Kritik und Lob » 22-yard gain. He finished 18 of 28 for 151 yar

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics are back to following the formula that propelled them to the AL West title last season: a starting pitcher that goes deep into games, a little pop at the plate and a bullpen that protects the lead. Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer to back Dan Strailys strong start, and the As beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1 in the Bay Bridge Series opener Monday for their fourth straight win. "That started last year," As manager Bob Melvin said. "Its just a little different feeling. You dont have to get up for these games. You dont have to find extra adrenaline." Straily (3-2) allowed four hits and one walk in six innings. Buster Poseys groundout in the sixth drove in San Franciscos lone run. Donaldson connected against Madison Bumgarner (4-3) in the fourth, and Yoenis Cespedes added a two-run double against George Kontos in the seventh to extend Oaklands lead. Sean Doolittle pitched two perfect innings and Grant Balfour recorded his 11th save of the season for Oakland, which has won nine of 10 since falling to a season-low two games below .500. "I didnt watch much of the playoffs last year, but I heard the Giants won the World Series," Doolitte said, sarcastically. "So theyre the defending champs in your building. Thats a crosstown rival. Thats a game you get up for. Packed house. The crowd was electric. It was an awesome environment." The usual sprinkling of green-and-gold clad fans mixed with San Franciscos orange-and-black following that travelled from across the bay to pack the Oakland Coliseum. The announced sellout crowd of 36,067 traded chants of "Lets go Oakland!" and "Lets go Giants!" throughout the cloudy afternoon. Straily retired 14 of his first 15 batters and looked confident and in control from the start. Bumgarner struggled with his command --matching a career high with five walks -- but didnt allow a hit until the fourth. That hit turned out to be the difference. Donaldson sent a cutting 89 mph fastball over the right-centre field wall to give the As a 2-0 lead. Donaldson raised his right hand in the air after jogging around first base, celebrating his eighth home run with a little extra flair. "He had thrown a few balls in a row there and I guess wanted to challenge me right there and try to get a double play," Donaldson said. "But I was fortunate to put a good piece of wood on it and hit it out." Bumgarner struck out six, was tagged for all four runs and also hit a batter in 6 2-3 innings. The lefty has lost three of his last four starts. "I wasnt missing by a big margin," he said. "Had a lot of walks and that cost a couple runs. Tried to battle through. The biggest thing today was I wanted to try to go deep and give the bullpen a rest." San Francisco squandered its best chance for a big inning when Posey grounded out in the sixth to score Gregor Blanco, snapping Strailys scoreless streak at 12 1-3 innings. Then Straily snared Hunter Pences grounder to strand Marco Scutaro on third. "Our offence has to get it going here a little bit," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Thats the kind of pitching were going to need. It doesnt go down as a quality start, but he left the game with a really good start and thats what were going to need playing these good clubs. He did all he could. Their guy pitched well." Oaklands bullpen backed up his outing far better than San Franciscos did for Bumgarner, who was relieved after walking Chris Young with two outs in the seventh. Cespedes followed with a towering double off the right-centre field wall that lifted Oakland to a 4-1 lead. It was Strailys second straight scintillating start. He tossed seven innings of two-hit ball in a 1-0 win over Texas last week. "I worked a lot quicker. Really, thats the pitcher I am," Straily said. "I was finally able to break through that and be myself -- work quick, fill up the strike zone. Ive always said Im a strike thrower and not a strikeout pitcher. Thats what I truly believe." NOTES: Giants reliever Santiago Casilla said he will have surgery Tuesday to remove a cyst from inside a bone in his right leg. He hopes to return just after the All-Star game on July 16. ... Oakland RF Josh Reddick, on the disabled list since May 8 with a sprained right wrist, began a rehab assignment Monday night at Class-A Stockton. He will shift to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, where he will likely be at least three days, Melvin said. ... Giants CF Angel Pagan (sore left hamstring) sat out for the second straight day but hopes to be back in the lineup Tuesday. ... The Giants optioned RHP Sandy Rosario to Triple-A Fresno after the game to make room for lefty Michael Kickham, who will make his major league debut on Wednesday against Oaklands Jarrod Parker (2-6, 5.76 ERA). Kickham takes over the spot in the rotation vacated by Ryan Vogelsong, who fractured his right hand when he was hit by a pitch May 20. Swell Canada . