SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Derek Lowe has earned a job with the Texas Rangers and will start the season in the bullpen. Rangers manager Ron Washington said Tuesday the 39-year-old right-hander will be a long reliever and spot starter. Lowe agreed March 6 to a minor league contract and will get a one-year deal that pays him $1.25 million in the major leagues and $150,000 in the minors. He can earn $1.7 million in performance bonuses based on a point system for starts and relief appearances. Lowe was 9-11 with a 5.11 ERA last season in 21 starts and 17 relief appearances for Cleveland and the New York Yankees. He will take over a role filled last season by Scott Feldman, who left to sign with the Chicago Cubs. Texas also optioned prospect Jurickson Profar to Round Rock and assigned catcher Eli Whiteside, left-hander Nate Robertson and outfielder Jim Adduci to the Triple-A club. General manager Jon Daniels said right-hander Nick Tepesch will start for Round Rock on April 4, then will be recalled to the Rangers for their game April 9 against Tampa Bay, the first day Texas will need a fifth starter. Tepesch is 0-1 with a 6.50 ERA during five spring training appearances, including three starts. The 24-year-old was a combined 11-6 at Class A and Double-A last season. Profar is hitting .244 (11 for 45) in 21 spring training games with five RBIs. The 20-year-old decided against participating in the early rounds of the World Baseball Classic for the Nethertlands to increase his chances of making the Rangers opening-day roster. Patriots Super Bowl Jersey 2015 . -- Caron Butler scored 24 points and reserve Gary Neal added 15 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their first preseason victory, 105-95 over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Matthew Slater Jersey . Must have made the other teams in South Floridas bracket shudder just a bit, too. The Bulls introduced the Big Easts nastiest defence to the NCAA tournament on Wednesday night, allowing only 13 points in the first half of a 65-54 victory over a California team that went long stretches without a single point. http://www.patriotsjerseysauthentic.com/Vince-Wilfork-Super-Bowl-Jersey/ . The end of this mess of a season for the Minnesota Twins still mattered to the veteran right-hander, who wanted no part of 100 losses. LeGarrette Blount Super Bowl Jersey . Coach Jim Caldwell broke up a normally quiet Tuesday by announcing that Coyer had been fired as defensive co-ordinator and that Dan Orlovsky would replace Painter at quarterback when the Colts play at New England on Sunday. Nate Solder Super Bowl Jersey . Therrien was Bouillons coach in junior hockey when they won the Memorial Cup with the Granby Predateurs and was coaching him again when the stocky Montreal Canadiens defenceman celebrated his 38th birthday on Thursday. (Sports Network) - Two pitchers with high expectations take the hill this afternoon when Phil Hughes and New York Yankees try to complete a three-game sweep against Max Scherzer and the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. Last season Hughes finally started to live up to the potential that made him one of the games top prospects, as he went 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA. However, after winning 11 games in the first half to earn his first All-Star nod, Hughes went just 7-6 after the break with a 4.90 ERA. The right-hander has also seen his velocity drop this spring which has raised some eyebrows around the league. Hughes, though, has dominated the Tigers over the course of his young career. In two starts against them last season he was 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA and is 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA in seven games (five starts) overall. With the way the Yankees have hit through the first two games they may not need Hughes to be at his best on Sunday. The Yankees pounded Brad Penny on Saturday, as Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Russell Martin all homered to power New York to a 10-6 win. We get through these stretches, and power hitters have to live on these great stretches because well go through ups and downs in the season, said Teixeira, who also homered on Opening Day and has six RBI on the season. You cant miss good pitches, because when you see them, you have to hit them. The Yankees hhavent gotten off to a 3-0 start since 2003 when they won their first four games.dddddddddddd A.J. Burnett (1-0) allowed five hits and three runs with six strikeouts over five innings for the win. Mariano Rivera picked up a save, marking the first time he has saved the Yankees first two games of the season since 2000. Victor Martinez hit a two-run homer and Austin Jackson contributed a solo round-tripper for the Tigers, who have dropped the first two games of their season for the third time in four years. Detroit is also just 1-8 in the new Yankee Stadium. Penny (0-1) lasted just 4 1/3 innings in his Tigers debut, during which he was charged with seven hits and eight runs while walking four. Scherzer, meanwhile, showed flashes of being a solid No.2 starter last season, as he went 12-11 with a 3.50 ERA. The righty also struck out 184 batters and over his final 23 starts, his 2.46 ERA was the second lowest among AL starters. However, he didnt instill a lot of confidence this spring, as he allowed 25 hits and 21 runs - including 12 in 2 1/3 innings of his last outing - in 17 1/3 Grapefruit League innings. Scherzer beat the Yankees the only other time he faced them, holding them scoreless over six innings last August. The Yankees split their eight matchups with the Tigers last season, but are 11-5 against them since the start of the 2009 campaign. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '