how we play." While its a long shot, the p | Forum

TORONTO -- Esmil Rogers started so well after he moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation for the Toronto Blue Jays on May 29. Sammie Coates Steelers Jersey . But the right-hander has struggled over his previous few starts, including Friday, where he lasted only three innings in the Blue Jays 14-6 loss to the Oakland Athletics. It was Rogers fifth consecutive loss. "Hes not in the strike zone as much, thats pretty obvious." Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "Theyre barrelling him up, theyre not missing many right now." Josh Reddick hit three home runs and drove in five in Oaklands victory. The As hit a season-high five home runs as Jed Lowrie and Yoenis Cespedes also added solo shots. It was a needed win for Oakland, who has won only two of their past eight games. With Fridays victory, the As ended their three-game losing streak. Lowrie picked up four RBIs and recorded his third four-hit game of the season, while As second baseman Eric Sogard extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games -- the longest hitting streak by an As player this season. "I finally got something to go my way," said Reddick, who entered Friday struggling with a .145 batting average and an 0-for-20 slump before homering in the third inning against Rogers. "You hit it over there, they cant catch it." Rogers (3-7) has an earned-run average of 8.50 over his past seven starts. But the 27-year-old, whos thrown 96 2/3 innings so far this season, was quick to dismiss fatigue as a reason for his recent struggles. "I dont feel tired," Rogers said. "I dont even know how many innings I got. At the end of the day I passed the innings from last year, but I dont think about it. I dont think my body is hurting, and I feel great." He said the problem lies in his breaking ball. "I cant even use my breaking pitch because I cant even throw it for a strike," Rogers said. "Yes, its really hard for me. I think thats my key. My secondary pitch is my breaking ball. When Im only using my fastball, everybody can hit the fastball at this level. "Im not doing anything different. I think today, something was wrong with my mechanics, but I think everything is okay. I keep working on my arm motion. I think thats the key." Despite the struggles from his starter, Gibbons doesnt think Rogers should be pulled from the rotation. "Hes earned that," Gibbons said of Rogers spot. "Hes battling out there. Hes a competitor. Hes going through a really tough time." The Blue Jays, who have now lost two in a row, hit two home runs against As reliever Pat Neshek in the eighth inning. Jose Bautista hit his 26th homer of the season and Colby Rasmus followed with his 18th. It was the opener of a seven-game home stand for the Blue Jays (53-62) who returned from a 5-5 West Coast trip that included winning two of three games against the Athletics (65-49). Brett Lawrie doubled in the second inning to extend his hit streak to 11 games, the longest for a Blue Jay this season. As right-hander Jarrod Parker (8-6) allowed six hits and three runs in six innings to win his sixth successive decision dating back to May 28. Parker has a 2.90 ERA in that span of 13 starts. Oakland got things off to a quick start by plating its first four batters of the game. Coco Crisp led off with a single, Sogard walked and Lowrie hit his ninth homer of the season to right field. Cespedes then hit his 18th homer of the season to left on the next pitch before Rogers retired the next three batters. The As added two runs in the second on a single by Crisp that sent Seth Smith across the plate. Sogards sacrifice fly scored Stephen Vogt for the second run of the inning. But the Blue Jays scored three runs in their half of the second inning to cut Oaklands lead to 6-3. Rasmus drew a one-out walk and scored on a double by Lawrie as the ball bounced pass Crisp in centre field. Emilio Bonifacio singled in a run, stole second and scored on a double by Jose Reyes. Oakland increased the lead to 7-3 in the third when Reddick homered with two out. He hit his second homer of the game to left with two out in the fifth against reliever Neil Wagner. Smith and Vogt doubled to increase the lead to 9-3. Reddicks three-run home run, his third homer of the game and eighth of the season, came against left-hander Juan Perez in the sixth inning. Perez left with two out in the seventh with an elbow injury. "It doesnt look good. Theres nothing definite right now," Gibbons said of Perezs injury, adding that his reliever will be re-examined on Saturday. The Blue Jays will most likely put Perez on the disabled list and call up a replacement for the bullpen. NOTES: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 31,862. ... Catcher Josh Thole started for the fourth game in a row on Friday. Manager John Gibbons said that regular catcher J.P. Arencibia (right knee bursitis) was available to play if needed and might start on Saturday. Infielder Mark DeRosa is the emergency catcher .a The Athletics assigned on option right-hander pitcher Evan Scribner to triple-A Sacramento to make room for Adam Rosales, who was claimed on waivers from Texas on Thursday. The Rangers had claimed Rosales from the As on Aug. 2. a Left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle (7-7, 4.41 earned-run average) will start Saturdays game for the Blue Jays against Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray (0-0, 0.00.) who is 10-7, with a 3.42 ERA in 20 starts at triple-A Sacramento. Gray will make his third career major-league outing and first start. Greg Lloyd Steelers Jersey . