Barnes helped Golden State chip away at the lead. He scored

MINNEAPOLIS -- By the time Dan Straily took the mound for the second inning, he knew he just didnt have it. His velocity nowhere to be found, the 25-year-old right-hander took the next step in his maturation process by gritting his teeth, focusing on location and changing speeds over anything flashy and shutting down the Minnesota Twins. Straily pitched three-hit ball for seven innings and Sam Fuld hit a rare home run to help the Oakland Athletics complete a three-game sweep with a 6-1 victory Thursday. "Its part of learning from the past, from last year," said Straily (1-1), who gave up one run and struck out five. "On days when I didnt have my best stuff, I would try to pitch like I did and it would cost me. After the second inning, I realized I didnt have my A stuff in my arm today. So it was just a matter of mixing speeds and keeping everybody off balance. The Athletics rotation has opened the season with nine straight starts allowing three runs or less and has compiled a 1.93 ERA in 56 innings. "Theyve done a great job. So far, so good," Josh Donaldson said of the rotation. "Cant really complain about what theyve done. Thats what we expect from them." Fuld hit just his sixth homer in 738 career plate appearances and singled. Donaldson had a two-run homer and an RBI single for the Athletics (6-3). Mike Pelfrey (0-2) gave up six runs on nine hits and four walks in five innings. The Twins have had only one quality start in their first nine games. Brian Dozier hit his third home run of the season for Minnesota. Straily was selected in the 24th round of the 2009 draft, just another in the seemingly endless line of young, strong starting pitchers churned out by Billy Beanes Moneyball machine. Last year he led all AL rookies in starts, innings and strikeouts, and he brushed off the early homer to Dozier to slow down the Twins for the rest of the game. He allowed two baserunners -- both on walks -- over his final five innings "It wasnt his best velocity," manager Bob Melvin said. "He was throwing basically 87 mph today. But hes always got that slider in his pocket. He threw a few more changeups today and a few more curveballs, so he kept them off balance more than he typically pitches." Pelfrey had no such luck, labouring through another poor outing for Minnesotas starting rotation. Donaldsons homer in the third inning put him behind 3-1 and he walked No. 9 hitter Nick Punto in the fourth before Fuld yanked a pitch just over the wall in right field for a 5-1 lead. "I think all the way around, I was terrible today," Pelfrey said. The cushion allowed the As to avoid a save situation on the same day Melvin demoted struggling closer Jim Johnson, who is 0-2 with an 18.90 ERA in five appearances this season. The As will go with a closer-by-committee approach while they try to get Johnson straightened out, Melvin said. "Were all pulling for the same thing. Were all in it together," Straily said. "Its just a brotherhood mentality that we have in this clubhouse. Its something special." NOTES: The announced attendance of 20,650 was the smallest in Target Field history. ... Umpires reviewed a play in the sixth inning in which Jed Lowrie was thrown out at home by Twins CF Aaron Hicks. Umpires were looking to see if C Josmil Pinto was illegally blocking the plate. The call of an out was confirmed. ... Twins assistant GM Rob Antony said star prospect Byron Buxton likely will not start playing until May because of a wrist injury. ... The Twins open a series against Kansas City on Friday night. RHP Kyle Gibson (1-0, 1.80) will start the opener against Royals LHP Bruce Chen (0-0, 1.42). ... The Athletics head to Seattle for a series against the Mariners. LHP Tommy Milone will make his first start of the season on Friday night against Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez (2-0, 1.88). Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the search, confirmed reports by several media outlets. The interview took place in Southern California on Monday. Basketball Shoes Sale . -- Omar Infante walked past the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, where he dressed so many times as a member of the Detroit Tigers, and slipped on a crisp, new Kansas City Royals jersey. https://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.com/ . -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation. 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It turns out the Warriors backup big man knew just what buttons to push. Thompson made four 3-pointers during the dramatic fourth, Stephen Curry added a pair of shots from beyond the arc down the stretch and the Golden State Warriors rallied from 27 points down in the second half to beat the Toronto Raptors 112-103 Tuesday night. Oracle Arena erupted at the final buzzer after being a den of silence for much of the game. Team owner Joe Lacob and general manager Bob Myers ducked into a private room and let out a loud shout while the Warriors celebrated the NBAs biggest comeback this season while jogging off the court. Afterward, all anyone wanted to talk about was ONeals pep talk. "(He) gave a great speech at halftime," Thompson said. "Honestly, that was what was our turning point. It wasnt in the fourth quarter or the third quarter. It was at halftime." No one would reveal what ONeal said. Golden States comeback from 18 points down after three quarters was its biggest since storming back from a 19-point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 126-124 on Feb. 9, 1962. Warriors coach Mark Jackson, never at a loss for words, could only smile. "This being my third year here, there has not been a bigger win," Jackson said. "We were not sharp, we were not crisp and we allowed (Toronto) to get it going. To our credit, we began to defend." And score. Thompson finished with 22 points and seven assists, nearly matching Currys 27 and 10. David Lee added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors. Toronto led 75-48 with 9:20 left in the third quarter when Golden State began inching back. The Warriors trimmed the gap to 88-70 heading into the fourth then stormed back behind an onslaught of 3-pointers. Golden State made eight 3s over the final 12 minutes, the last coming from Harrison Barnes with 47.2 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a 109-103 lead. "Its one of those where they started hitting the 3 in the third quarter and we couldnt turn the water off," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We did an excellent job in the first three quarters and then we couldnt score in the fourth quarter." DeMar DeRozan had 26 points to pace Toronto, which lost its fourth straight. Kyle Lowry added 20 points and nine aassists despite being knocked out of the game briefly following a collision with Warriors centre Andrew Bogut.dddddddddddd Golden State was down and nearly out before storming back. The Raptors scored 65 points in the first half and were scoring almost at will against a Golden State defence that had allowed 100 points or more in six straight games. Toronto made it seven despite scoring just nine points over the final 8:45. That cold snap opened the door for the Warriors biggest comeback of the season and extended the Raptors losing streak in Oakland to nine games. Curry nearly brought his team back in record-breaking fashion. He made three 3-pointers and needs three more to break Jason Richardsons franchise record of 700. He got plenty of support in draining 3s. Thompson went 6 of 12 from beyond the arc, Barnes added two and Draymond Green had one. "Were shooters," Thompson said. "It just happened to be a night where we were all missing at the same time, and then it turned out we were hitting at the same time." Barnes finished with 19 points, while ONeal added 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. The Warriors were sloppy on both ends of the court in the first quarter when the Raptors built a 17-point lead. Rudy Gay and Lowry had seven points apiece as part of a 22-5 run by Toronto. Lowry, who had 11 points in the opening 12 minutes, capped the streak with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from 26 feet. Barnes helped Golden State chip away at the lead. He scored nine of the teams first 11 points then added three free throws to pull the Warriors within 48-39. Torontos Steve Novak answered with three 3s in 97 seconds, Lowry added a driving layup and Toronto took a 65-48 halftime lead. The Raptors were still comfortably ahead late in the third quarter when Lowry dropped to the floor after colliding with Bogut. Lowry lay in the key for several moments, then stood up and took a few steps before sitting back down on the court. He was eventually helped to his feet and walked slowly off the court with the help of a pair of Toronto assistants. Lowry returned with 10:40 left in the fourth quarter -- right in the middle of Golden States best run of the night. NOTES: Toronto had not scored more than 56 points in any half until its first-half eruption. ... Golden State is 3-0 when ONeal scores in double figures. ... Raptors forward Amir Johnson (16 points, 10 rebounds) has double-doubles in each of his past two games against the Warriors. ' ' '