In all, six American players finished in double figures. Ben
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  • ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Although Jarrod Parker is still fairly new to playoff races, the Oakland right-hander is pretty sure its best to be aggressive in September, whether on the mound or in the standings. The rookies take-charge approach got the Athletics off to a great start in another big series against the surging Los Angeles Angels. Parker pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Brandon Moss and Cliff Pennington homered, and the As snapped the Angels six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory Monday night. With his second straight impressive start against Los Angeles after a hard-luck loss last week, Parker (10-8) and his bullpen held the Angels surging lineup to four hits. Parker beat the Angels for the first time in his career by going right at Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo, holding Los Angeles to one run for only the second time in its last 22 games. "They were aggressive as well, so I tried to get some early contact, early outs," Parker said. "Its fun. These are the kind of starts that we need, and everybody is going to feed off this kind of energy." Coco Crisp hit a leadoff triple and scored for the As, who opened a key four-game series against their California rivals with a measure of revenge for the Angels three-game sweep in Oakland last week. Those are the only losses since Aug. 23 for the As, who have won 13 of 16. "It was definitely a big game for us," Pennington said. "They came into our place and did what they needed to do, so we needed to come in here that way. This was a good start. Right now, every game is huge. Theres one or two differences in every game." Ryan Cook worked the eighth, and Grant Balfour finished uneventfully for his 17th save. Dan Haren (10-11) pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just four hits and striking out four. But Oakland turned those hits into three runs, and Haren took his first loss since Aug. 16. Torii Hunter drove in Trout with a third-inning double for the Angels (77-64), who had won 11 of 12 and 15 of 18 in their desperate late surge to join the playoff race. "Im not surprised anymore at what theyre doing," Hunter said of the As. "I mean, we were surprised when they first started doing it in early August, but Im not surprised any more. Theyre playing the game, and theyve got some really good arms over there." With its first home loss in seven games, Los Angeles blew a chance to pull within a half-game of Baltimore (78-62) for the second AL wild-card spot. Tampa Bay (77-63) is between the Orioles and the Angels. Oakland (80-60), which is in the first wild-card slot, is 20 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2006 season -- also the year of the teams last post-season appearance. The As pulled within three games of idle Texas (83-57) atop the AL West. "Nothing really surprises me in baseball anymore after the way last season finished, and with the way the Orioles and As are playing this year," Haren said. "Were getting to the point where theyre not going away, so its going to be a fight to the finish and the better team is going to win." Crisp hit Harens first pitch of the night high off the right-field wall, easily reaching third before scoring on Seth Smiths groundout. Oakland didnt lead at any point in last weeks three losses to the Angels, who outscored the As 21-5 in the East Bay. Trout and Hunter evened it in the third inning when Trout walked, stole second, advanced on an error and trotted home on Hunters double down the right-field line. Hunter was greeted each inning in right field by a long row of fans wearing fluorescent-yellow T-shirts and holding up signs spelling "Keep Torii!" The beloved outfielder can become a free agent this winter. Haren retired 12 straight As on just 38 pitches after Crisps triple, but Moss led off the fifth with his 17th homer. Pennington added his fifth of the season in the sixth inning, also reaching the elevated stands above right field. NOTES: Angels manager Mike Scioscia said ace Jered Weaver will start Thursday against the As after skipping a start to rest the tendinitis in his right shoulder. Weaver, who felt strong after a bullpen session Monday, would be lined up to start the Angels final game of the season if he returns Thursday. ... Jerome Williams gets a spot start in Weavers place when the Angels face the As on Tuesday night. Oakland counters with Dan Straily, who will make his fourth major league start in Brandon McCarthys slot in the rotation. ... Los Angeles reliever Nick Maronde gave up a single to Moss after relieving Haren in the seventh. Maronde, a third-round pick in 2011, had struck out each of the first four batters he faced in his major league career since getting promoted from Double-A Arkansas on Sept. 1. cheap jerseys from china. -- The San Francisco 49ers showed all the same poise and big playmaking ability -- not to mention dominant defence against NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers -- in a season-opening statement victory at Green Bay as they did in coming so close to a Super Bowl last season. cheap jerseys. -- Seattle Seahawks rookie guard John Moffitt has been suspended for four games without pay for violating the NFLs policy on performance-enhancing substances. http://www.chinajerseyscheap.us.com/. The B.C. Lions are certainly hoping that the 2012 season gets off to a better start than 2011 did. cheap nfl jerseys. The way he played Tuesday night, it was hard to tell. Dunleavy scored 17 points off the bench, including grabbing a key rebound and scoring on a putback after missing a 3-pointer with 1:35 left, to help the Milwaukee Bucks hold off the Indiana Pacers 98-93. wholesale jerseys.J. -- Darrelle Revis is a step closer to getting back on the field for the New York Jets. After a slow start, the United States pummeled Tunisia 110-63 in Group A action at the basketball Arena in London. At the midway point the U.S. lead was only 13 points(46-33) in a game in which they were favoured by 55. American coach Mike Krzyzewski must have seen enough of his starters because his second unit was on the floor to start the second half. Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, Oklahoma City Thunder guards Russell Westbrook and James Harden, Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams and New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony entered the game and the lead almost immediately exploded to 22 points.dddddddddddd The United States never looked back from there. There was a scary moment in the third quarter for the United States when Kevin Love went knee-to-knee with another player and was forced to leave the game. He would return in the fourth quarter. Anthony and Love had 16 points apiece to lead the way for the United States. In all, six American players finished in double figures. Ben Romdhane was the lone bright spot for Tunisia as he has scored 22 points and pulled down 11 boards. cheap jerseys from china ' ' '
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