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. Puma Baratas España . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. Comprar Zapatillas Puma Baratas . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. http://www.pumabaratas.es/ . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Zapatillas Puma Baratas España . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. Zapatillas Puma Baratas . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming.Barrie McDermott and Terry OConnor discuss the Summer Bash, St Helens problems at half-back and preview round 17 of Super League in this weeks Rugby League Podcast. Barrie v Terry Listen to this weeks Rugby League Podcast Our pundits were in Blackpool at last weekends Summer Bash and were impressed with the standard on show, in particular the thriller between Leigh and Bradford, and Terry believes they could cause problems for Super League sides in the qualifiers.Wakefield boss Chris Chester comes up against his former side on Thursday when they face Hull KR. A 10th win in 12 games under Chester will put the Wildcats in touching distance of the Super League.dddddddddddd Baz and Tez discuss the impact Chester has made at Belle Vue, Josh Griffins move to Hull FC from Salford, and why they expect Jon Wilkin to move into the halves when St Helens host Warrington on Friday. There are two live Super League games on Sky Sports this week. Wakefield host Hull KR on Thursday with Warrington visiting St Helens the following evening, with both games live on Sky Sports 3 HD from 7.30pm. Super League Round 17 preview - Barrie v Terry Also See: Sky Live: Wakefield v Hull KR Have your say in RL rules WATCH: Super League preview Rugby League on Sky Sports ' ' '