OAKLAND, Calif. -- Madison Bumgarner is all for his bat starting rallies that help the San Francisco Giants win.Especially in this case, when they were staring at the possibility of a sweep in the Bay Bridge Series.Bumgarner pitched into the seventh to snap a two-start skid and also batted in an AL ballpark, and the Giants avoided a four-game sweep by beating the Oakland Athletics 12-6 on Thursday night.Im not trying to prove anything to anybody. Were trying to win ballgames, Bumgarner said. Thats all I care about. I dont care what anybody says or thinks about it. I care about these guys, I care about our fans. ... I want to be as good a baseball player as I can be, not just a pitcher. In this league youve got to hit. You can change the outcome of the game sometimes.Buster Posey hit a towering three-run homer to center in the third and Brandon Crawford followed with a solo shot before adding an RBI single two innings later.Brandon Belt had four RBI and hit a go-ahead two-run double in the third ahead of Poseys ninth home run. Bumgarner helped start the rally with a leadoff double.He got us started. He smoked that ball, manager Bruce Bochy said. We needed something to ignite this offense. He did it.Bumgarner (9-4) was given the option by Bochy to bat himself rather than the Giants using a designated hitter, and of course the big lefty chose to swing the bat. He had lost two straight starts following seven consecutive winning decisions.Marcus Semien hit his career-best 16th home run in the first as the As took a quick lead against Bumgarner, then Yonder Alonso added a two-run drive in the seventh to chase Bumgarner. Hunter Strickland relieved. Oakland has homered in a season-best nine games in a row.Bumgarner allowed four runs and seven hits, struck out four and didnt walk a batter in 6 1/3 innings. The two home runs allowed matched his most for the season, also done opening day at Milwaukee on April 4. He hasnt lost three straight starts since June 27-July 8, 2014, during his spectacular World Series MVP season.While San Francisco had given up seven or more runs in four straight games, the Giants helped Oakland score at least six runs in a seventh straight contest when Coco Crisp hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth.San Francisco added on late, getting Belts two-run single. Fernando Rodriguez also walked in a pair of runs among his five free passes in the inning, and the As had their three-game winning streak snapped with only a second defeat in the last eight games.As lefty Dillon Overton (1-1) was done after three innings in his second major league start after he won his debut last Saturday at Los Angeles. This time, he surrendered eight runs and eight hits with a strikeout and three walks. He said he wasnt able to make the adjustments he usually does -- and Overton knew Bumgarner had the ability to hurt him at the plate.Ive watched him on TV for years now. I knew he could hit, Overton said. I left that one up and Bum made me pay for it.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: With 2B Joe Panik on the concussion list and 2B Ramiro Pena sidelined with a sprained ankle after colliding with RF Mac Williamson on Wednesday, San Francisco purchased the contract of 2B Grant Green and inserted him into the starting lineup immediately. He hadnt played in nine days since Williamson -- then with Triple-A Sacramento -- inadvertently let go of his bat and it hit Green in the right knee. He required four stitches, which were removed Wednesday. ... RHP Sergio Romo, out since April 15 with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow, was set to throw consecutive days and then be ready to come off the 60-day disabled list.Athletics: LHP reliever Sean Doolittle had an MRI exam that showed some labrum inflammation in his strained throwing shoulder, which landed him on the 15-day DL retroactive to Sunday. He had tried to play catch Wednesday but struggled. The hope is he will be ready to return after the All-Star break. ... OF Khris Davis was out of the lineup a day after being scratched with a bruised left shoulder injured running into the wall Tuesday. He batted in the cage and felt better than a day earlier. ... The As agreed to terms with No. 6 overall draft pick LHP A.J. Puk out of Florida. He threw a bullpen session for the Oakland brass.UP NEXTGiants: RHP Johnny Cueto (11-1) takes the ball on the road looking to improve on his 7-2 record and 2.69 ERA in 10 career starts against Arizona.Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray (3-6) tries to snap a career-high five-game skid. He is 0-1 with a 3.23 ERA in five starts since coming off the DL on June 5 and he is 0-5 with a 6.19 ERA over his last 10 outings. Mark McGwire .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Adam Wainwright . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-stan-musial-jersey-large-561q.html . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Enos Slaughter . