OAKLAND, Calif.
Harrison Butker Youth Jersey . -- Sonny Gray has been hearing the comparisons since his high school days in Tennessee. The references to Tim Hudson, another right-hander with a slight build and a big arm. Fittingly, in the very ballpark where Hudson shined as a member of Oaklands Big Three beginning in the late 90s, Gray dominated the Houston Astros with his fantastic fastball and snapping curve on the way to an impressive first major league victory. Grey struck out nine in his home debut, and the Athletics used Nate Freimans two-run homer and four RBIs to avert a three-game sweep by the lowly Astros with a 5-0 victory on Thursday. "Ive been getting comparisons ever since high school, the short righty," Gray said with a grin. "If you compare me to Tim Hudson, hes one of my favourite pitchers, one of the greatest pitchers." Fellow rookie Freiman had a two-run double in the first, and then hit his third home run in the third with a drive to the left-field stands. He finished with four hits. "Pretty special day for both those guys," manager Bob Melvin said. The 23-year-old Gray (1-1) allowed four hits and walked one over eight innings, throwing 118 pitches in his second career start and fourth big league appearance. Like so many other young pitchers in the As organization, the top prospect has been on the fast track to the majors since Oakland drafted him in the first round at No. 18 overall in the 2011 amateur draft. Melvin asked Gray after the seventh how he felt, and the pitcher wanted to keep going. "It was good for him to have the confidence in me to leave me out there," Gray said. Its a difficult call for a skipper, especially when dealing with a young pitcher. "With any of our guys, when theyre getting them out, theyre going to stay in," As pitching coach Curt Young said. "Were never going to get crazy with the pitch count. We thought it was doable and he ended up finishing a great outing. Hes just got nice composure in the two starts that hes had. Nothing seems to bother him." Grey still had his best stuff in the late innings. He retired leadoff man Robbie Grossman on a called third strike in the eighth, and then left to a warm ovation from an announced crowd of 16,487 in his first home start at the Oakland Coliseum. Fans yelled, "Come on, Sonny!" Dan Otero finished the five-hitter for Oaklands 10th shutout. Houston never found any kind of groove against Gray. "He got us to expand the zone," manager Bo Porter said. "He pitched a tremendous game." Freiman added singles to his impressive day in the fifth and seventh innings. He is batting .315 (40 for 127) since May 1 after batting .148 in April. Oakland jumped on Erik Bedard (3-9) in a hurry. He dropped to 0-6 over eight starts since a win against St. Louis on June 26. For the As, a sweep by the Astros would have been demoralizing. They already had lost two in a row to Houston each by one run, including in 11 innings Wednesday night. Oakland pulled within 1 1/2 games of idle first-place Texas in the AL West, avoiding falling three back for biggest deficit since May 31. After Chris Young beat out an infield single leading off the bottom of the first, Jed Lowrie hit an RBI double to stake Gray to a quick lead. Lowrie was the designated hitter rather than playing his usual shortstop spot as he nurses a sore lower right leg after being hit by a pitch Tuesday. Freiman doubled three batters later to make it 3-0. He faced Gray in the minors last season and predicted big things. "It was awesome," Freiman said. "We were all, This guys good. Im not surprised." Bedards day only got tougher. The lefty allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings. He is winless in his last three outings against the As since a victory at Oakland for Seattle on May 27, 2009. Houstons Chris Carter hit a liner at ex-As teammate and shortstop Eric Sogard in the seventh and the barrel of Carters bat broke off, sailed through the air and struck Sogard in the left leg. He stayed in the game. NOTES: Melvin said he didnt intend to get tossed Wednesday night, calling it one of the most surprising ejections of his career. He argued a close call at third in the eighth inning of the 2-1, 11-inning loss. While he has confidence in his coaching staff, Melvin said: "I cant get thrown out of that game. I feel bad. ... Everybody in the dugout has a job to do, and I wasnt there to do mine." ... As CF Coco Crisp will be re-evaluated Friday to determine whether he can play in the series opener with Cleveland, which would be three days after he received a cortisone shot in his ailing left wrist. ... The As are 18-20 against the division since May 10, compared to 34-14 against all other clubs. ... Umpire Angel Hernandez was booed by the crowd when announced before the game for his calls the entire series.
Patrick Mahomes Youth Jersey . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later.
Anthony Sherman Womens Jersey . Ferrer was unable to find his rhythm in losing 6-4, 6-2 to Teymuraz Gabashvili in his opening match while Nadal struggled past fellow Spanish player Albert Ramos 7-6 (2), 6-4. Nadal eventually overcame his 103rd-ranked opponent to reach the third round, rebounding from a surprise loss to Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals.Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will assess the readiness of his international players ahead of Fridays clash with Kilmarnock. The Hoops travel to Rugby Park looking to at least consolidate their 10-point lead of Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership after the latest round of fixtures.Celtic had 14 players on international duty with Australia midfielder Tom Rogic and Honduras left-back Emilio Izaguirre only returning to Glasgow on Thursday. Kilmarnocks Souleymane Coulibaly (19) celebrates his goal at Celtic Park Costa Rica defender Cristian Gamboa and Israel midfielder Nir Bitton returned early from their lengthy travels and are both in contention to start against Killie.Mikael Lustig pulled out of the Sweden squad because of an ankle injury suffered in Celtics 3-0 victory over Inverness CT, and is doubtful for the match.Kolo Toure (groin) has also been struggling in recent weeks, while fellow central defender Jozo Simunovic has recovered from a knock.Rodgers said: Its something that isnt ideal. We had 14 players away over this break, over 50 per cent of your squad are away.I would assume we have the most internationall players away yet we are the team who are playing on the Friday, which obviously means I will have to have a look at the team in terms of the set-up and the fitness of the players.
Darwin Thompson Youth Jersey. .So its not ideal preparation. They never usually are on the back of an international break, but certainly if we had an extra day, that would have benefited us greatly. Tom Rogic celebrates after scoring for Celtic in the Champions League Kilmarnock striker Souleymane Coulibaly was the last player to score in a domestic match against Celtic on September 24, before the Glasgow side rallied to win 6-1.And Killie could be relying on him again after striker Kris Boyd was ruled out for up to eight weeks with a thigh injury.Scott Boyd and Steven Smith have both shaken off injuries but Miles Addison (foot) is a major doubt.Charlee Adams and Callum McFadzean are back in training but might not make the squad following injury, while Dean Hawkshaw has stepped up his rehabilitation from a knee injury. Greg Kiltie and Dapo Kayode (both hamstring) remain out.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price!
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