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OAKLAND, Calif. -- As mid-July statements go, the Oakland Athletics delivered a powerful message to the Baltimore Orioles. Sonny Gray struck out eight to win his fifth consecutive decision, and the major-league best As pounded the Orioles 10-2 on Sunday in the final regular-season meeting between the AL division leaders. "I guess it says good things about it," said As catcher John Jaso, who tripled, singled and had two RBIs. "If we face them down the line, we face them down the line. But its not something that we think about." The As (61-37) overpowered the AL East-leading Orioles (53-44) to take two of three at the Coliseum and finish 4-2 against Baltimore this year. Oakland had 15 hits and chased starter Kevin Gausman (4-3) in the fifth before beating up Baltimores bullpen the rest of the way. Grey (11-3) gave up two runs, one earned, two hits and two walks in 6 2-3 innings. The 24-year-old right-hander hasnt lost since June 13 at the New York Yankees. "As the game kind of went on and we were able to put some runs together, it was really big because then I could just take a deep breath and really start attacking the guys, and throwing my stuff up there and have them put it in play," Gray said. Oaklands offence started fast and got contributions from all over. Stephen Vogt had three hits and drove in a run. Josh Donaldson had two singles and two RBIs. Craig Gentry singled twice and had two RBIs. Eric Sogard singled twice and drove in a run after starting the day in a 4-for-35 slump. Two-time reigning Home Run Derby champion Yoenis Cespedes singled and doubled for his first extra-base hit since June 25. "They pick their spots to ambush. They took a lot of good pitches," said Gausman, who gave up five runs and nine hits in four-plus innings. He didnt get much relief, either. T.J. McFarland allowed two runs -- one earned -- in the fifth, and Ryan Webb was charged with three runs in two-thirds of an inning. The Orioles never got going against Gray and managed just three hits. J.J. Hardys RBI double in the fifth was Baltimores first hit. Nelson Cruz also reached on a throwing error by shortstop Jed Lowrie -- one of three throwing errors by As infielders -- in the seventh before Manny Machados RBI single ended Grays afternoon. But Gray and the As got the win with the same deep and consistent effort theyve received across the lineup most of the season. Coco Crisp singled leading off the first and scored on Jasos triple. Jaso crossed the plate after a wild pitch by Gausman to give the As a 2-0 lead. Oakland added another run on a weird blunder by Baltimore in the third, when centre fielder Adam Jones -- and several Orioles players -- started trotting to the dugout after he caught Donaldsons fly for the second out. Cespedes jogged home from third, and Jones stopped and dropped his shoulders after realizing his mistake. Donaldson said he even questioned whether the scoreboard was correct when Jones began his trot to the dugout. Both managers said they were surprised, too. No matter. Jaso singled to drive in another run in the fourth that extended Oaklands lead to 4-0. The As added three runs in the fifth, getting help from a throwing error by Machado -- who continued to get booed for his bat-throwing incident against Oakland in Baltimore last month -- at third base, and scored three more in the sixth. Eric OFlaherty tossed 1 1-3 scoreless innings and Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect ninth as the As closed out the Orioles. NOTES: Josh Reddick (strained right knee) could return from his rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Sacramento when Oakland opens a three-game series against Houston on Tuesday. ... Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, on the disabled list with a sprained right ankle, threw a bullpen session and will continue to work his way back before making a rehab start in the minors. ... Bud Norris (7-6, 3.96 ERA) starts for the Orioles in Mondays series opener at the Los Angeles Angels, who will send Matt Shoemaker (7-2, 4.38 ERA) to the mound. Deebo Samuel 49ers Jersey . Some will say that Martin is too sensitive while others will say that it is part of the way football is in the locker room. But to have to absorb what was said to him for any rational and intelligent person is too much. Nick Bosa Jersey .28 for a combined time of 1:14.70, also an Olympic record. Lee won the gold medal, defending her title from the Vancouver Games. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Youth-mitch-wishnowsky-49ers-jersey/ . Gaborik was acquired in a trade with Columbus on Wednesday and skated on the top line with centre Anze Kopitar and right-winger Justin Williams. "We created some things," said Gaborik, who logged 16:38 of ice time. Tom Rathman Youth Jersey . In this weeks Leaf Report podcast, James Mirtle and Jonas Siegel debate whether Toronto can continue their shootout dominance and discuss what Dave Nonis game plan should be heading into the trade deadline. Jalen Hurd 49ers Jersey . Dr. James Andrews is to operate next week on the 24-year-old pitcher, who made the AL All-Star team last year. Moore will be the first Rays pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery since Jason Isringhausen in June 2009.The voting results for the Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced on January 8 in the new year. Unlike last year when nobody got in, there have been estimates of as many as five getting voted in this time around and as few as one, Greg Maddux. Going over the list of players already in Cooperstown, I found it interesting that four went by the nickname "Kid" or "The Kid". They would be former Expos and Mets star Gary Carter, the Brewers Robin Yount, the immortal Red Sox legend Ted Williams and one you may not be as familiar with, Charles "Kid" Nichols. "Kid" Nichols began his career in the Majors in 1890 and was through in 1906. But the numbers he put up were truly remarkable. Starting in 1890, with the Boston Beaneaters in the National League he went 27-19 with a 2.23 ERA. In seven of the next eight seasons he won 30 or more games. He finished his career with 361 victories against 208 losses and a 2.96 ERA. Not only that he started 562 games over his career and finished 532. In other words he pitched complete games in about 95 per cent of his outings. Granted it was a different era. In his first three seasons, 1890-92, the distance from the pitching mound to home plate was only 50 feet. Nevertheless Nichols was the main reason the Beaneaters won three consecutive pennants. After that though the mound was pushed back to its current distance of 60 6" but Nichols remained every bit as dominant. The funny thing is Nicholls wasnt physically imposing. It has been estimated he only weighed about 138 pounds when he broke in with Boston and looked like a teenager, hence the nickname "Kid". "Kid" Nichols threw straight over the top and threw few if any breaking pitches. He and others have credited this for his durability and good fortune in avoiding injuries. He had impeccable control, and an uncanny ability to change speeds on his fastball. Nichols was almost lost in the annals of baseball history and didnt get into the Hall of Fame until 1949 when he was selected by the Veterans Committee. One of the loudest voices in getting him elected was a charter member of the Hall of Fame was none other than Ty Cobb. The most amazing fact about "Kid Nichols" is that he won his 300th game when he was only 30 years old. Again, there is a bit of a caveat. During his career teams usually only carried five pitchers at most and depending on circumstance you could be pitching every second or third daay.dddddddddddd Still the numbers he put up and the career he had was amazing. Heres the thing Im wondering about. Its "Kid" Nichols Canadian connection. Baseball Reference.com claims he went to secondary school at Queen Elizabeth High School in Surrey, BC. If you click on the school name, Nichols name comes up along with another former Major Leaguer who attended the same school, Kevin Nicholson. Nichols was an American born in Wisconsin, who spent part of his youth in Kansas City. I can find no mention of how he wound up in a Canadian high school. Interesting to say the least. I also wanted to mention another "Kid" who is not in the Hall of Fame. You might remember the name "Kid" Gleason. He was the manager of the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox, of the "Black Sox" scandal infamy. Gleason played no part in throwing the series to the Cincinnati Reds, in fact he called out some of his own players for tanking after they played a brutal first game of the World Series. Well before that series, Gleason was a decent player in his own right. In 1890 for instance, he pitched 506 innings and completed 54 of the 55 games he started. Gleason was also a decent position player over part of his career in addition to being a manager. It was said he was every bit the fiery competitor Cobb was, if not more so. Bringing Back Banks It seems only fitting, when Disney is releasing the movie "Saving Mr. Banks" about the making of the "Mary Poppins" movie, the Blue Jays should be shooting out a lifeline to a Mr. Banks of their own. Theyve signed right-hander Josh Banks, a pitcher they originally drafted in the second round in 2003 to a minor league deal. Banks only pitched in three games for the Jays back in 2007, then bounced from San Diego to Houston and finally to the minor league systems of the Giants and Orioles. He was actually released by the Os on March 31, 2012. So why is he back? Well back in the day Banks could throw eight pitches including a knuckleball. Now at age 31 he has re-invented himself as a knuckleballer. The Jays are hoping theyve caught "Lightning in a Bottle" on this one. Altogether now, the Jays have three knuckleballers in their organization, R.A. Dickey, Tomo Ohka who is coming back as a knuckler at age 37, and now Josh Banks. If Banks makes it after three years out of the Majors maybe Disney will come calling about another movie. ' ' '