OAKLAND, Calif. -- Jed Lowrie insisted he calmly asked Houston second baseman Jose Altuve why the Astros were trying to hit him with a pitch in the third inning. Lowrie had tried to bunt in the first with his Oakland Athletics already leading by seven runs, yet said it was because the defence had shifted. Oh, the debates of baseballs unwritten rules. Alberto Callaspo hit a three-run homer and the As went deep four times Friday night to back Sonny Gray in an 11-3 rout of the Astros. In an unusual move, Houston manager Bo Porter left the dugout in the third to yell at Lowrie moments after the No. 2 hitter flied out following two inside pitches. "Nothing happened," Porter said. "The game takes care of itself." Lowrie said the situation dictated that he try to put a bunt down, and the first inning is far too early not to look to add on runs. "Ive seen crazier things happen than a team come back from seven runs. I dont know what the big deal is. If they want to hold a grudge, thats their decision," he said. "I just asked Altuve a question in about this tone and Bo came running out of the dugout yelling at me. I just dont understand why he came out in such a rage. ... I just dont get it. I dont know what it shows, but not a lot of confidence in his own team. Point blank." Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp each added a two-run shot for Oakland. Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo homer in the second inning to follow up his two-run single in the first against Jarred Cosart (1-2). Cespedes single came one batter before Callaspo connected for his second home run of the season. John Jaso drew Cosarts fourth walk of the first inning before Reddick hit his first homer with his own towering drive to right field. That chased Cosart, who retired only one batter before being replaced by Paul Clemens. Gray (3-0) gave up more than one earned run for the first time this season. He allowed RBI singles to Dexter Fowler and George Springer in the fifth along with Chris Carters sacrifice fly before Crisp homered in the bottom half. Oakland won its ninth in 11 games after going 7-2 on the clubs first road trip. The As had their four-game winning streak snapped Wednesday at the Angels, but are the only team in the majors yet to lose back-to-back games. Cosart received a mound visit in the first after consecutive one-out walks to Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss loaded the bases. After a high pitch near Cespedes head, the Cuban slugger lined a single into centre field. Cosarts quick exit ended a solid stretch in which Astros starters posted a 3.00 ERA over the previous seven games. Grey allowed nine hits, struck out four and walked two in six innings as the As handed Houston its fifth straight loss and sixth in seven games. Springer went 2 for 5 while batting cleanup for the first time, two days after making his major league debut. Porter said he would have preferred to avoid putting the prized prospect in that position in his third game, but the manager wanted to shake up the lineup to get the Astros going. Oaklands eight runs in the first two innings were more than the seven Houston totalled in its previous four. "More than anything for us it was the early runs," As manager Bob Melvin said. "We hadnt been doing that lately." Astros left fielder Alex Presley was a late scratch with flu-like symptoms and was replaced by L.J. Hoes. NOTES: Reddick homered for the first time in 87 at-bats since Sept. 15. It was his fifth hit of the year. "Actually helping the team for once felt really good," he said. ... As LHP Scott Kazmir (2-0) is set to start Saturday after experiencing arm trouble in his last outing. ... Springer got his first stolen base. ... The Astros went 3-7 at the Coliseum last season and 4-15 overall against the As. ... Oakland pitcher A.J. Griffin, sidelined since the start of the season with an elbow injury, is yet to begin a throwing program and Melvin isnt sure when that will happen. ... Gray is 5-1 in nine career games against AL West teams. Kurt Warner Youth Jersey . Just ask Arsenal fans. However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition. Andy Isabella Youth Jersey . Klose has a bruised pelvic bone and abdominal muscle problems but team doctors are trying to get him fit in time for the match. Bender has a hamstring injury. Germany is already without half-dozen players, due to injury or bad form. http://www.thecardinalsshoponline.com/Yo...rdinals-Jersey/. - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft. Adrian Wilson Jersey . The Raptors have to get through the pesky New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and can lock up the third spot in the Eastern Conference with a win or a Chicago loss in Charlotte. Pat Tillman Jersey . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2).LONG POND, Pa. