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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sonny Gray still remembers the first time he faced the Pittsburgh Pirates as if it happened yesterday, not three seasons ago when he was a rookie.The Oakland As right-hander made his major league debut at PNC Park on July 10, 2013, and he pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen in a 5-0 loss to the Pirates. He struck out three and allowed one hit.Gray will face Pittsburgh again on Friday, only this time he will start for the As in the opener of a three-game interleague series at the Oakland Coliseum. He is bound to have flashbacks to his big league debut.Ive got pretty cool memories, small memories I guess with the Pirates, Gray said Thursday before the Athletics 12-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants. That was a fun day.In terms of wins and losses, this season hasnt been much fun for Gray, who is 3-6 with 5.03 ERA. He will take a five-game losing streak into his start Friday, and he hasnt had a victory since April 22 at Toronto.Since being reinstated from the disabled list on June 5 after missing two weeks with a strained right trapezius, Gray has pitched well but has nothing to show for it. He is 0-1 with a 3.23 ERA in his past five starts.I still feel good ever since coming off the DL, said Gray, who went 33-20 with a 2.88 ERA in his first three seasons with the As. I still think it was the right choice to make. I didnt necessarily have to go on the DL, but thats the route we decided to go. Looking back at it, I think it was still the right call.Gray and the As will face a red-hot Pirates pitcher, Jeff Locke. In his past two starts, the left-hander is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA, six strikeouts and zero walks. He outdueled Madison Bumgarner in a 1-0 victory against the Giants on June 20. Five days later, he pitched the Pirates to a 6-1 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Kenta Maeda.Before winning back-to-back games, Locke went 0-2 with an 18.69 ERA in losses to the Colorado Rockies and the New York Mets, who combined to hit .455 against him. Somehow, he was able to bounce back.The guys pitching, and hes confident out there, even going through that rough patch, those back-to-back games you wouldnt really wish on anybody at this level, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said after Lockes victory against the Dodgers. Hes handled it like a pro and just pitched through it.Locke (7-5, 5.12 ERA) said a key to his turnaround was to stop being a perfectionist.Trying to make better pitches instead of perfect pitches, Locke said. If its a fastball away, just get it away.Locke has faced the As one time, on June 13, 2013, at PNC Park. He is 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA against Oakland.The Pirates, who had an off day Thursday, have won four of their past six games. they snapped a six-game road losing streak Wednesday with an 8-1 victory against the Seattle Mariners.The As are 6-2 over their past eight games and have won back-to-back series, taking three of four from both the Los Angeles Angels and the Giants.Weve definitely been playing well as of the last 10 games or so, Gray said.The As scored 34 runs in the four-game series against the Giants.Nick Foles Womens Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Josh Oliver Womens Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/Quincy-williams-ii-jaguars-jersey/ . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Jawaan Taylor Jersey . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Ryquell Armstead Jaguars Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside.PHOENIX -- Paul George had some big numbers -- and shut down high-scoring Devin Booker.George had 25 points and 13 rebounds and the Indiana Pacers pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the struggling Phoenix Suns 109-94 on Wednesday night.George defended Booker and helped hold the second-year guard to 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Booker also committed four turnovers.Hes young and really good and has got a lot to learn playing with the physicality, George said about Booker. Tried to get him out of his spots, tried to get him uncomfortable. Thats what you have to do with guys that are so good with getting into a rhythm.Myles Turner added 20 points, and Jeff Teague had 19 points and a season-high 11 assists.Indiana had a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to open a 97-87 lead.We were able to get stops. We were able to get out in transition, George said. We did a great job of just getting good looks. Not any shot we took was bad, I thought.Eric Bledsoe led Phoenix with 15 points, and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Suns shot 40 percent from the field and made only 9 of 33 3-pointers. They have lost five of six.Indiana has won four of six. The Pacers havent won or lost more than two games in a row this season.We have a young group, Suns coach Earl Watson said. We have to set the tone and identity on how we want to play. From now on, moving forward, defensively aggressive is how we have to play.Rodney Stuckeys 12-foot turnaround with 17 seconds left in the third quarter gave Indiana its largest lead of the game to that point, five, at 82-77. But Jared Dudley hit a 3 at the quarter buzzer on the next possession to make at 82-80 to start the fourth.The Pacers led 23-22 at the end of the first quarter, which saw four lead changes, five ties and neither team leading by more than four points.The Suns struggled with their shooting for all but the final few minutes of the seecond quarter.dddddddddddd They led 53-49 at halftime thanks to a pair of 3s from Marquese Chriss and one from Booker. Turner and George had 12 first-half points each.The Pacers made 45 percent of their shots and the two teams combined to commit 39 turnovers.We made shots, we made plays when we needed to, Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. It was a grind game for us.TIP-INSPacers: McMillan, on his teams 36-point loss to Golden State on Monday night in which Klay Thompson scored 60 points: It wasnt a good film to watch. We talked about that, but we do have to move on. ... George missed a free throw in the second quarter, ending his streak at 31.Suns: Suns F P.J. Tucker spoke to the crowd, thanking military members and veterans moments before ceremonies commemorating the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Officers took the court with Suns players during starting lineup introductions. ... F T.J. Warren missed his ninth straight game due to a minor head injury.A COOL GRANDChandler played in his 1,000th game, the 122nd NBA player ever to reach that milestone. Twenty-seven players played one of their 1,000 games as a Sun, but only three hit No. 1,000 in a Phoenix uniform -- Chandler, Danny Ainge and Steve Nash.FREE THROW DIFFERENCEThe Pacers made 32 of 41 free throws, the Suns 17 of 18. That wasnt lost on Watson. I dont know how you compete in a game when free throws, the difference is that big of a gap, he said. Of course I am biased but I dont think every one of those fouls are fouls.LOB CONNECTIONChandler and Booker connected for a pair of crowd-pleasing alley-oop dunks, one in the first quarter and another in the second.UP NEXTPacers: At Dallas on Friday night in the finale of a five-game trip.Suns: At the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night, then home for the next three. ' ' '