BALTIMORE (AP) — Presented with an opportunity to make up ground in their playoff run http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-russell-wilson-jersey , the Oakland Athletics were mounting a comeback against the Baltimore Orioles‘ shaky bullpen in the eighth inning of a tight game.and the Orioles snapped Oakland’s six-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory Thursday night.Stephen Piscotty homered for the A’s, who fell 3½ games behind first-place Houston in the AL West and 1½ back of the Yankees for the top wild-card slot.Down 4-2 in the eighth, Oakland hit successive singles off Miguel Castro and loaded the bases with one out. After Paul Fry walked Matt Olson to force in a run, Givens struck out Piscotty and retired Marcus Semien on a fly ball.Jace Peterson doubled in a run in the bottom half, and Givens finished for his seventh save despite issuing a leadoff walk in the ninth.“We give ourselves opportunities a lot and typically we come through,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “We had a lot of chances, especially in the eighth inning, which was a big inning for us. We didn’t come through, especially with Stephen up at the plate.”The credit goes to Givens, who’s been closing since Baltimore traded Zach Britton in late July.“That was a pretty good pitcher they brought in, especially against righties,” Melvin said.Dylan Bundy had eight strikeouts in six solid innings for the Orioles, who snapped a six-game skid and avoided being swept for the 22nd time.Bundy (8-14) gave up two runs and six hits to earn his first win since July 29. The right-hander was 0-5 in his previous seven starts.“He made them beat his breaking ball,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “He had good command of it and they didn’t seem like they were seeing it or following it.”Oakland activated lefty Brett Anderson from the 10-day disabled list to make his 14th start of the season. In his return from a forearm injury, Anderson (3-5) allowed four runs and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.His night began when Cedric Mullins topped a ball down the third-base line that rolled tantalizingly close to being foul but never was. Four batters later, Tim Beckham hit a two-run single to put Baltimore ahead to stay.“Today was about as frustrating as it could get Martin Perez Jersey ,” Anderson said. “Every groundball they hit found a hole.”Piscotty made it 2-1 in the second with his 24th home run, the major league-leading 38th allowed by Bundy.The Orioles got RBI singles from John Andreoli and Breyvic Valera in the fourth, and Oakland answered with a run-scoring single by Nick Martini in the fifth.TRAINER’S ROOMAthletics: RHP Trevor Cahill had an MRI on his right shoulder due to soreness in his upper back. Melvin scratched Cahill from Saturday’s start and will probably go with reliever Liam Hendriks. Melvin said that if Cahill responds to treatment, he could start twice during the Sept. 18-23 homestand.Orioles: RHP Andrew Cashner had an MRI on his left knee. Showalter said no structural damage was found, but the pitcher got a cortisone shot and could miss a start. … RHP Alex Cobb won’t pitch until Sept. 21 at the soonest because of an irksome blister, Showalter said.MORE THE MERRIERThe Athletics have suited up 53 players this season, one short of the Oakland record set in 2007 and matched last year.Baltimore has used 55 players this season, most since the team moved from St. Louis in 1954. That includes 28 pitchers, an Orioles record.UP NEXTAthletics: RHP Edwin Jackson (5-3, 3.26 ERA) is on the mound for the opener of a three-game series at Tampa Bay.Orioles: RHP Luis Ortiz, obtained in the Jonathan Schoop trade with Milwaukee on July 31, makes his first major league start in a matchup with the visiting White Sox. DENVER (AP) — Larry Walker joined the conference call with reporters and quickly announced his arrival.“54.6 percent here,” the longtime player with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals cracked.That’s his percentage in this year’s Hall of Fame vote. Keep up this sort of jump, though, and he may be able to proclaim something different next season in his 10th and final year on the ballot: Hall of Famer.Walker’s vote total rose 20.5 percent from a year ago, but the seven-time Gold Glove outfielder still fell short of the necessary 75 percent threshold. The 2019 Hall of Fame class elected Tuesday included reliever Mariano Rivera Jurickson Profar Jersey , designated hitter Edgar Martinez and pitchers Roy Halladay — a Denver native who died in November 2017 when an airplane he was flying crashed — and Mike Mussina.The 52-year-old Walker took it all in stride.“I don’t get set up for heartbreak or heartache if something doesn’t happen,” Walker said. “I’m a pretty level-headed guy.”Still, Walker acknowledged being emotionally invested in the days before the vote was officially revealed. He saw on Twitter that at one point he was trending at nearly 66 percent on some of the ballots made public.In the end, he was on 232 of the 425 ballots cast.“I don’t want to get too involved with that again next year, because your heart rate’s going up and down,” Walker said. “Part of me almost doesn’t want to make it, because doing that speech in Cooperstown, probably would have a heart attack before I got up there to do it.”Growing up in Canada, Walker was more interested in being an NHL goaltender than a baseball player. He didn’t really learn the nuances of the game until he started out in the minor leagues. A quick study, he hit .313 with 383 homers and 1,311 RBIs in 17 seasons. He won three batting titles and an NL MVP award.“It was never in my mind as a kid growing up: It was playing in Stanley Cup Finals, not talking about the Hall of Fame ballot,” Walker said. “Baseball was never on my radar, until I was offered $1,500 U.S. … I couldn’t wait to sign that contract to get that 2-grand Canadian, and off I went.”Walker thinks his surge is due in part to analytics, even if he really doesn’t understand such stats as dWAR (defensive wins above replacement).“I remember telling somebody a couple weeks ago http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-delino-deshields-jersey , dWAR, I don’t even know if that refers to a pitcher or hitter,” Walker said. “I’m kind of clueless on all those things.”One thing he’s hoping eventually changes: having Coors Field held against him. Walker was a lifetime .381 batter with 154 homers inside the hitter-friendly park.“I took advantage of Coors Field as good as I possibly could and I’m glad I did it,” Walker said. “I’m not sad about it one bit.”Another Coors Field case study: Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who received 16.5 percent in his first year on the ballot. Helton played 17 seasons with the Rockies and finished with a .316 lifetime average.“Todd was an amazing player,” Walker said. “Unfortunately, if I’m falling into the Coors Field bias, then Todd falls into it more, because he spent his whole career there.”Should Walker fail to get in next year, there’s always the Today’s Game Era committee, which voted in reliever Lee Smith and outfielder/DH Harold Baines.“I have some things that are Hall of Fame worthy, and I have some things that aren’t,” Walker said. “I’ve heard them all. I’ve seen them all. I’ve read them all. I’m good with both sides of the fence of it.”