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PITTSBURGH -- Dan Straily knew before he went to work on Tuesday night his next start wouldnt be in the majors. The All-Star break and a quirk in the Oakland Athletics schedule means the AL West leaders wont need a fifth starter for a couple of weeks. Before hopping a plane for Triple-A Sacramento, the rookie right-hander left a little something to remember him by. Straily (6-2) allowed two hits over 6 1-3 innings, striking out seven and walking three to win his fifth straight decision. "I could have thrown a perfect game and I was going to get optioned out," Straily said. "Its nothing personal. Its the situation were in. It is what it is." The As called up right-hander Sonny Gray to take Strailys spot, hoping the 2011 first-round draft pick can get some work out of the bullpen over the next couple of weeks. That apparently wasnt an option for Straily. Oakland manager Bob Melvin called having someone at the back end of the rotation with Strailys talent a "luxury," one the team can apparently live without until later in the month. "Thats the life of a fifth starter," Melvin said. Even if Straily isnt exactly pitching like one at the moment for the As, who have won 10 of 13. He tossed seven shutout innings in a victory over the Chicago Cubs in his previous start, then backed it up by silencing the quickly cooling Pirates. Straily credited a much-improved curveball for keeping the Pirates off balance. "(Pitching coach) Curt (Young) said in passing in my last bullpen that he thought my curve was good and that I should use it more in games," Straily said. "Its something Ive worked on a lot and youre always trying to get better, but last year I put the curve on the shelf because I was working on the changeup so much." Straily threw just one changeup against the Pirates, and Pedro Alvarez sent it 448 feet to centre in the second for Pittsburghs lone run. "I didnt throw another one after that, so the curveball gave me a third option," Straily said. Grant Balfour worked the ninth to remain perfect in 24 save chances this season. Brandon Moss slammed a two-run homer in the fourth off Gerrit Cole (4-2) to supply all the offence Oakland required. Moss spent parts of three seasons with the Pirates between 2008-10, with Pittsburgh hoping his raw left-handed power would help him pound balls off -- or over -- the Clemente Wall in right field. It never really happened. Moss hit all of 13 homers in 195 games for the Pirates before eventually making his way to Oakland, where hes become a key cog in one of baseballs biggest surprises. Moss provided a glimpse of what could have been in Pittsburgh in the fourth when Cole wobbled for the briefest of moments. The right-hander had retired nine straight when John Jaso doubled with two outs. Moss followed with his 16th home run of the season, though he hardly viewed it as some sort of revenge. "I had a lot of opportunities here and I didnt do anything with them," Moss said. "Its my fault that Im not here anymore." Pittsburgh had hoped to break loose against Straily, who has struggled starting on four days rest during his brief major league career. Straily came in 0-3 with a 7.16 ERA when not given at least five days between starts. Yet he had no issues dealing with Pittsburghs suddenly punchless offence. The Pirates have scored just six runs during a 2-6 slump that has dropped them behind first-place St. Louis in the heated NL Central race. Alvarez provided Pittsburghs lone run with his drive to the bushes in centre leading off the second. The home run made him the third player in team history to reach 23 homers before the All-Star break, joining Ralph Kiner and Willie Stargell. The Pirates didnt get a runner to third base over the final six innings. Their best chance to tie the game came in the seventh when Alvarez led off with a walk and moved to second on Russell Martins sacrifice bunt. Oakland reliever Sean Doolittle replaced Straily and struck out pinch-hitter Gaby Sanchez before getting Jordy Mercer to pop up to first. Jose Tabata led off the ninth with a single off Balfour, but Andrew McCutchen and Alvarez struck out before Martin grounded out meekly to first as Balfour extended his club record for consecutive save chances converted to 42, dating to last season. NOTES: The start of the game was pushed back due to the potential of inclement weather. While lightning flashed several times during the 1:42 delay, it never actually rained. ... Oakland LF Yoenis Cespedes was selected to the American League team for the Home Run Derby next Monday night in New York. Cespedes, who has 15 home runs this season, is the first As player to be chosen for the Home Run Derby since Jason Giambi in 2001. ... McCutchen went 0 for 3, ending his 10-game hitting streak. ... The series wraps up Wednesday when Pittsburgh LHP Francisco Liriano (8-3, 2.20 ERA) faces Oakland LHP Tommy Milone (8-7, 4.11). ... Hall of Fame golfer Arnold Palmer, who grew up in Latrobe, about 45 minutes east of Pittsburgh, was in attendance. Cheap Athletics Jerseys Authentic . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Rollie Fingers Jersey .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. http://www.cheapathleticsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-dennis-eckersley-jersey . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Cheap Catfish Hunter Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Nate Kratch scored 19 points with 8-for-11 shooting to lead Santa Clara to a 75-50 win over Division II Cal State East Bay on Saturday.Matt Hauser added 15 points and Jared Brownridge scored 11 with six assists for Santa Clara (4-6), which shot 50 percent from the field.Santa Clara got a jumper from Hauser with 4:45 left in the opening half to spark a 12-3 run that gave the Broncos a 38-28 advantage at the break. Brownridgge sank a 3-pointer to open the second half and Santa Clara steadily pulled away.dddddddddddd Fourteen Santa Clara players saw action over the final 20 minutes.Cal State East Bay took a 20-10 lead on Pierre Carters jumper. Micah Dunhour poured in four 3-pointers and led the Pioneers with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting. ' ' '