A's series a 'tough one' so far for White Sox

OAKLAND -- For a brief spell in the eighth inning of Saturday's 7-6 loss to the A's, the White Sox believed they had jumped out to a commanding six-run lead when Tim Anderson crushed a fly ball deep into the left-field seats with the bases loaded. Anderson hesitated as he watched the ball soar and land somewhere beyond the foul pole, then rounded the bases when it was ruled a home run.

The excitement didn't last long. The call was overturned upon review, and what had initially been ruled a grand slam was merely a foul ball. Anderson stepped back in and flied out to right field to end the inning.

Such is life for the South Siders, who will have to stop themselves from dwelling on what could have been in a wild back-and-forth contest that swung in favor of the A's in the 10th inning.

"We had a chance to put these guys away a couple times," manager Pedro Grifol said. "Just didn't get the big hit. T.A. hit that ball that was just foul. That would have put us, obviously, in a good spot."

While the overturned call ended the White Sox rally after they had plated three runs to lead by two, it seemed to give new life to the A's.

"It’s a tough call for the umpires," Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. "It was barely foul. I’m glad they got it right. It was a sigh of relief, really. That was a turning point in the game. If that ball is fair, it’s 10-4 and a different ballgame.”

The A's scored twice in the bottom of the eighth -- after Joe Kelly balked in a run and allowed a game-tying infield single to Tony Kemp -- to knot the game, which remained tied until Oakland walked it off on Elvis Andrus' 10th-inning fielding error.

The White Sox fell to 4-7 in extra innings this season and have now lost five of their last seven series.

"This one hurt a little bit," said Eloy Jiménez, who went 2-for-3 with a booming solo homer and an RBI single to stay hot at the plate. "But … we've got so much baseball left. Today was tough, but tomorrow's another game."

There was an underlying sense of urgency hanging over the weekend series in Oakland. Given that the A's own the worst record in baseball at 23-62, the White Sox were expected by many to pick up a game or two in the American League Central standings, where they trail the first-place Twins by 6 1/2 games.

Now, Chicago is in danger of being swept in three games by Oakland.

"It's a tough one," said Dylan Cease, who allowed three runs on six hits and three walks. "We battled to the end. But unfortunately, just one of those that didn't go our way."

Grifol didn't hold back when it came to making moves that he believed would propel his team to victory, pulling Cease with one out in the sixth inning after he allowed back-to-back extra-base hits that drove in a run. The White Sox right-hander threw 87 pitches.

Chicago's skipper also emptied his bench when the White Sox rallied in the eighth and ninth innings. One of those moves proved particularly fruitful, as Carlos Pérez pinch-hit for Seby Zavala with two outs in the eighth and delivered a double that drove in the go-ahead run at the time.

One inning later, another aggressive move did not go so well for the White Sox. Luis Robert Jr., who went 3-for-5 and scored twice on the afternoon, was at second base with one out after singling and swiping a bag. He made a break for third but stumbled, giving A's right-hander Trevor May enough time to initiate a 1-4-5 pickoff.

"I wanted him at third base before that at-bat's over," Grifol said. "When you're trying to steal big bases, that's going to happen sometimes. That's going to happen at times. I'm not at all upset about that. I want him being aggressive."

A lack of payoff has characterized the series so far in Oakland. Chicago failed to capitalize on numerous chances to add on in Friday's opener, and that continued Saturday, when the White Sox stranded 11 runners and went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

"It's a tough one today, a real tough one," Grifol said. "We used our whole roster, basically, and ended up on the losing end. These games right here, when you use every pitcher and everybody on the roster … you want to win them."