White Sox defeat Athletics 9-1 to reach 50 wins at midseason
Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 9-1 on Sunday, improving to 50 wins and posting a dominant offensive performance while limiting Oakland to two runs.
Noah Schultz started for the White Sox, allowing a leadoff single that was erased on a double play before giving up a solo home run to Shea Langeliers. Schultz did not issue a walk and threw 13 of his 16 pitches for strikes. He later limited the Athletics to one run over five innings, finishing with five innings pitched, four hits, one earned run, no walks, four strikeouts, one home run allowed and one hit-by-pitch.
Sam Antonacci answered Langeliers' homer with a solo shot in the bottom of the first, and Chicago quickly built a five-run lead. The Sox added runs throughout the inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Kyle Teel and a three-run hit by Braden Montgomery that pushed the score to 6-1.
Oakland's starter, Ryan Ginn, remained in the game until the fifth inning but managed only one out in that frame before being relieved. The White Sox bullpen, including Jordan Hicks, Seranthony Domínguez and Tyler Schweitzer, kept the Athletics scoreless after Schultz's exit, with Hicks striking out the side in the sixth inning.
The victory gave Chicago an eight-run win in just over two hours, bringing its record to 50-46 and improving its run differential for the week to 26-17. The AL Central division remains tied as Cleveland also won its final four games of the first half of the season.