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Swell Bottle Ombre Canada . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. http://www.swellbottlesaleclearance.com/swell-water-bottle-marble-wholesale.html . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Swell Wood Bottle Sale . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Swell Bottle Black Canada . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy got the game ball after the Cowboys upset West Virginia, 37-20, last Saturday, the 100th head coaching victory for Gundy in 12 seasons in Stillwater. But Gundy and his squad didnt celebrate the milestone very long.Not with a key Big 12 road game at Kansas State (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) on deck for the No. 22 Cowboys on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2) at Manhattan, Kan.Oklahoma State (6-2, 4-1) begins the week alone in second place in the Big 12 behind Bedlam rival Oklahoma (6-2, 5-0), which plays Thursday night game at Iowa State (1-7, 0-5).Obviously, theres been a lot said about the last game, Gundy said his weekly press conference on Monday. Weve moved forward as a team. Our focus now has been Kansas State. Our message to them last night was when you have big wins and when you have unfortunate losses, you have to get over them pretty fast and start preparing for the next team.This game, like I would expect the others to be on our conference schedule from here on out, will be a challenging game for us, Gundy continued. I would guess it would be a pretty close game right through to the fourth quarter. Thats what were expecting and what were preparing for.The home team has won each of the last five meetings ,with Oklahoma State edging the Wildcats 36-34 last year in Stillwater.Theyve always been a physical group and thats kind of what (Kansas State coach Bill) Snyders always been about, Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph said. Theyre a well-disciplined unit and a good team all around, especially on the defensive side of the ball.Indeed, Kansas State comes into the contest ranked fifth in the FBS in rushing defense, allowing 102.3 yards per game, 27th in scoring defense (21.6) and 32nd in total defense (362.3).Oklahoma State showed it could play some pretty solid defense itself in the win over West Virginia, not allowing a gain of more than 20 yards. Three takeaways were converted into 17 points as the Cowboys built a 17-point lead in the third quarter.Turnovers have always been a huge factor behind any scheme that defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer devises. With 19 takeaways on the season, the Cowboys lead the Big 12 and also enjoy a plus-10 turnover margin, which is tops in the league.Whenever we dont run back the ball in practice we do up-downs, Oklahoma Statte junior linebacker Chad Whitener, who had 13 tackles and a sack against the Mountaineers, told the Tulsa World.dddddddddddd We get punished for it. Whenever we have opportunities to make plays, we make plays. When we dont, we have to do push-ups and all this other stuff.Kansas State comes in off back-to-back wins over Texas and last week at Iowa State, contests that both featured some nervous moments at the end.After taking a 21-point lead into the fourth quarter at Iowa State, the Wildcats gained just nine yards of offense and held on for a 31-26 victory.That win followed a lackluster second half against Texas a week earlier that started with a lost fumble at the goal line on what would have been a touchdown rush. After holding a 14-point halftime lead, the Wildcats settled for a 24-21 victory.The ending at Iowa State was just as frustrating after momentum was surrendered by allowing the Cyclones to recover an onside kick to begin the second half. Iowa State actually recovered another onside attempt inside the final minute, but it was disallowed because the ball did not travel 10 yards.Im not saying its easy, Snyder said of the shaky finishes. If it was, everybody would be doing it and theyre not. The only way you can become successful is start, finish and be consistent in between. Were not doing that.Wildcats quarterback Jesse Ertz did not complete any deep balls against Iowa State, which has been an issue since he injured his right (throwing) shoulder in an Oct. 15 loss at Oklahoma. Ertzs longest completion at Iowa State resulted in a 22-yard gain. He finished 18 of 28 for 151 yards with no interceptions. But Ertz continues to progress in the run game, setting a career-best with 106 yards against the Cyclones.Rudolph, by comparison, ranks third in the Big 12 in passing efficiency behind Oklahomas Baker Mayfield and Texas Techs Patrick Mahomes. Out of 291 pass attempts in eight games, Rudolph has thrown just two interceptions while averaging 316.5 yards.He completed 26 of 36 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns against West Virginia and was even better against Kansas State last year in Stillwater, passing for 437 yards and three touchdowns in the 36-34 win. ' ' '