Athletics fall to White Sox 6-2

Oakland couldn’t extend their win streak today as the club lost to the Chicago White Sox by a final of 6-2.

With JP Sears on the mound the club was going for their third straight win. It’d been a while since they team had had one of those and a W today would have secured at least a series win. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. Chicago got to Sears in each of the first three inning while scoring five times overall. The big one came in the third when he allowed a 3-run shot to Yoan Moncada. That broke the door open by making it a five-run deficit, and it was clear that Sears just didn’t have it today.

And yet he powered through. He allowed another homer in the fifth but at the end of the day Sears made it through six full frames, helping preserve the freshness of the bullpen arms. Homers were a bit of a problem today as he allowed three long balls, but he also struck out a healthy eight Chicago hitters. Still, the White Sox had gotten to him for six runs and it’s hard to win games when your starter gives up that many. His season ERA now stands at 4.80. Lucas Erceg followed Sears and pitched the final two frames, allowing just a couple walks but otherwise having a nice outing and giving Oakland even a chance to comeback.

As for the offense, they had no answer for Chicago starter Touki Toussaint. The club managed just a pair of singles and a trio of walks against the right-hander. Surprising considering that Toussaint has had a difficult season to date. He held down the Oakland bats for five full innings while the next two relievers for Chicago kept it up against the A’s and prevented them from getting anything going. The Green & Gold finally broke through for a couple runs in the eighth thanks to some poor defense by Chicago but the six run deficit was just too much to overcome today.

Not a fun game for the club. The vibes were going well after the club took the first two in convincing fashion and the A’s had their most consistent starter going for them. It just was one of those days where neither the pitching or hitting is at its best. The good news is the squad can still secure a series win tomorrow morning in the finale. The club has Paul Blackburn ready to take the ball for the team while Chicago will counter with Mike Clevinger. Let’s wrap up Chicago with a win tomorrow!