Field Level Media
Sep 9, 2021
Frankie Montas pitched seven strong innings and Matt Chapman homered Wednesday night as the host Oakland Athletics snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Montas (12-9) tied injured Chris Bassitt for the team lead in wins with his third straight, avenging a defeat to the White Sox in Chicago on Aug. 16.
The 28-year-old, who debuted for the White Sox in 2015, limited his former club to one run and six hits. He walked two and struck out seven.
The A's never trailed, jumping in front when Chapman led off the second inning with a home run off White Sox starter Dallas Keuchel (8-9). The long ball was Chapman's 11th in his past 21 games and his 25th of the season.
After an RBI single by Oakland's Yan Gomes in the fourth was offset by a run-producing fielder's choice grounder by Chicago's Cesar Hernandez an inning later, the A's gradually pulled away.
Matt Olson gave Oakland a two-run lead with an RBI single in the fifth. An inning later, Chad Pinder tripled home a run and scored on an Elvis Andrus single to make it 5-1.
Keuchel was pulled after Pinder's hit, charged with five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three in his third straight loss.
The White Sox made things interesting in the ninth against A's reliever Andrew Chafin when Gonzalez singled with one out and Brian Goodwin singled two batters later.
Chafin struck out Andrew Vaughn to close out the win and complete two shutout innings.
Gomes and Mark Canha had two hits apiece for third-place Oakland (75-64), which gained a game on the first-place Houston Astros in the American League West. The A's now trail the Astros by six games.
Goodwin and Yasmani Grandal each collected two hits for Chicago (80-59), which has alternated wins and losses in its last six games. The first-place White Sox still lead the second-place Cleveland Indians by 11 games in the AL Central.
--Field Level Media