OAKLAND, Calif. -- Derek Norris asks for pinch hitting advice from Oakland hitting coach Chili Davis and other veterans who have played in the NL. That assistance paid off on Saturday as Norris had a pinch-hit two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning in the Athletics 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. "It does take a little different mindset," Norris said after getting his first career pinch hit in 17 at-bats. "Its not an easy thing to do. Relievers are so good these days you want to be aggressive and look for something early in the count." Jed Lowrie also drove in a run for the As, who won their second straight and five of seven overall. Coco Crisp added two hits. "Thats just the way we play baseball," Norris said. "Theres no one guy like a (Miguel) Cabrera or a Chris Davis. We have a group of guys who can put together things." Tommy Milone (9-8) allowed four hits over seven innings, allowing one run. He walked four and struck out six. "I felt good, minus the four walks," Milone said. "Id like to think thats not the type of pitcher I am. Fortunately none of them scored. It was nice to get through." Josh Hamilton hit a booming home run for the Angels, who lost their second straight and five of seven overall. Grant Richards, making his first start since April 30, pitched five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out four. "I was just going to go out there and try not to overthrow," Richards said. "Strike one was a big priority for me." Ryan Cook pitched the eighth and Grant Balfour got the final three outs for his 28th save in 29 chances. Richards, who came out of the bullpen in his past 26 appearances, gave up seven runs in 5 2-3 innings in his last start, also against the As. "It started off a little fuzzy, with him trying to find his release point," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Once he did, he pitched a strong game." Scott Downs (2-3) entered the game in the seventh after Dane De La Rosa got Chris Young to hit into a fielders choice. The As countered with Norris, who promptly delivered his first career pinch hit, a two-run shot into right field bleachers that put the As ahead. "Not by any means do I have it figured out," Norris said. "Today it worked." Downs allowed his first run in 30 appearances, one short of tying the Angels club record. "I cant remember the last time Downs gave up a home run," Scioscia said. "You like the matchup with his sinker and hopefully he can get the double play ball." After getting an out, Crisp singled and scored when Lowrie doubled off the right field wall, ending Downs day. Hamiltons home run with one out in the second put the Angels ahead 1-0. Milone allowed three runs or more (5.79 ERA) in each of his six previous starts. The four hits matched his season low. "He gives up a home run right away and then he hangs in there," As manager Bob Melvin said. "The next thing you know, he gives us seven innings. We needed him to go seven based on our offence." NOTES: Angels DH Albert Pujols returned to Los Angeles to have his sore left foot evaluated. He aggravated the injury running out a single in the ninth inning of Fridays game. ... RHP Tommy Hansen (4-2, 4.75) starts Sundays series finale for the Angels. It will be his second start since returning from the DL. Hansen is 2-0 in three road starts. ... RHP Jarrod Parker (6-6, 3.79) makes the start for the Athletics on Sunday. Hes 4-0 with a 2.17 ERA over his past 10 starts. He has a no-decision in each of his past five starts. ... As LHP Brett Anderson threw a 51-pitch bullpen session, with a break in the middle. ... The Angels had won the past 14 games in which Hamilton recorded an RBI. ... The As and Angels participated in a Throwback Day to 1969, which included Country Joe McDonald, of Woodstock fame, singing the national anthem.Mark Teixeira Yankees Jersey . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Breyvic Valera Jersey .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. https://www.cheapyankees.com/1531g-adonis-rosa-jersey-yankees.html . LOUIS -- St. Greg Bird Yankees Jersey . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. Johnny Damon Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.NEW YORK -- Some run in memory of a lost loved one. Others are motivated by a milestone birthday. Theres a story behind every one of the 50,000-plus runners in Sundays New York City Marathon; here are a few of them.---Rudy will be running.Actor Sean Astin will take part in his first New York City Marathon, although hes run a dozen marathons in other cities.He said the race will be poignant because New York was the birthplace of his mother, actress Patty Duke, who died in March.Im sure Ill experience a whole range of emotions from bittersweet to sad to nostalgic to excited to hopeful, Astin said. And thats all before I get to the starting line.The 45-year-old Astin is known for film roles such as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the title character in Rudy.Playing the sturdy Samwise, Frodo Baggins right-hand hobbit, proved challenging for an actor who was dedicated to fitness.Astin said the character is derided as a stupid fat hobbit by the shadowy Gollum. Every time I would start to exercise the director would pull out the book and point to that sentence, he said.---Foodies know Elizabeth Falkner from TV shows including Top Chef Masters, The Next Iron Chef, Redemption and Chopped All Stars.I love food competition. Thats my other favorite sport, said Falkner, who played soccer until age 38 and then got serious about running but has not run a marathon before.I turned 50 this year and I thought this is a perfect birthday present for me to give myself, this goal of running my first marathon, she said.Falkner is running to raise funds for Team for Kids, the youth services program of the New York Road Runners club, the marathon organizers.She said shes always tried to promote healthy living even when she ran her San Francisco bakery Citizen Cake. Im not the kind of chef whos telling people to always have more bacon and butter in everything, she said.---Four 27-year-old siblings will be the first quadruplets ever to participate in the New York City Marathon.Elite wheelchair athlete Brian Siemann, who suffered a spinal cord injury a few days after birth, has been in more than 25 marathons, but thiis will be his first with able-bodied sisters Amanda Siemann, Maria Siemann and Jessica Rowe.ddddddddddddts exciting on two fronts, Brian Seimann said. One, I think, to be the first quadruplets to run the New York City Marathon ever is really cool. But then to be doing this together for the first time is really special, that well remember the rest of our lives.The siblings were born in Brooklyn but have scattered to different states. Only one sister, Jessica Rowe, is a marathon novice.Well be checking in with her to make sure that shes OK and shes alive and she hasnt totally given up on this, Maria Siemann said.---Gordon Felt, 53, is running with other family members from United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 11, 2001, as the passengers tried to wrest control of the plane from four hijackers.Felts brother, computer engineer Edward Felt, called 911 from the doomed plane just minutes before it crashed.Gordon Felt said he and the other family members are running to raise funds for the Flight 93 National Memorial. As family members, our training mantra has been they never gave up and neither will we, he said.Felt, who owns a summer camp for learning-challenged children in upstate Remsen, New York, said he was a middle-distance runner in high school and college but has never run a marathon before. Ive done my training and Im ready to go, he said.---Actor Theo Rossi, known for Sons of Anarchy on FX and Luke Cage on Netflix, said he chose to make New York his first marathon because its the capital of the world.The 41-year-old said its special that the race starts on Staten Island, his often-maligned native borough.As a kid growing up on Staten Island, that really was our only identity, that the marathon starts on Staten Island, he said.Rossi has participated in other endurance events including the Hood to Coast, a 199-mile relay in Oregon. His teammates during the race from Mount Hood to the Pacific coast last August included comedian Kevin Hart. ' ' '