Broken Wings » didnt find a long-term starter, let alone an

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sonny Gray spent the past few days with Oakland pitching coach Curt Young, making subtle adjustments to his delivery. Grey wont reveal exactly what he and Young worked on. Suffice to say, the Athletics young staff ace is pleased with the results. Brandon Moss hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the fifth inning, and Gray bounced back from two sub-par outings to lead Oakland over the Texas Rangers 4-2 Wednesday, giving the Athletics (44-28) the best record in the majors. "Overall it was a pretty good outing," said Gray, who had won just two of eight starts before going seven innings against Texas and striking out seven. "I dont think there really is a difference other than I was able to make pitches," he said. "Thats probably it. People sometimes forget that baseball is a pretty hard game and theres going to be some rough patches that youre going to go through." Grey (7-3) bounced back nicely from his recent rough stretch. The right-hander needed only 31 pitches to get through the first three innings, then struck out Brad Snyder on a high 95 mph fastball to end the fourth with runners at second and third. Grey also got help from left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, who made a leaping catch at the warning track to rob Adrian Beltre of extra bases two batters before Snyder struck out. His lone mistake came in the fifth when Texas loaded the bases with two outs. Gray walked two and gave up an infield single before Shin-Soo Choos two-run single made it 2-2. "Its just balance for him," As manager Bob Melvin said. "He knows his delivery (and) his mechanics pretty well, and Curts terrific at pointing out subtle things. There are a couple things hes been working on." Cespedes and Josh Donaldson each had two hits for the As. Oakland has won four of five and is a season-high 16 games over .500. Their record is one game better than cross-bay rival San Francisco. "Anytime in the season that you can say you have the best record in baseball, its satisfying," Melvin said. "But theres a lot of baseball yet to be played. At least for the time being it feels good." Luke Gregerson pitched the eighth, and Sean Doolittle worked the ninth for his ninth save. Nick Tepesch (2-3) went five innings for Texas. Choo drove in both runs for the Rangers. "We have to get more than five innings out of our starting pitching and we have to have a shutdown inning after we score runs," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Somehow that (Oakland) lineup is always functioning. Somebody is always having a good day." Melvin shuffled his lineup and didnt start centre fielder Coco Crisp and second baseman Eric Sogard. Oaklands offence didnt miss a beat. John Jaso replaced Crisp in the leadoff spot and knocked in the As first run with a double in the third. Craig Gentry, who filled in at centre field, added two hits and scored a run. Second baseman Alberto Callaspo also had two hits. That was enough for Gray, who gave up two runs and six hits. He improved to 8-2 with a 1.90 ERA in 13 career starts against teams from within the As division. "He was keeping us off balance," said outfielder Alex Rios, who doubled off Gray in the fourth. "He managed his slider well. and his fastball had good velocity. He was locating it well." Cespedes scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the inning. He singled off Tepesch and scored on Moss double to right, barely beating the throw home with a headfirst slide. After Donaldson singled Moss to third, Stephen Vogt hit a short sacrifice fly to left to put Oakland up 4-2. Tepesch remained winless since May 26. He allowed nine hits over five innings with two walks and one strikeout. NOTES: Doolittle hasnt allowed a run in 22 1/3 innings, the longest active streak in the AL. ... Crisp was given a normal day off. ... Sogard pinch-ran after Callaspo singled in the ninth. ... Rangers 3B Luis Sardinas singled in the third to extend his career-best hitting streak to seven games. ... Texas LHP Joe Saunders (0-2), who will pitch the opener against the Angels on Friday, has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four starts since coming off the DL. ... Oakland LHP Scott Kazmir (8-2), who opens the series against Boston on Thursday, has a 0.95 ERA over his previous four starts. Where To Buy Cheap Jerseys . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night. Cheap Jerseys Review . The Hockey Canada Foundation is donating $50,000, with Hockey Quebec contributing $15,000. Hockey Canada also announced it will hold a skills camp for all levels of minor hockey in Lac-Mégantic during the 2013-14 season. Representatives from Hockey Canada, the Hockey Canada Foundation and Hockey Quebec were on hand Tuesday night at a meeting of the AHM de Lac-Mégantic to make the announcement and presentation. https://www.cheapjerseysreview.com/ .com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers made it official Tuesday and signed pitcher Brandon McCarthy to a four-year contract. Replica Jerseys China . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted on Monday that Hemsky will be going to market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Wholesale Jerseys Online . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley.LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. Times just about up. The three-day proceeding starts with the first round Thursday and the Bears, owners of the 14th pick, still need help on defence even after some big moves. So a little extra time to study the prospects suited Emery just fine. "I love it, honestly. Ive heard reports of people complaining about it," he said. "I dont know what theyre complaining about." The draft was pushed back about two weeks because of a scheduling conflict at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall. Emery said that allowed the Bears to have "less-rushed conversations" as they try to weigh short-term gains against long-term benefits. The defence ranked among the leagues worst a year ago and was the biggest reason the Bears missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years at 8-8. The Bears have been busy addressing that, bringing in Jared Allen and parting with Julius Peppers in an effort to spark a defence that ranked 30th overall, last against the run, and tied Jacksonville with a league-low 31 sacks. They still need help on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary, particularly at safety. Chicago has one pick in each of the first five rounds (Nos. 14, 51, 82, 117 and 156) and two in the sixth round (183 and 191). With that in mind, here are five things to know about the draft. STILL ON THE DEFENSIVE: Emery said he has six candidates for the 14th pick assuming the Bears keep it, and theres a good chance hell go with a defensive player even though he wasnt ruling out offence. Pittsburgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Alabama free safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert could be strong possibilities for Chicago. ROLL THE DICE: Emery showed in his first two drafts hes not afraid to take a chance on a first-round pick. He gambled on Shea McClelllin in 2012 and did it again with Kyle Long last year.dddddddddddd The results? Hes batting .500 so far. Long was a hit at right guard even though he made just five starts in his lone season at Oregon. McClellin is a swing and miss so far and is moving from defensive end to linebacker. At least Emery hit it big in the second round in 2012 with receiver Alshon Jeffery, who broke out last season with 1,421 yards receiving. PASS ON QB?: Emery insisted hes comfortable with Jordan Palmer backing up Jay Cutler and that hes not in favour of grooming a quarterback drafted in the later rounds as a potential starter down the line. "That developmental theory doesnt hold a whole lot of water," he said. Starting with the 2006 class, Emery examined how quarterbacks drafted after the third round fared. He didnt find a long-term starter, let alone another Tom Brady. Mostly, it was a collection of third-stringers, many of whom did not last long in the league. "Most of the starters in this league come from the first and second round. So thats where you need to take a quarterback," he said. The idea of pairing a late-round QB with coach Marc Trestman doesnt seem to interest him. "Im more intrigued with how Marc matches up with Jay and Jordan and Jerrod (Johnson)," he said. PLAYING IT SAFE-TY: Emery declared the starting safety spots "wide open" with the struggling Chris Conte back and Major Wright gone. Theyve brought in Ryan Mundy and M.D. Jennings and figure to add more help in the draft. The Bears have also scouted college cornerbacks with length with the idea of converting them to safeties, although that carries some risk. MAKING A MOVE: Emery said hes fielded calls from teams looking to move up to No. 14. He also indicated trading up is unlikely, saying such moves are "expensive." ___ Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '