A's skid ends with burst of offense

Jack Hannahan hits a three-run homer Associated Press Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C7 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Dallas Braden gave Oakland another strong outing by a starting pitcher and Jack Hannahan helped it result in a win. Braden allowed one run over five innings and Hannahan hit a three-run homer as the Athletics ended a six-game losing streak with an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. "Everybody had a pretty good outlook today," Oakland manager Bob Geren said. "We're trying to keep everybody positive. We had a little meeting about that and how to lead by example. We talked about it for about a half hour. The mood, I think, was positive." Braden (2-0) allowed four hits, walked four and struck out one. Braden was making his first start of the... [read full story]