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NEW YORK -- Trailing by four runs in the ninth inning, the somnambulant New York Yankees were on the verge of falling 10 games behind division-leading Baltimore in the AL East. Many in the crowd of 39,875 already had streamed out, convinced they had seen another listless loss in a season filled with them.Those who left early missed an astonishing comeback the Yankees hope sparks the turnaround that has eluded them.New Yorks first three batters reached, cutting the deficit by a run, and an electric seven-pitch span unfolded.Brian McCann hit a tying, three-run homer off Sam Dyson, Starlin Castro walked and Didi Gregorius capped the six-run inning with his two-run shot, lifting the Yankees to a 9-7 win over the Texas Rangers, the team with American Leagues best record.Probably the biggest win of the year for us, Alex Rodriguez said.New York trailed 7-2 Wednesday night and had a 1.2 percent win probability, according to Fangraphs, before McCanns solo homer with one out in the eighth off Cesar Ramos. McCann, bothered by patellar tendinitis, grabbed his left knee while rounding first and limped as he circled the bases.Matt Bush came in and escaped a two-on jam, and the 30-year-old rookie, seeking his first big league save, was left in for the ninth.Win probability was up to only 1.8 percent before Rob Refsnyder singled leading off the ninth. Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a walk, and Dyson (1-2) relieved.New York had been 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position before Brett Gardner singled, and Refsnyder came home when center fielder Ian Desmond bobbled the ball for an error.After Rodriguez lined out, McCann lined a 97 mph, 1-0 fastball on the inside of the plate above the knees and sent it about six rows deep into the right-field seats. Castro walked on five pitches, and Gregorius drove Dysons first offering, an outside changeup at the knees, into the first row above the right-field scoreboard, where the ball ricocheted off a fans glove and back onto the field.I didnt know it was gone like right away. After I stepped on first, thats when I saw it, Gregorius said. I didnt smile because I didnt want to smile, but as soon as I rounded third, see all the guys there, everybody cheering, I had to smile right there.It was the first game-ending homer of Gregorius career; he said his only other one was for the Netherlands national team in October 2010 against Taiwan in the Intercontinental Cup.Threw some quality pitches down in the zone and they got hit. Thats the end of it, said Dyson, who blew a save for the second time in 18 chances. I kind of came in and let everybody down.New York (38-39), which has never been more than two games above .500 this year, had lost the series opener, wasting a ninth-inning lead after a 3 1/2-hour rain delay in a game that ended at 2:44 a.m. Cole Hamels shut down the Yankees on Tuesday, extending their losing streak to three.Theres a sense of urgency, manager Joe Girardi said before the game. As days tick away, you start to run out of time, and you dont want to bury yourself.Texas opened a 5-1 lead in the third against Masahiro Tanaka when Nomar Mazara, a 21-year-old rookie who is the youngest position player in the majors, hit a three-run double and scored on Prince Fielders single off a diving Refsnyder at first.Rougned Odor added his 15th homer in the sixth, an opposite-field drive to left, and Adrian Beltre hit an opposite-field homer to right in the eighth off Luis Cessa (1-0), who allowed one run in three innings for his first big league win.Chase Headley had homered in the second against Nick Martinez, who played college ball in the Bronx with Fordham, and had a sacrifice fly in the sixth off Ramos. The drama was yet to come. New York had not won this year when trailing after eight innings.It can be huge, McCann said. We dug ourselves a hole early in April, and were getting out of it right now.Gregorius hoped the comeback was just a prelude.I would say the biggest is yet to come, he said.RARE FEATSBefore McCann, the previous Yankees player to homer in the eighth and ninth innings of a game was Tony Clark in 2004, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. ... The Yankees had not won when trailing by four runs in the ninth inning or later since beating Oakland 10-9 on Sept. 22, 2012, when they allowed four runs in the 13th, tied the score in the bottom half and prevailed 10-9 in the 14th.TRAINERS ROOMYankees: After leaving Tuesdays game in the first inning with a tight right hamstring, Carlos Beltran probably wont be available through at least Thursday, according to Girardi.UP NEXTYankees RHP Michael Pineda (3-7) starts Thursdays series finale against RHP A.J. Griffin (3-0). Pineda is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his last four starts. Griffin returned from a stint on the DL caused by shoulder soreness and allowed two runs over 4 1/3 innings against Boston last Saturday. Jose Juan Barea Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Jalen Brunson Mavericks Jersey . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. http://www.mavericksteamofficial.info/kostas-antetokounmpo-mavericks-jersey/ . