OAKLAND, Calif. -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. Ortiz connected for a leadoff home run in the 10th inning, and the Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6 on Sunday to avoid a four-game series sweep. "I like to go out there and make things happen," Ortiz said. "Weve had a good game, had a good series and then we go back to struggles. So hopefully everything changes at some point." Ortiz was the only Boston starter without a hit until he lined a 1-2 pitch from Fernando Abad (2-3) over the wall in left-centre for his 17th homer. The Red Sox had to go extra innings after letting a 6-1 lead slip away. The As scored three runs in the eighth, and then homered twice in the ninth against Koji Uehara (3-1). The closer had converted 31 consecutive save opportunities dating to 2013. "Im getting hit on day games," Uehara said through an interpreter. "I think its because Im old. Im not woken up." The Red Sox pulled within 6 1/2 games of first-place Toronto in the AL East. New York and Baltimore are 1 1/2 games back. Ortizs homer came four days after the designated hitter belted a tying drive in the 10th inning of a 2-1 victory against Minnesota. "He does have the knack for the moment," Boston manager John Farrell said. "More than anything he stays at rest or at peace mentally in those key spots and doesnt miss his pitch when he gets it." Mike Napoli and David Ross also homered for Boston, which had been limited to two runs or fewer in eight consecutive games. Napoli scored another run as part of a double steal, and former As player Jonny Gomes added a two-run single. Oaklands late surge negated a strong outing by Boston starter Jon Lester. Lester, who had a career-high 15 strikeouts against the As earlier this season, allowed two earned runs and four hits over 7 2-3 innings. He struck out four and walked two. The veteran left-hander left after hitting Craig Gentry and walking Jed Lowrie with two outs in the eighth. Burke Badenhop came in and gave up three consecutive RBI singles to make it 6-4 before Andrew Miller got pinch-hitter Coco Crisp to line out to shortstop. Uehara, who had the longest successful save streak in the majors, blew a shot at extending his impressive run when he yielded home runs by Stephen Vogt and pinch-hitter John Jaso. "Thats a good example of the kind of grit and determination this team has," said Oakland closer Sean Doolittle, who grounded out to second as a pinch hitter in the 10th. "Night after night it seems like its only a matter of time before our offence finds a way to come through and push some runs across." Oakland catcher Derek Norris had to leave the game in the 10th after a frightening situation when he was hit in the back of the head by Gomes bat on a follow-through swing. Norris immediately dropped to the ground as home plate Greg Gibson quickly called for As trainers. Norris was eventually helped to his feet and walked to the dugout. He was taken to a hospital as precaution and was scheduled to undergo a CAT scan. Boston broke out of its week-long scoring slump and got to Tommy Milone after loading the bases with two outs in the first on two singles and a walk. Gomes two-run single put the Red Sox up 2-0. Ross, who homered off Milone earlier this season at Fenway Park, did it again on the first pitch in the second. NOTES: Oaklands last four-game sweep of Boston came in 1971 at Fenway Park. ... Oakland 1B Kyle Blanks left after getting thrown out at home in the second. Blanks has been nursing a calf strain and aggravated it while sliding into home plate. ... With two days off in the next week, the As plan to skip Sonny Grays turn in the rotation. Gray, who has yet to pitch a full season in the majors, has already logged a team-leading 99 innings. ... Boston OF Shane Victorino (right hamstring strain) took batting practice with Triple-A Pawtucket but did not play. .. Red Sox RHP John Lackey (8-4) pitches the series opener against Seattle on Monday. ... It was Oaklands eighth sellout of the season. Blank France Jerseys . -- Those impatient for the Stanley Cup to return to Canada will have just one team to root for in the NHL playoffs -- the Montreal Canadiens. Benjamin Mendy Jersey . With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds. http://www.nationalfrancesoccer.com/olivier-giroud-france-jersey/ . Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead when he got in front of his marker to neatly flick in Lucass cross in the 59th minute. New signing Yohan Cabaye came on as a second-half substitute and headed Ezequiel Lavezzis cross against the post in the 87th. Moments later, Lucas set up another goal from the right when fellow countryman Alex turned in his corner with a strikers finish. Steven Nzonzi Jersey . The 21-year-old Wickham headed Sunderland into a 26th-minute lead --to add to the double he scored at Manchester City and his strike in last weekends win at Chelsea -- and then sealed the win with a late header. Presnel Kimpembe Jersey .35 million, avoiding arbitration. Davis led the majors last season with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs, both career highs. He earned $3.DENVER -- When it came to shooting, Wilson Chandler struck a balance between picking his spots and taking his chances. Chandler scored a season-high 25 points and the Denver Nuggets snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Indiana Pacers 109-96 Saturday night. "I was just being a little aggressive, and I was taking good shots," said Chandler, who hit eight of 15 shots from the field, including half his eight tries from 3-point range. "I probably took one or two bad shots but I was being aggressive and taking good shots at the same time." Nate Robinson and Timofey Mozgov added 15 points apiece and J.J. Hickson had 14 points and 13 rebounds. First-year Nuggets coach Brian Shaw won in his first matchup against Indiana since leaving his job as a Pacers assistant to come to Denver. The victory against Indiana, which still has the best record in the NBA, lifted the Nuggets back to .500 at 21-21. "We came out strong in the first half, and we withstood a great run from them in the second half," Chandler said. "Theyre a pretty good team, maybe the best team in the league right now. They made runs, but we just had to stay focused. If we play well we can contend with any team. Weve played well against a lot of the top teams this year but weve lost to some of the bottom teams. Weve got to play every team like theyre the best in the league." Lance Stephenson scored 23 for Indiana. The Pacers split a road back-to-back set after winning in overtime the night before in Sacramento. "Im proud of our guys after a second night of a back-to-back and change in time zones," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "An emotional win last night, obviously, in overtime. I didnt know how much gas we were going to have in our tank. We really competed at a high level." Paul George added 18 points and David West 16 for the Pacers, who lost for the eighth time in nine trips to Denver. Ty Lawwson, who had 12 points and 10 assists, said the Nuggets gained command early by leaning on their transition game.dddddddddddd "We wanted to run with them on a back-to-back. That was a main focus," Lawson said. "Thats what (Kenneth) Faried did early. He was running on their bigs and getting easy buckets." Trailing by 19 at halftime, the Pacers got back in the game in a hurry, opening the third quarter with a 16-3 run keyed by Stephensons seven points. The Nuggets responded with a 7-0 burst late in the third that helped them take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. Roy Hibbert, held to five points, became the second Pacers player to foul out after drawing his sixth foul with 3:19 remaining. Still, the Pacers pulled to 101-94 when Stephenson made a pair of free throws with 3:14 left. But the Nuggets wouldnt let the Pacers finish off the comeback, getting five straight points on free throws, including a pair from the foul line on technicals against David West and Vogel. The Pacers managed one more basket down the stretch but that was offset by Hicksons emphatic dunk with 1:09 remaining, the final points of the game. "They ran the same play the whole game (pick-and-roll)," West said. "We couldnt get it under control and then we just fouled them. They would have beaten us by almost 40 points if they made their free throws. They shot 56 per cent from the free throw line. They make 10 more and it wouldnt have been a close game." NOTES: The Pacers have trailed at halftime 19 times this season, going 13-6 in those games. ... Former Nuggets executive Carl Scheer was honoured during pregame ceremonies. ... Chandler had 20 or more points for the fourth time this season and the third time in five games. ... Indianas Ian Mahinmi fouled out with 8 minutes remaining. ... All five Denver starters scored in double figures for the sixth time this season. ... The Pacers have lost five games in a row to Denver. ' ' '