dy Purcell. He was forced to leave the game

BALTIMORE -- These Oakland Athletics, they wont back down. Not when confronted by an angry opponent, not when theyre dodging inside fastballs and definitely not when trailing late in the game. Pinch-hitter Stephen Vogt singled in the tiebreaking run in the 11th inning, and the Athletics got home runs from Josh Donaldson and Derek Norris in a 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. It was the sixth win in seven games for the Athletics, who own the best record in the AL (38-23) and the best road record in the majors (21-11). In the third inning, Donaldson tagged Manny Machado in the chest near third base for the third out, causing Machado to lose his balance and topple backward. Machado quickly stood up and yelled close-up at Donaldson, apparently questioning the force of the tag, and players from both sides crowded around the duo before Orioles manager Buck Showalter pulled Machado away. "I just tried to tag the guy. I was walking over there to go pick his helmet up for him, then he jumps up and starts yelling at me," Donaldson said. "I dont know what happened on his end, but Im just trying to do my job and play the game of baseball." Machado said: "Right play, he made the right play, but I just didnt agree on the tag that he made on me and I just had to get up and confront him. You get in the heat of the moment and things start flying." That appeared to be the end of it, but with two outs and nobody on in the sixth inning, Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen threw an inside pitch near Donaldsons chin. After retreating from the batters box, Donaldson smiled knowingly. But he expressed anger minutes later, when Chen hit him with another inside fastball. "I understand them pitching in. Thats fine," Donaldson said. "It was just on my hand. (Baltimores) Nellie Cruz took one on the hand just the other day, and he doesnt seem too fond of that either." In the eighth, though, the As trailed 3-2. Pinch-hitter Coco Crisp drew a walk from Darren ODay, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Yoenis Cespedes. That led to Oaklands eighth win this season when trailing after seven innings. "We dont give up until that last out is made," Oakland starter Tommy Milone said. "You see if in the last few games, it seems like were always in every game, and we find ways to win." John Jaso led off the 11th with a pinch-hit double off Evan Meek (0-2). With one out, Gold Glove shortstop J.J. Hardy botched a grounder, his fourth error in two games. Meek went to third on the play and scored when Vogt hit a liner to left. Fernando Abad (1-2) worked the 10th and Sean Doolittle got three outs for his eighth save. The Orioles missed a chance to win it in the 10th when Nick Markakis was thrown out at the plate by Moss on Adam Jones one-out single to right. Cruz was then cut down trying to steal home. "Saw it, felt it, went for it, didnt work out," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. Prior to that, Chen retired 10 straight batters. Chen gave up two runs -- both on homers -- in 6 1-3 innings. Milone allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings. Donaldson put the As up 1-0 in the first with his 17th home run, and Norris connected leading off the second. Baltimore used three straight two-out singles, the last by rookie Jonathan Schoop, to get a run back in the bottom of the second. Chris Davis tied it in the fourth with an opposite-field drive to left, and Machado homered in the fifth for a 3-2 lead. NOTES: The Orioles put RHP Miguel Gonzalez (strained right oblique) on the 15-day DL, recalled RHP Tim Berry from Double-A Bowie, purchased the contract of Meek from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned RHP Preston Guilmet to the same club. ... Kevin Gausman replaced Gonzalez as Baltimores starter vs. Oakland on Saturday. The As will call upon right-hander Sonny Gray (6-1, 2.45 ERA). ... Former Orioles closer Jim Johnson returned to Baltimore for the first time since being traded during the off-season. "A lot of memories. Its obviously different going into a different clubhouse. Its cool," Johnson said. ... Oakland has homered in 14 straight games. ... LHP Johan Santana, who hoped to make a comeback with the Orioles, tore his Achilles tendon in extended spring training and is lost for the year. Jonah Williams Bengals Jersey . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. Joe Mixon Jersey . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. http://www.bengalsrookiestore.com/Bengals-Renell-Wren-Jersey/ .com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury. Anthony Munoz Youth Jersey . The South Africa international, who rejoined the club last month on loan from Tottenham, opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Michael Jordan Womens Jersey . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers.TORONTO – When Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle first coached James van Riemsdyk last season, he was met initially with a hardheadedness that reminded him of someone very familiar. "Maybe I looked in the mirror," Carlyle said, chuckling as he walked off. Blossoming into something special for the Leafs, van Riemsdyk set a new career-high Tuesday night with his 41st point this season, also equaling a career mark with his 21st goal of the year, the game-winner in a 3-2 edging of the Lightning. All the 24-year-old desired when he was traded from Philadelphia to Toronto in the summer of 2012 was an opportunity to prove himself on a grander stage and, with that opportunity, he has most certainly flourished. In addition to goals and points, van Riemsdyk has also set new career-highs in power-play goals (8), shots (186), shorthanded goals (1) and power play points (14), already having matched a career-high in assists with 20 on the season – all this in just 53 games. He is also fetching nearly 21 minutes per game – by far the highest of a five-year career – teaming with Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak on whats become an offensively dominant top line. "That was the key for me is the opportunity," said van Riemsdyk, who feigned no surprise when he was traded for Luke Schenn in a long-rumoured deal on June 23, 2012. "I was always confident in myself as far I think I proved it in Philly. I showed when I had the opportunity to play a lot, play in those key situations, that I was able to be a productive player. Ive been able to get more of those opportunities since coming here. "For me personally, I think it was good to start somewhere else, go to a place where I was going to get a chance to show what I can do." Before being dealt, van Riemsdyk was maybe most known for a seven-goal explosion in the 2011 playoffs as a member of the Flyers, a foreshadowing in many ways