The Athletics fell behind early Tuesday, rallied late, but came up short in a 6-4 loss to the White Sox at Camelback Ranch.
Chicago did most of its damage in the third inning. Chase Meidroth opened the scoring with a solo homer, Austin Hays followed with an RBI double and Andrew Benintendi ripped a three-run shot to right that put the White Sox in front 5-0.
Luis Morales took the loss after allowing five runs on four hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five.
A’s start to answer
The A’s finally broke through in the fifth when Andy Ibáñez hit a solo homer to left-center, his second of the spring. Later in the inning, Zack Gelof drew a walk and Nick Kurtz lined an RBI double to right to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Chicago answered in the bottom half when Munetaka Murakami hit a solo homer to center, stretching the lead back to four.
Oakland never completely went away, though. The A’s got within 6-4 in the eighth when Shane McGuire, batting for Lawrence Butler, launched a two-run homer to right-center after Euribiel Angeles stole second as a pinch-runner.
Bullpen keeps it close
After Morales and James Gonzalez were tagged for the early damage, the bullpen settled the game down.
Hogan Harris, Luis Medina and Joel Kuhnel combined to keep the White Sox off the board over the final 3 2/3 innings. Kuhnel, in particular, was sharp again. He worked two scoreless innings and also picked Tristan Peters off first.
The defense helped, too. Brian Serven picked Drew Romo off third in the eighth to erase a White Sox chance and keep the game within reach.
Too little, too late
The Athletics managed just six hits and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Kurtz had two hits, including his RBI double. Ibáñez and McGuire supplied the power, but Oakland did not get enough traffic on the bases to fully cash in.
Chicago closer Chris Murphy handled the ninth and closed it out.
Up next
The A’s, 12-14, are back at Hohokam Stadium on Thursday night for a spring training matchup with the Seattle Mariners. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m. MST in Mesa.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
