Broken Wings » so many wild swings -- big wins, surprising losses, NC

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics are opening up quite a cushion in the AL West. Josh Donaldson hit a two-run single in a four-run third inning against Oakland nemesis Jered Weaver and the As completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 6-3 victory on Sunday. "We played well this series," Donaldson said. "Got some timely hits and we pitched well. I definitely think its one of those series we walk away and feel good about ourselves." Jed Lowrie homered and drove in two runs and Coco Crisp added an RBI double against Weaver (6-4) to give the As their first home sweep of at least three games against the Angels since June 29-July 1, 2004. Oakland leads the AL West by 4 1/2 games over Los Angeles, its largest pre-All-Star break lead since being 5 1/2 up in 1990. "We stubbed our toe this weekend but were looking at the big picture," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Were a good team and our pitchers are a big part of that." The big inning was more than enough support for Sonny Gray (6-1), who allowed a pair of sacrifice flies and an RBI double by Erick Aybar in 6 2-3 innings to rebound from a rare rough start. Gray has 11 quality starts in 12 outings this season for a 2.45 ERA. "We all knew coming in it was tight and they were playing really good baseball and we needed to take care of business at home," Gray said. "The way we were able to put these three games together ... that was awesome." As good as Gray has been this season, Weaver has been even better against the As of late. He allowed just two runs in 44 1-3 innings over six starts the past two seasons against Oakland, proving to be the one Angels pitcher who befuddled the As on their way to back-to-back AL West titles. Oakland more than doubled that scoring output in the fourth inning with a rally that got started when Craig Gentry hustled to beat out a potential double play. Gentry went to third on Eric Sogards single and scored on Crisps double. Donaldson added his two-run single and Lowrie capped the inning with a two-out single that made it 4-0. "This is a totally different As club," Weaver said. "They have great pitching, guys who can get on base at the bottom of the order and who can do the little things. I had one inning that got away from me. I wish we played better this series, but it is not the end of the year. Well see them again." Grey escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Hank Conger to end the fourth inning before allowing the sacrifice flies to Aybar and Albert Pujols in the fifth. Lowrie, who entered the game in a 4-for-30 slump, hit his solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to put Oakland back up by three and the As added an unearned run in the sixth as Oakland matched its highest scoring output ever against Weaver in 27 career starts. "I think he just left some pitches up," Donaldson said. "He tries to execute up at times, but there are times when he left some off-speed pitches up and that gives us a chance to definitely hit the ball a little bit harder." Grey was replaced by Dan Otero after Aybars two-out double in the seventh made it 6-3. Otero struck out Pujols to end the inning. Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless eighth and Sean Doolittle struck out the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save in six chances. NOTES: Weaver allowed six runs -- five earned -- and 11 hits in six innings. ... Angels OF Mike Trout missed a second straight game with a stiff back. ... C Stephen Vogt started after being called up from Triple-A Sacramento early in the day to give Oakland another bat with 1B Brandon Moss (right calf) and outfielder Josh Reddick (right knee) day to day with injuries. ... Both teams are off Monday. The Angels open a three-game series in Houston on Tuesday, while the As start a three-game series against the Yankees in New York. Cameron Wake Jersey . 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Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard feels she could still compete at an elite level for the next year or two. Shes just unsure whether she could still do it for a four-year Olympic cycle. That was one of the reasons why she announced her retirement from competitive curling on Tuesday, ending a career highlighted by four appearances at the national championships and an Olympic silver medal at the Vancouver Games in 2010. "When youve been there, thats really all you want is to get back," she said from her hometown of Calgary. "Its a funny thing, so I realize that." Bernard, 47, said she started to seriously consider retirement after losing the Alberta provincial final to Val Sweeting last January. "I really had to sit down and think," she said. "We came so close and that was a heartbreaker. Funny, Ive lost a few of them. And that one was without a doubt the worst because it would have just been a really neat way to maybe end the year and at least have a couple more years to look forward to." Bernard skipped Team Alberta at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 1992, 1996, 2007 and 2009. The best result for the Grande Prairie native was a runner-up finish in 1996 at Thunder Bay, Ont. One of her most memorable victories came over a decade later as she defeated Shannon Kleibrink in the final of the Olympic Trials in 2009 at Edmonton. At the Games, Bernard and her team of third Susan OConnor, second Carolyn Darbyshire (now McRorie), lead Cori Bartel (now Morris) and alternate Kristie Moore took top spot in the round robin at 8-1. They defeated Switzerland in the semifinal before dropping a 7-6 decision to defending champion Anette Norberg of Sweden in the final. Bernard had the final throw in the extra end but couldnt knock the two Swedish rocks out of the house and settled for second place. "I tried to really look at the positive that came out of that," Bernard said. "I really wanted to go through my life looking at it like our team won a silver and we didnt lose a gold." Both competitions provided lasting memories. "(The Trials) are kind of the pinnacle for Canada because its all the Canadian teams and its all your peers," she said. "Theyre both so up there in my memory and in my mind. Being able tto stand on the (Olympic) podium in your own country.dddddddddddd Ill never forget that, that was pretty neat." Now that shes retired, Bernard plans to spend more time with her family and continue her charity work and public speaking endeavours. She usually brings her silver medal along during her talks and the gold-medal game is a frequent discussion subject. "I relive it a lot," she said. "I talk about that and I have realized that sometimes youre lucky enough to win and sometimes youre lucky enough not to win. Because I think the things you get from a loss can sometimes be more educational, they can be more life-changing than the things when you win. "I think you look at a lot of different things after a loss and I think you can actually do a lot of good with that knowledge and see some really great life lessons. I really try to look at that as some great lessons I learned. I learned some amazing things about my teammates and about my family. You learn a lot when something doesnt maybe go exactly like you hoped." Bernard is excited to tackle some new challenges. She recently completed her first marathon and plans to work with World Vision and climb Mount Kilimanjaro to help children in Third World countries. "The marathon was something I really wanted to do and I trained the last five months for it," she said. "I absolutely loved focusing on a different sport. It felt so amazing to win a (participation) medal at a marathon. It was a nothing medal -- it was a completion medal, and it just felt so good. "I just thought, You know, Im missing trying to push myself at other things. So thats the next step." After a run of over two decades in the sport, Bernard is also quite proud of the friends she made along the way. "I always look back so much at the players," she said. "I look at the accomplishments of course and the highlights of winning the Trials and winning a silver medal and playing in an Olympics in Canada. I dont know if you can ever beat playing in an Olympics in your home country. "But I really look back at the people and the relationships that youve developed and the people youve influenced. I think those things maybe more make my career than the hardware." 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