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OAKLAND, Calif. -- No debating this home run by Adam Rosales. After being denied a game-tying homer last week in Cleveland that Major League Baseball said the umpiring crew should have reversed, Rosales hit a go-ahead shot leading off the eighth inning after Josh Donaldson connected one inning earlier in the Oakland Athletics 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night. "I think I was pretty sure about that one," Rosales said with an ear-to-ear grin. "It felt good to get over that hump. Every ballfield I went to, they all were saying, Oh, it was a homer, or you talk to family and friends and like, Yeah, it was a homer. So, now theyll be talking about something else. Theyll talk about a real homer." Sean Doolittle (3-0) pitched the eighth for the win in relief of Jarrod Parker to help the reigning AL West champions earn just their third victory in the last 11 games. Oakland finally got to James Shields (2-4) in the late innings, nearly 10 months after he pitched a three-hit shutout here last July 31 for the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander matched his season high with nine strikeouts. In Oaklands 4-3 loss May 8 in Cleveland, umpire Angel Hernandez and his crew didnt give Rosales the home run in the ninth inning after a video review -- MLB executive vice-president Joe Torre said an "improper call" was made. Rosales got over it. "I didnt really have any sting," he said Friday. David Lough hit an RBI double hours after his promotion from the minors, and also made a great throw to get Brandon Moss at second as he tried to stretch a leadoff single in the fourth. Donaldson homered leading off the seventh, tying it at 1. After that drive, Shields struck out the side on called third strikes. Rosales then sent a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall in the eighth for his second home run. "I knew he put a good charge into it," Parker said. "It was a no-doubter. That was a huge pickup for us." Parker allowed four hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked two in a solid 98-pitch performance. Doolittle yielded Loughs one-out single in the eighth but was aided by an inning-ending double play. Grant Balfour finished with a perfect ninth for his seventh save in seven chances and 25th in a row dating to last season. Parkers strong outing provided a nice lift for the As on a day they learned lefty opening day starter Brett Anderson has a stress fracture in his right foot and could miss up to six weeks. "Parker, just getting him on track, it looked like he was more confident," manager Bob Melvin said. "Hopefully thats a springboard." Salvador Perez hit a one-out double in the third, and Lough knocked him home two batters later. But the Royals did little else in support of Shields. After Lorenzo Cain drew a two-out walk in the fourth, Parker retired his next eight batters in order before Cain drew another free pass in the seventh. "Its a tough loss right there. A real tough loss," Shields said. Lough batted leadoff and played right field after his promotion from Triple-A Omaha to take the spot of centre fielder Jarrod Dyson, placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right ankle. His two-out double in the third put Kansas City ahead. The Royals lead the majors in batting average with two outs. The Royals stumbled in the series opener after taking two of three against the Angels in Anaheim following a three-game sweep at home by the New York Yankees. Shields has had some memorable outings in the Coliseum, most recently that gem last summer for the Rays. That came after he was tagged for a career high-tying 10 runs in four innings -- nine in the fourth frame alone -- in a 13-4 loss here on July 27, 2011, during his 16-win season. He has just one win over his last seven starts with three losses and three no-decisions. This marked just the second outing in Shields first nine that the opponent didnt counter with a former All-Star. "He pitched great and he competes his heart out," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "It was combination of things tonight. Their pitcher and we couldnt get anything going." Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who last year had 20 personal pizzas delivered to a small but animated group of As fans above right field in section 149, stopped by a "Bacon Friday" tailgate outside the ballpark. In 2011, Francoeur tossed a ball wrapped in a $100 bill into the elevated bleacher seats above his outfield spot, instructing fans to use it to buy bacon or beer. NOTES: Oakland OF Chris Young (strained left quadriceps) was removed from his rehab outing Thursday with Triple-A Sacramento after he experienced some cramping. Back in Oakland a day later, he worked with the strength coach on explosive bursts. He could be ready to return Saturday. "We took him out to be proactive," Melvin said. "If everything goes well today, well activate him tomorrow." ... This marked the first of six meetings between the clubs this year. The Royals won the 2012 season series 5-4. ... The Royals used the DL for the first time in season. ... Kansas Citys Eric Hosmer ended an 0-for-10 stretch with a second-inning single. He is a .328 career hitter vs. Oakland.Custom Los Angeles Clippers Jerseys . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Blake Griffin Clippers Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. http://www.clippersnbateamshop.info/jerome-robinson-clippers-jersey/ . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Louis Williams Jersey . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Montrezl Harrell Clippers Jersey . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night.By now, there are three things we should expect from those pesky St. Louis Cardinals every darned year:1. They are going to win.2. They are going to win by doing something amazing and historic.3. Well probably have no idea on Opening Day what that is.So here they are in the final week of August, headed for their sixth straight trip to the postseason. And how are they doing that, you ask? By whomping more baseballs over the fence than any team in the National League, naturally.Wait. Youre saying you didnt see this coming -- that a team that hit 137 home runs last season would be on pace to thump 229 this year? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Of course you didnt.This is the Cardinals. Its what they are. Its who they are. If the way they won last year doesnt work, theyll just find a whole new way. These guys change costumes more than the cast of Saturday Night Live.So what if their pitching staff and defense have already allowed more runs, in the first 125 games, than last years Cardinals gave up all of last season, when they allowed the fewest of any team in a non-strike-shortened season in the entire divisional era? This year, they have a whole new kind of history to make.Home run history.Ready for a rundown on what theyre up to? Here we go:? Theyre not just on pace to become the fourth Cardinals team in history to hit 200 home runs in a season. Theyre on pace to hit more home runs than the 1998 Cardinals, who got 70 long balls from Mark McGwire alone. Theyre on pace to hit more home runs than any Cardinals team that Albert Pujols, Stan Musial or Rogers Hornsby played for. And they have a shot at the all-time franchise record of 235, set by the Big Mac/Jim Edmonds?95-win juggernaut of 2000.? Theyre also on course, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, to become only the sixth team since 1900 to hit at least 90 more home runs than theyd hit the year before (not counting strike seasons, obviously). And they would be the first team to jump from 137 or fewer one year to 220 or more the next since Johnny Mizes 1946-47 New York Giants went from 121 to 221.? This is the only team in baseball that has nine different players who already have reached double figures in home runs. Now if Tommy Pham (9) and Jhonny Peralta (6, in an injury-riddled season) can get to 10, which is far from out of the question, the Cardinals could become the first National League team ever to have 11 players hit 10 homers or more in one year.? Theyre also on pace to have six different players hit at least 20 home runs -- although to get there, they would need Matt Holliday, currently on the disabled list with 19, to make it back in September and hit one more. Nevertheless, thats pretty insane for a team that only had one guy (Matt Carpenter) reach 20 last year. According to Elias, they would be the first team ever to go from one 20-homer man or none one year to six or more the next, in back-to-back full seasons.? Then there is the least known great home run hitter in baseball -- otherwise known as Cardinals pinch hitters. Theyve already tied the single-season major league record with 14 pinch homers. And theyve done it in a mere 175 at-bats. To put that in its proper, most incredible perspective, how about this: Cardinals pinch hitters have rolled up the same home run ratio (one every 14.5 at-bats) as a man who is threatening to lead the league in homers, Kris Bryant. Right. Of course they have.This is all pretty crazy stuff for a team that hasnt made this many home run trots over a full season in a decade. But its whats working. This year anyway. So dont ask the manager if hes trying to fix the least of his franchises current problems.What are we supposed to do -- tell them to stop hitting homers? Mike Matheny said. Weve been accused of that in the past.And yes, he was merely half-kidding. Not only has Matheny never managed a team that has smoked this many home runs. Hes a guy who hit just 67 himself -- in a 13-year big-league career. But that doesnt mean he has lost the affection that all true Americans have always had for the long ball.Weve liked homers since we were all in T-ball, Matheny said, at his James Earl Jones Field of Dreams finest. And were going to continue to love them even if were out playing Wiffle Ball with our kids. It never, ever, ever gets old. I dont care how old you are. You go out and hit a ball over the fence, theres just something special about it. And were going to keep trying to do it.Hey, good idea. Have we mentioned its working? No NL team has more home runs from the bottom of its order (the Nos. 6-7-8-9 spots) than the Cardinals (70). Just as important, no team in the big leagues has more home runs from the seventh inning on than the Cardinals (64) -- and theyre on pace to become the first