tougher this year than it had been

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Even with a runner on second and an open base at first, Coco Crisp fully expected Boston closer Koji Uehara to come right after him. For the second straight game, Oaklands speedy leadoff hitter guessed right. Crisp singled in Alberto Callaspo with one out in the 10th inning and the Athletics beat the Red Sox 2-1 on Saturday to extend their winning streak to five games. "I was taking the approach they were going to come right after me," said Crisp, who also drove in the game-winning run during Fridays 4-3 win. "I didnt want to wait around for the splitter so I was hoping that he would come in to what I was looking for, and he did. Another lucky guess." Its the second game-ending hit for Crisp this season and seventh of his career. It also took Oakland off the hook after Bostons Dustin Pedroia scored the tying run in the eighth following a controvesial call that resulted in the ejection of As manager Bob Melvin. Boston put runners on the corners with two outs when Oakland reliever Luke Gregerson appeared to strike out Mike Napoli. Napoli argued that he fouled the ball off the dirt, and home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott agreed although television replays appeared to indicate otherwise. The umpiring crew met to discuss the play before upholding the original call. Under the current replay system, balls and strikes are not reviewable. "The plate umpire heard sound and thought the ball hit the ground and called it a foul ball," said crew chief Gerry Davis. "This type of play happens quite often actually, its a difficult call for us. And in order to change it we have to positive (proof)." Gregerson, who had celebrated the apparent strikeout, bounced his next pitch in front of home plate. The ball ricocheted off the chest protector of catcher Stephen Vogt and rolled toward the mound as Dustin Pedroia scored from third. After Napoli flew out to end the inning, Melvin raced out from Oaklands dugout and angrily confronted Wolcott before getting tossed. "My feeling is that if theres a play that needs to be reviewed, you should review it. You just cant on that one," Melvin said. "What I was told the call was was a foul ball that hit the dirt. And no one saw anything conclusive to overturn it. But after looking it, it was caught." The play prevented Oakland starter Jesse Chavez from winning his second straight start. Chavez took a no-hitter into the sixth and held the Red Sox scoreless through seven before giving way to the bullpen. He struck out four and walked four. The As have won the first three games of this four-game series by a total of four runs. Callaspo drew a leadoff walk against reliever Edward Mujica (2-3) in the 10th and was sacrificed to second. Uehara replaced Mujica before Crisp lined his first pitch into right field. Boston right fielder Brock Holt made a strong throw but Callaspo slid home with the game-winner. "Coco being Coco," Chavez said. "He did it last night and he did it again today." Boston was shut out for the first seven innings before Pedroia scored on a wild pitch in the eighth. The Red Sox missed a chance to take the lead in the top of the 10th when Oakland reliever Dan Otero struck out David Ortiz with two on and two out. "Weve had situations get away from us in terms of men in scoring position," Boston manager John Farrell said. "Weve got to continue to build opportunities. Whether or not we cash in on those, thats what we got to continue to focus on" Boston starter Rubby De La Rosa nearly matched Chavez in his first career appearance against the As. De La Rosa, who struck out four and walked four, retired the first six batters before Vogts triple off the extended wall in right-centre. Vogt scored on Alberto Callaspos sacrifice fly despite a stellar play by Holt, who had made a diving catch on Callaspos sinking liner in the gap in right-centre then threw home. Oakland managed only six runners over the next six innings until Callaspos leadoff walk in the 10th. NOTES: The As are 7-2 on this homestand. ... Melvins ejection is his first this season. ... Bostons Jon Lester (8-7) faces Oaklands Tommy Milone (5-3) on Sunday in a battle of lefties. Lester had a career-high 15 strikeouts against the As on May 3. ... Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, who pitched for both franchises, threw out the first pitch. Eckersley currently works as a television analyst for the Red Sox. Riley Cooper Eagles Jersey . Harnessing all their big-game experience, the Germans delivered a performance of maturity and efficiency to hold off France 1-0 on Friday and become the first team to reach four straight semifinals in the sports marquee tournament. Philadelphia Eagles Jersey . The Thunder knotted the series with a 92-89 overtime victory in Memphis Saturday night. It was the third overtime contest during the four games of this series. "Now its tied up 2-2," OKC head coach Scott Brooks said. http://www.theeaglesfootballauthentic.c ... ersey/.com) - Tyreke Evans poured in 27 points and the New Orleans Pelicans put together a strong fourth quarter to come away with a 104-93 victory over the still-struggling New York Knicks. Donnie Jones Eagles Jersey . JOHNS, N. Rueben Randle Eagles Jersey . -- Lindsey Vonn knows it was just some youthful exuberance when teenager Mikaela Shiffrin playfully announced she was dreaming of winning five gold medals at the next Winter Olympics.DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings got much younger this year, rebuilding with rookies and prospects pushed onto the ice. For much of the lockout-delayed season, it didnt look good for them. The storied franchise used to chase Stanley Cup titles with key players in their late 30s and 40s such as Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Larry Murphy. Not anymore. As the Chicago Blackhawks are now finding out, the Red Wings are much better than they were during the regular season thanks to an improved cast of inexperienced players. "Weve had great growth from within, I think the most since Ive been in the National Hockey League for sure," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said Sunday. "That may be because we have a different type of team. We got a whole bunch of kids, so we have a chance for growth." Red Wings rookie Brendan Smith scored the winning goal Saturday in Detroits 4-1 win at Chicago that tied the series 1-1. The top-seeded Blackhawks won the opener by the same 4-1 score. "We knew they were going to come back and play much better than they did in Game 1," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "Obviously, we didnt quite match the effort." When the puck drops Monday night in Detroit for Game 3, Toews hopes his team is ready to bounce back. "Theres no time to waste in this series," Toews said. "We know going into their building its even more difficult." It will be even more challenging for Chicago if Toews cant produce as he did in the 48-game regular season. Toews had 23 goals, tying Patrick Kane for the team lead and trailing just four players in the league. However, he is struggling to score for a third straight post-season. Toews is in an eight-game playoff slump that dates to last year. He has just three goals combined in three postseasons since scoring seven goals to help Chicago win the Cup in 2010. He had seven goals the previous post-season -- his first -- when Detroit eliminated the Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals. Henrik Zetterberg had a lot to do with holding Toews without a point in Game 2, an accomplishment that didnt surprise Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard. &quoot;Most nights, hes the best player on the ice," Howard said.dddddddddddd "No different from (Saturday), the way he was all over Toews the whole game, shutting him down. Were going to need that for the whole series." The Red Wings would also benefit if their inexperienced players figure out a way to avoid fading into the background. Before Smiths go-ahead goal on Saturday, first-year player Damien Brunner and rookie Gustav Nyquist also scored winning goals this post-season -- in overtime against Anaheim. Teammate Joakim Andersson ranks among rookie scoring leaders. The 27-year-old Brunner, too old to be a candidate for the Calder Trophy given to the rookie of the year, has followed up a 26-point regular season with four goals in the playoffs to match Johan Franzen for the team lead. He also has three assists. Calder finalist Brandon Saad has only one assist in seven post-season games for the Blackhawks. The 20-year-old forward had 27 points during the regular season. Brunner has insisted it doesnt bother him to be out of the running for the Calder, and sounded even more thankful on Sunday that he waited to make the jump from the Swiss League. The 5-foot-11, 184-pound forward was ........................ around on the ice quite a bit and had growing pains off it, dealing with a lot of travel after his longest trip last year was a 2 1/2-hour bus ride. "You kind of think its not that big of a deal when you come over, but after a couple trips and the hours you lose, especially when you come back home, its tough," Brunner said. "Its really tough." While Babcocks job behind the bench was tougher this year than it had been the past seven seasons with veteran-filled rosters, he relished the opportunity to lead the young Red Wings. "Its the most fun Ive had coaching in a couple years, by far, just because we have a real enthusiastic group," Babcock said. "At the start of the year, we werent a good team. We all understood that, but we buckled down and we got better. Its been fun for us. If you would have asked me before the playoffs, I wouldve told you the same thing. Then suddenly you have a little success in the playoffs -- and its more fun." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Auston Matthews Maple leafs Jersey ' ' '