OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sonny Gray spent the past few days with Oakland pitching coach Curt Young, making subtle adjustments to his delivery. Grey wont reveal exactly what he and Young worked on. Suffice to say, the Athletics young staff ace is pleased with the results. Brandon Moss hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the fifth inning, and Gray bounced back from two sub-par outings to lead Oakland over the Texas Rangers 4-2 Wednesday, giving the Athletics (44-28) the best record in the majors. "Overall it was a pretty good outing," said Gray, who had won just two of eight starts before going seven innings against Texas and striking out seven. "I dont think there really is a difference other than I was able to make pitches," he said. "Thats probably it. People sometimes forget that baseball is a pretty hard game and theres going to be some rough patches that youre going to go through." Grey (7-3) bounced back nicely from his recent rough stretch. The right-hander needed only 31 pitches to get through the first three innings, then struck out Brad Snyder on a high 95 mph fastball to end the fourth with runners at second and third. Grey also got help from left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, who made a leaping catch at the warning track to rob Adrian Beltre of extra bases two batters before Snyder struck out. His lone mistake came in the fifth when Texas loaded the bases with two outs. Gray walked two and gave up an infield single before Shin-Soo Choos two-run single made it 2-2. "Its just balance for him," As manager Bob Melvin said. "He knows his delivery (and) his mechanics pretty well, and Curts terrific at pointing out subtle things. There are a couple things hes been working on." Cespedes and Josh Donaldson each had two hits for the As. Oakland has won four of five and is a season-high 16 games over .500. Their record is one game better than cross-bay rival San Francisco. "Anytime in the season that you can say you have the best record in baseball, its satisfying," Melvin said. "But theres a lot of baseball yet to be played. At least for the time being it feels good." Luke Gregerson pitched the eighth, and Sean Doolittle worked the ninth for his ninth save. Nick Tepesch (2-3) went five innings for Texas. Choo drove in both runs for the Rangers. "We have to get more than five innings out of our starting pitching and we have to have a shutdown inning after we score runs," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Somehow that (Oakland) lineup is always functioning. Somebody is always having a good day." Melvin shuffled his lineup and didnt start centre fielder Coco Crisp and second baseman Eric Sogard. Oaklands offence didnt miss a beat. John Jaso replaced Crisp in the leadoff spot and knocked in the As first run with a double in the third. Craig Gentry, who filled in at centre field, added two hits and scored a run. Second baseman Alberto Callaspo also had two hits. That was enough for Gray, who gave up two runs and six hits. He improved to 8-2 with a 1.90 ERA in 13 career starts against teams from within the As division. "He was keeping us off balance," said outfielder Alex Rios, who doubled off Gray in the fourth. "He managed his slider well. and his fastball had good velocity. He was locating it well." Cespedes scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the inning. He singled off Tepesch and scored on Moss double to right, barely beating the throw home with a headfirst slide. After Donaldson singled Moss to third, Stephen Vogt hit a short sacrifice fly to left to put Oakland up 4-2. Tepesch remained winless since May 26. He allowed nine hits over five innings with two walks and one strikeout. NOTES: Doolittle hasnt allowed a run in 22 1/3 innings, the longest active streak in the AL. ... Crisp was given a normal day off. ... Sogard pinch-ran after Callaspo singled in the ninth. ... Rangers 3B Luis Sardinas singled in the third to extend his career-best hitting streak to seven games. ... Texas LHP Joe Saunders (0-2), who will pitch the opener against the Angels on Friday, has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four starts since coming off the DL. ... Oakland LHP Scott Kazmir (8-2), who opens the series against Boston on Thursday, has a 0.95 ERA over his previous four starts. Vans Shoes Australia Sale . -- Jonathan Vilmas season is over and his future on the football field is in doubt. Wholesale Vans Authentic .Y. - Joe Johnson hit six 3-pointers in his 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 18 points, and the Brooklyn Nets won their 11th straight at home, beating the Boston Celtics 114-98 Friday night. http://www.wholesalevansaustralia.com/ . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. Cheap Vans Shoes Australia . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj. Cheap Vans Australia . The stakes were higher, the competition more fierce and the atmosphere was that of a playoff game - something the young, upstart Raptors have five weeks to better prepare themselves for or the result will be eerily similar.Andre Marriner waved away Man Utd’s appeal for a penalty after Antonio Valencia went down under the challenge of Nacho Monreal – was it the right call? The score was goalless when Valencia was brought down by the Arsenal defender in the first half, with Jose Mourinho left furious by Marriners decision to play on.The game eventually ended 1-1, but in the Sky Sports studio at half-time, Ryan Giggs and Thierry Henry were split on whether it was the correct decision to ignore Valencias plea. Giggs said: It was a penalty, just. I shouted penalty at the time and even though I think its soft, hes got tthe wrong side of him.ddddddddddddIt would have been soft, but my instant reaction was penalty.But Henry disagreed, saying: We have the luxury of the replay, and at the time I thought it was a penalty, but looking back I dont think it is.Theres not enough contact for me. Valencia is trying to buy a foul and he didnt get it.Watch the penalty appeal and decide for yourself Also See: Giroud salvages point Jose: Utd are unluckiest team Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal recap Wenger hails mental toughness ' ' '