SEATTLE - After losing five games in a row, the Oakland Athletics were ready for something to go right. So when Josh Donaldson gave the As an early lead with a solo home run in the second inning, his teammates got a confidence boost. "It was nice," Donaldson said. "I could tell on the bench a little bit, everybody could just -- there was a little sigh of relief. We got a lead, and lets play the game the way we know how." A couple more homers by Daric Barton and Brandon Moss helped Oakland add to the lead, just enough to hold off the Seattle Mariners late comeback attempts as the Athletics earned 4-3 win Saturday night. Jarrod Parker (2-5) did his part on the mound, holding the Mariners hitless until Kelly Shoppachs two-out, two-run homer on a 3-2 pitch in the fifth inning. Parker left in the seventh after giving up another two hits and a run. From there, the Mariners made several pushes for a comeback but came up short, stranding runners in scoring position in each of the last three innings as the Athletics bullpen kept pitching out of jams. "Thats something they do," Parker said. "Theyre a confident bunch of guys. For them to get themselves in a little bit of trouble, I dont think they fret. Nobody else does." Jed Lowrie had three hits and an RBI for Oakland, which ended its season-long losing streak. The Mariners were hoping starter Brandon Maurer (2-5) would benefit from 10 days rest -- his spot in the rotation was skipped after he gave up four runs in four innings against Baltimore on April 30 -- but the rookie had another tough outing, allowing three runs on six hits in five innings. "It took a while to settle in there, so I was rushing quite a bit at the beginning," Mauer said. Donaldson opened the scoring in the second, hitting his fifth homer into the visitors bullpen in left field. The Mariners barely escaped falling behind further after Maurer walked Derek Norris and Eric Sogard -- the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters -- on eight straight pitches. Second baseman Dustin Ackley ranged to his left and made a diving stop of John Jasos grounder in the hole to end the inning. Barton added his first homer of the year in the fourth inning to make the score 2-0, and the Athletics added another run in the fifth as Seth Smith doubled and scored on Lowries RBI single. "When you score early, its always huge," Barton said. "Especially right now with the funk we were in." The Mariners offence couldnt muster more than a few walks until their half of the fifth, when Shoppach hit his second homer of the season to right field with two outs and a man on. Moss hit his solo homer in the sixth to push Oaklands lead to 4-2. The Mariners mounted several comeback efforts in the late innings. Justin Smoak and Raul Ibanez hit back-to-back one-out singles off Parker in the seventh, who was relieved by Sean Doolittle. Ackley then followed with another single to score Smoak before Doolittle got out of the jam. The 6 1-3 innings tied Parkers longest outing this season. "We want to get him on a roll," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "One good starts one thing, but wed like to see him get on a roll. And certainly, with losing a few games in a row, it was a performance we needed out of him." Reliever Ryan Cook came on in the eighth and gave up two singles and a walk, loading the bases with two outs. Endy Chavez, who had come on as a pinch runner for Ibanez in the seventh, struck out to end the rally -- Cooks third strikeout of the inning. Grant Balfour pitched the ninth for his sixth save in six chances. The Mariners did have men on second and first with two outs, but Balfour got Kyle Seager to ground out for the final out. "Its a good feeling to win," Balfour said. "I just thought it was an all-around great game tonight." NOTES: Oakland OF Chris Young(strained left quadriceps) will start a rehab assignment Monday at extended spring training in Arizona, and manager Bob Melvin said he hopes Young will be activated from the DL on Wednesday. ... Ibanez started in LF for Seattle for the second straight game. Manager Eric Wedge said hes trying to help the veteran get comfortable at the plate, although Jason Bay will likely start Sunday. Ibanez was 1 for 3. ... The Mariners are now 1-12 when their starting pitcher doesnt complete the sixth inning and 0-17 when trailing after seven innings. Chicago Bears Jerseys China . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. John Wirtel Jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. http://www.cheapbearsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-matt-betts-jersey . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. Cheap Bears Jerseys .