Kaitlyn Fahrner and the VU left post.Coming out of the l

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Every time he found himself in trouble, Athletics pitcher A.J. Griffin tried to channel teammate Bartolo Colon. Having seen Oaklands lone All-Star selection keep his calm all season no matter the circumstances, Griffin simply followed suit. Even when he lost a chance at a complete game. Griffin and Grant Balfour combined on a seven-hitter for Griffins third straight victory and the As beat the Boston Red Sox 3-0 Saturday night. Griffin (8-6) wasnt crisp but still went eight scoreless innings to remain unbeaten in his last five starts. The Oakland right-hander pitched with runners on base in each of the first six innings and twice had to work out of two-on, two-out jams. "I just tried to act like number 40 in situations like that," said Griffin, who walked one and struck out three. "Just not show they have me in a situation or they have the upper hand. Thats something Ive learned a lot just watching Bartolo pitch." That was in stark contrast to Griffins previous start against the Red Sox, when he was shelled for nine runs (seven earned) over four innings on April 22. Hes come a long way since then, particularly since his last loss on June 15. Over Griffins last five starts, he is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA. "(He) really made some in-game adjustments, then the command was all of a sudden there," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "He was even lobbying for the ninth, but I wasnt going to have him throw 120-plus pitches." Griffin got help from the As defence. Rookie second baseman Grant Green turned an unassisted double play in the second inning after Jarrod Saltalamacchia walked, then shortstop Jed Lowrie made an impressive recovery and throw to get Dustin Pedroia in the eighth after initially bobbling the ball. Balfour pitched the ninth for his 25th save this season and 43rd consecutive save dating to 2012. The As sputtering offence managed only one extra-base hit off Boston starter Jon Lester (8-6) and one reliever, but made them hold up behind Griffins stellar outing. Since opening the season 6-0, Lester has gone 2-6 with a 6.27 ERA over his last 11 starts. "(Lester) just happened to pitch on the wrong day given how effective their guy was," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "We had a number of opportunities. Unfortunately we couldnt get anything going." Derek Norris homered and Yoenis Cespedes added an RBI single to help the division-leading As end a two-game losing streak and maintain their one-game lead over Texas in the West. Oakland reached 55 wins before the All-Star break for the first time since 1975. Shane Victorino singled twice for Boston, which had won four straight. Norris homered off Lester with two outs in the fifth. Cespedes, mired in a 6-for-37 slump, singled in Jed Lowrie in the sixth to make it 2-0. It was Cespedes first RBI this month. Lester beat the As on April 24 when he allowed three runs over 5 2-3 innings and looked sharp early. Bostons left-hander allowed only one runner to second until Norris homered, and faced just three over the minimum through five innings. Coco Crisps RBI single off reliever Junichi Tazawa in the seventh drove in Josh Reddick for the As final run. NOTES: Colon (12-3) will make his final start for Oakland in the series finale. Detroit manager Jim Leyland, who manages the AL, has said he wont use any pitcher who is used on Sunday. ... Reddick has reached base safely in 19 consecutive games. ... Newly acquired Red Sox LHP Matt Thornton arrived in Oakland before the game and was in uniform. ... Boston RHP Brandon Workman will make his first major league start on Sunday. ... The crowd of 36,067 marked the As ninth sellout of the season. ... Umpire CB Bucknor, who was hit in the side of his facemask by a pitch from Oaklands Jarrod Parker on Friday night, did not suffer a concussion but remains hospitalized for observation. Mike Muchlinski was brought in to replace Bucknor. Wholesale Adidas Shoes China . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Cheap Adidas Shoes China .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. http://www.discountadidasshoes.com/ . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Cheap Adidas Shoes USA . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Cheap Adidas Shoes . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Vanderbilt Commodores defeated Tennessee in a double overtime thriller, 3-2. In hostile territory, goals by Brooke Colangelo, Grace Jackson and Kaylann Boyd cemented the Dores 100th SEC win in school history and third overtime victory of the season.Vanderbilts game-winning goal came in the 102nd minute thanks to Boyd and claimed Vandys 290th all-time win. The victory extended the Commodores SEC winning streak to four games, improving to 8-4-0 overall and 4-1-0 in league competition.Vandy took two first half goals within the first 20 minutes of play for the decisive upper hand. Scrambling in front of the Tennessee goal box, Nia Dorsey laid off a pass to Boyd, who then found sophomore Brook Colanelgo in the goal box. The Fayetteville, Ga. native fired the ball into the right corner of the UT net for her first career goal.The Commodores extended the lead in the 18th minute off a little help by Tennessee goalkeeper Shae Yanez as the Vol keeper knocked down a beautiful cross by Lydia Simmons to the feet of Grace Jackson. Jackson earned her fifth goal of the year placing the ball perfectly in between Yanez and the post. Tennessee ended Vandys shutout streak in the 24th minute of play to make the score, 2-1. Over three games, the Commodores held opponents off the board for a total of 305 minutes.The Vols nearly knotted the match minutes later, however, SEC Defensive Player of the Week Cristina De Zeeuw came through with a team save. In front of ggoal, the junior Commodore stuck out her right foot just in time to reject the UT shot off a ricochet.ddddddddddddThe Volunteers knotted the competition in the 79th minute for the late equalizer off a set piece. Hannah Wilkinson found Rykie OKeefes serve in the goal box and snuck the ball between Kaitlyn Fahrner and the VU left post.Coming out of the locker room for the second half, the Vols immediately intensified pressure on the Commodore backline. Knocking on the door, the Vanderbilt defense continued to block and clear Tennessee attempts to force an overtime battle.Once into OT, Sydney ODonnell generated the Dores first shot since the first half in the first 34 seconds of play. Three minutes later and the Novi, Mich. native had another opportunity for the black and gold, which sailed just wide. As the clock expired, the Dores looked to carry momentum into the second OT period.That opportunity came in the 102nd minute as Tina De Zeeuw laid off the perfect serve up field to Boyd. The freshman took one touch to sail the ball over Yanez placing the ball straight in the back of the net for the Vanderbilt victory. VU now leads the series over Tennessee 11-9-4.Vanderbilt remains on the road for its next competition traveling to Fayetteville, Arkansas next weekend to take on the Razorbacks. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm CT on Oct. 6th. ' ' '