'Roller coaster' clash with A's turns on Benintendi's walk-off HR  

CHICAGO -- There are quite a few ways to describe the White Sox 7-6 walk-off victory over the A’s before a raucous crowd of 21,478 on Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“Much needed,” said starting pitcher Chris Flexen, who pitched well enough to win with eight strikeouts over five scoreless innings.

“We just battled,” catcher Chuckie Robinson said. “We stuck together as a team.”

“Roller coaster,” said interim manager Grady Sizemore, preceded by an exasperated or relieved burst of laughter. “Just no easy wins for us.”

The word “exciting” also could be incorporated into the equation, from a good and bad sense. The White Sox held leads of 3-0 after five innings and 6-3 going into the ninth, but gave away both.

Andrew Benintendi didn’t let the game reach extra innings, as he launched a 1-2 hanging slider from Hogan Harris down the right-field line for his 17th home run leading off the bottom of the ninth and starting up the rare celebration on the South Side.

It was Benintendi’s second home walk-off winner, beating the Rays on April 27 with a two-run blast. As the designated hitter on this night, Benintendi was down in the cage working on left-handed sliders to get ready for his at-bat.

“I hit it and I was like, ‘I don’t know, I think it has the distance but whether it was going to hook enough or not,’” Benintendi said. “I think I hit it off the end [of the bat] enough to where it took a lot of the spin off. It didn’t veer to the right as hard. Glad it didn’t.”

Justin Anderson opened the ninth in search of the White Sox first save since Chad Kuhl on Aug. 16 in Houston, but his four-pitch walk to Lawrence Butler was not a good way to start. When Brent Rooker singled and JJ Bleday walked, the White Sox were in trouble with the bases loaded and none out.

Third baseman Lenyn Sosa’s fielding error on a possible Shea Langeliers double-play grounder allowed two runs to score, and Zack Gelof’s high-hopping single to left off Gus Varland brought home Bleday with the tying run.

But left fielder Zach DeLoach threw out Langeliers at the plate, thanks to a leaping grab and tag by Robinson.

Oakland unsuccessfully challenged the home-plate blocking rule as Robinson’s athletic feat allowed the White Sox to escape with a 6-6 tie.

“First and foremost, I was just trying to make sure I could catch the ball,” Robinson said. “So, I gave myself a little room, scooted back a little bit, and I jumped up, and it put me in a good position to tag him.”

“It was a great job there by Chuckie,” Sizemore said. “Unbelievable play to adjust, get the ball and still get the tag on. That was a rough inning. It was looking like it could have got away from us. If we don’t make that play, I don’t know what happens.”

What happened was the White Sox enjoyed some home cooking for the first time since a 12-2 shellacking of the Yankees on Aug. 12 and ended a franchise-worst 16-game home losing streak. The walk-off also marked just the second home victory in the South Siders’ last 30 games.

Chicago’s overall ledger improved to 34-115, meaning the Sox need to finish 9-4 in the final 13 to avoid matching the 1962 Mets at 120 losses. Flexen’s winless streak has now gone 22 straight starts, which represents the longest such run of futility in franchise history.

“Result-wise, I was pretty on,” Flexen said. “Chuckie and I had a really good mix today, and I thought our offense being able to get off to an early jump, I pitched with a little more confidence there.

“I've had a struggle with that in the past, but I was able to hold it down today. Big one to be able to pull that through.”

Nicky Lopez, Luis Robert Jr., Benintendi and Gavin Sheets combined for 11 of the team’s 16 hits from the top four spots of the order, with Sheets also going deep.

Yes, it was much needed, a battle, a roller coaster, and as per this White Sox season, a little bit frustrating with a brief feeling of hopelessness.

It also was well deserved for the home fans, who were well overdue for a little happiness.

“Every win is much needed, especially in our situation. What? We’d lost 16 home games in a row?” Benintendi said. “So it felt nice with the good crowd tonight.”