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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Two of the American Leagues top teams have struggling closers who are accustomed to being among the best in baseball. Joe Nathan held on through another rocky ninth inning for his 13th save a day after blowing one, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 on Thursday for a split of the four-game series between division leaders. "If Joes on youre going to have quick outs. Hes been one of the best closers, he had an unbelievable year last year," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "If hes on, hell get quick outs. It just wasnt today." On the other side, Oaklands Jim Johnson -- the 2013 AL saves leader -- walked off the mound to boos from the home crowd after allowing two runs in the seventh. He is pitching in lower-pressure situations for now. "What am I supposed to do?" he said of the crowd treatment. "I dont know what to tell you. Balls are finding holes. Im throwing pretty good pitches, I just feel like Im in a little bit of bad luck. I dont think its as bad as it really seems. I think everybody else thinks that way." Miguel Cabrera hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the fifth to back Rick Porcellos eighth victory. Porcello (8-2) overcame a career-high six walks, three shy of his season total coming into Thursdays start. Nathan allowed Josh Donaldsons leadoff double, an RBI infield single by Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddicks run-scoring double before pinch-hitter Jed Lowrie grounded out to end the game. It was Nathans first outing since he surrendered Donaldsons game-ending three-run homer in Wednesdays 3-1 loss for his fourth blown save opportunity. "You guys can get the guys that did their part. You can write whatever you want," Nathan said. Victor Martinez doubled home two runs in the seventh and Cabrera also had an RBI groundout for the Tigers, who head to Seattle for the weekend before returning home. Nick Punto hit a two-run homer in the fourth for Oakland, which wasted chances all game to lose for only the seventh time in 20 games. Porcello moved into second place in the American League for wins behind Torontos Mark Buehrle. He did just enough this time, coming off his second loss of the year Saturday against Texas in which he was tagged for eight runs and 12 hits in 5 1-3 innings. "Its no secret I was all over the place," Porcello said. "I was fortunate to get out of some of the innings." Porcello improved to 5-1 on the road. He allowed five hits and two runs with four strikeouts in 5 2-3 innings. Oakland starter Jesse Chavez (4-3) lost consecutive starts for the first time this season following a two-game winning streak. His pitch count went up in a hurry. The right-hander walked two of his first three batters but escaped a rough first inning unscathed. After Ian Kinsler lined out to start the game, Chavez walked the next two and received a mound visit from pitching coach Curt Young after going to 2-0 on cleanup hitter Victor Martinez. Martinez then singled and J.D. Martinez grounded into an inning-ending double play. The As left the bases loaded in the second and sixth innings, and also squandered scoring chances in the first, fifth and seventh. They had the tying run on second and go-ahead run on first to end the game, leaving 14 on base in all. "We had plenty of opportunities," manager Bob Melvin said. "We had some situational at-bats where we didnt come through." AL Central-leading Detroit, which eliminated the two-time defending AL West champion As in a five-game division series each of the past two Octobers, won for just the third time in 11 games following a six-game winning streak. NOTES: Tigers OF Rajai Davis was held out of the lineup with lingering soreness in his left shoulder that he hurt while diving for a fly ball during the second inning Wednesday night. ... Ausmus decided to give 38-year-old Torii Hunter an unscheduled day off. "Weve got to give him a day off because hes an old man," Ausmus joked. "We need him for the long haul." ... As setup man Ryan Cook, on the DL since May 9 with a forearm strain, threw a bullpen session and could begin a rehab assignment within the next week. ... Tigers OF Andy Dirks has been throwing long toss from 120 feet as he continues to recover from lower back surgery. ... Oakland LHP Drew Pomeranz (4-2), who pitches the series opener against the Angels on Friday, has won three of his four starts since being moved into the rotation. ... Tigers ace Justin Verlander (5-4) takes the mound at Seattle on Friday trying to snap a two-start losing streak. Cheap Clearance Shoes . Villarreals victory in Valencia kept it in fourth place and in control of Spains last Champions League spot. Uche broke free in the area in the 10th minute and was brought down by goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who was shown a direct red card. Authentic Shoes Wholesale .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. http://www.cheapshoesclearance.com/ . - Tiger Woods only made it through 10 holes Thursday — this time because of the weather, not his back. Shoes From China Online .com) - Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson lost an appeal to have his indefinite suspension overturned, the NFL announced Friday. Cheap Clearance Shoes Online .Pete Morelli said the back judge threw a flag on Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens on a pass to Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew in Dallas 24-20 wild-card win Sunday. But the head linesman said there wasnt enough contact and that Hitchens was face-guarding, which isnt a penalty in the NFL.Week 12 of the Barclays Premier League was full of controversial refereeing decisions. From Wes Browns sending off for Sunderland to Kevin Mirallas yellow card for Everton in the Merseyside derby, it wasnt a comfortable weekend to be a referee. Whenever an incident happens on the field, every fan expects the referee to make the correct decision. Yet referees dont have the benefit of slow-motion instant replays, and have only their assistant referees with whom they can consult for input. Often times, the referees view of an incident is not ideal, and can be blocked by other players. Yet they are expected to get decisions correct every time. With the benefit of instant replays, it is often much easier to make those decisions. Should Wes Brown have been sent off for Sunderland? No. Should Kevin Mirallas have been red carded for his horrible tackle on Luis Suarez? Absolutely. What makes a referees job more difficult, though, is that the vast majority of fans (and even some professional players, coaches and analysts!) do not fully understand the laws of the game. Case in point: Arsenals penalty kick in their game against Southampton. After a Tomas Rosicky corner kick was delivered into Southamptons penalty area, referee Mark Clattenburg blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot. His reason was that Southampton defender Jose Fonte pulled the jersey of Arsenals Per Mertesacker. Replays showed that Fonte did indeed have a handful of Mertesackers jersey, that he impeded the German international from reaching the ball. Clattenburg was absolutely correct to award a penalty kick. Yet it didnt stop the inevitable outcry on Twitter. Fans voiced their opinions, which ranged from "Thats never a PK - referees always let that go!" to "The ball was behind Mertesackker - need to take that into account!" to "Glad to see a referee finally call that - happens all the time!" Regardless of your opinion as a fan of the beautiful game, the FIFA laws of the game are very clear on what constitutes a foul, and in particular, a direct free kick.dddddddddddd Consider the following from FIFA: The following conditions must be met for an offence to be considered a foul:• it must be committed by a player• it must occur on the field of play• it must occur while the ball is in play Group of Four• tackles an opponent to gain possession of the ball, making contact with the opponent before touching the ball• holds an opponent• spits at an opponent• handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area) For this group of four direct free kicks fouls, the referee is concerned with whether the action occurred, not with how it was done. For fouls in this group of four, the FIFA laws of the game require the following action to be taken: • restart with a direct free kick for the opposing team where the offence occurred • exception: if the offence was committed by a defender inside his own penalty area• penalty kick for the attacking team The laws of the game are very clear. Pulling a jersey (holding an opponent) is not allowed and is punishable with a direct free kick, or a penalty kick if the offence occurs within the penalty area. Mark Clattenburg was absolutely spot on to call a penalty in Arsenals favour. Fans (as well as players, coaches and anyone else who watches the game) would do well to familiarize themselves with FIFAs laws of the game. Some of your preconceived ideas about how the game is officiated might actually turn out to be completely false. ' ' '