The Oakland Athletics have a chance to record their first home series sweep of the season Sunday afternoon when they go for a third consecutive win over the Chicago White Sox.
The A’s parlayed an overturned grand slam, a run-scoring balk and a walk-off error into a wild 7-6 win in 10 innings on Saturday.
Seeking its first series sweep since brushing aside the Brewers in Milwaukee from June 9-11, Oakland will turn to right-hander Paul Blackburn (1-0, 3.77 ERA) in the finale. The White Sox have yet to announce a starter for Sunday’s game.
In a season filled with disappointments, A’s manager Mark Kotsay was thrilled to walk away from Saturday’s 3-hour, 20-minute affair with a win on a day of unique occurrences.
A second consecutive triumph didn’t seem probable a few minutes before the A’s came to bat in the last of the eighth inning. Chicago’s Tim Anderson launched an apparent grand slam that would have broken the game open at 10-4, however the play was reviewed and the ball was deemed to be foul.
Given a second life, Oakland did the rest of the scoring in the game.
“Once we lost the lead, there wasn’t a lull today; there was a fight,” Kotsay said. “We talk a lot about the character, the fight of the team. Coming back against a real good bullpen and getting back in the game …
“You can’t say enough about the effort Tyler Wade and JJ Bleday showed these guys. They’re playing hard. They come to win; they come to compete every day. Those are good signs.”
The A’s won the game on a play that featured two head-first slides — one by Bleday safely into first base to avoid a potential inning-ending out, the other by Wade at home plate, sending Oakland players pouring onto the field to celebrate the club’s sixth walk-off win of the season.
Among Saturday’s other highlights was a rare head-to-head between the Perez brothers, both of whom have the first name Carlos.
One of the day’s memorable moments came when Chicago’s Carlos Jesus Perez, batting next to A’s catcher Carlos Eduardo Perez, grounded a tie-breaking double down the left-field line as part of the visitors’ three-run rally in the top of the eighth.
The White Sox promoted their Carlos Perez from Triple-A Charlotte before Friday’s series opener, setting the stage for him to play against his older brother for the first time at the big-league level.
“Feels nice that I saw him on the other side,” Oakland’s Perez said. “I’m really happy for him.”
After a delayed season debut, Blackburn has yet to suffer a loss in any of his six starts. He got his lone win his last time out, limiting the New York Yankees to one run in 5 1/3 innings in a 2-1 victory on Tuesday.
The former Chicago Cubs first-round pick has gone 0-2 with a 5.28 ERA in three career starts against the White Sox.
–Field Level Media
