MINNEAPOLIS -- Jim Johnson struggled again. The Oakland Athletics picked up their new closer with a strong finish. Derek Norris hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning, and the As bounced back from another blown save by Johnson to beat the Minnesota Twins 7-4 on Wednesday. "When someone doesnt come through the next guy comes up and fills in for him. ... Its a nice chemistry we have here for that to happen," Norris said. Jared Burton (0-1) gave up the one-out drive by the backup catcher Norris, who went deep on Tuesday night, too. Dan Otero (1-0) got the last eight outs for the victory in relief of Johnson, who has given up seven runs, nine hits and six walks in five appearances with the As. Hes simply been falling behind in too many counts. "Whatever hes got to do to change that he will," Norris said, adding: "Hes going to go on a roll, and this isnt going to be a matter any longer I dont think." Minnesota trailed 4-0 after a rocky first inning by Phil Hughes, who needed 40 pitches to get his first out. Jason Kubel homered in the second and Brian Dozier went deep in the eighth. Johnson, who had 50 saves for Baltimore last season, gave up the third of four hits by Kubel to start the ninth. With the bases loaded and one out, Johnson nearly had Eduardo Escobar struck out, but a foul tip was ruled on his two-strike swing. Escobar then poked a single into to left field to cut Oaklands lead to 4-3. A one-hop throw to third baseman Josh Donaldson nearly forced out Kurt Suzuki, who was ruled safe, and a video review ruled the call stood -- meaning there was not "clear and convincing" evidence to overturn it. Donaldson said he closed his glove on the ball before Suzukis foot hit. But As manager Bob Melvin didnt waste time arguing, instead replacing Johnson with Otero. "I just had to go get him. I didnt feel great about it, but I had to do it. Keep working to get him right," Melvin said, declining to speculate on whether Johnsons closer job was in jeopardy. Dozier hit a sacrifice fly to right field, just deep enough for Suzuki to race home and sneak a hand onto the plate in front of the tag by Norris. Another umpire-initiated review confirmed the safe call, and the crowd of 22,973 cheered loudly when the video board provided the proof. There was more drama before Norris came up again. Glen Perkins struck out Donaldson to end the 10th inning, and the Twins closer shouted some obscenities and pointed at Donaldson, who gestured and "started to red line," as Donaldson put it afterward. Donaldsons path to Perkins was cut off by the Twins, and after the dugouts mostly emptied the tension de-escalated. Donaldson nearly homered during that at-bat, but the ball drifted foul. Perkins said he thought Donaldson was admiring his drive too long. "I dont feel like I disrespected him at all. Im up there trying to win a game for our team, and hes trying to win a game for his team. Juices are flowing," Donaldson said. Said Perkins: "There were things that happened in that at-bat that we both could have done differently. So well leave it at that." Donaldson hit an RBI double after Hughes walked the first two batters of the game. Brandon Moss tacked on a two-run single, and Alberto Callaspo added an RBI single. None of the hits were particularly hard, but the damage was done. Hughes walked three and struck out three in five innings, with five hits surrendered. Twins starters have one win in eight turns, with a collective 6.43 ERA. Oakland starter Jesse Chavez pitched seven smooth innings with no walks and nine strikeouts. As starters have allowed three runs or fewer in each of their first eight games, for a 2.02 ERA. NOTES: The As held CF Coco Crisp out again following a cortisone shot he had in his left wrist and likely will do so again on Thursday. ... The Twins honoured Gardenhire before the game for his 1,000th career victory by giving him a hand-crafted humidor filled with, yep, 1,000 cigars. ... Oakland has eight straight wins over Minnesota, all with at least seven runs. ... The As will send RHP Dan Straily (0-1, 4.50 ERA) to the mound for the series finale, and RHP Mike Pelfrey (0-1, 5.06 ERA) is set to pitch for the Twins. Carlos Gomez Jersey .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Rob Refsnyder Jersey . Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process. http://www.officialraysgearshop.com/Rays-Jonny-Venters-Kids-Jersey/ . Noah finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score. Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for Chicago, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers, Carlos Boozer added 18 points, D. Steven Souza Jersey . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. Matt Duffy Jersey . -- Crystal Webster avoided elimination at the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Olympic pre-trial curling tournament with an 8-5 win over Amber Holland on Thursday.DETROIT -- Chris Sale figures his arm injury could have been a lot worse. The Chicago White Sox believe Sale has a strained muscle in his throwing arm, and the ace left-hander was officially put on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. There does not appear to be any ligament damage. "Yesterday was as good a news as we could have possibly gotten," Sale said Tuesday. "I think just with kind of the way spring training and the year has unfolded for a lot of pitchers, maybe I (was) a little bit more nervous, just because you dont know." Matt Moore, Kris Medlen, Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez are among the pitchers who have been dealing with significant elbow problems this year, and Sale doesnt appear to be joining that hard-luck group after undergoing an MRI. "First words out of the doctors mouth was, The UCL looks excellent," Sale said. "I heard UCL was excellent, and I walked out. Its about all I needed to hear." Sale said this is similar to an issue he dealt with in 2012, and he "absolutely" expects to be back once hes eligible to come off the DL. The move is retroactive to last Friday. The White Sox recalled left-hander Charlie Leesman from Triple-A Charlotte to start in Sales place against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. Chicago also assigned right-hander Frank Francisco tto Charlotte after a stint at extended spring training.dddddddddddd He signed a minor league deal April 14. The White Sox have already been dealing with their share of injuries this year. Outfielder Adam Eaton is day to day with a left hamstring strain, and infielder Conor Gillaspie was out of the starting lineup Tuesday with what he described as a minor issue with his left hand. Second baseman Gordon Beckham is out with a strained left oblique, reliever Nate Jones has a strained left hip, and outfielder Avisail Garcia was lost for the season with a torn labrum. So the White Sox can deal with Sales injury if its a relatively minor one. "Youre always concerned when somebody says theyre feeling something different than they normally do," manager Robin Ventura said. "Theres just a relief thats there, and you can tell by the way hes walking around today and talking, he feels pretty good." The 25-year-old Sale is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA on the season. He threw 127 pitches in a loss to Boston on Thursday, but he wasnt about to put too much blame on that for his injury. "Obviously, this early in the season, it could have something to do with it, but I dont put too much emphasis on pitch count," Sale said. "Whos to say if Id have thrown 18 less pitches that it would have been any better?" 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