Brent Rooker in the game against the White Sox on Saturday afternoon. (Photo: Athletics on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — The Athletics came into Saturday’s matchup against the White Sox riding high. The A’s had just won a series against the Texas Rangers and handled business in the first game of the three-game series against the White Sox. Riding stellar bullpen performances and timely hitting of late, the A’s looked to win consecutive home series for the first time in their brief history at Sutter Health Park.

The White Sox had other plans, handling the A’s with ease in a 10-3 victory.

A’s starter Jeffrey Springs struggled early, as has been the case in a few of his starts this season. Springs gave up four runs in the first inning and two more in the second, putting the A’s in an early hole against baseball’s worst team. The game felt firmly in the White Sox’s possession, and the only question was whether the A’s offense could do enough to win a slugfest.

However, in a game that was bad early for Springs, he did settle in nicely, managing to go six innings. He gave up only one more run in the sixth, finishing with seven runs allowed on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts. It was undoubtedly a good sign for Springs, who early on looked like he might not finish two innings.

On the offensive side, the A’s couldn’t get much going against the White Sox. They got a run back in the fourth inning on a Miguel Andujar groundout that scored Brent Rooker, who had doubled earlier in the inning.

In the seventh, the A’s added another run courtesy of a Luis Urías homer, but only after the White Sox had expanded their lead against the A’s bullpen in the top half. The White Sox scored three runs against reliever Noah Murdock, who pitched two innings, giving up three runs on three hits while walking three batters. It was not Murdock’s best outing, as he had been stellar of late for Mark Kotsay.

Grant Holman pitched the top of the ninth for the A’s, firing a scoreless inning with no walks and a strikeout.

The A’s were able to add a run in the ninth thanks to a Nick Kurtz RBI single after a Miguel Andujar triple, but they would drop the second game of the series 10-3 to the White Sox.

The A’s fell to 13-14 with the loss as the White Sox improved to 7-20 with the win.

Up Next: The A’s and White Sox will play the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 1:05 PM PST at Sutter Health Park. Osvaldo Bido is slated to go for the A’s, countered by Davis Martin for the White Sox.