Well, so much for Mark Buehrle's struggles at the Oakland Coliseum. Buehrle needed only 101 pitches for the complete game tonight as he dispatched the A's light-hitting offense; the only run they scored was on back to back doubles from Kouzmanoff and Cust in the seventh. Buehrle spoiled a great start by Cahill; although Cahill didn't strike out a batter tonight, he did pitch seven innings, allowing only two earned runs (three overall). He gave up a fourth inning sac fly to break the scoreless tie, and two in the sixth, hurt by a Pennington error.
Despite their struggles at the plate, the A's were still in the game until the eighth inning, when the interesting choice of Henry Rodriguez allowed a two-run single to AJ Piersynski, of all people, to break the game open and give the White Sox the final margin of 5-1.
The loss today is particularly bad for the A's, since the Angels can't seem to solve the Texas Rangers. Neither the A's nor the Angels can afford to fall much further behind in the division, and when the A's waste pitching outings like tonight's, it's not a good sign for the rest of the season. Rajai Davis was scratched before today's game with a sore hamstring, which didn't help the cause. The A's desperately need some hitters in the lineup.
Best to forget this game and move on; Vin Mazzaro will take his crack at the White Sox tomorrow afternoon.