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Terry Bradshaw Steelers Jersey .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. http:///...haun-Suisham-Jersey/ . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Two wins do not make a playoff contender, unless youre in the NFC East. Despite opening the season with six straight losses, the New York Giants (2-6) remarkably are still in the playoff hunt heading into their bye week. The Giants won their second straight game Sunday with a 15-7 decision over the Eagles in Philadelphia. Things only got better after the game when Detroit staged a furious last-minute rally to knock off the division-leading Dallas Cowboys (4-4). The math is simple: New York is two games behind with eight to play. Its not the best position and the chances that the Giants will make the playoffs are not good unless they run the table. "We won our last couple of games, which is a great thing. Are we back?" safety Antrel Rolle asked Monday, and then answered, "Well be back once we reach that post-season. Thats when Ill say that were back. Right now were grinding. Were grinding, were fighting extremely hard and, you know, being 0-6, like I said several times before, can do a lot of things to you. Ive had to dig extremely deep, had to be so mentally tough to overcome it because Ive never been in that stage in my life either. "Right now, as a team, were grinding. Were grinding and were pushing ahead and more importantly were staying together." The Giants still have a chance because they have corrected some of the errors that led to their worst start since coming out of the gate with a franchise-worst nine straight losses in 1976. In the past two games, Eli Manning and the offence have not turned over the ball. The defence, which has improved since getting middle linebacker Jon Beason in a trade with Carolina, has not allowed a point. The only major mistakes have been by special teams that gave up a punt return for a touchdown against Minnesota — the third one this season — and handed the Eagles a recovery for a TD late in the fourth quarter with a bad snap on a punt. The only turnover in the past two games was a lost fumble on a punt return. If they can avoid the turnovers, get the offence a little more in gear and continue to play good defence, the Giants will be competitive. The problem is thhe Giants have not been a good team in the second half of the season in recent years, and the schedule is tough even with five home games, including three straight out of the bye — Oakland (3-4), Green Bay (5-2) and Dallas. Kevin Greene Steelers Jersey. . They also have games with the Chargers (4-3), Lions (5-3), Seahawks (6-1 heading into Monday night) and two with Robert Griffin III and the Redskins (2-5). "We havent done nothing yet," said cornerback Terrell Thomas, who made his biggest stride returning from two ACL surgeries by playing every down against Philadelphia. "Were 2-6. It feels great to have two wins. There are smiles around here and everyone is confident. This team has a makeup to make a run. Weve been in this position before and we are better when our backs are against the wall." Coach Tom Coughlin plans to self-scout his team over the bye week and he expects running back Andre Brown, who broke a leg in the preseason, to be ready to return from injured reserve after the bye. "I think theres some excitement," said Coughlin, who did an outstanding job keeping his team together after the horrible start. "Were certainly not blind to the issues that we do have, but by the same token were excited about having an opportunity to improve on those areas and excited about the second half of the year." Defensive end Justin Tuck said the key for the second half will be to continue doing what they have done the past two weeks. "Its really that simple," Tuck said. "We cant allow ourselves to think about the past or future, all we can think about is whats next. Thats the day-to-day life of a football player. We have to make sure once we get back in the swing of things that the only thing were thinking about is Oakland. Not thinking about what Dallas did or Philly or Washington or whoever else. We can control what we can control and thats how we play." While its a long shot, the players still maintain the hope they can be the first team to play in a Super Bowl in their own stadium. The title game at Met Life Stadium, the home of the Giants and Jets, is Feb. 2. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '