OAKLAND, Calif. -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon thought Jorge Soler might get a jolt out of returning to the majors after spending two months recovering from a nagging hamstring injury, including a two-week stint in the minors.Boy, was Maddon right.Soler hit a three-run home run in his first at-bat after being activated off the disabled list, Jon Lester pitched seven strong innings, and Chicago beat the Oakland Athletics 7-2 on Friday night.Sometimes a guy just needs to show up and then he gets the adrenaline going on, and that was a big hit, Maddon said. I didnt think it was high enough to go out. It was out so quickly.Dexter Fowler also homered while Javier Baez added a two-run double to help Chicago win its fifth straight. The Cubs also improved to a major league-best 67-41.Lester (12-4) pitched for the As over the final two months of the 2014 season after getting traded from Boston. He returned to the Coliseum for the first time since then and faced a distinctly different Oakland team than the one he left.Any time youve been on the home side and come back as a visitor its different, said Lester, who had eight strikeouts, and allowed two runs on nine hits.I enjoyed pitching here. I wish it turned out a little different but I was with a good team and great fans. Its unbelievable to come here as a home player as opposed to a visitor.Soler, out since June 6 with a hamstring injury, celebrated his return to the majors with his home run in the first inning off As starter Dillon Overton (1-3).That capped a four-run burst by the Cubs that included Fowlers fifth game-opening home run this season.Soler also reached on a fielders choice and scored on Baezs double in the third. Jason Heyward added an RBI single in the inning to help extend Chicagos lead to 7-0.I wasnt feeling any pressure, I just wanted to put a good swing on the ball, Soler said through an interpreter. I was a little bit frustrated being out at least two months but I just wanted to keep the positive attitude and come here and try to do my best.Brett Eibner, called up from the minors earlier in the day, homered against Lester leading off the sixth for Oakland. Marcus Semien added an RBI single.ROOKIE ROUGHED UPOverton allowed seven runs in three innings but suffered his third consecutive loss. The rookie left-hander is winless since beating the Los Angeles Angels in his major league debut June 25. Believe it or not I was actually hitting my spots better tonight, Overton said. They were just hitting everything I threw. Youre going to have days like that You just have to work with it and keep grounded.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: Maddon said the plan is to ease Soler back in and get him some defensive work in the outfield before the team faces another NL team on Aug. 11. ... RHP Joe Nathan was designated for assignment. The 41-year-old was 1-0 in three appearances with the Chicago.Athletics: Jed Lowrie was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a bunion on his left foot. ... RHP Jesse Hahn also went on the DL with a strained right shoulder. ... RHP Andrew Triggs was called back up from Triple-A Nashville along with Eibner.UP NEXTCubs: RHP Jake Arrieta (12-5) pitches the middle game of the series at the Coliseum. The Chicago ace has lost three straight decisions.Athetics: RHP Sonny Gray (5-10) has won only twice in 11 starts since coming off the disabled list. Gray has a 5.57 ERA over that span. NFL Jerseys 2020 .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. https://www.cheapjerseysfromchinareview.com/ . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. China NFL Jerseys . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. China Jerseys 2020 . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. Derek Carr threw for 513 yards and four touchdowns Sunday, and now hes one of the hottest stories of the NFL season. Carr has helped lead the Oakland Raiders?to a 6-2 record -- tied for first in the AFC West through eight games. Hes also garnering legitimate MVP hype?and has emerged as the far-and-away star of the 2014 quarterback draft class.How has he done it? The numbers provide some insight into Carrs development, as well as the Raiders strong work in creating a winning environment around him. Lets take a closer look, with help from ESPN Stats & Information senior statistics analyst Jacob Nitzberg.Carr was a polarizing draft prospect three years ago, in part because of the spread system he played in at Fresno State and also because of an alarming dip in production when pressured. He was incredibly accurate when in a clean pocket during his college career, completing 72 percent of those passes. But when under duress, his completion percentage dropped to 29 percent.If Carr reacted that poorly to pressure in college, some wondered how he could possibly succeed in the NFL. Check out the chart:Derek Carr under pressure, since 2014As you can see, Carr struggled under pressure -- defined as dropbacks in which a quarterback is sacked, hit or put under duress -- in his first two seasons. This season, however, he has improved his Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) in those situations to 51.3, sixth best in the NFL. For context, the league average when under pressure is 30.6.Carr appears to have made an adjustment in those situations, mostly throwing shorter passes when facing a heavy rush. From 2014-15, 25 percent of his passes under pressure traveled at least 15 yards downfield, and 13.4 percent went 20 or more yards downfield. This season, those percentages have dropped to 18.9 and 5.7, respectively.That increase in higher-efficiency throws has spurred a significant reduction in off-target throws while under pressure, as illustrated in the chart below:Derek Carr percentage of off-target throws under pressureWhile its clear that Carr has engineered improvement in an area that vexed him both in college and in his first two NFL seasons, heres a dirty little secret: The Raiders have minimized the pressure he has faced far better than most NFL franchises.Carr has been sacked only nine times this season, fewest in the NFL for quarterbacks who have played eight games. Overall, he has been pressured on only 20.3 percent of his dropbaacks, the third-lowest rate in the league.ddddddddddddThe following gives you a sense of the disparity in sack rates between Carr and the NFL average. The takeaway: There are quarterbacks who are being sacked at a rate more than three times that of Carr.2016 NFL quarterback sack rateYou might be wondering whether Carr is getting great protection, or if hes using his compact release to throw before the pass rush gets to him. Well, its more the former than the latter. His average time before throwing this season is 2.47 seconds, slower than 20 other quarterbacks.Heres the truth: The Raiders have made a big commitment to building their offensive line. They made Rodney Hudson the NFLs highest-paid center in 2015, then made free agent Kelechi Osemele the leagues highest-paid guard in the spring. And the Raiders re-signed Donald Penn to play left tackle, allowing Osemele to remain at his natural position.The Raiders have committed more salary-cap space to their offensive line than any other team in the NFL, and nearly?65 percent more than the league average.2016 salary-cap commitment to O-lineAdd it all up, and Carr has become one of the leagues most efficient and productive quarterbacks. In his final season at Fresno State, Carr threw 50 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions. But would you believe he actually has a better touchdown-to-interception ratio in the NFL this season?Thats right; Carr has thrown 17 touchdowns against three interceptions, and his ratio of 5.67 is second only to Sam Bradford (eight touchdowns and one interception) as the best among QBs with at least five starts. Neither Tom Brady (12:0) nor Brian Hoyer (6:0) has enough starts to qualify.Best TD/INT rate, 2016 (min. five starts)Carr has had plenty of help this season. In addition to a well-fortified offensive line, his wide receivers have added an NFL-high 244 yards after first contact. The Raiders also have an accomplished offensive coaching staff, starting with coordinator Bill Musgrave, offensive line coach Mike Tice and quarterbacks coach Todd Downing.Still, there have been missed opportunities to produce at an even greater rate. As a team, the Raiders have the NFLs seventh-worst drop rate at 5.3 percent. But no matter how you look at it, or whatever qualifiers you find, Derek Carr is having a breakout season. ' ' '