OAKLAND, Calif. -- Less than eight months after finishing third in voting for the AL Cy Young award, Athletics ace Sonny Gray is mired in the longest slump of his career.There is little indication that things are going to get better any time soon, either.Gray lost his sixth consecutive decision after blowing an early three-run lead and the Athletics offense was held to one hit over the final seven innings of a 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.This hasnt been his best year and hell figure it out and hell get better as the year goes on, As manager Bob Melvin said. Theres always going to be a year thats as not good as other years. So far this is the one for him. Hes been good for us.Gray was coming off two fairly decent starts before blowing up against Pittsburgh in the Pirates first trip to the Oakland Coliseum since June 27, 2010.Gray (3-7) gave up seven runs, hit a batter and threw two wild pitches in six innings while losing his sixth consecutive decision. The right-hander, third in the 2015 AL Cy Young voting, is winless since April 22.Once I got to two outs, I just wasnt able to get them out, Gray said. There were times, like in the sixth where I got two quick outs, I have to be able to shut that inning down and get back out there for the seventh . and not hit a guy and walk another. It just escalated from there.Jody Mercer homered and had an RBI single to help Pittsburgh rally from three runs down to beat. Matt Joyce added two hits, Josh Harrison drove in two runs while Andrew McCutcheon doubled and scored on a wild pitch to help the Pirates to their first win in their history at the Coliseum and just their second in 13 games between the two franchises.They did it by taking advantage of another shaky outing by Gray (3-7).We just stayed the course, Harrison said. We just put together some good at-bats as a team and it wasnt easy on him.Marcus Semien hit his 17th home run of the season for Oakland.Pirates starter Jeff Locke (8-5) also struggled early but retired the final nine batters he faced to win his third straight. He gave up three runs over five innings with three walks and three strikeouts.Three relievers combined to retire the final 12 batters and complete the four-hitter.Mercer homered in the third and added an RBI single as part of a two-run fifth.Harrisons two-out, two-run double in the sixth put the Pirates up 7-3.ALL-STAR PUSHSemiens home run was his fifth in nine games, padding his AL-leading total among shortstops. Melvin thinks Semiens offensive surge should be good enough to earn the young shortstop a trip to the All-Star game in San Diego later this month. Hopefully that merits some consideration going forward, Melvin said. You cant ignore the numbers. Not only is he doing it all offensively, he doing defensively too. He just maturing.LINEUP SHUFFLEJed Lowrie had decent results while batting leadoff for the first time this season. He drew a walk from Locke in the first before Semien homered on a 3-2 pitch. Oaklands second baseman added an RBI double in the second to make it 3-0.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: Infielder Tyler Ladendorf was recalled from Triple-A Nashville before the game. Left-hander Dillion Overton, the losing pitcher against San Francisco on Thursday, was optioned down. Overton went 1-1 with an 11.42 ERA in two starts.UP NEXTPirates: Right-hander Chad Kuhl (1-0) pitches against Oakland on Saturday in his second career start in the majors after beating Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in his debut.Athletics: Rich Hill is expected to come off the disabled list to start against Pittsburgh. The left-hander had been out since May 30 with a strained groin. 2018 Nike Air Vapormax .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Nike Air Vapormax Flyknit Betrue . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. http://www.2018airmax97.it/nike-air-max-90-scontate/air-max-90-essential.html . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Nike Air Max 90 Premium Rosa . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. Air Max 90 2018 . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. ARCALIS, Andorra -- Diminished by a fever and still reeling from crashes on the opening two days of the race, two-time champion Alberto Contador pulled out of the Tour de France during the toughest Pyrenean stage Sunday.Slightly more than 60 miles from the end of Stage 9 from the Spanish town of Vielha to the ski resort of Arcalis in Andorra, the 33-year-old Spaniard stopped at the side of the road, hopped off his bike and got into the passenger seat of his team car.I could not keep going, Contador later said at his team hotel. This morning I had a fever. And I did not feel good since I crashed on the first day.Contador crashed in each of the opening stages -- damaging his right shoulder, elbow and hip -- and had already lost time on the other overall favorites.He was in 20th position at the end of Saturdays eighth stage, 3 minutes, 12 seconds behind leader Chris Froome, who said Contadors departure from the race was a big loss for the Tour de France.We are not going to have to chase his attacks 100 kilometers out anymore, Froome said. Its one of the less things for us to worry about, but its maybe a shame of the race.During Sundays stage, Contador dropped back to his team car four times before finally withdrawing.He had started the stage in a bright fashion, attacking alongside fellow Spaniard Alejandro Valverde to catch a group of early breakaway riders on the first climb.ddddddddddddBut Contador could not continue his effort and was quickly brought back by the pack before he pulled out in the Port del Canto climb. He handed his bike to a mechanic and waved to TV cameras as he exited the race that made him famous.The withdrawal occurred on Contadors home roads near the town of Vilamur in Spain.Its bad news for me, said Tinkoff team owner Oleg Tinkov, who is planning to leave the sport. It was my last try to win the Tour de France. But who knows, maybe Ill come back in a few years.Contador, who won cyclings showpiece race in 2007 and 2009, had made the Tour de France his main goal of the season, skipping the Giro to focus on the Tour.If he recovers, Contador is still expected to compete in the road race at the Rio Olympics next month.I will undergo tests to find out what is going wrong, he said.Contador was stripped of the 2010 Tour title and suspended for two years after testing positive for the banned steroid clenbuterol in the final week of the race.He was among the three prerace favorites this year alongside defending champion Froome and Colombian climber Nairo Quintana. ' ' '