A's Lose Ground in AL Wild Card with 7-3 loss to White Sox

A disappointing loss for the Athletics. After giving up two hits to the White Sox without recording an out in the first inning, Bartolo Colon looked shaky, but was able to get control and eventually settled down .  Not the case.  He went on to give up 5 earned runs off 9 hits in 5.2 innings.  Only 2 walks, but also only 2 strikeouts.

 The White Sox are on a roll, winning six of their last ten decisions  One big inning in the 6th, and there’s no looking back for Chicago, as they held the A’s to just 2 runs up to the 9th inning.  A.J. Pierzynski continues his career year with putting up homerun number 23

With the loss, the A’s are now tied with Detroit at half a game back in the American League Wild Card standings, behind only Tampa Bay and Baltimore.

For the weekend, the A’s go 1-2, falling to 61-53, despite Derrick Norris’ 9th inning zinger.  The team has been up and down since coming into August, and will look to bounce back when they send out Jarrod Parker to take on Kansas City’s struggling Jeremy Guthrie, who is 1-3 and has allowed 13 earned runs in his previous 4 starts, this coming Tuesday.

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A's Fall To White Sox On Walk-Off Home Run

In late innings, the Oakland Athletics are almost unstoppable. However, Jordan Danks found a way to stop the A's.

Danks hit a home run to right with two outs in the ninth to propel the White Sox to a 4-3 win over the A's. Both teams are competing in the AL Wild Card race, so the loss is crucial for the A's, who received a solid outing from Brandon McCarthy in his return from the DL.

McCarthy allowed three earned runs in six-plus innings pitched, and the two teams were tied after seven innings. Both teams received solid efforts from the bullpen, but the White Sox triumphed at the end.

Dayan Viciedo, A.J Pierzynski and Alexi Ramirez also homered, all taking advantage of mistakes by McCarthy. McCarthy gave Ramirez a meatball in the fourth, and he hit it deep to left field. Viciedo and Pierzynski both hit outside pitches into the seats for the White Sox.

With the game tied at three, submariner Pat Neshek delivered a pitch. Catcher George Kottaras wanted it away, but Neshek threw the pitch too far inside. Danks capitalized, and he hit a no-doubter to give the White Sox a key win.

Brandon Moss hit his 12th homer of the year for the A's, a two-run shot that put Oakland up 3-0 in the second inning. The A's dominated White Sox starter Gavin Floyd early, but he settled down and pitched six strong innings.

Tommy Milone will start Saturday for the A's, while Francisco Liriano will get the ball for the White Sox.

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