Lawrence Butler capped a three-run seventh inning with a go-ahead sacrifice fly, All-Star Mason Miller returned from the injured list with a 1-2-3 ninth and the Oakland Athletics earned a 3-2 victory over the visiting Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon.
The defeat in the rubber match of a three-game series came one day after Chicago ended its American League record-tying 21-game losing streak, but it extended another eye-catching run by making the White Sox 0-66 this season when trailing after seven innings.
Down 2-0 since the second inning, the A’s rallied in the seventh against the Chicago bullpen after Brent Rooker opened the frame with a single against Touki Toussaint (0-2) and Abraham Toro drew a one-out walk.
Armando Alvarez then singled to score Rooker and get Oakland within 2-1 before Zack Gelof greeted reliever Dominic Leone with a game-tying RBI single.
Two batters later, with the bases loaded, Butler lifted his difference-making sacrifice fly to left.
Tyler Ferguson preserved the 3-2 lead with a perfect eighth before Miller, wearing a splint on his broken left pinky finger, threw nine pitches over 100 mph during a 13-pitch return for his 16th save of the year.
Miller hadn’t pitched since July 22 due to the fractured finger.
T.J. McFarland (2-1), who pitched a scoreless seventh, was credited with the win.
Joey Estes worked the first five innings for the A’s, allowing two runs and six hits. He struck out four without issuing a walk.
The Oakland rally prevented Chicago starter Davis Martin from recording his first win of the season. He left with a 2-0 lead after shutting out the hosts on two hits over six innings, recording one walk and four strikeouts.
Seeking their first winning streak since a three-game run in late June, the White Sox held the upper hand most of the way thanks to a two-run home run by Andrew Benintendi in the second inning. Benintendi’s second homer in as many days also scored Andrew Vaughn, who had doubled.
The homer was Benintendi’s 11th of the season.
The White Sox outhit the A’s 7-6 on a day when Oakland won despite not recording an extra-base hit.
–Field Level Media