OAKLAND, Calif. -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon thought Jorge Soler might get a jolt out of returning to the majors after spending two months recovering from a nagging hamstring injury, including a two-week stint in the minors.Boy, was Maddon right.Soler hit a three-run home run in his first at-bat after being activated off the disabled list, Jon Lester pitched seven strong innings, and Chicago beat the Oakland Athletics 7-2 on Friday night.Sometimes a guy just needs to show up and then he gets the adrenaline going on, and that was a big hit, Maddon said. I didnt think it was high enough to go out. It was out so quickly.Dexter Fowler also homered while Javier Baez added a two-run double to help Chicago win its fifth straight. The Cubs also improved to a major league-best 67-41.Lester (12-4) pitched for the As over the final two months of the 2014 season after getting traded from Boston. He returned to the Coliseum for the first time since then and faced a distinctly different Oakland team than the one he left.Any time youve been on the home side and come back as a visitor its different, said Lester, who had eight strikeouts, and allowed two runs on nine hits.I enjoyed pitching here. I wish it turned out a little different but I was with a good team and great fans. Its unbelievable to come here as a home player as opposed to a visitor.Soler, out since June 6 with a hamstring injury, celebrated his return to the majors with his home run in the first inning off As starter Dillon Overton (1-3).That capped a four-run burst by the Cubs that included Fowlers fifth game-opening home run this season.Soler also reached on a fielders choice and scored on Baezs double in the third. Jason Heyward added an RBI single in the inning to help extend Chicagos lead to 7-0.I wasnt feeling any pressure, I just wanted to put a good swing on the ball, Soler said through an interpreter. I was a little bit frustrated being out at least two months but I just wanted to keep the positive attitude and come here and try to do my best.Brett Eibner, called up from the minors earlier in the day, homered against Lester leading off the sixth for Oakland. Marcus Semien added an RBI single.ROOKIE ROUGHED UPOverton allowed seven runs in three innings but suffered his third consecutive loss. The rookie left-hander is winless since beating the Los Angeles Angels in his major league debut June 25. Believe it or not I was actually hitting my spots better tonight, Overton said. They were just hitting everything I threw. Youre going to have days like that You just have to work with it and keep grounded.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: Maddon said the plan is to ease Soler back in and get him some defensive work in the outfield before the team faces another NL team on Aug. 11. ... RHP Joe Nathan was designated for assignment. The 41-year-old was 1-0 in three appearances with the Chicago.Athletics: Jed Lowrie was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a bunion on his left foot. ... RHP Jesse Hahn also went on the DL with a strained right shoulder. ... RHP Andrew Triggs was called back up from Triple-A Nashville along with Eibner.UP NEXTCubs: RHP Jake Arrieta (12-5) pitches the middle game of the series at the Coliseum. The Chicago ace has lost three straight decisions.Athetics: RHP Sonny Gray (5-10) has won only twice in 11 starts since coming off the disabled list. Gray has a 5.57 ERA over that span.Hydro Flask Outlet Store . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Hydro Flask Clearance . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. http://www.cheaphydroflask.net/ . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Hydro Flask Water Bottle Sale . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Cheap Hydro Flask Water Bottle . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil.Seattles win over New England on Sunday night was billed as both a Super Bowl rematch and a possible Super Bowl preview, and for once, the latter phrase was not hyperbole. Both teams certainly looked like they were ready to play deep into January, and in the end they were separated by only a goal-line stand.How likely is it that well see these two teams again in Houston for Super Bowl LI? As part of our playoff odds report each week, Football Outsiders also tracks the odds of every Super Bowl rematch. Seattle-New England pops up in 13.7 percent of this weeks simulations. Heres a look at the other rematches that have better than 100-to-1 odds at this point.Philadelphia-New England (XXXIX): 4.6% Dallas-Denver (XII): 2.6% Seattle-Denver (XLVIII): 2.2% Dallas-Miami (VI): 1.8% Philadelphia-Oakland (XV): 1.5% New York Giants-New England (XLII/XLVI): 1.5% Atlanta-Denver (XXXIII): 1.2%However, the most likely Super Bowl matchup right now would not be a rematch, even though it would be the record-breaking ninth Super Bowl for each franchise. Dallas and New England meet in Super Bowl LI in 14.9 percent of this weeks simulations.In other news, this is the first week that we have two teams with a big fat zero for playoff odds. Although Cleveland and San Francisco are nnot technically out of the race, neither team makes the postseason in any of our 50,000 simulations this week.ddddddddddddEach week from now until the end of the regular season, well be taking a look at the playoff odds for all 32 teams in the NFL. For a full explanation on how we calculate each teams playoff odds, see the bottom of the article.AFC PLAYOFF PREDICTIONSFAVORITES1. New England Patriots (7-2)Odds of making playoffs: 97.3 percentThe loss to Seattle cut the Patriots odds of getting the AFCs No. 1 seed, but they still earn it in 54.2 percent of our simulations. Thats better than even odds despite the presence of three other seven-win teams in the AFC. Why are the Patriots such a heavy favorite? Not only are they the best AFC team by our DVOA ratings, but they also have one of the five easiest remaining schedules in the league. Meanwhile, the three seven-win AFC West teams will have to all play a round-robin with one another, not to mention the still-frisky Chargers. The Raiders, Chiefs and Broncos will likely have to run the table on the rest of their divisional games if they want to challenge the Patriots for seeding. ' ' '