A's 5, White Sox 4 (10)
CHICAGO -- The Oakland A's don't have the most star-studded lineup, but they keep on finding ways to win games.
They did it again on Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field, beating the Chicago White Sox 5-4 in 10 innings after falling behind early and fighting their way back.
Adam Rosales sent a pitch by Chicago reliever Matt Thornton over the fence in left field with two outs in the top of the 10th for the eventual winning run. Grant Balfour closed it out in the bottom half of the inning for his 14th save.
It did get a little dicey for Balfour, who allowed the tying run to reach third and watched the final out land in the mitt of Yoenis Cespedes about a foot short of being a two-run homer by Adam Dunn.
It was the second win in a row for Oakland (37-25), which has won six of its last seven and 17 of its past 20 games. Cespedes went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs, and Rosales also went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the A's.
Alejandro De Aza led the White Sox by going 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Alexei Ramirez drove in two runs with a clutch two-out single in the third for Chicago (25-33).
Jerry Blevins (5-0) picked up the win by working a scoreless inning of relief, and Thornton (0-2) took the loss.
After falling behind 3-0 in the third, the A's kept battling back They eventually knotted it at 4 on Josh Reddick's home run in the seventh -- just one inning after Cespedes made it 4-3 with his second solo shot of the game in the sixth.
Pitching a day after the White Sox went 16 innings in a win on the road against the Seattle Mariners, Jose Quintana almost had to go deep in this game for Chicago. He delivered by lasting 7 2/3 innings and throwing 107 pitches to give the Sox a chance even though he allowed four runs and three homers -- including both to Cespedes.
Quintana was relieved by Matt Lindstrom with two outs in the eighth before Cespedes had a chance to hit a third long ball off him -- a strategy that worked when Lindstrom got the Cuban-born A's outfielder to fly out.
Dan Straily started for the A's, going seven innings and allowing four runs and six hits.
Chicago had a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth when the Sox got Conor Gillaspie to second with two outs, but Tyler Flowers struck out looking to end the inning.
After both starters cruised through the first two innings, the White Sox got to Straily in the third -- scoring three times thanks to three two-out hits. De Aza laced a double to right that sent Tyler Flowers from first to third before Ramirez singled them both in with a liner to center field. Ramirez stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a single by Alex Rios that made it 3-0 Chicago.
Oakland got one back in the top of the fourth on a solo home run to left center by Cespedes and manufactured another run in the fifth to make it 3-2 White Sox, but Chicago re-established the two-run lead, 4-2, in the bottom half of the inning.
De Aza singled in Gordon Beckham with no outs, but Straily escaped a much bigger rally when Dunn flied out to right with one out and the bases loaded and Flowers was thrown out at the plate by Reddick while trying to score from third.
NOTES: White Sox manager Robin Ventura missed Thursday's series opener against the A's and will also miss Friday second game of a four-game series to be with his family in California for graduation ceremonies. Mrk Parent, Chicago's bench coach, filled in as manager on Thursday night. Parent will also miss two games of this series, on Friday and Saturday, for the same reason. Pitching coach Don Cooper will manage the White Sox on
Friday night, and Ventura will return on Saturday. ... The White Sox made four roster moves on Thursday, placing RHP Jake Peavy on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured rib, sending RHP Brian Omogrosso to Triple-A, calling up RHP Deunte Heath and purchasing the contract of RHP Ramon Troncoso from Triple-A Charlotte. ... The White Sox selected shortstop Tim Anderson of East Central Community College (Decatur, Miss.) with the 17th pick in the first round of Major League Baseball's 2013 First-Year Player Draft. Anderson's best asset is speed and scouts like his ability to make contact
and use it. ... The A's came into this four-game set with the White Sox 6-0-1 in their previous seven series. ... Oakland selected outfielder Billy McKinney of Plano West Sr. High School in Texas with the 24th pick of the first round of the draft. McKinney is rated as one of the draft's top high school hitters, with a smooth left-handed swing.
