*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
The full power of the Southside's offense is being unleashed. Elvis Andrus homered, Eloy Jimenez drove in a trio of runs, and the Chicago White Sox blew past the Oakland Athletics with a 10-2 victory on Saturday afternoon in Oakland.
With the win, the White Sox secured their 4th in a row and 3rd straight against Oakland, clinching the series in the process. They're getting hot too, having won 8 of their last 10, but still sitting 6 1/2 games back of a wild card spot. They're on a playoff mission, and they know it.
Chicago acting manager Miguel Cairo gave his thoughts, saying that "They know what is at stake. They know that we're better than what we showed before. And I'm telling you, they know that every day they go out there, we're going to have a chance."
Yasmani Grandal started the scoring in the second inning, hitting an RBI single to center field to make it a 1-0 game. Andrus then opened things up, blasting a 3 run home run to make the score 4-0 against his old team. In the top of the 4th, Jimenez hit a sac fly and Andrew Vaughn hit a two run double to make it 7-0, before Stephen Vogt got the A's on the board with a sac fly, making it a 7-1 game.
When the 6th inning came around, Ramon Laureano scored on an error by Josh Harrison to cut the deficit to a 7-2 mark. In the 7th inning, Jimenez got both runs back with a two run single, making the score 9-2 in favor of the White Sox. In the 8th, Grandal hit a sac fly, scoring AJ Pollock to make it a 10-2 margin.
Cairo talked about Andrus's success, saying that "We have one more game this series and I just hope he continues doing what he’s doing. He’s a guy that I’m glad that we have. He has good at-bats, he gets us going in the leadoff spot. It’s been awesome to have him."
Veteran Lance Lynn started for the White Sox, being charged with two runs on 3 hits and one walk, striking out 5 hitters over 6 innings. 3 relievers came in and held the A's scoreless, with Jimmy Lambert, Jake Diekman, and Jose Ruiz getting the job done.
Adrian Martinez got the start for the A's. He got hit with a line drive in the second inning, but was able to stay in temporarily. Martinez gave up 7 runs on 14 hits before he was pulled after 3 2/3 innings. Kirby Snead pitched two innings, Sam Moll got 1/3 of an inning, Domingo Tapia pitched 1 2/3, and Norge Ruiz worked 1 1/3 innings.
Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said of Martinez that "I didn’t see the exit velo on that line drive, but for him to get hit in that shoulder, stay in the game, that shows his character, that shows his competitiveness, and I appreciate that, I think we all do. But overall stuff-wise, just not his best day with commanding the fastball and pitching off that with his changeup."
Up next, the White Sox and A's conclude their series on Sunday afternoon. Johnny Cueto starts as the White Sox go for the series sweep, while Cole Irvin gets the ball for Oakland.
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