SAN FRANCISCO -- All-Star Scott Kazmir capped the best first-half of his career with one of his best starts yet. Kazmir struck out nine in seven scoreless innings to help the Oakland Athletics win the annual Bay Bridge series by beating the San Francisco Giants 6-1 on Thursday. "I felt good from pitch one," Kazmir said. "I felt comfortable. I was able to get some quick outs and use all of my pitches." Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer and Stephen Vogt drove in three runs for the As, who won three of four in the two-city series that began Monday night in Oakland. The As (58-34) have won seven of eight overall and have matched the best start in Oakland history. Tim Hudson (7-6) was unable to make it out of the sixth inning and lost his fourth straight decision for the floundering Giants. San Francisco has lost 15 of its past 19 home games and hasnt won consecutive games here in more than a month. "Were not playing nearly the kind of baseball we want to play, for sure," Hudson said. "We just have to improve in a number of different areas." The game ended on a replay review when As manager Bob Melvin challenged a call that Vogt pulled his foot off first base on an infield hit by Gregor Blanco. The replay showed Vogt kept his foot on the bag, leading to the final out. Kazmir (11-3) got the best of a heralded matchup against Hudson, allowing three hits and one walk. Kazmir has allowed one run or fewer in 11 of 19 starts this season for a 2.38 ERA. He is just two wins shy of matching his career best set in 2007 in Tampa Bay. "The way he moves feet and moves eyes and dots up the corners and gets people to chase pitches is really remarkable," Vogt said. "Hes doing such a great job." Kazmir retired the first eight batters before walking Hudson and didnt allow a hit until Michael Morses leadoff single to centre in the fifth. Kazmir struck out Brandon Belt and Brandon Hicks before Blanco doubled Morse to third base to snap a 19 at-bat hitless streak. Hudson then hit a drive to deep left-centre that Craig Gentry ran down on the warning track for an inning-ending catch. The As broke the game open in the top of the sixth when they put together four straight extra-base hits to open the inning against Hudson, including a two-run homer by Donaldson over the right-field wall. Donaldsons 20th homer came the same day he was picked to participate in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star game next week. "Its definitely pretty neat," he said. "It will be one of those things that adds icing to the cake. Hopefully Ill be able to put on a show." Vogt added a two-run single off Javier Lopez to give the As a 6-0 lead. Vogt also drove in a run earlier when he singled in the fifth following John Jasos two-out triple to make it 2-0. This marked the first time Hudson allowed four straight extra-base hits, according to STATS LLC. "That sixth inning got away from me a little bit, a couple bad pitches that they took advantage of," Hudson said. "They hit a couple decent pitches, I thought. It was a little bit of a weird inning. It kind of unraveled on us a little bit." Hudson allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings and lost for the second time in his career against the As. Hudson spent the first six years of his career in Oakland and has beaten every team in the majors except the As and Atlanta. The Giants finally got on the board in the eighth when Pablo Sandoval hit an RBI single off Dan Otero. NOTES: As All-Star OF Yoenis Cespedes went 0 for 5 with four Ks and hit into a double play. ... Home plate umpire Adrian Johnson left the game before the top of the fourth after being hit in the mask by a foul ball in the first inning. Crew chief Angel Hernandez moved from second base to behind the plate and the game finished with three umpires. ... Tim Lincecum (8-5) goes for his fourth straight win Friday when the Giants open a three-game series against Arizona. ... Jeff Samardzija (1-0) will make his second start for Oakland when the As open a three-game series in Seattle against Felix Hernandez (10-2). Donte Jackson Jersey . He liked what he saw on Tuesday night. Not only did his team post a comeback 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Montreal Canadiens, but the rival Washington Capitals were beaten 5-1 in Buffalo. Luke Kuechly Panthers Jersey . The same for both the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. http://www.shoppanthersonline.us/panther...er-blue-jersey/. 