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Kyle Fuller Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Laurie Hernandez keeps insisting shes too young to know better. That shes so new to this whole Olympics thing, she doesnt know shes supposed to be scared.You just kind of have to act naive to it, the 16-year-old said with a shrug. Its just another meet. The arena is just a little bigger than usual.The stakes, too. Yet the youngest member of the powerhouse U.S. Olympic womens gymnastics team hardly seems intimidated. Hernandez is too busy putting on a show, her effortless charisma and dare you to look away performance during last weeks Olympic trials erased whatever doubt remained in national team coordinator Martha Karolyis mind about Hernandezs ability to handle the big stage.If anything, Hernandez is trying to own it. Ask her what she considers her biggest talent and she doesnt point to any particular physical attribute but something decidedly more abstract.Im confident, she said. Im a crowd pleaser.It shows, particularly when Hernandezs floor music starts. What follows is 90 seconds of attitude and athleticism. Hernandez doesnt dance so much as strut, every move joined by an electric smile that doesnt seem plastered in place but an organic byproduct of the joy shes feeling. Shes having a good time out there. And she wants you to notice.Hernandez describes her gymnastics as sassy but thats underplaying it. Her tumbling is on par with anyone on the planet not named Simone Biles -- the three-time world champion who is the heavy favorite to come back from Rio with a luggage full of gold medals -- and her steady, detailed work on balance beam the result of thousands of hours spent with longtime coach Maggie Haney trying to get over a small bit of stage fright.No, really.Hernandez admits there was a time early on she was scared of the beam. When she hopped on shed settle into a squat because she couldnt summon the courage to stand. Haney didnt baby Hernandez to get her going. If anything, Haney went the other way, putting Hernandez through countless pressure sets designed to force Hernandez into a choice: get mentally tough or find something else to do with your free time.Sometimes Haney would play Hernandez and teammate Jazmyn Foberg against each other, the difficulty of Fobergs next routine based on the quality of Hernandezs. The worst for Hernandez, however, is when Haney would tell all the kids in the gym to stop working and gather around the beam, while her star student tried to hold it together in the stillness.I was like, `Why are you doing this to me? Its so annoying, youre really really making me anxious, said Hernandez, who easily posted the top score on beam at the trials. But then I look back and I can only thank her for that because its made me so calm today.A place that slowly came into focus over the last four years as Hernandez learned to harness her considerable talents.dddddddddddd She rose from 21st in junior nationals in 2012 to junior champion last summer despite wrist and knee injuries that sidelined her for most of 2014. When a knee sprain threatened to derail Hernandezs momentum this year, Haney offered a very brief, very pointed pep talk.I looked at her, `It is time. Now, Haney said. She snapped and went into kind of crazy ... mode. Every practice, every time on the floor was important to her.The eye-opener came at the Pacific Rim Championships in April, when she came in third behind Biles and three-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman. It wasnt just the praise from Karolyi that she noticed -- it was the way people seemed to respond to her.You hear cheering and clapping and youre thinking `I dont even know these people, she said. It brings a lot of energy, a lot of positive energy.Energy that practically radiates off Hernandez, the youngest of Wanda and Marcus Hernandezs three children. A second-generation Puerto Rican, Hernandez is proud of her heritage and aware shes suddenly become a role model, even if she doesnt quite consider herself one.I think people are people, she said. If you want something, go get it. I dont think it matters what race you are.Hernandez considers herself a gymnast above all else. Sure that smile makes it look easy, but its also hard earned from years and years of falling and picking herself back up. Dont let her playful demeanor fool you; she may be the bubbliest workaholic around. Shes home-schooled and spends most days working out with Haney at one of the two gyms near her home in Old Bridge, New Jersey, about an hour south of New York City. Pressed if she has friends outside the gym, she laughs and says not really.Thats changing by the day. Biles considers her a little sister. Twitter verified her account ((at)lzhernandez02) after the trials. The mayor of Old Bridge threw a party for her this week. Everyone is looking to come up with a good nickname. The leaders are The Human Emoji and Baby Shakira. She cant help but laugh at the idea while simultaneously trying not to get ahead of herself.As for college, she has verbally committed to competing at Florida whenever shes out of high school (she still has at least two years left). She down