Aaron Civale #45 of the Athletics pitches against the Chicago White Sox in the third inning at Sutter Health Park on April 17, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory photo credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics welcomed Munetaka Murakami and the Chicago White Sox to Sacramento on Friday night for the beginning of a three-game series.

The White Sox handled business behind a powerful offensive performance, defeating the Athletics 9-2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 12,027.

Aaron Civale started the game for the A’s and was immediately in trouble as he gave up a leadoff double, and the White Sox never looked back. Civale struggled locating his pitches, which led to hits and not walks on this particular occasion. Civale managed to go four and two-thirds innings while allowing five runs on 11 hits while walking one and striking out four. Civale needed 103 pitches to get through his laborious outing.

“I think there’s probably a lot of balls left in the middle of the plate tonight…he grinded…I thought he gave us everything he had tonight,” Mark Kotsay said after the game.

In the clubhouse, Aaron Civale was doing his best to move on from the draining outing in which he threw 103 pitches.

“I felt like we were doing a good job out there, competing,” Civale said after the game to reporters. “From what I can tell, it’s just kind of one of those days you gotta flush it and move forward.”

The A’s bullpen came in and looked to keep the game within striking distance, but they weren’t able to do that.

Elvis Alvarado came on in relief and tossed two innings of his own. Elvis gave up four runs on a mammoth grand slam to Munetaka Murakami that cleared the batter’s eye in center field. All in, Elvis tossed 45 pitches in his two innings of work while giving up three hits and walking three batters while striking out three.

The A’s finished the game with Justin Sterner, who was on the mound for the A’s late collapse on Thursday. Sterner tossed an impressive two and a third innings of one-hit, no-run baseball while striking out four batters and not allowing a walk. It was a nice bounce-back for the right-hander, who needed 46 pitches to get it done.

On the offensive side, the Athletics couldn’t get much going against the White Sox. Starter Davis Martin for Chicago was dealing early and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. In total, the A’s managed two runs while collecting four hits and walking four times against the White Sox staff.

The A’s scored two runs, with one coming in the fourth inning and the other in the eighth inning.

In the fourth, Nick Kurtz had an RBI single into right field that scored Shea Langeliers from second base.

In the eighth, Andy Ibáñez collected an RBI when he grounded out to score Max Muncy from third base.

Other than that, the A’s were blanked by the White Sox staff on a brisk West Sacramento night, falling by the final score of 9-2.

With the loss, the A’s fell to 10-10 on the season and will take on the White Sox in Game 2 of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. PST. Luis Severino (0-2, 5.59 ERA) will take the mound for the A’s, while the White Sox will send Erick Fedde (0-3, 3.38 ERA) to the bump.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.