by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s lost their fourth game in the last fives, going down to the Chicago White Sox 8-7 in a fourteen inning marathon. Time of game was five hours and nineteen minutes. Dan Jennings won the game in relief for Chicago, and Arnold Leon took the loss for Oakland.

Sonny Gray started for the A’s and had the shortest outing of his career. Sonny lasted just three-plus innings and allowed seven runs before departing the game. White Sox starter John Danks pitched giving up just three hits. All the hits were solo home runs and the A’s trailed the White Sox 7-3 after seven innings of play.The A’s, however, came back in the ninth to score four times on just two hits to tie the game at 7. The game dragged on until the bottom of the fourteenth when Melky Cabrera singled to right to drive in the winning run.

The A’s took the lead in the top of the third. Jake Smolinski hit a solo home run to give the A’s the lead 1-0. The Chisox scored four times in the bottom of the inning. Gray gave up two two-run dingers. The first one was home run number twenty-eight for Jose Abreu and came with a man aboard. Trace Thompson also homered with a man on to put the A’s down 4-1 after three.

Brett Lawrie homered leading off the fourth inning to make it a 4-2 game but the White Sox scored three times to send Gray to the showers. The A’s picked up a run in the seventh on a Josh Reddick. The A’s loaded the bases in the ninth in a very strange inning. The A’s loaded the bases on a double, Danny Valencia struck out but reached as the pitch went wild, and he reached first safely. Josh Reddick reached on catcher’s interference after it looked like his grounder to second was a double-play ball that would have ended the inning. Coco Crisp walked to drive in a run and another run scored on a Tyler Flowers passed ball. The pitch hit Flowers in the masked and that allowed the run to score. Sam Fuld came through with a single to drive in two more to tie the game.

Both bullpens kept the other team from scoring until the fateful fourteenth inning. White Sox catcher Geovany Soto singled to lead off the inning. Adam Eaton bunted him to second. Leon struck out Alexi Ramirez, but Bob Melvin walked Abreu to take the bat out of hands. Leon faced Melky Cabrera. Cabrera, batting left-handed, singled to right. Reddick’s throw home was not in time as Soto beat the throw to end the game Game two of the four-game series continues Tuesday in Chicago. Game time will be at 5:10 pm PT.