ATLANTA - Mike Minor needed a reason to believe he could work his way back to his 2013 form. Bradley Chubb Jersey . Beating Jon Lester could provide that confidence boost. Minor pitched seven strong innings, Justin Upton and Chris Johnson homered and the Atlanta Braves beat the reeling Oakland Athletics 4-3 on Sunday night, ending Lesters seven-game winning streak. "Thats Mike Minor of old right there," Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman said. The Braves swept the three-game series, leaving the As with a five-game losing streak, their longest of the season. The As have lost seven of eight overall and trail the Angels, who lost to Texas on Sunday, by percentage points in the AL West. "This is really the first bad road trip weve had this year," manager Bob Melvin said. "This was not a good trip. So weve got to get home and weve got to regroup. It will be good to get home in front of our crowd. Theyre usually good for us." Minor (5-8), who entered with a 5.33 ERA, allowed two runs in a performance reminiscent of last season, when he was 13-9 with a 3.21 ERA. "Were going to need him rolling to get us where were going to go," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. Oaklands Nate Freiman hit two homers, giving him three in the series, but Minor allowed only two other hits. "I feel like Im in a different mindset," Minor said after his second straight quality start. Craig Kimbrel worked a perfect ninth for his 37th save. Lester (13-8) allowed four runs, three earned, and six hits in six-plus innings in his first loss since June 7 for the Red Sox at Detroit. He had been 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA in three starts since his July 31 trade to the As. Upton hit four homers in the 10-game homestand, including two against the As. He has hit 16 of his 23 homers at Turner Field. Freiman led off the second inning with a drive that landed several rows beyond the centre-field wall. The Braves tied it in the bottom half. After Upton singled, Johnson lined to third baseman Josh Donaldson, who threw to first base in an attempt for a double play. The throw hit Upton and rolled into the Atlanta dugout, and Upton was awarded third base. Evan Gattis followed with a run-scoring single to right field. Phil Gosselin led off the Atlanta fourth with a single to right field. With one out, Upton drove a low, inside pitch from Lester about 10 rows deep into the left-field seats for a 3-1 lead. "I thought it was a good pitch when I threw it," Lester said. "I went back and looked at it and, good pitch. So sometimes youve got to tip your hat." 0-FOR-EVER Lester is still waiting for his first career hit. He was 0 for 34 in eight seasons with Boston and his drought continued in his first two at-bats with the As. He struck out and hit a fly ball to left field. GOING WITH GOSSELIN Gosselin was 1 for 4 in his third straight start, including two straight at second base over another rookie, Tommy La Stella, who struck out as a pinch hitter in the seventh. Gosselin hit his first homer in the series opener and had two hits in Saturday nights win. TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: CF Craig Gentry, on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right hand, is ready to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento. Braves: Gonzalez said RHP Shae Simmons (strained right shoulder) will make a second rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday after throwing 10 pitches without a problem on Saturday. UP NEXT Athletics: After an off day on Monday, the As take on another NL East team when they open a two-game series against the New York Mets on Tuesday night. Scott Kazmir (13-5), who already has matched his career high in wins, will start for Oakland. Braves: After completing their 10-game homestand, the Braves open a series at Pittsburgh on Monday night as RHP Ervin Santana goes for his 13th win. Santana (12-6) leads the Braves in victories. Denver Broncos Jerseys . -- Navy football player Will McKamey, who has been hospitalized since collapsing at practice three days ago, has died while in a coma. Tramaine Brock Broncos Jersey . The 24-year-old Raley was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA for Chicago in his first two career starts after being called up from Iowa on Aug. 7. He was optioned to Iowa on Monday after losing 3-0 to Cincinnati in Chicago on Sunday. http://www.broncosrookiestore.com/Broncos-Tramaine-Brock-Jersey/ . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.TORONTO -- For the Toronto Maple Leafs, its time to rest, not panic. Losers of three in a row, the Leafs had a full day off Thursday after a rough run of six games in six cities in 10 days. Theyll now attempt to regroup before an already tenuous playoff picture gets more dicey. "First thing is get rest. Its been a gruelling stretch, a ton of travel, a lot of tough games where were seeing a lot of teams best efforts here," winger Joffrey Lupul said. "Get some rest and then come back refocused and get some of that confidence back that we had going to the West Coast." Confidence in the Leafs might be waning from the outside after losing to the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning. But within the locker-room Wednesday night there was plenty of belief that those games featured some positive elements to build on. "No sense in panicking," said goaltender James Reimer, who has been thrust into the starting role since Jonathan Bernier was injured last week. "I think weve played some good hockey in the last three games, at times, and we know what we can do. I obviously believe in our team, we all believe in each other. "Its a case where, I think, with some fresh legs and kind of a little break here and get back at it, well be right back on top of our game again." Finding the top of their game is paramount to the Leafs, who occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after falling out of the top three in the Atlantic Division. They were as high as second, three points up on the Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, after beating the Kings in Los Angeles on March 13. In the three games since, Toronto has given up the first goal in each and struggled with defensive breakdowns in front of Reimer. Fixing the brutal starts might be the first order of business going into Saturdays game against the Montreal Canadiens and the final 10 after that. "Weve had a trend over the last three games where we seem like were starting a little sluggish or were not getting the exact start that were wanting," winger Mason Raymond said. "I thought later in (Lightning) game we showed that desperation, but we need that for 60 minutes. I think at the end of the day for me, (the kkey is) playing the 60 minutes in that desperation mode. Bradley Chubb Broncos Jersey. " Finding that "desperation mode" could have a lot do to with having more energy in reserve. At least thats coach Randy Carlyles hope after watching his team run on empty. "We just come off a 10-day road trip and we play tonight off a back-to-back," Carlyle said Wednesday night following a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. "Thats not an excuse, but its a trying situation, and its not easy." The Leafs have also made life hard on themselves by giving stars like Steven Stamkos way too much room close to the net. Defensive breakdowns like the ones that led to Stamkoss hat trick are likely on the to-do list for Fridays practice. "It comes down to doing the basic things, every night doing the simple things," defenceman Tim Gleason said. "I think as a group of five, we really have to button down, get pucks out when we can and do the simple things in our zone and the offence will take care of itself and well get our chances." If the Leafs are getting offensive chances, theres enough firepower from Phil Kessel (35 goals) down the lineup to make things happen. But Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and defenceman Jake Gardiner (five goals in seven games) scored against Tampa Bay and it wasnt enough. Only minutes after that defeat, players wanted to move on and separate themselves from this losing streak. The best way to do so is finding a winning recipe -- before it gets too late. The Leafs have played 71 games, the most of any team in contention in the East, which also means they no longer control their playoff hopes. The Detroit Red Wings, who visit Air Canada Centre on March 29, are in the drivers seat if they keep winning. Thats not a comfortable spot to be in with just 11 games remaining in the regular season. These are almost desperate times in Toronto. "Obviously we havent played as well as we need to, and were not sitting here saying that were playing the type of hockey that is required to have success," Carlyle said. "Well, we lost three games in a row and if we show the desperation that we displayed in the last half of the game for 60 minutes, we surely could improve our chances. Thats for sure." 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