NL team since the 1970 edition of the Big Red Machine to launch more than 80 from the seventh on.So theyve become that rare National League team that gives a pitcher no midgame vacations. Heck, theyve hit more home runs from the No. 7 hole than from the No. 3 hole. Thats definitely not their time-honored offensive formula.ddddddddddddBut as this clubs under-appreciated hitting coach, John Mabry, puts it: They make their own identity every year.Its neat to see what these guys have created for themselves, and theyve really embraced it, Mabry says. And its really fun on the bench. A game can get changed with one swing of the bat. And theyre never out of it, because one can get popped at any time.So should we have seen this coming? Should we have seen 200 home runs from a lineup that didnt have a single player who was projected to hit 25? Wed vote no. And Dan Szymborskis ZIPS projections system backs that up -- with its preseason estimate that theyd hit a mere 168. But the manager says we all should have been paying closer attention.I didnt know how many [more] wed hit, but I knew it would be better than it was, Matheny said. Im not good at throwing out numbers and projections. But to me, it wasnt a huge prophecy that this team would hit more than last year.Both he and GM John Mozeliak foresaw significant jumps from young players like Randal Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty, Kolten Wong and Pham, who were set to get extended playing time. They were right about Grichuk, Piscotty and Pham. They were wrong on Wong, who has homered just twice in a disappointing season.Holliday and Matt Adams missed a combined 189 games last year. So naturally, the architects envisioned more from them, too. And while theyve both had more injury issues this season, theyve still combined for 31 homers -- 22 more than last year.But the biggest difference between 2016 and 2015 is the 43 bombs the Cardinals have gotten already from Brandon Moss and Jedd Gyorko, who arrived in two of Mozeliaks typically under-the-radar deals -- Moss at the 2015 trading deadline, Gyorko in a low-key trade with San Diego last December.Gyorko was supposed to be an infield-depth piece. He has turned into much more. No one in the National League has hit more home runs since the All-Star break than he has (13). And hes become the first Cardinal ever to homer while playing every position in the infield in the same season.Moss, meanwhile, hit only four home runs in two months as a Cardinal last year. So of course, hes taken over the team lead with 23 this year. In fact, he even leads the whole sport in home run ratio (one every 12.96 at-bats) among players with 300 or more plate appearances. But as a fellow who has always had a fondness for seeing how far he could hit a baseball, the fun comes in being surrounded by a lineup full of guys who share that passion.The balance of power on this team, he said, is amazing. What I see is, we dont have true bench guys. We have guys who deserve to play and get to play quite often. ... So theyre not up there trying to just squeak out a hit. Theyre comfortable, so theyre trying to do something [impactful] with every at-bat.Still, 14 pinch homers is a ridiculous number no matter whos heading for home plate. Just to give you an idea, thats two more than the Cubs have hit over the last four seasons put together.I think the big part of that, that gets unnoticed, is our hitting coach, said this teams most consistent offensive force, Carpenter. John Mabry made a career of pinch-hitting. Not a lot of guys in his role did that. That was his specialty. He does a really good job of teaching that. And I think youre seeing the results.The results have been a whole bunch of baseballs roaring off toward Ballpark Village. And weve reached the point where its officially become a Thing -- because were finally starting to ask if this team is now too dependent on the home run. Lets just say thats a switch.Its funny that people ask that, Carpenter said, with an ironic chuckle, because our M.O. since Ive been here has always been, You guys dont hit home runs. You always find a way to score without hitting home runs. Arent you worried about it? Now people are starting to question the opposite. And I just think its crazy. Yeah, were hitting more home runs now, but we still know how to score.OK, so do they? On one hand, theyve scored 44 percent of all their runs via the homer. And theyre 18 games over .500 (55-37) when they homer, but nine games under (12-21) when they dont. On the other hand, they have the highest average in the league (.282) with runners in scoring position and the best average (.253) with runners in scoring position and two outs. So theyre still a lot less homer-dependent than, say, the Mets, even if theyre not hitting .330 with men in scoring position, the way the 2013 World Series team did.Wasnt it just a few years ago, Carpenter reminisced, fondly, that people were like, Can you guys maintain your average with runners in scoring position? You dont hit enough home runs. All you do is get hits with runners in scoring position. Now its like, All you do is hit home runs.Its so funny, said Carpenter. But thats baseball.No. What it really is, of course, is baseball in St. Louis. ' ' '