Athletics come up short in 8-7 loss to White Sox

A five-run third, but the Oakland Athletics in a hole that they weren’t able to climb out of in an 8-7 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

Paul Blackburn found himself in immediate trouble in the first as Tim Anderson singled with one out. He then stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw by Shea Langeliers. Blackburn then walked Luis Robert Jr. who immediately stole second to put runners at second and third with one out. Blackburn though came right back and struck out Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn to end the inning.

Blackburn retired the side in order in the second, but then found himself in trouble again in the third. Seby Zavala worked a walk to start the inning and then moved to third on a single by Andrew Benintendi. Anderson delivered a sacrifice fly to put the White Sox in front 1-0.

A passed ball moved Benintendi into scoring position and a two-out single by Jimenez made it 2-0. Vaughn followed with another single and Blackburn walked Jake Burger to load the bases. Blackburn then hit Gavin Sheets to force in another run to push the lead to 3-0. The White Sox weren’t finished as Zach Remillard plated two more runs to make it 5-0 before Blackburn struck out Zavala to end the inning.

Oakland went down in order in the first two innings against Chicago starter Touki Toussaint, but was able to get on the board in the third. Conner Capel got things started with a leadoff walk and then moved to second as Tyler Wade reached on a bunt single. Esteury Ruiz struck out for the first out, but Tony Kemp singled home Capel to make it 5-1. Wade was thrown out trying to advance to third for the second out.

That base running mistake would prove costly. Kemp stole second and Toussaint walked Ryan Noda. He then hit JJ Bleday to load the bases. A five-pitch walk to Seth Brown forced in another run to make it 5-2.

Blackburn retired the side in order again in the fourth and the offense got back to work against Toussaint. Capel worked a one-out walk and then moved to second on another single by Wade. Ruiz grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out. Chicago then replaced Toussaint with Aaron Bummer who got Kemp to ground out to kill the rally.

Blackburn worked around a two-out single in the fifth and the A’s offense crept closer. Noda led off the inning with a single and then came all the way around to score on a double by Bleday that make it 5-3.

Blackburn would exit after the fifth. It wasn’t his strongest performance, but he did a good job of hanging in there through five innings. He allowed six hits and five runs to go along with four walks and five strikeouts.

Richard Lovelady, who was activated from the injured list prior to the game, took over in the sixth. He was greeted by a leadoff double from Remillard, who made it all the way to third on an error in left by Bleday. Lovelady struck out Zavala, but Benintendi plated the run with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3. That would be the end of the day for Lovelady who was removed due to some sort of injury.

Rico Garcia entered and walked Robert to put runners at first and second. Jimenez followed with a single to right that scored Anderson to tack on another run at 7-3. Garcia stayed in and served up a leadoff home run to Burger in the seventh.

The White Sox bullpen retired 11-straight A’s hitters before Langeliers dropped a double down the right field line with two outs in the eighth inning. Brent Rooker then sent one over the wall in center for a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 8-5.

Sam Long allowed a two-out single to Clint Frazier in the ninth, but then picked him off to end the inning.

The A’s mounted a rally in the ninth. Kemp singled with one out off of Chicago reliever Gregory Santos. Noda struck out for the second out, but Bleday brought Kemp home with a double to make it 8-6. Seth Brown then dumped a single to right to cut the lead to 8-7, but Jace Peterson lined out sharply to Frazier in right to end the game.

Oakland’s brief two-game winning streak comes to an end as they fail to capture their second sweep of the season. With the loss, they fall to 23-63. They will have a travel day on Monday before opening up a three-game series in Detroit against the Tigers.