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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Drew Pomeranz may have found his niche as a starting pitcher. Pomeranz won his third consecutive start since moving from the bullpen into the rotation, Coco Crisp drove in two runs before departing with an injury, and the surging Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 on Tuesday night. Pomeranz (4-1) allowed three hits, two walks and had three strikeouts over five innings. He has not given up a run in his three starts, all of which lasted five innings. "My three starts have been a great team effort," Pomeranz said. "We scored a lot of runs and the bullpen shut them down." Sean Doolittle, the third Oakland reliever, pitched the ninth for his third save and complete a four-hitter. After the game, Oakland manager Bob Melvin said there is a good chance Doolittle will take over the closers role. "Its pretty cool," Doolittle said. Doolittle did see his streak of 30 straight appearances without allowing a walk end when Ryan Hanigan drew one with two outs in the ninth. Former Baltimore closer Jim Johnson, acquired by Oakland from the Orioles in December, has allowed seven runs in 4 1-3 innings over his past six appearances. Crisp hit a two-run double and John Jaso had an RBI single off Jake Odorizzi (2-4) as Oakland took a 3-0 lead in the second. The AL West-leading Athletics have won 10 of 11, outscoring their opponents 74-18 over the stretch. "You dont do that by swinging at bad pitches," Odorizzi said. Crisp was replaced defensively by Craig Gentry in the bottom of the sixth because of neck soreness. He had started four straight games after missing seven with a neck strain. Melvin expects Crisp to sit out Wednesday nights game. Odorizzi gave up three runs, four hits, five walks and struck out eight in 4 2-3 innings. The Rays (19-27) are eight games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2007 season (66-96), which was their final season as the Devil Rays. "Never say it cant get any worse because whenever you utter those words, youre going to find it out," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "Im looking more for the turning point. You never know how close you are to turning negative momentum to positive." Pomeranz worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third by getting a double play grounder from Desmond Jennings on a 3-2 pitch. Jennings also hit into an inning-ending double play with two on in the eighth. "Those double pays are huge," Pomeranz said. Maddon challenged the very close out call on Jennings at first base in the third, which the umpires ruled would stand after a review that took 1 minute, 23 seconds. NOTES: Oakland SS Jed Lowrie, who left Sundays game at Cleveland in the second because of a strained neck, was out of the starting lineup. ... Rays RHP Alex Cobb (strained left oblique) will rejoin the rotation Thursday. ... Athletics 2B Eric Sogard, removed Sunday in the eighth after fouling a ball off his knee, played. ... Hanigan (sore right hamstring) was a defensive replacement in the ninth. ... Oakland RHP Ryan Cook (strained right forearm) has been cleared to resume playing catch. ... Athletics LHP Eric OFlaherty (elbow ligament replacement surgery) threw 30 pitches in batting practice and will next throw in a simulated game. ... Oakland C Derek Norris walked three times, including one on a 14-pitch at-bat in the fourth. ... Oakland LHP Tommy Milone (1-3) and Tampa Bay LHP Erik Bedard (2-1) are Wednesday nights scheduled starters. Connor McGovern Womens Jersey . - Nikita Jevpalovs scored 6:22 into the second overtime as the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada edged the visiting Rimouski Oceanic 2-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. Amari Cooper Womens Jersey . Lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Blake Comeau – The Penguins winger had a hat trick in a 4-3 overtime win against Toronto. http://www.cowboysfootballgearshop.com/bill-bates-jersey/ . -- With his team down 16 points in the second quarter and headed for another blowout loss at home, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson yelled out to his players to keep shooting and keep fighting on defence. Charles Haley Youth Jersey . - PGA Tour rookie Tony Finau shot a 9-under 63 at Del Monte and had a two-stroke lead over Billy Andrade and Lee Janzen of the Champions Tour after Thursdays opening round of the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational. Tony Romo Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- The St.BALTIMORE -- Left-handed reliever Troy Patton returned from his 25-game suspension Thursday, part of a roster shuffle by the Baltimore Orioles that included the activation of Manny Machado from the 15-day disabled list. Patton was placed on the restricted list testing positive for a banned amphetamine. Patton took Adderall, a drug commonly used to combat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, late in the 2013 season and then was given a random drug test. The suspension cost him $174,180 of his $1,275,000 salary. Patton went 2-0 with a 3.70 ERA in a career-high 56 appearances for the Orioles last year. He made four rehab appearances with Triple-A Norfolk. To make room for Patton, the Orioles sent reliever Josh Stinson outright to Norfolk. Machado hadnt played since left knee surgery on Oct. 14. The third baseman was not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against Pittsburgh on Thursday, but manager Buck Showalter said Machado would start in the nightcap. Machado was poised to return Tuesday, but rain postponed Baltimores game against the Pirates. The same thing happened Wednesday, creating the need for a single-admission doubleheader. "Manny wasnt going to play 18 innings first day back from rehab," Showalter said. "We could have waited to activate him, but we would use him in the first game if the right situation presented itself." The 21-year-oldd Machado takes the roster spot vacated by first baseman Chris Davis, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a strained left oblique.dddddddddddd Davis had a platelet rich plasma injection on Monday. "What they do is they draw your own blood and spin it, then they take the platelets and inject them back into your body," Davis said. "Its supposed to speed up the healing process and take the place of a cortisone shot." Davis believes the treatment was having the desired effect. "I had (the shot) on Monday. It was pretty painful," he said. "Tuesday I was sore and Wednesday I was sore. Today I feel better. Hopefully I am recovering and it will heal." Davis led the majors last year with 53 homers and 138 RBIs. Hes gotten off to a slow start this season -- he has only two home runs -- but hopes to return soon to add to the total. "I got off to my hottest start ever last year so there was a lot of excitement," he said. "I knew it was probably not going to happen again. But I felt like I was getting good at-bats and making things happen." Also Thursday, the Orioles optioned infielder Steve Lombardozzi to Norfolk to make room for first baseman Steve Pearce, who was signed to a major league contract Tuesday after being designated for assignment last week. Lombardozzi batted .292 in 19 games this season. ' ' '