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. Greg Olsen Youth Jersey . The Marlies centre set up three goals, including the game-winner, as Toronto cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons in American Hockey League action. Greg Olsen Panthers Jersey . Marian Gaborik had two goals and an assist and Martin Jones made just 17 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season as the Kings snapped a three-game losing skid with a 3-0 victory over the lowly Oilers on Thursday.TORONTO -- In playing Real Salt Lake this weekend, Toronto FC is taking on the kind of team it aspires to be -- a perennial playoff side with a winning tradition and championship character. Now in its 10th season, Real Salt Lake has made the playoffs the last six years, winning the MLS Cup in 2009. Until overtaken in the MLS record books early last year, Real Salt Lake held the league mark for consecutive home wins at 29. Rio Tinto Stadium was an impregnable fortress from June 2009 to May 2011. Toronto (2-0-0 this season) has a 1-5-0 lifetime record in Sandy, Utah. RSL (1-0-2 this season) was also the first MLS team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final, losing to Monterrey 3-2 on aggregate in 2011. Last season Real Salt Lake made it to two finals but lost both: beaten in the MLS Cup by Sporting Kansas City in an agonizing penalty shootout and 1-0 by D.C. United in the U.S. Open Cup. There has been stability on the sidelines with Jeff Cassar, who has been with the team since May 2007, moving up the ladder to head coach last December after Jason Kreis became the first head coach of New York City FC. Cassar is the third head coach in RSL history. Toronto was on coach No. 5 in Year 4 and is currently on its eighth manager in Ryan Nelsen. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman arrived in 2007 in a trade from the Colorado Rapids. The midfielder with the distinctive dreadlocks credits coaching and a little luck for the franchises success. "We were able to get players into this team that were ready to be coached by a coach like Jason and Jeff Cassar and Robin Fraser (a former RSL assistant coach who is now with the New York Red Bulls)," he said Thursday. "It just so happened that we were able to get a group of guys together that ... really just needed a good environment -- an ownership that cared, a coaching staff that did the right thing. A lot of the guys were coming from places that didnt do the game right. "A lot of us, that core group thats still here, it was a breath of fresh air that we really needed. And we just took full advantage because we knew exactly the opportunity that was in front of us, because wed had it the opposite way, where the owner doesnt care or the coach just doesnt get it. "So I think we lucked out a little bit that we had the core in the same place, here in Salt Lake, tthat was just absolutely ready to explode and take full advantage of what was in front of us.dddddddddddd And thats what we did." The 31-year-old Beckerman is joined on the team by fellow U.S. internationals Nick Rimando (a goalie who came on board in 2007) and Luis Gil (a midfielder who joined in 2010). Other veterans include defenders Nat Borchers (2008) and Chris Wingert (2007), midfielders Ned Grabavoy (2009) and Javier Morales (2007) and forwards Robbie Findley (two stints since 2007) and Alvaro Saborio (2010). Players want to come to winning clubs. And RSL does a good job checking out new talent. "They want to bring in not only good players but good people," said Beckerman. Toronto FC has followed the same road this off-season, with marquee signings Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Gilberto and Julio Cesar all fitting in. Beckerman acknowledges that he respects Torontos search for success. "The thing that I really admire about Toronto is that they wont stop. Theyve kept at it. Theyve kept trying to fix and get the right recipe. And it doesnt seem like theyre going to stop any time soon. Theyre going to keep going and keep spending until they get the right recipe. "And I admire that. Thats something a lot of other teams would love to have that. With the fan base, theyve been loyal there and theyve stuck with them through tough times. The ownership and what theyre doing there, is kind of a reward to that loyalty and giving them a successful team. "Time will tell if this is the right one. But it seems so far that theyve brought in the right players so far. So I think its definitely on the up and up over there." Like Toronto, the early days were bleak in Salt Lake. The team went 5-22-5 with just 20 points in its inaugural season in 2005. In 2005-06, the fledgling franchise endured a league-record 18-game winless streak. But it didnt take long for Real Salt Lake to turn the corner. It had 39 points in Season 2 and 40 in Season 4, going 10-10-10 and reaching the 2008 playoff semifinals. In 2009, it was another 40-point season and the 11-12-7 team went on to win the title. Since then, RSL has collected 56, 53, 57 and 56 points. In contrast, Torontos points total since entering the league in 2007 is 25, 35, 39, 35, 33, 23, and 29. The two teams meet Saturday. ' ' '