OAKLAND, Calif.
Steven Adams Jersey . -- Jeff Samardzija arrived at the ballpark nearly five hours before making his first start with his new ballclub. The right-hander left having secured a four-game sweep for Oakland with a performance that showed exactly why the Athletics were so eager to get him in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. Samardzija pitched seven strong innings to win his Oakland debut and the As beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Sunday. "First impressions are always important," said Samardzija after lowering his overall ERA to 2.74. "Like I said yesterday, they didnt need me here. They were doing just fine without me. I dont want to come in and change anything and change the atmosphere. I just want to come in and add and do my part," he said. He did just that, giving up four hits and one run with five strikeouts and one walk while earning his first win since June 7. With the Cubs, Samardzija was 2-7 despite a 2.83 ERA. He was voted to the NL All-Star team but wont pitch and will spend the game in the AL dugout. "He was excited as you could be," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "It was great to get him off to a good start like that. Terrific performance." Samardzija, acquired a day earlier, received several standing ovations. He was cheered during pregame warmups and again after striking out the side in the seventh. The veteran pitcher was equally excited after receiving some early run support, something that was scarce in Chicago. The Cubs scored two runs or fewer in 11 of his 17 starts in the NL this season. Oakland had no such issue. Jed Lowrie had two hits and scored twice, and leadoff hitter John Jaso added a pair of hits and an RBI for the As, who won their fourth straight after getting swept in three games at Detroit. Stephen Vogt singled and tripled to help the As complete their first series sweep of the Blue Jays since taking a three-game series in 2000. Oakland hadnt swept a four-game series from Toronto since May 22-24, 1981. "It was beautiful, man, that was awesome," Samardzija said. "Just getting one early run as a pitcher is the best thing ever. You can go out and pound the zone and understand if a guy gets on base so be it. And the way (the As) take at-bats is outstanding." Nate Freiman and Craig Gentry also drove in runs for the As. Lowrie doubled and scored in the second, then Oakland added two more in the fourth to extend their majors-leading record to 55-33. Pinch-hitter Derek Norris added an RBI double in the eighth for Oakland. Steve Tolleson had a pinch-hit home run off As closer Sean Doolittle in the ninth for the Blue Jays, who have lost six straight on the road. Doolittle got his 13th save. Toronto got a stellar outing from starter Drew Hutchison but for the fourth straight game had little success offensively. The Blue Jays went 0 for 18 with runners in scoring position during the series. They didnt have many opportunities against Samardzija and two relievers. Toronto managed just four baserunners over the final eight innings and had only two get past first base. "We got shut down big time," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons after his club was outscored 14-4 in the four-game sweep. "Were just not very good right now. Were just not producing." Oakland general manager Billy Beane got Samardzija and pitcher Jason Hammel for a package of prospects that included the two most recent first-round draft picks by the As. Samardzija pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam in the first by getting cleanup hitter Jose Bautista to ground into an inning-ending double play. "That was probably one of the biggest pitches of the game for me," Samardzija said. "It allowed me to relax and then to come out and put a few on the board. I was able to relax and pound the zone." Samardzija retired 13 of the next 14 batters he faced until Jose Reyes singled with one out in the sixth. Munenori Kawasaki followed with a double and Melky Cabreras groundout scored Reyes. Hutchison (6-7) struck out four and walked two in his first career start against the As. The punchless Blue Jays went into the game shorthanded. Edwin Encarnacion strained his right quad legging out an infield grounder on Saturday and was held out of the lineup. The Toronto slugger underwent an MRI before the game, though the results were not disclosed. NOTES: Cole Gillespie went hitless in three at-bats for Toronto after being claimed off waivers. ... Oakland OF Brandon Moss underwent an MRI on his injured left ankle. Results were not immediately known. ... Toronto OF Brad Glenn was designated for assignment. The Blue Jays also claimed OF/DH Nolan Reimould off waivers from Baltimore. ... As RHP Jesse Chavez will pitch the series opener against San Francisco on Monday. ... Blue Jays LHP JA Happ (7-4) takes the hill in the opener against the Angels.
