ATLANTA - Mike Minor needed a reason to believe he could work his way back to his 2013 form. [url=http://www.baseballphilliesofficial.com/]Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys[/url] . Beating Jon Lester could provide that confidence boost. Minor pitched seven strong innings, Justin Upton and Chris Johnson ho

ATLANTA - Mike Minor needed a reason to believe he could work his way back to his 2013 form. Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys . Beating Jon Lester could provide that confidence boost. Minor pitched seven strong innings, Justin Upton and Chris Johnson homered and the Atlanta Braves beat the reeling Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Sunday night, ending Lesters seven-game winning streak. "Thats Mike Minor of old right there," Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman said. The Braves swept the three-game series, leaving the As with a five-game losing streak, their longest of the season. The As have lost seven of eight overall and trail the Angels, who lost to Texas on Sunday, by percentage points in the AL West. "This is really the first bad road trip weve had this year," manager Bob Melvin said. "This was not a good trip. So weve got to get home and weve got to regroup. It will be good to get home in front of our crowd. Theyre usually good for us." Minor (5-8), who entered with a 5.33 ERA, allowed two runs in a performance reminiscent of last season, when he was 13-9 with a 3.21 ERA. "Were going to need him rolling to get us where were going to go," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. Oaklands Nate Freiman hit two homers, giving him three in the series, but Minor allowed only two other hits. "I feel like Im in a different mindset," Minor said after his second straight quality start. Craig Kimbrel worked a perfect ninth for his 37th save. Lester (13-8) allowed four runs, three earned, and six hits in six-plus innings in his first loss since June 7 for the Red Sox at Detroit. He had been 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA in three starts since his July 31 trade to the As. Upton hit four homers in the 10-game homestand, including two against the As. He has hit 16 of his 23 homers at Turner Field. Freiman led off the second inning with a drive that landed several rows beyond the centre-field wall. The Braves tied it in the bottom half. After Upton singled, Johnson lined to third baseman Josh Donaldson, who threw to first base in an attempt for a double play. The throw hit Upton and rolled into the Atlanta dugout, and Upton was awarded third base. Evan Gattis followed with a run-scoring single to right field. Phil Gosselin led off the Atlanta fourth with a single to right field. With one out, Upton drove a low, inside pitch from Lester about 10 rows deep into the left-field seats for a 3-1 lead. "I thought it was a good pitch when I threw it," Lester said. "I went back and looked at it and, good pitch. So sometimes youve got to tip your hat." 0-FOR-EVER Lester is still waiting for his first career hit. He was 0 for 34 in eight seasons with Boston and his drought continued in his first two at-bats with the As. He struck out and hit a fly ball to left field. GOING WITH GOSSELIN Gosselin was 1 for 4 in his third straight start, including two straight at second base over another rookie, Tommy La Stella, who struck out as a pinch hitter in the seventh. Gosselin hit his first homer in the series opener and had two hits in Saturday nights win. TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: CF Craig Gentry, on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right hand, is ready to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento. Braves: Gonzalez said RHP Shae Simmons (strained right shoulder) will make a second rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday after throwing 10 pitches without a problem on Saturday. UP NEXT Athletics: After an off day on Monday, the As take on another NL East team when they open a two-game series against the New York Mets on Tuesday night. Scott Kazmir (13-5), who already has matched his career high in wins, will start for Oakland. Braves: After completing their 10-game homestand, the Braves open a series at Pittsburgh on Monday night as RHP Ervin Santana goes for his 13th win. Santana (12-6) leads the Braves in victories. Pete Rose Jersey .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 16th consecutive victory across all competitions on Saturday after earning a 2-1 win over Malaga at the Estadio La Rosaleda. Larry Andersen Jersey . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. http://www.baseballphilliesofficial.com/robin-roberts-jersey-c-28/ . - Robert Griffin III has a sprained throwing shoulder that limited him in practice Wednesday as the Washington Redskins prepared for their season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.SEATTLE -- With one swing, Kyle Seager hopes he ended his personal skid at the plate and the Seattle Mariners slide. "Any time you see the ball hit the ground, its obviously a big confidence booster," Seager said. "It has felt better the last couple of days and today it showed up. Thankfully." Seager hit a three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth, his second of the game, and the Mariners rallied for a 5-3 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday to stop an eight-game losing streak. With Seattle on the verge of getting swept for the second straight series, Seager hit a two-run homer in the seventh off starter Jarred Cosart. Then he capped the biggest hitting day of his big league career with his drive on the first pitch from closer Josh Fields (0-1) in the ninth. It was the third multihomer game of Seagers career, and the five RBIs were a career high. Seager had not homered since Sept. 3 of last season at Kansas City. "He has a track record and Ive said all along that he is going to hit," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Obviously, when youre in a losing streak and the guys you expect to hit dont hit, its a little frustrating but in that case you have one of two options: you can sit him or you can play him. I chose to play him and he didnt disappoint." Seager had been one of Seattles few consistent hitters the past two seasons, establishing himself as a lock in the Mariners lineup. That made his struggles to start this season so surprising. Seager entered Wednesday hitting just .156 with two RBIs. He had more strikeouts (17) than hits (10) at the start of the day. His final three at-bats against the Astros were more like what Seager had shown in the past. He drew a leadoff walk to open the fifth, then homered on a 3-2 pitch from Cosart in the seventh to cut Houstons lead to 3-2. Seattle already had a rally going in the ninth. Robinson p;Cano dropped a single in front of an outfield playing deep to open the inning, and Corey Harts sharp single put two on with no outs. Pat Neshek Jersey. . Fields rallied to strike out Justin Smoak, but Seager went to the plate aggressively looking for a first-pitch fastball. He got it. And Seattles had a chance to celebrate for the first time in more than a week. "Nobody was really stressing," Seager said. "Weve been all right. We know what we have here. Obviously nobody wants to lose, but we know what we have here and we havent been panicking." Seattles late rally spoiled what was looking to be a sweep for the Astros. Cosart took a shutout into the seventh after failing to make it out of the first inning in his previous start. The Astros got a two-run double from Jason Castro in the third inning and Chris Carters second homer of the series in the seventh to take a 3-0 lead. Still, Houstons batting average for the season dropped to .199 after managing just six hits. Chris Young struggled with his control early and walked five, three of those coming in the third. But he retired 11 of 12 batters before Carters homer and lasted seven innings to help save Seattles taxed bullpen. Young struck out six and threw 113 pitches. Fernando Rodney (1-1) got the victory, pitching the top of the ninth in relief. "The most demoralizing loss in baseball is a late inning loss, when you have the game won," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "Since Ive been here weve had our share of them." NOTES: Seattle RHP Taijuan Walker (shoulder) and LHP James Paxton (back) will begin recovery throwing programs within the next week. McClendon said Paxton has been cleared to start throwing Friday and Walker next Monday. ... Carter has hit seven career homers at Safeco Field. ... Seattle won on a walkoff homer for first time since last June 23 vs. Oakland. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '