OAKLAND, Calif. Clearance NHL Jerseys . -- Jon Lester rediscovered his curveball last year, and it has been a helpful addition to an already impressive repertoire. Coco Crisp had two hits and drove in a run, supporting another strong outing by Lester, and the Oakland Athletics defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 on Friday night to regain the top spot in the chase for AL wild cards. "Its been a solid pitch for me all year," Lester said of the curve. "It has been in the past but I lost it. During the second half last year I kind of figured out how it works and have been able to drop it in there." Derek Norris and Eric Sogard also drove in runs for Oakland, which moved a half-game ahead of the Kansas City Royals, who were beaten by the Detroit Tigers earlier Friday. Ryan Howard hit a home run for the Phillies, who have lost five of six. Lester (16-10) allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out seven en route to his third consecutive win. Sean Doolittle, who blew a save on Wednesday, pitched the ninth for his 22nd save. "When you have something like that happen you want to get back out there as soon as possible and get back to feeling good," Doolittle said. "It was so bad last time out, it was easy to throw it out." Lester has pitched at least six innings in his past 18 games, including all 10 with the As. He hasnt allowed more than three earned runs during that span. "He pitches with a lot of emotion," Doolittle said. "Guys pick up on that and feed on that. They see how committed he is to what he does." Phillies starter David Buchanan (6-8) gave up three runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. He walked two and struck out six. "He got on a pretty good roll. His aggressiveness was really evident," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Hes shown very good improvement. Hes really making the most of this opportunity. Hes come a long way in a lot of ways." Buchanan had allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his previous six starts. Howard jumped on Lesters first pitch of the fourth inning for his 22nd homer, a blast that sailed well over the centre field fence. TRAINERS TABLE: Phillies: INF Jimmy Rollins is getting closer to returning to action after missing nearly two weeks with a left hamstring strain. Rollins needs to show he can run sprints as a final test. ... OF Domonic Brown was scratched from the starting lineup, though no reason was provided. Grady Sizemore replaced him in left field. Athletics: OF Josh Reddick missed his second game because of a sore neck, sustained when he tripped over first base on Wednesday. As manager Bob Melvin thinks he will be ready to play on Saturday. ... INF Stephen Vogt (hamstring strain) returned to the lineup after missing 11 games. NEXT UP: Phillies: Jerome Williams (3-2, 2.84) will make his fifth appearance -- and second start -- against the Athletics this year on Saturday. He is 5-5 vs. the As in 17 games, including 10 starts. Athletics: Drew Pomeranz (5-4, 2.53) makes his first start since a spot outing Aug. 27 at Houston when the As used a sixth starter to line up their pitchers for a series at the Angels. He is in the rotation for the first time since June 16, when he fractured his right hand. Pomeranz is taking Jason Hammels spot in the rotation and will be facing the Phillies for the first time since 2012. HIT BY FOUL: An Oakland security guard was hit in the head by a batted ball during Athletics batting practice. Stationed near the centre field gate, he wobbled after being hit and then sank to the ground. He was carried off the field on a cart and taken to a hospital, where he received several stitches. As coach Ariel Prieto handed him a ball as he was carried off and exchanged a few words with him. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic .com) - The Minnesota Twins made it official on Wednesday, announcing the signing of outfielder Torii Hunter to a one-year contract. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . Wawrinka, who is seeded fourth, is in the top half of the draw with Serbian Novak Djokovic. The Swiss star outlasted Djokovic in a five-set quarterfinal thriller last year and stunned Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final to capture his first-ever Grand Slam title.Bloomington, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - James Blackmon Jr. scored 20 points with five rebounds to help No. 22 Indiana in a 72-64 win over Rutgers on Saturday. Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams each netted 14 points for the Hoosiers (16-6, 6-3 Big Ten), with Williams adding 11 rebounds in the win. Indiana snapped its two-game losing streak. Myles Mack did all he could for the Scarlet Knights (10-13, 2-8), scoring 24 points and handing out eight assists. Junior Etou deposited 13 points with six rebounds, Kadeem Jack posted 11 points and Greg Lewis added 10 points for Rutgers, which has lost six straight games. Mack hit a 3-pointer to start a 13-5 spurt that gave Rutgers a 49-43 lead. Blackmon buried a 3 moments later to tie the game at 52-52 just past the midway point of the second half. Blackmon and Nick Zeisloft alternated baskets during a 10-1 run, as Zeisloft fired in a pair of triples to help extend the lead to 64-57 for Indiana with over four minutes left. Mack tthen picked up a loose ball inside and proceeded to convert a three-point play which snapped a five-minute stretch without a basket for the Scarlet Knights and trimmed the deficit to 64-60. Wholesale NHL Jerseys China. The margin was still four when Bishop Daniels drove baseline and stepped out of bounds with 54.9 seconds on the clock. Ferrell hit a pair of free throws at the other end of the floor and Indiana held on for the win. Rutgers led 15-7 on a Lewis jumper a couple minutes shy of the midway point of the first half. Ferrells 3-pointer later on trimmed the Hoosiers deficit to one, then his layup kicked off 12-2 run that gave Indiana a 30-25 edge. The Scarlet Knights managed to close the gap to 32-30 at the break. Game Notes Indianas bench outscored the Rutgers reserves 26-0 ... The Scarlet Knights, who had made seven of their first 10 3-pointers, ended the game 7-for-17 from long range ... The Hoosiers had a 32-27 edge on the boards. ' ' '