Jerami Grant Jersey . -- Pinch-runner Rajai Daviss decision to steal third base just as Oakland catcher Derek Norris was throwing the ball back to the pitcher caught most everyone by surprise -- including several of his Detroit teammates.
Gary Payton Jersey . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Chicago Bulls didnt get a great night from their starters Wednesday. Their backups made sure they didnt need one. Reserves D.J. Augustin and Taj Gibson combined for 48 points on 18-of-30 shooting as the Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons 105-94 for their fifth win in six games. The Bulls only led by one point going into the fourth, but Augustin and Gibson had 20 of Chicagos 34 in the fourth. "A lot of guys are stepping up on this team right now," Gibson said. "Everyone is working hard and helping in whatever way we need. The guys are just focused on the team right now." Both coaches went with seven-man rotations for most of the game, but Chicagos duo completely outmatched Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum. They finished with 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting, including a 1-for-11 night from Bynum. "Will played his heart out, just like he always does," Pistons coach John Loyer said. "He gives us everything hes got every night, but there are going to be some games where the ball just rolls off the rim. Theyve got two very good players coming off the bench -- Gibson has done that all year for them and Augustin has been like that since he got to Chicago." Joakim Noah finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his sixth career triple-double, including two in the last three games and three in the last month, while Jimmy Butler had 18 points and 12 rebounds. "Jos our leader, and a triple-double is nothing to him," Butler said. "We are starting to expect that from him. He does so many things well that it makes it easier for the rest of us." Greg Monroe led Detroit with 27 points, but the Pistons struggled all night to get anything going from the outside. They took 34 shots from outside the paint, and only hit nine (26.5 per cent), including 2-of-11 on 3-pointers. In contrast, the Bulls hit 46.7 per cent from outside. "They hit shots, especially in the fourth quarter, and they picked up their intensity on defence," Loyer said. "We didnt match that, and when you do that against a playoff team, you areent going to win many games.
Terrance Ferguson Jersey. " Detroit led for most of the second quarter, but appeared to get rattled by an officials decision. Smith was driving for a layup that would have made it 43-34, but the shot was blocked by Mike Dunleavy. Smith didnt get back on defence, staying near the basket to argue the call, and Jimmy Butler got an easy alley-oop dunk at the other end. Smith was then called for a technical, and Augustin hit the free throw to make it a four-point game. Chicago scored the next four points to tie the game, and a technical called on Loyer with 3.7 seconds left in the half helped the Bulls take a 52-47 lead at the intermission. The Pistons narrowed the gap to 71-70 in the third quarter, but Augustin and Gibson kept scoring off the bench to help Chicago stay in front. Augustins three-point play early in the fourth keyed an 11-2 run to start the period, putting the Bulls up by 10. "We talk about how we want to finish games, and we were real strong coming out for the fourth," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Our defence was strong, and our ball movement was good. Hitting the open guy makes a big difference." Augustin wasnt finished, either. His 3-pointer gave the Bulls a 15-point lead with six minutes to go, and the Pistons never threatened down the stretch. "They just outplayed us in the fourth quarter," Andre Drummond said. "They are a very disciplined team that prides itself on defence. We hung with them for three quarters, but they ran their offence in the fourth quarter and outexecuted us." NOTES: Loyers technical at the end of the first was called in a highly unusual manner. Loyer was discussing a call with official Olandis Poole, who showed no indication of calling anything, but John Goble rang him up from 30 feet away. ... Gibson and Brandon Jennings picked up technicals arguing calls in the second half. Gibson left the game with 3:39 to play after rolling his right ankle, but returned moments later. ... IndyCar champion Scott Dixon was honoured during the first half as part of a promotion for the Detroit Grand Prix.
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