One series after climbing into first, the Athletics gave back momentum in a hurry.
The A’s dropped the rubber game to the White Sox 7-4 on Sunday at Sutter Health Park, losing a series to one of the American League’s worst teams and falling into a three-way tie atop the AL West with Texas and Los Angeles. Jeffrey Springs took his first loss of the season, and for the first time all year, the left-hander never really found a way to steady the game.
That was the bigger problem for the Athletics. They had just taken a series from Texas and briefly moved to the top of the division. Then this series flipped the mood in a hurry.
Springs got hit early
Chicago put pressure on Springs right away.
Chase Meidroth singled and later scored on Edgar Quero’s sacrifice fly in the first. Then the White Sox broke the game open in the second. Derek Hill hit a solo homer, Meidroth doubled, and Miguel Vargas followed with a two-run shot to left for a 4-0 lead.
Darell Hernaiz got one run back in the bottom half with his first homer of the season. But the White Sox answered again in the fifth.
Vargas singled, and Munetaka Murakami drove a two-run homer to right. Two batters later, Colson Montgomery added a solo shot to center, and the lead was suddenly 7-1.
That was the line that stood over the whole afternoon. Springs went five innings, allowed nine hits and seven runs, walked one and struck out seven.
The push came late
The Athletics did not do much against Noah Schultz for most of the day.
Schultz held them to one hit and one run over five innings. He walked one and struck out six, and the A’s managed only Hernaiz’s homer against him.
Their best push came in the seventh.
Tyler Soderstrom doubled, Hernaiz walked, and Lawrence Butler struck out before Zack Gelof lined a two-run double to right. Then a wild pitch brought Gelof home and cut the deficit to 7-4.
For a moment, the A’s had life.
But they got no closer. Carlos Cortes doubled in the eighth and was left there. Then Hernaiz walked in the ninth, Jeff McNeil was hit by a pitch, and Jacob Wilson flew out to end it.
The standings tightened again
That made the loss sting a little more.
After taking a series from the Rangers and moving into first, the Athletics now sit in a three-way tie with Texas and the Angels at 11-11. Chicago came in with one of the league’s weakest records, but the White Sox took two of three and controlled the series finale from the start.
The Athletics finished with five hits and struck out 11 times. Hernaiz scored twice and drove in one. Gelof had the key late swing with two RBIs, and Soderstrom added a double.
Still, the story was on the mound. Springs had been one of the club’s steadiest arms through the season’s first three weeks. Sunday was the first time he got hit hard, and the A’s never recovered from the early damage.
Up next
The Athletics open a three-game series against Seattle on Monday at Sutter Health Park.
J.T. Ginn is scheduled to start for the A’s against Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock. Ginn enters at 0-0 with a 3.31 ERA, while Hancock is 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA.
Related stories
Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!
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.
