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 Beat White Sox 9-7 In Slugfest

Travis Blackley continued to struggle. However, the Athletics' offense continued to produce.

The result? Another wild victory for the Oakland Athletics.

Jonny Gomes homered, Chris Carter had three hits and the A's beat the White Sox 9-7 in a slugfest. Grant Balfour kicked off the "closer by committee" era by recording his eighth save of the season, as he  got A.J Pierzynski to line out to end the game.

Gomes, Carter and Derek Norris all knocked in two runs for Oakland, and Brandon Inge plated the go-ahead run for Oakland. Inge ripped an outside fastball down the right field line to plate Yoenis Cespedes and give Oakland the lead.

In the third inning, Norris hit a low fastball from Francisco Liriano down the left field line for a ground-rule double. Two runs scored, and the A's took a 4-2 lead. Earlier in the inning, Carter ripped a 93 mph fastball into left field for a two-run single.

Oakland led 6-2 in the fourth, but the White Sox battled back. Kevin Youkilis and Tyler Flowers each homered, and after the 7th inning, Chicago led 7-6. However, setup man Matt Thornton came in, and he failed to stop Oakland's offense.

Thornton gave Gomes a curveball right down the middle, and he crushed it into the left-field bleachers. The game was tied, and Oakland wasn't done. They scored on Inge's single and on another hit from Gomes in the ninth, and the A's led 9-7 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Balfour came on for the save, and he did a nice job after hitting Kevin Youkilis. Balfour didn't give Adam Dunn a good pitch to hit, and he got Dunn to fly out to left. Alex Rios struck out on a great pitch to get another out, and Pierzynski lined out to end the game.

With the win, the A's are now tied with three other teams for first place in the AL Wild Card standings. The White Sox are a half-game ahead of the Detroit Tigers for first place in the AL Central.

Tomorrow, Chris Sale (13-3, 2.59 ERA) will take the hill for the White Sox, while Bartolo Colon (9-8, 3.38 ERA) will pitch for Oakland.

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A's vs. White Sox 8/11: Cook Loses Closing Job, Preview, Lineups

After a heartbreaking loss last night on a walk-off home run by Jordan Danks, the A's will look to bounce back in game two of this three game series.

Travis Blackley (4-3, 3.30 ERA) will get a spot start, and will face Francisco Liriano (3-10, 5.03 ERA) of the White Sox.

In other news, Bob Melvin said that closer Ryan Cook's next appearance will not be a save opportunity. That means the A's will likely go with a "closer by committee" until Cook gets his act straightened out.

Here are the starting lineups for both teams (courtesy of CSN), with the first pitch at 4:10 PT:

Oakland Athletics (60-52) lineup

1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. Jonny Gomes (R) DH
3. Josh Reddick (L) RF
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF
5. Chris Carter (R) 1B
6. Brandon Inge (R) 3B
7. Derek Norris (R) C
8. Adam Rosales (R) SS
9. Jemile Weeks (S) 2B

Chicago White Sox (61-50) lineup

1. Alejandro De Aza (L) CF
2. Kevin Youkilis (R) 3B
3. Adam Dunn (L) 1B
4. Alex Rios (R) RF
5. A.J. Pierzynski (L) DH
6. Alexei Ramirez (R) SS
7. Dayan Viciedo (R) LF
8. Tyler Flowers (R) C
9. Gordon Beckham (R) 2B

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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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A's Hit the Road to Face White Sox: Preview, Lineups

Jonathon Daniel/Getty Images

Coming off a 5-5 home stand, the Oakland A's will hit the road for a six-game trip.

First stop? The AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, who have the same record as the A's at 60-50. The three-game series starts tonight from US Cellular Field in the south side.

Brandon McCarthy (6-3, 2.54 ERA) will come of the DL and make his first start since June 19. He will be opposed by Gavin Floyd (8-9, 4.43 ERA).

Here are the lineups for both teams, first pitch is scheduled to be at 5:10 PT. (h/t CSN)

Athletics   
1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. Jemile Weeks (S) 2B
3. Josh Reddick (L) RF
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF
5. Chris Carter (R) 1B
6. Brandon Moss (L) DH
7. Brandon Inge (R) 3B
8. Derek Norris (R) C
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS
    
Chicago White Sox    
1. Alejandro De Aza (L) CF
2. Kevin Youkilis (R) 3B
3. Adam Dunn (L) 1B
4. Alex Rios (R) RF
5. A.J. Pierzynski (L) C
6. Alexei Ramirez (R) SS
7. Dayan Viciedo (R) DH
8. John Danks (L) LF
9. Gordon Beckham (R) 2B

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