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Luka Doncic Jersey . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. Jose Juan Barea Mavericks Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. First Kobe Bryant, now Tim Duncan. A two-decade chapter of NBA history has closed.Two giants of their generation retired within months of each other, and their exits, just like their personalities and their games, couldnt have been much different.The destination is certainly the same. They will be headed to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame together in five years.Duncan ended his career Monday after 19 years with the San Antonio Spurs, three months after Bryant played the last game of his 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.Youve got probably two of the best at their position. To see them go, its kind of sad, but it comes at some point, said Grizzlies assistant Nick Van Exel, a former teammate of both.Both retirements seemed possible going into the season after injuries and sometimes even ineffectiveness had creeped in late in their careers, but the absence of a familiar silver and black jersey, and one purple and gold one, is a jolt, just like when Oscar Robertson and Jerry West retired in 1974 after the same season.For now, the NBA moves on without a pair of players most responsible for carrying the league forward after Michael Jordan, two who stood as the best examples of what the league long aspired to be.Its like when Michael passed the torch to Kobe and Tim, and now them passing it to LeBron. Its a natural progression, Houston coach Mike DAntoni said. The NBA keeps thriving because we keep having great players and those two exemplified two of the best.Bryant proved a basketball player could not only be one of the brightest stars in Hollywood, but also Europe, Asia, or anywhere else his games were seen around the globe.Duncan will always stand as the model that players dont need to be backed by the big spenders in Bryants Los Angeles or Jordans Chicago to win, that small markets can soar with the right combination of skill and sacrifice.Duncan embodied both, a player who for years could either dominate offensively, defensively, or both, without the desire for praise or paycheck that came with it. He took far below market value to give the Spurs the means to fortify the team around him, so much so that his salary had he continued playing would have appeared puny at a time when dollars are flying around to players -- and not even All-Star ones -- like never before.His equivalent of a quiet exit out the back door Monday came via press release from the team, not much different than the dozens that have been sent out in recent days by NBA clubs announcing minor free-agent or draft-pick signinngs.ddddddddddddThats all Duncan deserved?More likely its all he wanted, which is what made him and the Spurs so perfect together. They dont care for wasting time on words, and sure enough there wasnt even a quote in Duncans announcement.Bryant always did things differently, from his much-flashier wardrobe to his much larger bank account last season as the NBAs highest-paid player, which prevented the Lakers from the building options that Duncans salary afforded the Spurs.Bryant at first said he wanted no part of a farewell tour, no gifts from teams he was trying to beat, yet thats exactly what his exit became. He announced early in the season that it would be his last, allowing him a long and lengthy goodbye.And when it ended with his scintillating 60-point throwback in the final game of the season, somehow turning Golden States record-setting 73rd victory into the nights second story, it was a final reminder that even when there were better teams and better players, he was never far from the spotlight.He arrived in 1996 when high school players were far from a sure thing, one of the reasons he slipped to what seems now an unfathomable No. 13 in the draft. Duncan arrived the following June as one of the surest things ever, a four-year player at Wake Forest with NBA-ready skills and smarts.Duncan got to the top first in 1999, Bryants Lakers won the next three titles before the Spurs ended their run, and the pattern stayed that way for years. One or the other appeared in 13 of the 16 NBA Finals from 1999-2014, and both Bryant and Duncan finished their careers with five championships.Their playing days are over, but the debate over who had the better career -- or perhaps, who was the best player of his generation -- might continue many more years. Bryant scored far more but also lost more, unable to match Duncans amazing consistency during 19 straight playoff seasons and an NBA-record 17 consecutive 50-win seasons.For us as players, we just enjoy and appreciate each other, Bryant said earlier this season. Its not a matter of whos better or whos greater. You just accept the careers that youve had. I appreciate his career, and vice versa.And sometime in 2021 in Springfield, Massachusetts, there will be a night to appreciate them together.---Freelance writer Willie Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed to this report.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '