The Chicago White Sox have seen their playoff dreams crumble over the last two days, as they fell to the Oakland Athletics 6-4 on Thursday in a winner-take-all Game 3 of the Wild Card Series at the Oakland Coliseum.
Luis Robert hit a home run in the game for the White Sox, and Nomar Mazara drove in a pair of runs, but it wasn't enough as Chicago's season came to an end at the hands of the American League West champions.
Rick Renteria went to the bullpen quickly in the game, pulling Dane Dunning after just four batters, but Garrett Crochet struck out the final batter of the first to get the White Sox out of early trouble.
The second inning got off to a flying start, as Robert blasted a 487-foot home run to left field, the longest home run hit in Oakland during the Statcast era, to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead.
Things got more complicated for the White Sox in the bottom of the second as Crochet was pulled from the game after suffering forearm tightness. Aaron Bummer was able to finish that frame off with no damage, keeping the Sox in front.
In the third inning the White Sox added two more runs, as Robert laced a single to center field to score James McCann. Nomar Mazara then doubled to deep left field, scoring Robert and giving the White Sox a 3-0 lead.
Things began to turn against the White Sox in the fourth, as Renteria continued to dig into his bullpen and the A’s continued to manufacture runs. Sean Murphy hit a home run off of Codi Heuer to get the A’s on the board, and then Matt Foster walked in a pair of runs to give Oakland a 4-3 lead.
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The White Sox got things tied back up quickly in the fifth, as Mazara drove in his second run of the day with an RBI single to right field, plating Yoan Moncada and tying things up at 4-4.
Unfortunately for the White Sox the Oakland offense just kept chugging along, as Chad Pinder hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Tommy La Stella and Murphy to make it a 6-4 game.
The White Sox had a golden opportunity in the eighth inning after an Anderson single and a Grandal walk, but Joakim Soria got him to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat and to keep the A’s in front.
The White Sox got McCann on base to start the ninth inning, but A's closer Liam Hendriks struck out Moncada and Robert for two straight outs. He then struck out Mazara looking to send the A's to the American League Division Series, where they'll take on the Houston Astros.
