Hudson, another right-hander with a slight

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sonny Gray has been hearing the comparisons since his high school days in Tennessee. The references to Tim Hudson, another right-hander with a slight build and a big arm. Fittingly, in the very ballpark where Hudson shined as a member of Oaklands Big Three beginning in the late 90s, Gray dominated the Houston Astros with his fantastic fastball and snapping curve on the way to an impressive first major league victory. Grey struck out nine in his home debut, and the Athletics used Nate Freimans two-run homer and four RBIs to avert a three-game sweep by the lowly Astros with a 5-0 victory on Thursday. "Ive been getting comparisons ever since high school, the short righty," Gray said with a grin. "If you compare me to Tim Hudson, hes one of my favourite pitchers, one of the greatest pitchers." Fellow rookie Freiman had a two-run double in the first, and then hit his third home run in the third with a drive to the left-field stands. He finished with four hits. "Pretty special day for both those guys," manager Bob Melvin said. The 23-year-old Gray (1-1) allowed four hits and walked one over eight innings, throwing 118 pitches in his second career start and fourth big league appearance. Like so many other young pitchers in the As organization, the top prospect has been on the fast track to the majors since Oakland drafted him in the first round at No. 18 overall in the 2011 amateur draft. Melvin asked Gray after the seventh how he felt, and the pitcher wanted to keep going. "It was good for him to have the confidence in me to leave me out there," Gray said. Its a difficult call for a skipper, especially when dealing with a young pitcher. "With any of our guys, when theyre getting them out, theyre going to stay in," As pitching coach Curt Young said. "Were never going to get crazy with the pitch count. We thought it was doable and he ended up finishing a great outing. Hes just got nice composure in the two starts that hes had. Nothing seems to bother him." Grey still had his best stuff in the late innings. He retired leadoff man Robbie Grossman on a called third strike in the eighth, and then left to a warm ovation from an announced crowd of 16,487 in his first home start at the Oakland Coliseum. Fans yelled, "Come on, Sonny!" Dan Otero finished the five-hitter for Oaklands 10th shutout. Houston never found any kind of groove against Gray. "He got us to expand the zone," manager Bo Porter said. "He pitched a tremendous game." Freiman added singles to his impressive day in the fifth and seventh innings. He is batting .315 (40 for 127) since May 1 after batting .148 in April. Oakland jumped on Erik Bedard (3-9) in a hurry. He dropped to 0-6 over eight starts since a win against St. Louis on June 26. For the As, a sweep by the Astros would have been demoralizing. They already had lost two in a row to Houston each by one run, including in 11 innings Wednesday night. Oakland pulled within 1 1/2 games of idle first-place Texas in the AL West, avoiding falling three back for biggest deficit since May 31. After Chris Young beat out an infield single leading off the bottom of the first, Jed Lowrie hit an RBI double to stake Gray to a quick lead. Lowrie was the designated hitter rather than playing his usual shortstop spot as he nurses a sore lower right leg after being hit by a pitch Tuesday. Freiman doubled three batters later to make it 3-0. He faced Gray in the minors last season and predicted big things. "It was awesome," Freiman said. "We were all, This guys good. Im not surprised." Bedards day only got tougher. The lefty allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings. He is winless in his last three outings against the As since a victory at Oakland for Seattle on May 27, 2009. Houstons Chris Carter hit a liner at ex-As teammate and shortstop Eric Sogard in the seventh and the barrel of Carters bat broke off, sailed through the air and struck Sogard in the left leg. He stayed in the game. NOTES: Melvin said he didnt intend to get tossed Wednesday night, calling it one of the most surprising ejections of his career. He argued a close call at third in the eighth inning of the 2-1, 11-inning loss. While he has confidence in his coaching staff, Melvin said: "I cant get thrown out of that game. I feel bad. ... Everybody in the dugout has a job to do, and I wasnt there to do mine." ... As CF Coco Crisp will be re-evaluated Friday to determine whether he can play in the series opener with Cleveland, which would be three days after he received a cortisone shot in his ailing left wrist. ... The As are 18-20 against the division since May 10, compared to 34-14 against all other clubs. ... Umpire Angel Hernandez was booed by the crowd when announced before the game for his calls the entire series. Warren Moon Titans Jersey . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. Eddie George Youth Jersey .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-34-Earl-Campbell-Womens-Jersey/ . Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. Daley had a goal and an assist, Kari Lehtonen recorded his fifth shutout of the season, and the Stars clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 3-0 victory against the St. Marcus Mariota Titans Jersey . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat. Eddie George Womens Jersey . Patrick Deslisle-Houde and David Rose each scored in the second to give the fourth-seeded Redmen a 3-1 lead after Jean-Philippe Mathieu scored in the first.NEW YORK -- New England defender Kevin Alston has been voted Major League Soccers Comeback Player of the Year after returning from treatment for leukemia, and Portlands Caleb Porter has been selected Coach of the Year. Alston took a leave of absence in April and returned July 27 to play in five of his teams final 14 games. He helped New England reach the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The 25-year-old, who played at Indiana, received 99.8 per cent of voting by players, cluub officials and media.dddddddddddd Philadelphia forward Conor Casey was second with 63 per cent in balloting announced Monday, followed by Seattle forward Lamar Neagle at 35 per cent. Porter, in first season with a professional club after leaving the University of Akron, led the Timbers to a Western Conference-best 14-5-15 record. Thats a 23-point improvement from 2012. First-year New York coach Mike Petke was second in voting, followed by Salt Lakes Jason Kreis. ' ' '