club out and have fun with the boys, Davis said.Ryon Healy and Brett Eibner also homered for the As.Zach Neal (2-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.Every Seattle player except designated hitter Dae-Ho Lee had at least one hit. Lee, a late lineup addition, was hit by a pitch in th

OAKLAND, Calif. -- After more than two weeks of close games decided by three runs or fewer, the Seattle Mariners finally had a relaxing ninth inning.Seattle also inched closer to division-leading Texas -- a small but significant step for manager Scott Servais ballclub.Kyle Seager doubled twice and drove in four runs and the Mariners won for the eighth time in nine games, beating the Oakland Athletics 8-4 on Sunday.Its nice to build a little bit of a lead there and really let our pitchers settle in and not throw quite as many stressful pitches, Seager said. Weve been putting pretty good at-bats, top to bottom. I like the way our offense is swinging the bat.Adam Lind homered, Nori Aoki had three singles and Shawn OMalley added two hits and scored twice for Seattle.The Mariners moved within 5 1/2 games of AL West-leading Texas, matching the closest theyve been to the division leaders since early June.A lot of guys chipped in, contributed, Servais said. We needed it. To go out and win the series, you need to score a few runs in the last game, and we got it done today.Wade LeBlanc (2-0) gave up three runs over six innings to earn his second win since being acquired from Toronto in June. The lefty struck out seven and walked one.Khris Davis hit his third home run in three days. He became the first As player with at least 30 homers since Brandon Moss hit 30 in 2013.Im just trying to do me and help the club out and have fun with the boys, Davis said.Ryon Healy and Brett Eibner also homered for the As.Zach Neal (2-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.Every Seattle player except designated hitter Dae-Ho Lee had at least one hit. Lee, a late lineup addition, was hit by a pitch in the fourth.Lind homered in the second. Seager hit an RBI double in the third and a three-run double in the sixth.The Mariners also scored in the fourth after an inning-ending double play was overturned by replay. OMalley singled in Lee following the reversal.COLLISION COURSELind is significantly bigger than OMalley but it hardly mattered when the Mariners first baseman and shortstop collided chasing a pop-up near the mound in the third inning. Lind crashed to the ground while OMalley, who made the catch, barely moved. Second baseman Robinson Cano helped Lind to his feet then playfully held up two fingers to see if Lind was coherent.Shawn always talks about he was a really good football player, that he might have been a better football player than baseball player in high school, Seager said. Im kind of starting to believe him. But he kind of hit a helpless receiver there.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: Lee was in the lineup after Seth Smith was a late scratch due to a right foot contusion. ... James Paxton emerged from his bullpen session feeling fine and is slated to start Tuesday in Anaheim. Paxton was hit in his left elbow by a line drive in his previous outing Aug. 7.Athletics: Right-hander Jesse Hahn (right shoulder strain) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday.UP NEXTMariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (6-4) pitches Monday in Anaheim and will be going for his 16th career win against the Angels.Athletics: LHP Ross Detwiler (1-0) makes his second start for Oakland when the As open a three-game series in Texas on Monday. Detwiler pitched eight scoreless innings against Baltimore in his debut on Aug. 10. Wholesale Custom Panthers Shirts . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Cheap Custom Panthers Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. http://www.custompanthersjersey.com/custom-brian-burns-jersey-large-75i.html . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. Authentic Custom Panthers Jersey . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Custom Brian Burns Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. A group of retired NFL players who opposed the $1 billion concussion settlement between the league and thousands of former players will not appeal the case to the Supreme Court, with former All-Pro?offensive lineman Alan Faneca calling the decision for the greater good of everybody.Its been a long road, and I guess there comes a point in time when you see the end of the road, Faneca, one of the players who challenged the deal, told the New York Post.A federal appeals court upheld the settlement in April, and the deadline for filing an appeal to the Supreme Court was Monday.?Former players already diagnosed with brain injuries linked to repeated concussions can begin receiving benefits within three months, Tom Girardi, who represented the players in the settlement, told the Post. He estimates that between 1,000 and 1,500 players would be eligible for payments now.?Players could receive up to $5 million individually if they were diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. The next-highest award is $4 million for families of a player with a post-mortem finding of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and $3.5 million for players with Parkinsons or Alzheimers.?I think the settlement providees a small window for a large group of guys, Faneca told the Post.ddddddddddddThe settlement covers more than 20,000 NFL retirees for the next 65 years. The league estimates that 6,000 former players, or nearly three in 10, could develop Alzheimers disease or moderate dementia.Fewer than 200 of those retirees opted out of the settlement, while 99 percent approved.As part of the settlement, the NFL admitted no fault. A league official speaking to Congress in March acknowledged for the first time a definite link between football and CTE. But the appeals court said that admission was not grounds to overturn the settlement.The league has been dogged for years by complaints that it hid the risks of repeated concussions in order to return players to the field. The deal avoids the need for a trial and means the NFL might never have to disclose what it knew, and when, about the risks and treatment of repeated concussions.Some players who challenged the deal argued that it does not cover mood and behavioral disorders that some researchers link to CTE.?Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.? ' ' '