One year to the day after throwing a perfect game, White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle finally figured out how to win at Oakland, with a little help from Carlos Quentin.
Buehrle threw a complete-game four-hitter for his first-ever win at Oakland Coliseum, Quentin drove in two runs in his return from injury and Chicago beat the Athletics 5-1 in their series opener in Oakland, Calif., Friday night.
Buehrle’s effort came 365 days after he took down Tampa Bay with a perfect game last July 23.The White Sox have won a majors-best 29 of their last 38. Oakland lost for just the second time in nine games.
Quentin, in the lineup for the first time since Sunday after bruising his hand at Minnesota, put Chicago (53-42) on the board in the fourth inning. He knocked in Alex Rios on a sacrifice fly to the warning track after Rios’ leadoff double off A’s All-Star pitcher Trevor Cahill.
Two innings later, the White Sox tripled their lead. Juan Pierre led off with a walk and Omar Vizquel singled ahead of Rios, who reached on Oakland’s Cliff Pennington’s error, letting Pierre score.
Quentin’s groundout then scored Vizquel for a three-run edge.
Oakland (48-48) scored its run on back-to-back seventh-inning doubles. Jack Cust’s base hit off the right-center-field wall scored Kevin Kouzmanoff to cut the Athletics’ deficit to two.
But the Sox weren’t done at the plate. In the ninth, A.J. Pierzynski’s bouncer up the middle scored pinch runners Andruw Jones and Brent Lillibridge, who each stole second, for some insurance.
Buehrle (9-8) struck out two batters and walked none, retiring 11 straight A’s at one point. He had been 0-6 at the Coliseum with a 4.66 ERA in 12 appearances. He’s just 4-12 against Oakland all-time.
Vizquel and Rios each went 2-for-4.
For Oakland, Cust was 2-for-3.
Cahill (9-4) allowed three runs on four hits over seven innings, with two walks and no strikeouts. He has lost two of three decisions after winning seven straight.
NOTES: Buehrle is 6-2 in his last eight starts. … The only AL parks Buehrle remains winless in are the new Yankee Stadium, erected before last season, and Minnesota’s Target Field, which is in its inaugural campaign. … Oakland reliever Jerry Blevins worked two-thirds of a scoreless inning, his 13th consecutive scoreless outing. He hasn’t allowed a run since June 25. … Athletics outfielder Rajai Davis was scratched with a reported hamstring injury. … Chicago stretched its lead in the AL Central to 2.5 games over second-place Detroit, which was rained out Friday. The Athletics sit in third in the West, 8.5 games back of Texas. … The middle game of the series is Saturday afternoon, with Chicago’s Freddy Garcia set to oppose Vin Mazzaro for the A’s.
BOX SCORE
Photo above: Chicago's Mark Buehrle pitches Friday. (Jeff Chiu/AP)
Video credit – WGN
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