OAKLAND, Calif. -- Pinch-runner Rajai Daviss decision to steal third base just as Oakland catcher Derek Norris was throwing the ball back to the pitcher caught most everyone by surprise -- including several of his Detroit teammates. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus just hopes its the spark to pull his slumping team out of its two-week funk. Davis scored on Austin Jacksons fielders choice groundout in the eighth inning and the Tigers beat the Athletics 6-5 on Tuesday night to end a three-game losing streak. "Raj was just being Raj," Ausmus said. "He likes to wreak havoc on the bases, he saw the pitchers head drop and he took advantage." A day after getting shut out in this ALDS rematch from a year ago, the Tigers jumped out to an early lead, lost it, then rallied to win for just the second time in nine games. That helped overcome another rough outing by reigning AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, who gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings but was long gone by the time Davis scored the game-winning run. J.D. Martinez drew a one-out walk off Oakland reliever Fernando Abad (0-2). Davis was brought in to run and the speedy outfielder took second on a passed ball. He then stole third when As catcher Derek Norris was throwing the ball back to Abad. After Luke Gregerson replaced Abad, Jackson hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Jed Lowrie, but the As were unable to turn the double play and Davis raced home with the go-ahead run. "I think he caught the whole stadium sleeping," Tigers closer Joe Nathan said. "I know I missed it." As manager Bob Melvin credited Davis for his aggressive running. "That was the difference," Melvin said. "He timed it perfectly. As soon as (Norris) let go of the ball he took off. I havent seen the replay yet if he had a chance to get it and throw him out, but thats a big chance he took and it paid off." Miguel Cabrera and Torii Hunter homered for the Al Central-leading Tigers. Al Albuquerque (2-1) pitched one inning for the win and Nathan worked the ninth for his 12th save in 15 tries. John Jaso homered for the As. The game began as a marquee matchup between Scherzer and Sonny Gray, but both starters were gone after the sixth. Scherzer, who beat the As in Game 1 of the ALDS last season, struck out four, walked two and balked home a run. Grey, who led the AL in ERA entering the night, wasnt much better. He pitched with runners on base in nearly every inning, allowed four runs for the first time this season and struck out five before leaving with a one-run lead after the sixth. The As bullpen couldnt make it stand. Reliever Dan Otero gave up Hunters tying home run with two outs in the seventh before the Tigers scored off Abad in the eighth. It was a much-needed boost for the slumping Tigers, who had dropped seven of eight before coming from behind to beat the As. "We certainly needed it for sure," Ausmus said. "The mood has been good all along ... (but) you could tell in the dugout that the players really wanted this one." Detroit, which was shut out in the series opener, got to Gray when Hunter doubled with one out in the first and scored on Cabreras single up the middle. After Gray walked Victor Martinez on four pitches, J.D. Martinez lined an RBI double to right-centre to make it 2-0. Oakland tied it in the second on RBI doubles by Lowrie and Alberto Callaspo before Cabrera hit his tiebreaking home run in the third and Alex Avila doubled in Jackson in the fourth to make it 4-2. Coming off his worst start of the season, Scherzer couldnt make it hold up. He balked home a run in the fourth after giving up singles to Josh Reddick and Callaspo. Jaso followed with his fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot that gave Oakland a 5-4 lead. NOTES: 2B Ian Kinsler went 0 for 5 in his return to Detroits lineup after getting his first day off Monday. That ended Kinslers 11-game hitting streak. ... Josh Donaldson has reached base in 42 consecutive games, the longest streak in franchise history since at least 1914, according to the team. ... The game featured three potential All-Stars. Detroit 1B Cabrera and 2B Kinsler, along with Oakland 3B Donaldson. All are leading at their respective positions in the first voting figures released by MLB. ... As LHP Scott Kazmir (5-2) pitches Wednesday and has a 3.99 ERA in 13 career starts against Detroit. Hell oppose Tigers RHP Anibal Sanchez (2-2). Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . Justine finished first with a score of 22.44 while Chloe was second with 21.66 points. Defending champion Hannah Kearney of the U.S., was third at 21.49. A third Dufour-Lapointe sister, Maxime, failed to make the final group and finished 12th while Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was 10th. Zack Greinke Jersey . Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba led the way as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna. http://www.diamondbacksapparelsshop.com/randy-johnson-jersey-c-10/ . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . With the suspension, Nigeria is unable to take part in any kind of international fixtures. FIFA had issued a warning to the NFF last week after the federation was served with court proceedings from the government that prevented the NFFs president from running the NFFs day-to-day affairs. Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario.MONTREAL - Rene Bourque had just nine goals and 16 points in 63 regular season games, but the Canadiens forward has become a key cog in Montreals offence during the playoffs. A trade bait name brought up over and over again on local radio, web message boards and social media all season, Bourque netted his first career playoff hat trick in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final Tuesday, giving him eight goals and 11 points in 16 playoffs games and helping his team stave off elimination with a 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers. A while his sudden emergence as a scoring threat in the playoffs has surprised many, its nothing new to his teammates. Despite his regular season struggles, they never doubted the 62, 217-pound power forward would shine through when it mattered most. "Ive said it before and Ill say it again, hes got world class speed and a world class shot and its showing right now in the playoffs," said forward Max Pacioretty, who also chipped in Tuesday night with a goal and an assist. "Hes a bigger body and he plays a simple game and that suits him well in the playoffs. Its a great time for him to step up and he was huge tonight, he helped out a lot." After the Canadiens blew a 4-1 lead in the second period on Tuesday night, Bourque halted the Rangers comeback scoring his second goal of the game at 15:10 of the second period to make the score 5-4 and give Montreal a lead they wouldnt relinquish. Bourque then added another goal at 6:33 of the third period to complete the hat trick and help the Canadiens avoid elimination for the third time in these Stanley Cup playoffs. Montreal will try to repeat the feat for a fourth time in Game 6 in New York on Thursday and force a Game 7 back in Montreal on Saturday. "Even going back to last year, he just loves this time of year," said forward Brendan Gallagher. "Hes leading by example again. For him to go out there and score not only three goals but very timely goals was big. Anytime you give up the lead like that and can come right back and score thats big. Thats what clutch guys do at this time of year, they score timely goals.&" Since being acquired from Calgary two years ago in a trade that saw popular scorer Michael Cammalleri go the other way, many have doubted Bourques role on this team.dddddddddddd But not Gallagher and his teammates. They saw a hard-working character player that could come up big when it mattered most. "You just gotta understand the character he has," Gallagher explained. "Hes big. Hes a guy that we rely on. He showed up and thats what we expect from him. Hes a competitor. He loves the atmosphere and he loves the opportunity we have right now and thats kind of expected from him." Michel Therrien was also thrilled with Bourques performance. "He played a great game; he was a force out there," the Canadiens head coach said. "On the forecheck, he took the man. He was moving his feet. He was going hard to the map mat. Hes a very good scorer, so definitely that was a great performance by him." The always quite and humble Bourque wasnt about to take all the credit though. "Everybody was ready for this game," he said after the game. "We knew the situation. We got a big power-play goal early and a few others. "It was just a see-saw battle back and forth. (Dale) Weise made a great play to me. I called for the puck and somehow it got through. It was nice to get in there." The pucks have gotten through for Bourque just one less time than they did in the regular season and the Canadiens are hoping his clutch run continues as they try to come back from what is now a one-game deficit. James Murphy is a freelance reporter who also writes for NHL.com, the Boston Herald and XNsports.com. He covered the Boston Bruins/NHL for last 11 seasons writing for ESPNBoston.com, ESPN.com, NHL.com, NESN.com, the Boston Metro, Insidehockey.com and Le Hockey Magazine. Murphy also currently hosts the radio show "Murphys Hockey Law" heard Saturdays 9-11 AM ET on Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio and 4-6 PM ET on Websportsmedia.com. In addition to that, he is a regular guest TSN 690 in Montreal and Sirius/XM NHL Network Radio as well as a hockey analyst on CTV Montreal. ' ' '