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. traded hats, waited for his cue, and flashed three fingers for the cameras. Thats one for every win. The beer baths, champagne toasts, selfies, and photo opps in Victory Lane are almost routine now for Junior. He added a new wrinkle at Pocono, a broom. Earnhardt hoisted the broom high over his head after he completed a season sweep at Pocono Raceway, the third win in a season that has served as a career renaissance for NASCARs most popular driver. Earnhardt now holds the No. 1 seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Can he keep the momentum headed into NASCARs version of the playoffs? "Youre the broadcaster," Earnhardt teased crew chief Steve Letarte about that question. "You dont," the departing Letarte said. "Youre too far from the Chase." The legion of Junior Nation fans roared when Earnhardt stormed ahead of the pack off the final restart with three laps left for the lead. His third win, he also won the Daytona 500, tied him for the most in Sprint Cup this season. Earnhardt held off the hard-charging Kevin Harvick to become the first driver to sweep both races at the track since Denny Hamlin in 2006. He tweeted "Lookin for a broom" last week when he landed in Pocono. He found one in Victory Lane. "This group all really enjoys each other," Earnhardt said. "We want to see everybody happy." They had tons of fun inside the Pocono media centre. Letarte acted hurt when his nameplate didnt have the same three winners stickers that were on Earnhardts card. Earnhardt also brought a Make-A-Wish Foundation teen to the podium and made sure hed have his own namecard and stickers. "This is my buddy, Chris. Does he get one," Earnhardt said. They all got their stickers -- the same ones applied to the No. 88 Chevrolet. Earnhardt also became the fifth straight Hendrick Motorsports driver to win at Pocono. Owner Rick Hendrick was not at the race, though he did talk to his winning driver on the phone on pit road. "I told him thanks for believing in me and making my life better," Earnhardt said. Earnhardts sweep followed Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson last year and Jeff Gordon in the August 2012 race. Earnhardt has his most wins since he won six times in 2004. His three wins are one shy of his combined total from 2005-2013. His win Sunday was the 22nd of a career still without a Cup championship. "We had a fast car all day," Earnhardt said. "Steves strategy was perfect at the end. I dont know if anyone knew what was going on there, but it was pretty awesome." Earnhardt said before the race his No. 88 Chevrolet was better than his winner in June. They were both fast enough to take the checkkered flag.dddddddddddd He had a bit of luck in his first win when debris slowed down race leader Brad Keselowski. On Sunday, no one could touch Earnhardt over the final 14 laps. "We were determined to go home from the last win and improve the car," he said. Earnhardt and Letarte are clicking in their final season together. Hendrick Motorsports named Greg Ives the crew chief for 2015 once Letarte heads to the broadcast booth. "I think hes going to make me look bad," Letarte said. "Mr. Hendrick has a remarkable talent of matching drivers with crew chiefs." Harvick, who clinched a spot in the Chase, was second, followed by Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle. Gordon finished sixth a week after he won the Brickyard 400. He led a race-high 63 laps and passed 24,000 career laps led in the No. 24 Chevrolet and 1,000 laps led at Pocono. He still holds a 17-point lead over Earnhardt in the standings. Earnhardt would have the No. 1 seed because he was one more win than Gordon. Earnhardt, who swept a track for the first time since Talladega in 2002, had few cars left to hold off on the lead lap after several potential contenders got knocked out. Hamlin triggered a 13-car wreck with 43 laps after he got sideways coming out of a turn. Brian Vickers tried to avoid Hamlin and slammed into Matt Kenseth to send cars all over the track. The pileup looked like a "Big One" straight out of Talladega or Daytona, with smoking, dented and destroyed cars littering the track. Tony Stewarts No. 14 Chevrolet rested atop Paul Menards No. 27 Chevy. "I cant drive it because my car is on top of the other car," Stewart said over the radio. Stewart, Vickers, Menard and Matt Kenseth all visited the NASCAR care centre. "Big wrecks are always frustrating when youre in it," Kenseth said. Aric Almirola said he slammed on the brakes as hard as he could, but still got "creamed from behind and pushed into the wreck." Hamlin was able to straighten himself out and stayed out. Kyle Busch topped the lengthy list of stars with an early exit when the No. 18 needed a push to the garage with a variety of issues. Six-time champion Jimmie Johnson finished outside the top 10 for the fourth straight race. He fell a lap down after his rear right tire smacked the wall, rebounded to run fifth, then a second blown tire forced him to the garage. "It wasnt the best weekend but we still gave ourselves a chance at a win, if not a top five, today and came up a little short," Johnson said. His teammate carried the Hendrick banner all the way to victory. "After last year, I thought the only thing were not doing is winning," Earnhardt said. Now, the good things come in threes. ' ' '