OAKLAND, Calif. -- Manager John Gibbons watched his struggling Toronto Blue Jays fall behind early, hits some home runs to make things interesting, and give the runs right back. Gibbons didnt attempt to sugarcoat the 9-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Monday night afterward, either. "It was less than an inspiring game," he said. "We didnt play a very good game all the way around. We fell behind early, tried to hang around and they blew it open." After a long first inning, Esmil Rogers (3-5) didnt make it out of the fifth in his first career start against the As. He was tagged for a season-high eight runs -- six earned -- on nine hits in 4 1-3 innings. "He wasnt very good tonight," Gibbons said. "This team makes you throw them strikes." Rogers didnt record his first out until the 24th pitch he threw, and needed 35 in all to get out of the first already in a 4-0 hole. That made for a tough night regardless. "The stress is throwing 30-odd pitches in the first inning. I tried to bring it back bit they got me with two outs," he said. "It was my command. I didnt throw any of my pitches consistently for strikes. It was one of those days. Right now I am trying to do anything I can to win but I am still learning." Yoenis Cespedes homered and hit a two-run triple, Josh Reddick added a two-run double and had three RBIs, and the AL West-leading As (63-43) won their fourth straight and seventh in nine to move a season-best 20 games over .500, tied for best record in the AL with Tampa Bay. Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer, while Adam Lind and Brett Lawrie each hit solo shots against A.J. Griffin (10-7), who retired the first 13 batters of the game before Linds one-out drive in the fifth. Lawrie homered leading off the sixth, and Encarnacion connected for his 29th of the year four batters later. But that wasnt enough against Griffin and Oaklands productive offence. The shaggy-haired Griffin, who went 7-1 last year as a rookie, gave up four runs and four hits, struck out five and walked two in seven innings to win for the fifth time in his last six decisions. He was through four perfect innings on 42 pitches. Oakland has matched its best record through 106 games since 1992. "It means weve won a lot of games to this point. Were still in July," manager Bob Melvin said. "You keep trying to pile up the wins, add them up at the end and see where youre at." Jed Lowrie singled home a run and Reddick hit a sacrifice fly in Oaklands four-run first inning. Cespedes led off the eighth with his 16th home run, snapping a career-high 25-game homerless streak for the Home Run Derby champion. "When Im hitting well, I feel like Im contributing my grain of sand, doing my part," Cespedes said. "This team is pretty dangerous when everybody works together." Toronto, last in the AL East, had its six-game road winning streak against the AL West end. Rogers is still searching for some consistency at this stage of the season. "When hes on hes pretty tough, but he can be wild too and this team works you," Gibbons said. "He didnt get away with anything." NOTES: Encarnacion earned AL Player of the Week after batting .520 over seven games with two homers and eight RBIs. ... The Blue Jays dropped to 10-5 vs. the West, losing for only the second time in their last nine to the division. ... The clubs met for the first time this season. Minnesota is the only AL team Oakland is yet to face. "Its a little odd to be playing a team this late in the season for the first time," Melvin said. ... Blue Jays DH Adam Lind returned to the starting lineup after missing Sundays finale at Houston with back discomfort. ... Former As OF Rajai Davis wasnt in the lineup for Toronto a day after matching a franchise record with four stolen bases. "I got lucky," he joked. ... Cespedes hadnt homered since hitting two June 21 at Seattle. Mondays clout also was his first at home in 25 games since May 19.Nike Vapormax Kopen . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Nike Vapormax Aanbieding . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. http://www.vapormaxnederland.com/ . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. Nike Vapormax Sale . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Nike Vapormax Goedkoop . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings are preparing to be without running back Adrian Peterson for some time after he had surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee Thursday.Asked Thursday if it was likely Peterson would miss months, not weeks, after his surgery in the Twin Cities, coach Mike Zimmer said, I would assume so.In a statement after Petersons surgery Thursday, the team said there were no additional injuries or issues noted in or surrounding the knee joint during the surgical procedure.On Wednesday, a source told ESPN that Peterson also had a torn lateral collateral ligament. The Vikings had denied that, and Peterson texted ESPNs Josina Anderson, no torn LCL.Peterson, who tore his meniscus when Green Bay Packers linebacker Kyler Fackrell tackled him in the third quarter of the Vikings win Sunday night, had surgery to repair his meniscus, rather than an operation to trim the torn cartilage, which might have brought him back in a matter of weeks. The rehab process for a repaired meniscus often takes three to four months, meaning Peterson could miss most, iif not all, of the 14 games the Vikings have left in the regular season.ddddddddddddThe team has not yet made a move to put Peterson on injured reserve. Jerick McKinnon will be the starting running back, and Matt Asiata will serve as the backup against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The running backs combined for 1,108 rushing yards in 2014 while Peterson missed 15 games because of NFL discipline.The Vikings, who put left tackle Matt Kalil on injured reserve with a hip injury Wednesday and lost Peterson this week, also will be without defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd on Sunday. Floyd, the No. 23 pick in the 2013 draft, has struggled with knee injuries during his four NFL seasons, and Zimmer said Thursday that Floyd had surgery to clean up cartilage in his right knee.Floyd, who didnt play Sunday against the Packers, also had surgery to remove cartilage from his left knee last November, meaning he has had procedures on both knees within the last 12 months. ' ' '