OAKLAND, Calif. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Mychal-Kendricks-Jersey/ . -- Rich Hill didnt last very long in what was supposed to be a key start for the Athletics pitcher.With about a dozen major league scouts in attendance to check out the Oakland lefty -- a potential trade candidate -- Hill threw just five pitches before a blister on the middle finger of his left hand popped and forced him out of the game.Things didnt get much better after that for manager Bob Melvins ballclub.Former As third baseman Josh Donaldson hit a tiebreaking two-run double with two outs in the ninth and the Toronto Blue Jays held on to beat Oakland 5-3 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.Its just disappointing, thats the biggest thing, said Hill, who had been scratched from a scheduled start on Friday because of the blister issue. It opened up pretty good. It was bleeding. Its pretty raw right now.Hill wasnt the only As pitcher hurting.His replacement, Andrew Triggs, was hit in the leg by a line drive from Donaldson moments after Hill was taken out. Triggs finished the inning, giving up an unearned run when left fielder Khris Davis misplayed Edwin Encarnacions single for an error, before Melvin brought in Manaea.Oakland used seven pitchers overall.After losing two pitchers in the first inning with a limited bullpen to start, we played pretty well, Melvin said. We responded pretty well. Nice little fight until the end.Troy Tulowitzki homered while Russell Martin and Justin Smoak added two hits apiece for Toronto.Marcus Semien homered for the As.Smoak and Junior Lake hit consecutive one-out singles off John Axford (3-3) in the ninth. Devon Travis struck out looking before Donaldson lined a 2-1 pitch down the left field line to drive in pinch-runner Andy Burns and Lake.We desperately needed that as a team, Toronto manager John Gibbons said. We had the little lead, they came back and tied it. Thats a big win for us.Jason Grilli (3-1) retired three batters for the win. Roberto Osuna pitched the ninth for his 19th save.Tulowitzki hit his 16th home run of the season off Sean Manaea in the fourth.Semien homered and Yonder Alonso added a tying pinch-hit two-run double in the sixth.OPEN SPOTManaea was scheduled to start Tuesday but the As will likely have to find someone else after the rookie left-hander threw 69 pitches over five innings of relief. Manaea threw a bullpen session on Saturday so it would be a stretch to ask him to come back on one day of rest. Melvin also ruled out using Hill in that spot. He wont be on Tuesday, Melvin said. Well figure something out in the meantime.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: Triggs was diagnosed with a bruised left calf. ... LHP Ross Detwiler, was acquired from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash, was sent to Triple-A Nashville.UP NEXTAthletics: RHP Kendall Graveman (5-6) starts against Houston on Monday at the Coliseum. Graveman beat the Astros in his most recent outing July 9. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Harold-Carmichael-Jersey/ .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Malcolm-Jenkins-Jersey/ . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Caleb-Sturgis-Jersey/ . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. LOS ANGELES -- Cmon, Clay Helton. You know you want to. Heres your chance. Heres your chance to tell all the college football experts to go do something anatomically impossible.All he does is give a hearty laugh.Not my style, Helton said. Not my style.Helton is the former soon-to-be-former USC coach. He spent the first month of his first head coaching season hearing why he shouldnt get a second. Now Helton is the middle of his third month, and his No. 13 Trojans are 7-3 with a six-game winning streak as they prepare to finish their Pac-12 schedule at UCLA (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). USC is a half-game behind No. 10 Colorado, and a half-game ahead of Utah, in the Pac-12 South.The Trojans actually can win the division. If they beat the Bruins (4-6, 2-5), and if No. 22 Washington State wins at Colorado, and the Buffs go on to beat No. 12 Utah next week, then the courtly Helton would have every right to say something that is not his style.Google Clay Helton and you dont have to scroll down very far. The fifth story is, Clay Helton Must Be Fired and USC Needs to Find a Real Head Coach. The seventh and ninth stories provide five names as possible replacements. Those three stories were published in late September, when USC had a record of 1-3.The ready-fire-aim section of my business did itself proud. Yeah, the Trojans got humiliated by Alabama in the opener, 52-6. It turned out that USC, in its first game, literally was not ready for the big time. The atmosphere in Cowboys Stadium, not to mention the Crimson Tide themselves, overwhelmed the Trojans.Yep, they followed with an equally