Tampa Bay Rays to a 7-3 victory over the Oakland AthletICS

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Getting the chance to play first base for the first time, Tim Beckham figured he might as well hit like a slugging first baseman instead of a middle infielder.Beckham made the most of his emergency position switch by hitting a homer and sparking a four-run inning with his eighth straight hit over three games to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 7-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night.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.With Logan Morrison sidelined by an injured right forearm and Steve Pearce needing a day off, Beckham was Tampa Bays best option to play first despite never having played the position.He took infield before the game and got some quick lessons from bench coach Tom Foley before taking the field with one of Pearces gloves.I just told myself I trust in my ability, Beckham said. Just trust in my ability and be comfortable over there. It helped out.While he played error-free defense and made a nice play on a forceout in the ninth, it was his bat that did the biggest damage.He followed up a five-hit game in Colorado on Wednesday by hitting a solo homer in the second against Sonny Gray (4-9) 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.Corey Dickerson 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).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.I think that kind of woke me up, Moore said of the homer. It was early in the game. We were just trying to set the tone by throwing strikes, pounding the zone early.Alex Colome got three outs for his 21st save in as many chances to give the Rays their first three game winning streak since June 12-15. Tampa Bay has won four of five following a 3-24 stretch that was the worst in franchise history.Gray, who snapped a seven-game losing streak last Saturday against Toronto, was unable to build on that success. He allowed seven runs and nine hits in five innings.That 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.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. Cheap Air Jordan 5 Retro . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Air Jordan Retro 5 For Sale Cheap . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. http://www.cheapairjordan5.us/ . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Cheap Jordan 5 For Sale . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Cheap Air Jordan 5 .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick was in a bind Sunday afternoon.The Bengals were practicing at West Carrollton High School, about an hour away from the teams practice facility in downtown Cincinnati. Kirkpatrick got off the bus, rummaged through his bag, and realized he had no cleats. At that point, there was no going back to get them.So he had to improvise.I was looking around and saw that Coach [Marvin Lewis] was addressing some of the [high school] team, Kirkpatrick said. I just went over and I asked him if anybody had a pair.Lucky for Kirkpatrick, West Carrollton senior Bryan Jones had a pair on hand. It wasnt a perfect fit, as the cleats were one size too big. That meant Kirkpatrick had to go to the training table twice during practice to get his ankles taped and retaped..dddddddddddd worried fan in the crowd of 6,000 on hand to watch practice yelled a question from the bleachers after Kirkpatricks second trip to visit the athletic trainer.Are you injured? the fan shouted.Kirkpatrick smiled and shook his head.It worked out pretty good, Kirkpatrick said. It was just a blessing that he was there and he had his cleats. I want to tell him I appreciate him.When practice was over, Kirkpatrick made sure to sign the shoes and send them back. Standing there in his socks, he signed autographs for at least 20 minutes more before he realized he was the last Bengal left on the field.Then Kirkpatrick, shoeless, sprinted off to catch the bus. ' ' '