Allen records four-hit game as A's bats blow past White Sox

CHICAGO -- The A’s know they won’t be playing October baseball in 2023. But they also know the importance -- despite being eliminated from playoff contention -- of the final 33 games of the season.

In the A’s 12-4 win over the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday evening, Oakland’s youngsters continue to show development at the plate. Nick Allen tallied a career-high in hits (four) and in RBIs (five), while Ryan Noda launched his 12th homer of the season.

“Feels awesome, especially since we got the win,” Allen said. “I think it makes it feel even better. I was digging in, just trying to grind out some at-bats and got some pitches I can handle and found a way to get some runs in.”

On a night when the A’s faced 2022 American League Cy Young runner-up Dylan Cease, they didn’t back down. They instead took on the challenge. Oakland attacked Cease early, which resulted in a career-high-tying eight earned runs for the White Sox starter.

“Dylan threw the ball well against us last time, and our guys made an adjustment,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “I thought we had a good game plan. They stuck with their approach, used the middle of the field, and took advantage of some mistakes that he left up in the zone.”

Cease allowed three runs across 5 1/3 innings against the A’s on July 1 and also threw 12 strong innings with 16 strikeouts in two starts against Oakland last season. Friday’s offensive outburst against him continues to show what the Athletics' future could look like for years to come.

“It’s just a freeing feeling to have these guys [not stopping],” Zach Neal said after picking up his first MLB win since 2016. “It’s awesome to have that behind you, and pitching with a lead is sick.”

The A’s got the scoring started in the second inning on a Lawrence Butler single. Then his teammates followed.

Allen, Noda -- who brought in two -- and Zack Gelof all had timely hits in the inning to give the A’s a five-run frame. It’s just the seventh time this season that Oakland has scored five runs in an inning, last coming on July 29 against the Rockies.

“It was huge,” Allen said. “He’s obviously a great pitcher. But we had to get in there and find a way against him. So I’m glad a lot of us had great approaches getting in there, and it obviously all worked out.”

And the runs didn’t stop there.

The A’s scored seven more runs over the next five innings to match their season-high run total (12), capped off by back-to-back homers from Allen and Noda in the seventh. That type of play from the youngsters is what the team hopes to see even more down the stretch.

“We’ve got guys that are gaining experience every day here at this level, which can only lead to their futures and to our future success,” Kotsay said. “We continue to teach, continue to have meetings daily to just basically make them aware of the small details that we continue to sometimes miss, which leads to successful teams and winning championship seasons."

Allen, who led the way with a career night, hasn’t been consistent at the plate in his second MLB season. He has spent multiple stints with Triple-A Las Vegas this year and entered the day with just a .195 batting average.

But the 24-year-old is hoping a game like Friday could get him on a roll.

“100%,” Allen said. “I think I felt some good things that I wanted to feel in the box. But I know I can hit. I just have to keep it going and find ways to get in there, have my approach and compete.”

The A’s acknowledge the struggles they’ve had this season. However, they also know that ending the year strong is important for this franchise.

Shea Langeliers, Jordan Diaz, Gelof, Butler, and Noda -- who the A’s selected second overall in the Rule 5 Draft this past winter -- are just a few young players currently on Oakland’s roster. And they all have a similar goal in mind for the rest of this year: build momentum toward 2024.

“It’s huge,” Langeliers said. “I feel like the name of the game is always building momentum. Even if it’s going into next year of the offseason, just kind of taking that momentum into the offseason, build for next year and come back better.”