OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Boston Red Sox will be looking to gain ground on the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East when they begin a nine-game trip against one of the ALs weakest teams, the Oakland Athletics, on Friday night.Boston (74-59) begins the trip two games back of the Blue Jays (76-57) in the East.The Red Sox end the trip with three in Toronto. But before then, they get an opportunity to fatten up their record against the last-place team in the AL West (the As) and the last-place team in the National League West (the San Diego Padres).Red Sox ace David Price will begin and is expected to end that six-game stretch.Price has gone 3-2 with a 3.21 ERA in eight career starts against the As. Hes never faced the Padres.When the left-hander takes the mound for the bottom of the first Friday, he could have a new third baseman over his right shoulder.Prize prospect Yoan Moncada was among the players the Red Sox added when rosters were expanded to 40 players Thursday.Our teams that have had success have always had an injection of young players during the season that have helped carry the team to the postseason, Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters Wednesday. I think Yoan would be in that similar category.Bostons only trip to Oakland and San Diego, of course, means each teams fan base will get an opportunity to say good-bye to retiring slugger David Ortiz.The fan favorite has never given Red Sox followers in the San Francisco Bay Area much to cheer about.His .271 career average versus the As is his second-lowest among all opponents against which hes played 100 or more games. Only Baltimore (.268) has limited him to a lower average.And his 23 home runs against Oakland is his second-fewest (100 or more games). Only Kansas City (21) has held him to fewer.Ortiz will take his cracks in this series against three of the As young starters -- Andrew Triggs, Zach Neal and Kendall Graveman. Hes faced them only five times in his career, going hitless (0-for-3) with two walks.Ortiz has never homered against any of Oaklands current pitchers, going 4-for-18 (.222).Triggs recorded his first career win in his last outing, Sunday at St. Louis. He struck out eight Cardinals in six innings, allowing three runs on four hits in the 7-4 win.His previous start was even better. He shut out the Cleveland Indians over six innings, striking out six, but didnt get a decision in what turned out to be a 1-0 loss.The win over the Cardinals came within driving distance of his hometown of Nashville, Tenn., so he was able to celebrate the big day with family and friends.To pitch as well as he has, and work himself into the rotation, As manager Bob Melvin said after the game, its very rewarding to get him a win.The As will be playing their 10th consecutive game against playoff contenders Friday. Theyve gone a respectable 4-5 in the first nine, winning series against the Cardinals and Indians. Wholesale Authentic Jordans . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Wholesale Jordans Free Shipping . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. http://www.clearancejordans.com/ . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Wholesale Jordans Paypal .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Cheap Air Jordan .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Carl Edwards, who won the pole at Watkins Glen International, has become somewhat of a master at qualifying on NASCARs two Sprint Cup road courses.Edwards turned a fast lap of 126.562 mph on Saturday to edge Kyle Larson for the top spot for Sundays Cheez-It 355. It was the fourth pole of the season for Edwards in his No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and gave him a road course season sweep. He also won the pole in June at NASCARs other road course in Sonoma.Not bad for a driver who backed into a fence on the first lap he took at Watkins Glen and ignited a brush fire at Virginia International Raceway while practicing there.Im really proud of doing well just because it really has been a long learning process, Edwards said. Now weve just got to get a win here.Hes in the right spot. The last five winners at Watkins Glen came from the top six in qualifying.Five-time Watkins Glen winner Tony Stewart, whos retiring after the season, qualified third in the final road race of his career, followed by Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch.Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, AJ Allmendinger, Jamie McMurray, Michael McDowell and Brad Keselowski completed the top 12.Martin Truex Jr., who had topped the speed charts in Fridays first practice and was second to Allmendinger in final practice, wound up 14th after problems with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Jeff Gordon, subbing again for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., qualified 21st.Truex and Stenhouse took turns impeding one anothers progress on the track during the first round of qualifying, and that ended up taking two of the fastest cars in practice out of the running for the pole.Stenhouse made the initial mistake and Truex simply exacted revenge.I dont know what the right thiing is to do, Truex said.dddddddddddd When you get to this level, you should be able to know whats going on around you. Its a little frustrating. He was just leaving the pits. It was not like he was on his lap. He should have seen me and just checked up.Edwards said that can be a problem on both road courses.We work hard to try not to mess up other people, Edwards said. Here its really easy to mess somebody up. Its even easier to act like you didnt mean to.Also failing to make the top 12 were Jimmie Johnson (13th), Kevin Harvick (15th), rookie Chase Elliott (16th) and Kurt Busch (17th).Rookie Chris Buescher, the surprise winner on Monday at Pocono, will start 25th as he seeks to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He needs to be in the top 30 in points and sits 31st, six points behind David Ragan, who will start alongside Buescher in the 13th row.Teams used different strategies, with Truex among several drivers waiting for the track to gain grip on the newly paved Watkins Glen surface after an overnight rain. The first round was briefly red-flagged for debris after Paul Menard went off course in the inner loop, or bus stop, at the top of the esses with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first session.Larson was fastest in the final round until Edwards knocked him down a rung. He couldnt gain any speed on one final try around the 2.45-mile course.I messed up about every corner, Larson said. I finally got some grip late in practice. The new repave is pretty slick for me. I tried the last time. Probably should have bailed.---Follow Kekis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greek1947 ' ' '