1 games to play and a stake in their second straight trip to the posts

MIAMI -- Nate Freiman hit a three-run homer in his 2014 debut and the Oakland Athletics beat the Miami Marlins 4-3 Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep. Stan Smith NZ . The Athletics trailed 1-0 in the sixth inning before breaking out against rookie Andrew Heaney with four consecutive hits, including Freimans home run. Freiman, who spent all of last season with the As, was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento before the game when right fielder Josh Reddick returned to the disabled list because of a right knee strain. Tommy Milone (6-3) allowed two earned runs in seven innings to win his sixth consecutive decision, a career best. Closer Sean Doolittle was given the day off, and Ryan Cook pitched the final 1 1-3 innings for his first save. The As, playing in Miami for the first time since 2003, came from behind in all three games. They won their fourth in a row, improved to 7-1 in interleague play and reached the halfway point of 2014 a season-high 21 games above .500 (51-30). The highly touted Heaney (0-3), making his third career start since being recalled from Triple-A New Orleans, allowed four runs in six innings to raise his ERA to 5.29. The Marlins will have an off day Monday to lick their wounds after playing 17 consecutive days and going 5-12. Miamis Marcell Ozuna hit a pinch-hit homer, his 14th, but the Marlins totalled only six hits and hit into three double plays. They had the best home record in the majors earlier this month, but have lost five in a row at Marlins Park. Heaney was nursing a 1-0 lead with two out in the sixth when the AL West leaders made their move. Consecutive singles by Alberto Callaspo, Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson scored one run, and the 6-foot-8 Freiman pulled a pitch into the nightclub beyond the left-field fence. Cespedes single extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games. Christian Yelich, back in the Marlins lineup after being sidelined for 15 games by a back injury, made an impact with his first swing. He tripled off the wall to lead off the first inning, and when second baseman Callaspo made an errant relay throw, Yelich scored standing up. NOTES: The game was halted for 10 minutes in the seventh inning while medical personnel treated two fans struck in the face by the same foul ball. There was no immediate information on the conditions of the spectators. ... Before the game, the Marlins recalled LHP Dan Jennings from Triple-A. ... Milone became the first As pitcher to bat in consecutive games since Ken Holtzman in 1972. Milone flied out as a pinch-hitter Saturday. ... As C Derek Norris (back) was unavailable for the second game in a row. ... The Athletics open a series Monday at Detroit when LHP Scott Kazmir (9-3, 2.66) pitches against RHP Anibal Sanchez (5-2, 2.64). ... RHP Henderson Alvarez (5-3, 2.32) is scheduled to start when the Marlins open a series at home Tuesday against Philadelphia. Adidas NMD Womens NZ . Next up, the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns in the AFC North. Baltimore Ravens In 2014, the 8-8 season that the Baltimore Ravens experienced was to be expected. NMD 2020 NZ . Cory Batey and Brandon Vandenburg were each convicted on four charges of aggravated rape, one of attempted aggravated rape and two for aggravated sexual battery. Vandenburg was also found guilty of tampering with evidence as well as an unlawful photography charge. http://www.nmdshoesnz.com/adidas-y-3-cheap-nz.html . -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City.TORONTO – As he does at the conclusion of each and every skate, Randy Carlyle gathered his players along the side boards and delivered his message, one that lingered a little longer than usual on this day, his words measured and optimistic amid a late season skid. "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Win our share of games. Find a way to get our team playing back to the way were capable of playing." The Leafs – who may have help on the way – have dropped three straight games for the first time in more than two months, their once secure position in the playoff race suddenly veering toward a more uncertain status. Though they still occupy the first wild card spot in the East, their lead on the likes of Tampa, Montreal, New York, Detroit and Washington has narrowed, if not vanished. And a sweltering stretch which saw them rack up at least a point in 18 of 22 games (15-4-3) – following that four-game slide in early January – has quickly become old news. More important now is a looming back-to-back set with the Canadiens and Devils, Montreal notably just three points up as the third seed in the Atlantic division. "I dont think if you go back and watch the game-tape wed say were playing terrible games," said Joffrey Lupul of close losses to the Capitals, Red Wings and Lightning. "Were working, were skating, [but] were making some critical mistakes to not give us a chance to win." Among those errors was a mistake by Lupul in the middle frame of a Wednesday loss to Tampa, one that saw the 30-year-old winger fail to chip a puck out along the boards, the mistake resulting in Steven Stamkoss third goal of the game. Execution errors of that kind were common in the first half of a 5-3 loss to the Lightning – now five points up on Toronto with a game in hand – the Leafs late push, like others in Washington and Detroit, just too late to snap a three-game skid. Carlyle told his team that their competition level, which helped manifest 22 third period shots opposite Ben Bishop, needed to become a more consistent reality. "That has to be 60 minutes," he said. But whats plagued the Leafs in recent days isnt altogether different from whats lingered beneath the surface all year, defensive concerns standing most prominent. Unlike most of the season, however, their top line has quieted some (with secondary support still inconsistent) and the goaltending in Jonathan Berniers absence has been merely average. James Reimer has a .901 save percentage in five consecutive appearances. Special teams, additionally, have both struggled. "Its just been a mistake here or a mistake there or not getting the job done on special teams,&quoot; said Lupul. NMD R2 Mens Sale. . Help could be on the way with Dave Bolland "probable" to return against the Canadiens, Bernier remaining out a fourth straight game because of a groin injury. Sidelined for nearly five months Bolland is expected to play alongside Mason Raymond and David Clarkson, exuding a real excitement about returning to the Toronto lineup for the first time since Nov. 2. "Things are going upwards," the 27-year-old said ahead of the Saturday tilt. Bolland has missed the past 56 games with a severed tendon in his left ankle, grueling through months of slow-moving rehab. He appeared close to a return in early March, but was still having trouble crossing over, pushing his timeframe further back than even the team expected. "Its a grind and its not fun coming to the rink early in the morning and then leaving later after the guys and then getting there for the game and working out and seeing whats going on on the ice," said Bolland. "Its not a fun moment for hockey players to go through that, to battle through that. "You dont get any excitement. You dont really feel the excitement that the guys feel when they win … Youre sort of in the background when things are going on. Its good to see that everything is going upwards." Bernier was on the ice for a third straight day Saturday morning, but was not yet at 100 per cent, according to Carlyle. His status for Sundays game in New Jersey also appears in question with a return more likely early next week. "We were pretty excited with some of our additions coming into camp and it seems that we havent had everyone in there as a whole yet," said Lupul. "Itll be interesting to see." Altering some of the recent maladies though will require improvements elsewhere. Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak were due to cool off from a scorching two-month run and they have, meaning that more is required offensively from Lupul, Nazem Kadri, David Clarkson and other sources of depth from the group up front. Toronto forwards have just seven goals in the last six games. Unable to outscore teams recently, the Leafs have actually cut down on the number of shots against, yielding only 31 on average during the three-game skid. But theyve ceded far too many high-quality opportunities – notably to Stamkos most recently – many of which Reimer could not turn aside as Bernier has for most of the season. Their power-play, additionally, is in need of a spark with just three goals in the past 14 games. And their penalty kill, once rising, has given up five in the three losses. Unpredictable and unwaveringly confident all year in the face of adversity, theres no reason why the Leafs cant turn things around in a hurry. But with just 11 games to play and a stake in their second straight trip to the postseason on the line, the clock is certainly ticking. ' ' '