OAKLAND, Calif. -- Hisashi Iwakumas sore neck nearly prevented the Mariners pitcher from making his scheduled start and continued to bother him throughout the night.The Mariners gave their right-hander two big reasons to stick it out -- a pair of long home runs by Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz.Another stellar outing from Seattles bullpen helped, too.Iwakuma pitched into the sixth inning for his 14th win and the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Saturday night for their seventh victory in eight games.I was OK to go today, but as the game progressed I started to feel stiffness, Iwakuma said through an interpreter. My body was starting to fly open. I wasnt as high as I wanted it to be. I kind of felt that throughout the third, fourth, fifth inning, but I was able to get out of jams.Iwakuma (14-7) allowed three runs on nine hits for his eighth win in the last nine starts. He struck out two and didnt walk a batter for the fifth time this season.Four Seattle relievers combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Edwin Diaz retired three batters for his sixth save.Our bullpen was outstanding, Mariners manager Scott Servais said. Very, very good and they needed to be tonight. We didnt have much room for error. Thats a good formula for a win.A day after squandering several scoring opportunities, the Mariners stranded two runners in the first and another in the third before breaking through.Cruz hit his 29th home run leading off the fourth inning. Seth Smith singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the fifth and Cano hit the next pitch from Kendall Graveman (8-8) over the center-field wall for his 26th homer.We have guys that can hit line drives also but homers are good, too, Cruz said. Whatever way you can score runs, theyre welcome.Khris Davis homered for the second consecutive day while Coco Crisp and Billy Butler had three hits apiece for Oakland.Graveman allowed four runs over six innings and lost for the second time in his past 14 starts. He was pulled after 79 pitches.This year is a lengthy one for him so I dont think its a bad thing to cut it short, As manager Bob Melvin said, explaining his decision to pull Graveman. We had some good performances out of the bullpen. We had some guys rested come in.DAVIS MUSCLES UP AGAINDavis hit his 29th homer leading off the sixth, extending his career-high pace. Whats most impressive is that 16 of Davis home runs have come at the spacious Coliseum, normally considered a pitchers park.Hes making the Coliseum look like a hitters park, Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt said. Youre always making sure youre watching when hes at the plate.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: James Paxton threw a bullpen session and reported no pain six days after getting hit in his left elbow by a line drive. Paxton is on schedule to pitch Tuesday in Anaheim but a decision wont be made for certain until the team sees how he responds Sunday.Athletics: Former closer Sean Doolittle (left shoulder strain) will begin a rehab assignment and pitch one inning for Triple-A Nashville on Monday. The plan is for Doolittle to make two more appearances in the minors before potentially joining the As on their next homestand beginning Aug. 22. ... RHP Jesse Hahn (right shoulder strain) threw 30 pitches off the mound and could begin a rehab assignment soon. ... Josh Phegley (right knee strain) took batting practice before the game but has not done any catching.UP NEXTMariners: Wade LeBlanc (1-0) makes his seventh start in the series finale on Sunday. The lefty last started against Oakland on Sept. 23, 2014.Athletics: RHP Zach Neal (2-1) faces the Mariners for the second time this season. His only loss of the year came against Seattle on May 25 when he allowed seven runs in four innings. Cheap Nike Air Max 270 . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Wholesale Nike Air Max 270 China . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. http://www.cheapnikeairmax270.com/ . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Nike Air Max 270 Free Shipping . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Nike Air Max 270 China . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Pat Lam dubbed the dramatic 20-18 victory over Wasps in the European Champions Cup one of the highlights of my time in Connacht.Lam, who last week announced his shock move to Bristol next season, watched his side score a levelling last-minute maul try through Fijian flanker Naulia Dawai before Jack Carty added the decisive conversion from wide out on the right.The game had been turning in Wasps favour in the second half with two Jimmy Gopperth penalties and winger Josh Barretts 72nd-minute try seeing them erase a 13-7 deficit.Joe Simpson also crossed in the opening quarter, with replacement Danie Poolman scoring Connachts first half try.The result means Wasps, Toulouse and Connacht are now all level on 13 points each at the top of Pool Two.Against the backdrop of last Sundays disappointing 32-17 defeat in Coventry and a lengthy injury list, Lam said: No one outside knows the week we had.I challenged the boys on Monday - a great chance to practice mental fitness and preparation without being on the rugby field. Its been an unbelievable week of challenges, with a lot of working with videos and only one training session.The 8,090 sell-out crowd more than played its part according to Lam, who admitted: We knew what was coming.We love it here and the last thing I said was draw on the crowd, draw on it getting you up of the field, draw on it to encourage your mates, draw on it to bring energy.We are going to make mistakes because Wasps are a quality team, but it (the crowd) is without doubt a 16th man for us. Its just tremendous when its full like that.The Connacht head coach also paid special mention to Carty, the only fly-half and kicker still available in the squad due to the injuries.Although he missed an early penalty, Carty went on to kick two penalties and two conversions and Lam said: Jack has taken flak, but this week he did exxtra sessions.ddddddddddddHe knew the team was going to need him because he was the last goal-kicker, and we are all emotional about it.That is an example of what Connacht people are all about - they get knocked back but they dust themselves down and get going again, so this win is a tremendous win.The main thing is we are still alive and it is in our control. We have always done well against Zebre because we have always respected them, but we know we will have to get five points from that game and really crank it up. Its a great pool.Meanwhile, Wasps director of rugby Dai Young lamented the concession of the last-gasp seven-pointer when his team led 18-13.He said: We were just one ruck away from winning that game. I am really disappointed for the players. Its a difficult place to come and get a result against a very good team, but I have no complaints, he said.Youve got to give Connacht credit for playing till the end when it looked lost to them, but I am really proud of the players and disappointed because I could not have asked for more.However, Young thought his charges lacked accuracy in the opening half, leaking a late try to Poolman from Cartys cross-field kick.He added: The second half was far more controlled and we got our noses in front, and when you do that with the type of teams in this competition, it is hard to turn around and we were just one ruck from getting a really difficult win.Young said their home date with fellow quarter-final hopefuls Toulouse will now likely determine the pool.He explained: Its a massive game for us. If we beat them, it makes the two games in our favour, and youd like to think it would be enough - but with Toulouse in the mix, they have plenty to play for too. ' ' '