Sucre out. "That happened so fast. I didnt realize the umpire had called him out at first," Grimm said. "... I was going over to cover the bag and Mitch took it on his own so when Elvis threw the ball it started to come toward me.dddddddddddd I didnt think Mitch was going to be able to get to it and I just snagged it up real quick in hopes to save a run and keep the double play in order." Seattle manager Eric Wedge went out to argue, but his argument was that Moreland had pulled his foot off the bag. He didnt realize until watching the replay later that it was Grimm who caught the throw and it never reached Morelands glove. "It would have been a much bigger argument if I had known that at the time," Wedge said. Some of the furor stopped when Brendan Ryan followed with a two-out RBI double to tie the game at 2 and was further muted by what the Rangers did against Saunders and Seattles bullpen. Still, the Rangers realized they got lucky. "I didnt have to see the replay," Washington said. "I knew we caught a break there." Saunders (3-5) entered the night 9-0 at Safeco Field, including a 3-0 mark with a 0.94 ERA this season. But Saunders gave up six earned runs and eight hits in just five innings and the Mariners lost their seventh straight. Saunders problems started when he walked Nelson Cruz on a 3-2 pitch in the second inning and gave up Bakers opposite-field homer two batters later to give Texas a 2-1 lead. He immediately faced problems in the third giving up a leadoff single to Jurickson Profar and a one-out double to Moreland. After striking out Berkman looking in the first inning, Saunders got just one pitch into the at-bat his next time up. Berkman drove the first pitch out to give the Rangers a 5-2 lead. Texas scored three more times in the seventh against Seattles bullpen, capped by David Murphys two-out, two-run single. Notes: Seattles been outscored 28-6 in the last three games. ... Texas announced after the game that Martin Perez will be called up to start the first game of Mondays day-night doubleheader at Arizona with Yu Darvish likely going in the nightcap. .... Raul Ibanezs had an RBI double in the third inning. It was the 400th double of his career. ... Injured Texas RHP Alexi Ogando (biceps tendinitis) will throw a bullpen session between games of the Rangers doubleheader on Monday in Arizona. Hell be reassessed after the bullpen and could come off the disabled list next weekend. ' ' '