Sweeping changes in A’s road play
Oakland continues to look imposing away from home after three wins at Chicago
CHICAGO — The A’s have suddenly become road warriors.
A three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox — including Sunday’s 5-3 victory — is an encouraging turn for what had been the American League’s worst road team.
“We really put together three really solid games overall,” said A’s starter Sonny Gray, who improved to 3-3 after allowing just two runs (one earned), four hits and striking out seven in a seven-inning outing. “We got hits when we needed to, our starting pitching was really good, our bullpen was really good and that’s hopefully what we can continue to do.”
The A’s travel to Houston with a head of steam and the chance for payback following a four-game Astros sweep last week at the Coliseum.
The three wins over Chicago at Guaranteed Rate Field was the A’s second sweep of the season and their seventh win in their past 11 games.
Rookie Franklin Barreto made his presence felt again as he started in his second major league game, going 2 for 5 and scored the tying run.
“That’s what happens when
you hit a homer, get another hit and do some good things,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin about Barreto’s play the previous day. “We do like the fact that he’s up here and he’s getting a chance at the big leagues, getting a taste of this.”
Barreto, called up from Triple-A Nashville late last week, lined a single to right in his first at-bat.
But it otherwise took a while for the A’s bats to fully awaken.
The A’s scored a single run in the seventh and two apiece in the eighth and ninth innings, eventually pounding out 12 hits.
“We were basically stagnant for a good portion of the game, not even getting good at-bats, let alone opportunities,” said Melvin. “Then all of a sudden the opportunities came. It seemed like from the sixth inning on the at-bats were completely different than the first half of the game.”
Chicago broke a scoreless tie in the third when center fielder Adam Engel launched a solo homer to left field on a 3-0 pitch with two out. It was his first major league home run.
The White Sox added another run in the fourth after Jose Abreu doubled, reached third on Avisail Garcia’s fly to right and scored on a Josh Phegley’s passed ball with two out.
The A’s finally scored in the seventh as pinch hitter Jed Lowrie doubled off White Sox reliever Dan Jennings.
Lowrie, out of the starting lineup with a sore right knee, drove in Yonder Alonso from third and cut Chicago’s lead to 2-1.
That left A’s with runners on second and third with two out for Rajai Davis, who was struck out looking by Tommy Kahnle, the fourth White Sox pitcher of the inning.
Barreto led off the eighth with a single to left off Kahnle, reached second as Ryon Healy reached on an error and scored to tie the game at 2-2 on Khris Davis’ base hit to left.
Alonso lined reliever David Robertson’s first pitch into the left field corner to drive in Healy for the goahead run.
The A’s added ninth inning runs on solo homers from Adam Rosales (fourth) and Matt Joyce (10th), the fourth time this season the A’s have hit back-to-back home runs.
“We bounced back from the Houston series and now we’re going to Houston,” said Rosales, a Chicagoarea native. “I think we get a second chance against the Astros. We’re hoping to play good baseball like we did here.”
The A’s have an Monday off-day and resume play Tuesday in Houston to start a four-game series. They return home Friday to meet the White Sox again in a three-game series.
Former A’s catcher n Stephen Vogt, designated for assignment by the team last week, was claimed off waivers Sunday by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Vogt was a two-time American League All-Star with the A’s (2015-16). He was batting .217 with four home runs and 20 RBI in 54 games this year. He went .261 with 18 homers and 71 RBI in 2015 and .251 with 14 homers and 56 RBI last year.
Lowrie was out of the n starting lineup Sunday but was well enough to pinch hit.
“We were thinking about sending him to a doctor in Houston but based on what’s going on maybe not,” said Melvin. “I really appreciated that he came in the dugout and said ‘I can hit if you need me to.’”
A’s rookie third baseman n Matt Chapman was scheduled to leave the hospital Sunday after a stay that included receiving intravenous antibiotic treatment for a left knee infection. Chapman, batting .214 since joining the A’s on June15, was originally scheduled to come off the 10-day disabled list Thursday but will remain there for the time being.
The A’s send lefthander n Sean Manaea (6-4, 4.05 ERA) to the mound in Tuesday’s series opener against Houston’s RHP Mike Fiers (5-2, 3.81). Manaea is 5-1 with a 3.07 ERA and a .226 opponents batting average over his past seven starts. He took the loss in his last start, a 5-1 A’s loss to the Astros last Wednesday in Oakland, allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out eight and walked just two.