A’s claim Series against White Sox
Rajai Davis #11 of the Oakland Athletics steals third base against the Chicago White Sox in the bottom of the fourth inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on July 5, 2017 in Oakland, California.
(July 5, 2017 - Source: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images North America)
The Oakland A’s (37-48) claim the series against the Chicago White Sox (37-47) as they win 7-4 in the rubber game.
The A’s took an early lead in the first inning. RF Matt Joyce led off with a double and advanced to third base on a single from 2B Jed Lowrie. DH Khris Davis grounded into double play next but Matt Joyce managed to come home for the first run of the game.
Chicago’s SP Mike Pelfrey had a pitch count of 59 (24 and 35) after two innings.
The A’s extended their lead in the third. They had two runners on base after a one-out single from Jed Lowrie and a two-out walk to 1B Yonder Alonso. C Bruce Maxwell doubled next and drove in two runs to put Oakland up 3-0.
Mike Pelfrey’s pitch count went up to 90. Oakland’s SP Sonny Gray, by comparison had thrown 40 pitches to this point.
Mike Pelfrey’s (3-7) day on the mound came to an end after surrendering a one-out home run to CF Jaycob Brugman in the fourth. He wound up throwing 99 pitches, giving up 5 hits, 3 walks and 4 earned runs while fanning 5. His ERA and WHIP increased to 4.46 and 1.41, respectively.
The pitching change didn’t stop Oakland from pouring on more runs. LF Rajai Davis hit a single off RP Gregory Infante and went on to steal second and third base. Matt Joyce walked next and stole second base, too. Jed Lowrie followed with a single, driving in two runs to give the A’s a 6-0 lead.
The White Sox got on the scoreboard in the sixth. 3B Todd Frazier drew a walk to lead off the inning, followed by DH Matt Davidson’s 18th home run of the season to drive in two runs for Chicago.
Sonny Gray (4-4) went 6 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks and 2 earned runs while striking out 5. He now has a 4.00 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP on the year.
The A’s scored again in the eighth. Bruce Maxwell drew a walk to lead off the inning. With two outs he advanced to third base on a single from Jaycob Brugmann and came home on a wild pitch.
The final runs of the game belonged to the White Sox. With two outs and 1B Jose Abreu on first base Todd Frazier hit his 16th homer of the year.
Rajai Davis went 2-for-4 with 1 run and 4 stolen bases. He is batting .211 and has 31 runs, 2 HR, 12 RBI and 14 stolen bases this season.
The Chicago White Sox continue their road trip with a three-game series at the Colorado Rockies (49-37) from Friday to Sunday.
The Oakland A’s travel to the Seattle Mariners (41-44) to play a four-game series from Thursday through Sunday.
Twitter: @ThomasKaunzner
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