OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Athletics began the month of May in quite a funk. Now, they are right back on track thanks to solid starting pitching and timely hitting. The defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, meanwhile, are searching to find their top form as June nears. Derek Norris hit a two-run homer in the second, Jarrod Parker pitched seven strong innings and the Athletics beat the Giants 6-3 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory. "Were doing a lot of things right," Norris said. "Were keeping it simple." Adam Rosales homered in the eighth for the As to snap an 0-for-24 stretch since he connected against Kansas City on May 17. The As are on a roll in this interleague Bay Bridge Series between the two reigning West division winners as it shifts to San Francisco for two starting Wednesday night. "To be winning the fashion we are right now and really with guys struggling, it means everybody feels like theyre part of it and contributing," manager Bob Melvin said. Nate Freiman hit an RBI single and Jed Lowrie and Seth Smith each drew bases-loaded walks as Oakland (30-23) won for the 10th time in 11 games to move seven games above .500 for the first time since April 19. Hunter Pence homered in the ninth and hit an RBI single in the first to give Mike Kickham a lead before he took the mound for his major league debut. Parker (3-6) quickly settled into a nice groove. He reached seven innings for the third straight start, earning his second victory over the last five starts after consecutive winless outings. "His stuffs always been there. Its a matter of going out there and doing it," Melvin said. The 24-year-old Kickham (0-1) worked a clean first inning on nine pitches, hitting 92 mph on his first pitch. He reached 94 several times, too. But the As made contact. Norris connected in the second for his second home run. Yoenis Cespedes hit a one-out double in the third for the first 10-game hitting streak of his career. That sparked a mound visit by Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti with a runner also on third. Josh Donaldson was intentionally walked, then Lowrie drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-1. "You can talk about big hits, but you can also talk about big walks," Melvin said. Freiman followed with an RBI single to chase Kickham. He was tagged for four runs on four hits in 2 1-3 innings with three strikeouts and four walks as the Giants lost for the seventh time in their last eight road games. "He showed good stuff early. Im sure he was amped up and then he got behind hitters but I liked what he showed," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Its his first outing and thats always one to put behind you." Chad Gaudin, who was in the mix to make the start Tuesday night in place of the injured Ryan Vogelsong, wound up pitching three innings. Bochy has said Gaudin is too valuable in relief to use him for a spot start. Kickham might just be up for one more considering the Giants have three upcoming off days and dont need a fifth starter until mid-June. He sat at a clubhouse table before the game receiving guidance from Vogelsong, who is recovering from last weeks surgery on his broken pitching hand. "Obviously, I came into it expecting a little heightened emotions but I was able to do a better job than I thought I would (keeping them in check)," Kickham said. "After that first pitch it was like any other game. But mistakes here are magnified. I dont get away with what I do in Triple-A." Marco Scutaro singled in the first as designated hitter against his former club. He scored on Pences single. After that, Parker retired the next nine Giants batters in order before Brandon Belts fourth-inning double. Scutaro reached on a three-base error by As right fielder Chris Young in the eighth but San Francisco failed to capitalize. Pence hit his eighth home run of the year off As closer Grant Balfour. The Giants missed centre fielder and leadoff man Angel Pagan at the top of the lineup. He underwent an MRI on his injured left hamstring that revealed bursitis. He hasnt played since hurting himself in Saturdays game before his inside-the-park home run to win it 6-5 in the 10th inning against Colorado. NOTES: Giants RHP Santiago Casilla underwent surgery to remove a cyst in his right leg. Bochy didnt have any details on the time table for his recovery. ... Bochy is considering giving his pitchers in a struggling rotation an extra day of rest with the off days. ... As RF Josh Reddick was DH for Triple-A Sacramento in his rehab assignment from a sprained right wrist and will play there for a few more days. ... Oaklands pitchers were gearing up to bat when the series shifts to San Francisco for two games starting Wednesday night. ... Boston Marathon bombing survivor Aaron Hern, 12, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He is from nearby Martinez. ... Norris hit his first career HR against the Giants last June 23. ... Kickham has been a roommate of manager Bochys pitching son, Brett, throughout the minor leagues. ... The As faced a lefty starter for the fourth time in five games. Damien Williams Jersey .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Chad Henne Jersey . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. http://www.cheapchiefsjerseyssale.com/?tag=sammy-watkins-jersey-sale . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. Armani Watts Jersey . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Stitched Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. For the last few months, Mohammad Hafeezs selection has been justified because of his contribution with the ball. But his flop-show in the ODIs against Bangladesh, coupled with his lack of form with the bat, pushed him to the very edge. Hafeezs Test career has resembled a zig-zag pattern. He made 197 against New Zealand last year, but had been dropped twice in the last two years. He was first dropped in 2013, after having been the part of the side consistently since 2010, for the South Africa series in UAE, but returned for the corresponding home Tests against Sri Lanka. He was once again dropped for the tour of Sri Lanka last year, but was called back to face Australia in UAE. Since then, he has scored 690 runs from seven innings at 115.Hafeez is back, at least for now. He scored a crucial double-century on Thursday, having missed the landmark twice in the past. He has asserted his case strongly enough to make up for an otherwise idle month.His double-hundred in Khulna was his first, overshadowing his recent record in limited-over cricket where he has only managed to score eight runs in three ODIs. Over the last five months, Hafeez has clearly not been at his best, and he was ruled out of the World Cup over his lack of fitness and inability to bowl in international cricket due to an illegal action.During the training sessions before this Test, Hafeez hardly broke into a smile, and was often seen exclusively training with his assistant coach Shahid Aslam. But today, he entered into the press conference hall with a big broad smile. He looked satisfied, and warmly greeted the media.I was under pressure after the ODI series and I knew I had to do something to regain my confidence and I tried hard, he said. There was a demand for the team to play a positive innings and I am happy that I have been able to do the best for my team. This was not really the best one, but you can say its one of the best one I can remember, and a double-hundred is always something which is special for any batsman in the world.I didnt have to prove anything to anyone with this innings. I know things were taken that way in the past that I had to prove myself after every one or two matches, but I always go with my best efforts for the team and not for myself. My runs are for contribution for the team and are not for my personal goals.Hafeez got to his double-century by sweeping behind square for two. He went down on his knee and pperformed the sajda.dddddddddddd He then looked up at the sky for a few seconds, holding the bat with the upper blade. All the pressure of expectations was now cornered.It wasnt a completely chance-less innings, though. Hafeez was originally was given out caught behind on 13 in the fourth over of the innings when his square cut missed the bat. However, he reviewed and survived. Later, when on 173, he got another life when Bangladesh reviewed for an lbw, but in vain.The first review I took, I knew I didnt nick and I am sure that nothing happened but I regathered myself and maintained my positive attitude towards my innings. Obviously I had in mind that I had missed out twice in 190s previously, and that was exactly in my mind and I had to ensure that this time I did not miss.I pushed myself hard to avoid any negative thoughts and not panic. I kept my calm stay at ease near the 200-mark. I missed my double in the past twice, and I didnt want to miss it this time so I had to pull myself again after both DRS calls and also I had a strong belief that I could do it this time.Pakistan scored 106 in the first session, though they pulled down their run-rate by scoring only 88 after lunch. Hafeez felt Bangladesh started bowling negatively in patches, forcing Pakistan to a more cautious approach.At certain stages they bowled well and applied some techniques so according to that we had to adjust. They tried some negative bowling to pull themselves back from their attacking mindset, so thats why we didnt want to go with the flow.We didnt want to lose our grip from the match, so we rejigged our plan a bit to avoid attacking. But the way Sarfaraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq played at the end, that really got our momentum back and we are back on the road where we actually wanted to be.Despite Shakib Al Hasan being Bangladeshs most experienced bowler, Hafeez was relatively more attacking against the spinner, hitting two sixes and scoring 57 off 67 deliveries.As a team we rate Shakib very highly since we know that he is one of the key factors in their team. But we wanted to minimise the Shakib impact by putting pressure on him. He was trying a bit too much, so I had to go with an attacking mindset. I didnt want to leave anything and tried to cash in every ball and this worked for me against him. 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