Oakland A’s Nick Allen had a night at the plate with a home run and five runs driven in against the Chicago White Sox at Guarantee Rate Field in Chicago on Friday, August 25, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

While it has not been the best of seasons for the Oakland A’s (38-91), the current series against the White Sox (50-79) has been a terrific one for both the team and their fans as the A’s captured their second straight win against the White Sox clobbering Chicago 12-4 Friday night.

After beating Chicago Thursday night 8-5, Oakland really poured it on in game two of the series. Just watching these players having the time of their lives was nice to see but doing it on the road in Chicago has been something really special.

What we saw in game two was an all out effort from each and every player offensively and defensively. Neither team scored in the first inning. The A’s had a terrific second inning scoring five runs setting the tempo for this game. Lawrence Butler singled Brent Rooker home for the first run of the game.

Oakland would go on to score four more times. Nick Allen singled Tony Kemp home, followed by another single from Ryan Noda that brought in two runs and closing out the top of the second inning Zach Gelof doubled for the 5-0 A’s lead. The White Sox Lenyn Sosa hit a two-run home run and Chicago was on the board 5-2.

The White Sox got a little closer in the third inning 5-3 scoring a single run when Yoan Moncada doubled bringing Andrew Benintendi home.

Along came the fourth inning and the Allen extravaganza got underway. He singled Jonah Bride home. In the fifth inning it was Allen again with another single that brought two runners home; Kemp and Shea Langliers both scored for a 8-3 Oakland lead. The A’s would tack one more run on for a 9-3 lead. Noda grounded into a fielder’s choice and Bride scored.

Chicago kept plugging away and in the fifth inning Eloy Jimenez homered to left center, a solo shot for a 9-4 Oakland lead. The A’s did not take their foot off the pedal for the rest of the game with some outstanding offense.

The A’s got another run in the sixth inning for a 10-4 lead. Allen was not finished. He homered in the seventh inning, a solo shot which capped off an incredible evening. He drove in a career-high five runs giving the A’s their fourth win in five games.

Noda finished off the evening with Oakland’s second home run of the game also in the seventh inning. The A’s had 15 hits in the game leaving few runners stranded. This was the sixth time this season that the A’s had hit back-to-back home runs.

Besides the offense, the A’s showed off some stellar defense. Esteury Ruiz really hustled in the outfield making some impressive diving catches. He did not have a great offensive game but the defense he show-cased was equally important in this win.

The teams will meet in game three of this series Saturday evening. Oakland will be looking for a third win that will ensure a series win. JP Sears will take the mound after a rough outing in his last appearance against Baltimore in a forgettable loss 12-1.

Sears needs to better his 2-10 win/loss record and a great start would be a third win in this series for his team. The White Sox will send Touki Toussaint with a 1-6 win/loss record and a 5.30 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PM.