of what was coming down the line. Last spring, during his first campaign with the Leafs, he offered another tantalizing glimpse of where his career might be headed in the very near future, a force with seven points during a memorable seven-game first round series with Boston. "I think JVR has picked up a lot of where he was in the playoffs last year," Carlyle said prior to Tuesdays game, which snapped a mini two-game slide for the Leafs. "He seemed to be able to take that next step. Hes more confident." "I just want to try to keep getting better and better every single year," van Riemsdyk said. "Ive been given an opportunity here to play in some key situations and play some big minutes. Im definitely happy about that." Five Points 1. More van Riemsdyk Carlyle indicated that van Riemsdyk often proved stubborn early in his Toronto tenure, but with time has grown more receptive to the prodding of the coaching staff. "He used to be a guy yeah, but [or] but if," Carlyle said of van Riemsdyks response to coaching. "But hes not that [anymore]. Now hes more receptive to [it] … Theres a difference between coaching and criticism. Sometimes they all become the same to players. Thats the difficult part is when to use it, when not to use it as a coach." It was only days into the 2013 campaign that Carlyle first publicly prodded van Riemsdyk. "Hes got to go into the dirty areas a little bit more and thats one of the things were going to ask of him," said Carlyle before an early season game against Pittsburgh. "Hes a big man, who can go to the front of the net. Hes got soft hands around the net. We want to see him drive that puck to that area..." Improvements in those areas have notably helped the New Jersey native blossom into an offensive force, specifically his willingness to camp out in the difficult areas around the net. 2. Shouldering a Heavy Burden With 40 stops on Tuesday, Jonathan Bernier improved to 7-1-2 this season when facing 40 or more shots this season, an impressive mark under the strain of a heavy workload. Bernier made a number of key saves throughout the evening, but none more brilliant than a stop on Martin St. Louis with just over three minutes to go in regulation. Sliding to his left, in rhythm with a Hedman cross-ice feed, the 25-year-old used his left pad to turn aside the surefire game-tying goal. "Great save, game-saving save," Kadri said. "We almost expect him to make those type of saves now because hes done it so often. Hes a great goaltender, uup with the best, and he definitely showed it there.dddddddddddd" 3. Kadri Brushes Off Speculation Nazem Kadri scored for the fifth and sixth time in the past four games against Ben Bishop, the NHLs save percentage leader and six-foot-seven Tampa netminder. The first saw the 23-year-old employ six-foot-six Lightning defender Victor Hedman as a screen in transition, the second a sure Highlight of the Night candidate that saw Kadri dance around Hedman before slipping a backhand beyond the grasp of Bishop. Boasting 35 points on the year, Kadri has quickly quieted trade speculation that always seems to bubble in Toronto. "Im just ignoring that," he said. "I dont think I use it as motivation or as a concern – it doesnt discourage me. I just try and focus on what I have to do and what I can bring to the team. I know I can help this team, its just a matter of when." "The thing about him is he doesnt let anything bother him," van Riemsdyk added of Kadri, who is up to 14 goals this season. "Its definitely impressive to see. I think hes probably used to it maybe growing up in the spotlight here." 4. Adjustments for Kadri Sliding out from a slump that lingered for the better part of a month, Kadri has now posted points in six of the past seven games. "Our request [for him] is to play more north-south versus east-west, specifically through the neutral ice," said Carlyle. "When hes not playing well you see him, he gets caught from behind on the back-side pressure. And when hes playing well, he seems to be able to create space in that area." Carlyle also observed that Kadri was playing more physically in recent weeks, adding that his acumen in the faceoff circle had improved. A real source of concern earlier in the year – he was amongst the worst in the league – Kadri has won just under 50 per cent in the past 10 games, victorious on 10 of 16 draws against the Lightning. 5. Gleason Effect Tim Gleason has been paired with Cody Franson for all but two of his 12 games with the Leafs and hes proven a stabilizing force in that span. "Hes a very solid, aggressive, and physical style player," Franson said of Gleason. "For me, hes very easy to read off of. I know hes going in there to try to be aggressive as the first guy. When you have guys like that where you dont have to think too much, it makes it easier. You can react quicker and it makes the plays a little easier to read." Franson, who leads the Toronto defence with 25 points, has benefited from the meat and potatoes style of the longtime Hurricane defender, similar in some ways to the effect Mark Fraser had on the 26-year-old last season. "Mark would always be aggressive trying to get hits and staple guys to the wall and allow our defensive zone coverage to take place," Franson said. "Gleas is the same way. He has a physical mindset and goes in there and tries to get people in tough positions to make plays and allow us to break out of the zone a little easier." Gleason battled through a difficult night against the Lightning. The 30-year-old blocked a shot in one uncomfortable area, received a pass in the face and was then hammered into the end-boards in the final two minutes by Teddy Purcell. He was forced to leave the game with a shoulder injury, one that Carlyle didnt believe to be serious. Stats Pack 10-5-2 – Leafs record against the Atlantic division. 7-1-2 – Record for Jonathan Bernier this season when facing 40 shots or more. 2 – Multi-goal games for Nazem Kadri this season. 41 – Points for James van Riemsdyk this season, a new career-high. 49.7% - Success rate for Kadri on the draw in the past 10 games. 7 – Phil Kessel shot attempts that were blocked by the Lightning. 75% - Leafs success rate on defensive zone faceoffs against Tampa. 21-6-3 – Leafs record this season when scoring first. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 22% (4th) PK: 3-3Season: 77.1% (29th) Quote of the Night "They thought Ive been playing excellent over this last nine, 10-game stretch. Kudos to them for sticking with me. I know theyre a patient bunch as well and they understand what I can bring to the team. Ive been very coachable and theyve given me some great pointers that Ive listened to and just tried to get better." -Nazem Kadri on the patience of the Toronto coaching staff. Up Next The Leafs host the Panthers on Thursday night. ' ' '