inept offensive performance at Stanford two weeks later in a 27-10 loss. After that game, Helton benched fourth-year junior quarterback Max Browne for redshirt freshman Sam Darnold.He played well in his first start, at Utah, but the Trojans lost fumbles on their first three offensive possessions, and then gave up a touchdown with :16 to play to lose 31-27. All they had to show for the first month of the season was a victory over Utah State and a rabble that had been roused.Gah, Helton said, that feels like years ago.His family rallied around him. In the days after the Utah game, his daughter Aubrey, a high school senior, came up to him, gave him a big hug, and said, Daddy, dont worry about it. Its all going to be good.Not even Aubrey knew how good. But her daddy had an inkling. As the carping about Helton being overmatched reached a crescendo, he came away from the Utah loss convinced that the Trojans would be fine. He wont tell you six-wins-in-a-row, 13th-ranked, division-contender fine. But fine. This wasnt a team pointing fingers across the locker room.There were guys coming up on their own to watch extra film in our meeting rooms and taking it upon themselves to bring their teammates with them, Helton said. Thats what hurt, losing that game, because I saw what each kid was trying to do to help this team win.Helton seized on that kernel of determination and, as the geniuses speculated on his successor -- four games into his career -- he let his team know that he paid it no mind.I kept telling myself, Remember, 18- to 21-year-olds look to their leader and look to their coaching staff, Helton said. How we react, theyre going to react. Just stay poiseed. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Ronald-Darby-Jersey/. Dont panic. Stay consistent in what youre doing and what you believe in and live with the results.Six starts later, Darnold is the best first-year quarterback in the FBS. Dont ask me, Jalen Hurts fans. Ask Darnolds QBR (86.8), fifth in the nation. Darnold has been so effective as a passer he has reopened the running lanes for backs Ronald Jones II and Justin Davis.That is as good a decision as any to probe whether Helton could coach his way out of a paper bag. With 20/20 hindsight, it seems perfectly obvious that Darnold is the better quarterback. But Helton remains steadfast that the full-speed decision he made to start Browne in the first three games is one he would make again.I had seen a kid, Max Browne, whos a redshirt junior, that had been in college football games, was efficient, had been a team captain, very respected by our team as a leader, Helton said. And I saw Sam, just this ultra-talented thing, just brilliance. But had never seen him in a ballgame, a real live college game.Browne didnt make mistakes, but he didnt make magic, either. Darnold proved he could handle major college football. Boy, could he. Should you blame Helton for not getting Darnold ready for the opener? You should, as long as you ignore that the offense had a new coordinator, the defense had a new coordinator, and so did the special teams. That contributed to the slow start as well.Look at the way the defense has improved over the course of the season: five sacks in the first four games, 14 in the next six. The Trojans have allowed an average of 18 points per game during their six-game winning streak.USC is coming off a 26-13 victory at No. 4 Washington, a vivid illustration of how far the Trojans have progressed since that loss to Alabama. Here was another fast, talented team. Here was a game in Husky Stadium, one of the most intimidating atmospheres in college football. USC didnt wilt this time.As I look back on our entire season, it really culminated in last week, Helton said. ...I just saw unbelievable poise and maturity. It was as electric an atmosphere as you could possibly have. It was as good a scene for college football as you could see, and the moment wasnt too big for them. They really walked in there with a sense of maturity and confidence. Hey, lets just focus on our job. Lets dont care about the stadium. Lets dont care about the noise. Lets dont care about the weather. Lets just get our job done.They have two rivalry games remaining -- Notre Dame comes west next week -- and Helton said he has seen no heads swelled by the win at Washington. Coach Overmatched could end up with a 10-win season. And a Pac-12 title. The guy that the internet fired seven weeks ago may end up in the Rose Bowl.Heltons unfailingly polite, unerringly even-keeled, unbelievably unexciting personality ended up being just the right touch for a young team. So, cmon, Coach. Let it go. Tell the experts off.You have to be very strong-willed, Helton said. You have to have thick skin. And dont get your feelings hurt. Believe in what youre doing. Believe in the things youre doing for kids.Oh, well. They got off lucky. 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