OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sonny Gray hoped he had turned a corner when he snapped a long losing streak in his first start after the All-Star break. His second start after the break put him right back where he was in a frustrating first half.Gray allowed homers to Tim Beckham and Corey Dickerson and then was chased following a four-run fifth inning as the Oakland Athletics lost 7-3 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday nightThat game kind of went how my years been, giving up the home run then having the big inning, Gray said. I thought at the start of the fifth inning I made some pretty good pitches, and suddenly its first and second with nobody out and then it didnt go well from there.Little has gone well for Gray this season who has struggled to find the form that made him so successful his first three seasons in the majors, including last year when he finished third in AL Cy Young voting.Gray (4-9) allowed seven runs in five innings, raising his ERA to 5.49. After starting the season 3-1, Grays only win in his past 14 starts came last Saturday against Toronto.I think he gets frustrated, manager Bob Melvin said. Thats natural. Hes a competitor, hes used to getting outs, hes used to being able to bare down when he wants to, get a groundball when he wants to, get a strikeout when he wants to. Its been a tough time for him this year.Beckham homered and then sparked a four-run inning with his eighth straight hit over three games to lead the Rays to their first three-game winning streak since June 12-15.Dickerson also homered and drove in three runs, and Logan Forsythe, Brad Miller and Evan Longoria added RBI hits in the fifth inning to back a solid start by Matt Moore (6-7).Beckham followed up a five-hit game in Colorado on Wednesday by hitting a solo homer in the second and then adding a leadoff single in the big fifth inning that gave Tampa Bay the lead for good.Beckham, who started the streak with a single in his final at-bat Monday, was finally retired when he popped out to end the sixth but by then he had done his damage. His eight hits in eight at-bats -- he walked in his other plate appearance -- were one more hit than he had in 41 at-bats in all of June.He did it all while playing first base for the first time ever with Logan Morrison sidelined by an injured right forearm and Steve Pearce needing a day off.Thats not an easy thing, manager Kevin Cash said. Thats uncomfortable to go play somewhere in a big league ballgame. You can imagine theres probably some nerves and anxiety.Moore allowed a three-run homer to Jake Smolinski in the second but nothing else in seven innings to earn his first win in eight road starts this season.Alex Colome got three outs for his 21st save in as many chances.TRAINERS ROOMRays: Morrison got an injection in his injured forearm and is expected to be fine in a day or two.Athletics: LHP Rich Hill (blister) played catch before the game with protection on his middle finger. He is still not ready to throw curveballs or pitch off the mound. ... RHP Zach Neal was recalled from Triple-A Nashville and LHP Patrick Schuster was optioned to Nashville.TRADE TALKAs RF Josh Reddick said hes tuning out any talk about a possible trade before the Aug. 1 deadline, saying the game is hard enough without worrying about things out of his control. But Reddick did say he is upset there hasnt been more progress on a long-term deal to keep him in Oakland past this season.Its kind of disheartening to know something hasnt been worked out so far, and weve been four months into it, he said.UP NEXTRays: Jake Odorizzi (4-5) snapped a six-start winless streak last Sunday against Baltimore when he allowed two runs in six innings for his first win since June 8.Athletics: Sean Manaea (3-5) faces the Rays for the first time in his career in the second game of the series. Mohamed Bamba Jersey . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Issuf Sanon Jersey . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticnba.us/tony-carr-jersey/ . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Mikal Bridges Jersey .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. Moritz Wagner Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. HAMBURG, Germany -- Roger Federer rallied to beat Daniel Brands 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday at the German Tennis Championships in his first match since his second-round loss at Wimbledon last month. Using a bigger racket for the first time, Federer served three aces in the opening game but still lost his serve and ultimately the set to the German. The former No. 1 broke once in the second set and twice in the decider to reach the third round. The 17-time major champion is a four-time winner in Hamburg, the city where he won his first title in 2002 to break into the top 10. After losing at Wimbledon to Sergiy Stakhovsky -- who failed to qualify for the main draw in Hamburg -- Federer dropped to No. 5 in the rankings, the first time in a decade that hes been that low. Brands, who celebrated his 26th birthday Wednesday and received a cake after the match, received few presents from the top-seeded Federer in the last two sets. However, the Swiss star needed four match points to close it out. He finished with nine aces on the clay-court surface. "It was a tough match, Daniel is playing a very good season," Federer said.dddddddddddd Federer will play qualifier Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic, who beat 15th-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Tommy Haas outlasted qualifier Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the third round. The second-seeded Haas blew a 4-1 lead in the third set but held serve and then broke to clinch the match when Kavcic sent a forehand long. "At the end, its the victory that counts," Haas said. Haas was runner-up in the tournament last year and is the oldest player in the top 100 at 35. He is looking for his second title at home this season, after winning in Munich. Fourth-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, a Wimbledon semifinalist, prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) over Robin Haase of the Netherlands. Defending champion Juan Monaco of Argentina, seeded fifth, beat Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4. Four other seeded players lost -- No. 6 Andreas Seppi, No. 10 Tommy Robredo, No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny and No. 16 Martin Klizan. No. 11 Feliciano Lopez, No. 12 Fabio Fognini and No. 14 Fernando Verdasco advanced. Jerseys NFL China Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Discount Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys ' ' '