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. Andrew Miller . PETERSBURG, Fla. BOSTON -- Syracuse coach Dino Babers was rocking the locker room speech after beating Virginia Tech and knocking the Hokies out of the Top 25.Boston College coach Steve Addazio is still trying to earn his first Atlantic Coast Conference win in more than a year.When the Eagles and Orange meet on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, one coach in his first year will face one who is trying to make sure it isnt his last. Its one of those midseason games that wont make much difference in the ACC standings, but could have an impact on the recruiting trail and the job market.One of four new coaches in the ACC this season , Babers is trying to rebuild the program from the bottom, much like Virginias Bronco Mendenhall. Virginia Techs Jason Fuente is trying to rekindle the success the Hokies had under Frank Beamer. Mark Richt was hoping to help Miami claim its first Coastal Division title.The biggest thing about this win is that anytime you take over a new program, youre trying to get everybody to buy in, to work as one, Babers said after beating then-No. 17 Virginia Tech 31-17 on Saturday .No matter how hard everyone wants to do that, theres always the naysayers. Theres always those ones that say, `Hey, maybe we should be doing it the way the old team did it, or the old coaches did it. Its always that way, until you get that one win that solidifies you, that brings you together. Thats what happened today. Were now a family.Hired in December when Scott Shafer was fired after two straight losing seasons, Babers is the fourth Syracuse coach in eight seasons. Struggling with a thin roster made even thinner by injuries, the Orange lost 62-28 to Louisville, 45-20 to South Florida and 50-33 to Notre Dame.The program looks better now after his first signature victory.Just another reminder that every week in college football, man, you have to show up and you got to bring your A game. Thats just the way it is, Addazio said. Theyre playing at an emotional high level right now. Were very well-aware of that and know how tough this game will be.Boston College (3-3, 0-3) is coming off an off-week following a 56-10 loss to Clemson that was the Eagles 11th ACC loss in a row . After back-to-back bowl bids in Addazios first two seasons -- leading to a contract extension that was supposed to keep him at BC through 2020 -- BC went 3-9 last year and is stuck on three wins again.Asked this week if he felt pressure to beat Syracuse (3-4, 1-2 ACC) and end the ACC losing streak, Addazio said, Pressure to win Saturday.Every game has unbelievable importance, he said. Doesnt matter who were playing, they get all youur focus.dddddddddddd Right now all my focus is playing Syracuse. ... I dont really look into anything beyond that, around it, behind it.A look at whats going on with some of the conferences coaches midway through the season:VIRGINIA TECHIn their first season under Fuente, the Hokies (4-2, 2-1) were looking like the might be the team to beat in the Coastal until they were stunned 31-17 at Syracuse. Under Fuente and his staff, transfer quarterback Jerod Evans has 17 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. Tech still has a good chance to win the division, in part thanks to a 34-3 victory at North Carolina, but has games against Miami and Pittsburgh on the next two Thursday nights that will go a long way toward sorting things out.VIRGINAUsing Mendenhalls 3-4 defensive scheme and a fast-paced offense led by transfer quarterback Kurt Benkert, the Cavaliers (2-4, 1-1) were manhandled by Richmond of the FCS to start the season. But they won two straight before last weeks 45-31 loss at home to Pitt. Their victory at Duke two weeks ago snapped a road losing streak that lasted 17 games, dating to November 2012.MIAMIThe Hurricanes (4-2, 1-2) have yet to win a division title. After Al Golden went 16-18 in the ACC over five seasons, Miami alumnus Richt took over. Quarterback Brad Kaaya had the Hurricanes as high as 10th in the Top 25 before back-to-back-losses dropped them out.GEORGIA TECHPaul Johnson, who took Tech to three ACC title championship games in his first seven years, could also be coaching for his job after the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 1-3) won just one ACC game last season -- against Florida State. They finished last in the Coastal, the first time in his eight seasons they were not either first or second in the division. This year, they have lost three straight ACC games and are 2-10 in the conference games since the start of 2015. Johnson notes that the first two ACC losses were to Clemson and Miami when each was a top 15 team, and the third was a last-second game at Pitt.Johnson said that Tech still has a chance to win nine games.That would be considered a pretty good year, I would think, he said. Now, that wont achieve our goals we set to start with: to try to win our division and get in the championship game. As crazy as our division is, who knows? You just keep playing.---AP Sports Writers Jon Kekis, Hank Kurz, Charles Odum and Steve Wine contributed to this story.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '