Plauderecke » East. Gausman pitched seven innings of th

BALTIMORE -- For much of the first half of the season, the Baltimore Orioles were selective and cautious with their use of rookie Kevin Gausman. Now that things are getting serious, Gausman has become a fixture in a starting rotation that has thrust the Orioles into first place in the AL East. Gausman pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Adam Jones homered and the Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 on Wednesday night for their seventh win in nine games. From April through mid-July, Gausman bounced between Baltimore and the minor leagues to keep his innings-count down. Those restrictions are no longer in place, and the 2012 first-round draft pick looks rather comfortable being part of a pennant push. Gausman (5-3) retired the first 14 batters he faced and ended up allowing three runs and three walks in his first career start against the Angels. "I was just establishing my fastball in and out," he said. "I think they had a little bit of trouble with that, especially (when) I was getting some pitches down in the zone that I loved, which was great for me. I just felt in rhythm and in control and I was able to slow it down when I needed to and speed it up when I wanted to." Angels leadoff hitter Kole Calhoun said of Gausman: "He threw his pitches well. He obviously has electric stuff. Hes got some good off-speed pitches to complement the good fastball. He threw the ball well, he kept the ball down and they made some great plays behind him too." Darren ODay struck out two in a perfect eighth and Zach Britton gave up a single in the ninth before earning his 21st save. The victory lifted the AL East-leading Orioles to 14 games over .500 (60-46) for the first time July 22, 2013. "Weve been able to stay where we are because of the pitching," manager Buck Showalter said. Garrett Richards (11-4) gave up four runs and six hits in seven innings. It was his second straight defeat following a seven-game winning streak. Jones put the Orioles up 2-0 with a two-run homer, his second in two nights. It was his 21st of the season and 11th in the first inning. In the Baltimore fourth, David Lough picked up his first RBI since June 7 with a double and scored on a single by Ryan Flaherty. Gausman got some early help from his defence. Right fielder Nick Markakis made a sprawling catch in the third and third baseman Manny Machado snared a grounder down the line and staggered deep into foul territory before throwing out Albert Pujols in the fourth. The Angels first hit was a two-run single by Chris Iannetta in the fifth inning after Gausman walked the bases loaded. Calhoun followed with an RBI double. TRAINERS ROOM Angels: Left-hander C.J. Wilson (right ankle sprain) threw in the Camden Yards bullpen and remains on course for a possible return from the 15-day DL this weekend. Orioles: First baseman Chris Davis missed a second straight game with a stomach virus. ... Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (right ankle sprain) will likely make his final rehabilitative start Sunday or Monday for Triple-A Norfolk. After his rehab start for Class A Aberdeen on Tuesday, he paid for a postgame spread of steak and lobster. ON DECK Angels: Left-hander Tyler Skaggs (5-5, 4.49 ERA) will make his first career start against the Orioles on Thursday night. Skaggs has not walked more than one batter in each of five starts since coming off the disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Orioles: Bud Norris seeks to continue his mastery of the Angels. In three career starts against LA, the right-hander is 3-0 with a 0.46 ERA. NOT SO FAST C.J. Cron thought he had just taken ball four leading off the third inning. He flipped the bat toward the Los Angeles dugout and began jogging in the direction of first base. But it was only ball three. So, after umpire Kerwin Danley waved him back to the plate, Cron grounded out on a 3-2 pitch. Thomas Morstead Saints Jersey . Donald Young lost in straight sets to Israels Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-0. Querrey, ranked No. 61, is the second-highest ranked American, ahead of Johnson (64). Michael Thomas Saints Jersey . The Canadian tennis players first full season on the WTA Tour was a strong one. She has risen to No. 32 in the world rankings and will likely be seeded at the first Grand Slam event of the 2014 season. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Sam-Mills-Jersey/ . So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Saints Jersey . Murakami gracefully executed a double triple toe jump and a triple flip jump that put her at the top of a tightly contested race with 64.73 points, just ahead of Li Zijun of China on 62. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Womens Jersey .C. United to a 4-1 victory over short-handed FC Dallas on Saturday night.SPOKANE, Wash. -- The guys in green raced off the court and into the locker room where they danced and sang, compared whose shot was most likely to end up featured on "One Shining Moment," and checked Twitter to see who was giving them a shoutout. North Dakota State pulled off yet another 12 seed stunner and enjoyed every moment of it. "I just want to keep coaching this team," NDSU coach Saul Phillips said. "I dont want to have to say goodbye to this locker room." Lawrence Alexanders 3-pointer with 11 seconds left forced overtime and Carlin Dupree came off the bench to score four unlikely points in the final 75 seconds of the extra session, and the Bison knocked off No. 5 seed Oklahoma 80-75 Thursday night. NDSU (26-6) picked up its first NCAA tournament win by rallying in the final minute and outlasting the Sooners in overtime. Alexander finished with a career-high 28 points, but itll be his falling-down, fist-pumping celebration after the tying 3-pointer that will be replayed in Fargo for years. But that was just the first act. Dupree came on in the closing seconds of overtime after Taylor Braun fouled out, hit two free throws and scored on a difficult baseline leaner with 41 seconds left that put the Bison up by four and ignited the celebration. Phillips ran over to the fans in green and yellow, threw his arms in the air and screamed at the top of his lungs. No one could hear the excitable North Dakota State coach with all the noise. The Bison quickly realized they grabbed the nations attention. "You guys figure out how big it is," Phillips said. "I know its very gratifying and I know that for guys like Lawrence and Carlin and everybody on this team, couldnt have happened to a more fitting group of guys, because they have done what it takes to be exactly where we are right now, year-round." While players were monitoring Twitter to see who had been watching, the schools own athletic department account probably had the best line. "Well gladly be your Cinderella, America." Except this Cinderella doesnt fit the traditional mould. These Bison are proven. They won at Notre Dame in the regular season. This is part of a progressive rise under Phillips since the Bison made their first tourney trip in 2009. They have a swagger not typically seen from smaller programs, because the Bison dont see themselves that way.dddddddddddd Take Alexander. After releasing possibly the biggest shot of his career -- the tying 3 that forced overtime -- he hollered "buckets," so confident the shot would rattle through the net. "Thats a lot of confidence there big fella," Phillips said. Cameron Clark led Oklahoma (23-10) with 25 points, including 16 in the final five minutes of regulation and overtime. Isaiah Cousins added 17 points and Jordan Woodward had 13, making up for leading scorer Buddy Hield being limited to nine points on 4 of 14 shooting. "They fought, kind of out hustled us on rebounds and things like that, but overall theyre a great team," Clark said. Whenever the Bison needed a big shot, Alexander answered. With Braun bottled up by the Sooners defence, it fell to Alexander to pick up the scoring load. The most he scored all season was 20 points and his career-high came in 2011 as a freshman. No basket was bigger than the 3 that forced overtime. Braun drove into the lane and was cut off. Alexander was his only option. After briefly struggling to get the handle, he rattled in his fourth 3-pointer of the game. Oklahoma gave NDSU a chance at tying by twice missing foul shots in the final minute. Oklahoma had chances to win in regulation getting off three shots. Hields open 3 rimmed off, Woodwards free-throw line jumper was short and Cousins reverse layup attempt at the buzzer never caught the rim. NDSU scored the first four points of overtime on baskets by Bjorklund and Alexander, but Clarks 3 pulled Oklahoma even at 70. Braun put the Bison ahead with 1:39 left 72-70 on a driving layup. After he fell to the court, Braun got tangled with Clark, who appeared to inadvertently kick Braun in the face. No additional fouls were called, but Braun fouled out seconds later reaching in as Clark attempted to shoot. Clark hit both, but four seconds later Dupree -- a 58 per cent free throw shooter -- hit a pair to put the Bison back in front. Following an Oklahoma miss, Dupree drove baseline and scored instead of running off time. It was the shot of an inexperienced freshman, but Phillips didnt mind. "It was just a great experience for me," Dupree said. ' ' '