For the first time since the MLB All-Star breakhe Chicago White Sox can be called winners.
He The White Sox finally ended their agonizing search for a blowout victory, beating the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum, where nearly 6,000 (5,867 to be exact) fans in attendance watched Chicago score a 5-1 victory. With that win, the White Sox avoided taking sole possession of one of baseball’s most embarrassing records. Their victory ended a 21-game winless streak, tied for the longest in American League history by the 1998 Baltimore Orioles.
Former White Sox star slugger Frank Thomas expressed relief that Chicago has gotten over the hurdle it had repeatedly failed to clear in recent weeks.
“It was a spectacular match, [White]”The Sox found a way to win, that's all we wanted in Chicago, just to win,” Thomas said during a postgame show on NBC Sports Chicago.
“It’s hard to be the laughing stock of baseball, you know, these long losing streaks, everybody talks about it and the rest of the national media picks it up. Oh yeah. It’s easy conversation, it’s easy news. So now you have to move on, move on and try to find a way to win.”
It seems that The inhabitants of the south side heard What Thomas said after Chicago's series-opening 5-1 loss to the Athletics.
“It's time to react,” Thomas said after watching the White Sox tie the Orioles' ignominious record (h/t The Associated Press).
“That’s the only way for players to break through right now. Break through. I mean it. I don’t want to hear any more, ‘We’re trying.’ No more, ‘They’re working hard every day.’ No, it’s time for them to break through. It’s time to stop the spread,” the Hall of Famer added.
The White Sox's skid began in the latter part of the first half of the season. After beating the Minnesota Twins, 3-1, at home on the night of July 10, the White Sox lost their remaining four assignments before the break. During their 21-game drought, the White Sox hit just .195 and posted a pathetic .245 on-base percentage. They also scored just 49 runs while allowing 136.
White Sox beat Oakland for first win in second half
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The White Sox struck first in Tuesday's game against Oakland, with Andrew Benintendi hitting a two-run homer in the fourth inning to put Chicago ahead 2-0. Zack Gelof cut the A's deficit in half with a solo homer in the same inning, but that turned out to be the last time Oakland scored in the game as Jonathan Cannon and the Chicago pitching staff did the job the rest of the way.
Cannon earned the win after losing six innings of one-run ball with six hits allowed and five strikeouts.
“I think it’s just a sigh of relief,” Cannon said. He said about his team's long-awaited victoryAccording to AP (h/t ESPN), “We’re all big league players, we have a lot of confidence in ourselves to go out and do our job every night. It just wasn’t working out for us. I’m proud that we got it done tonight. It was a team effort by everybody.”
Dominic Leone, Chad Kuhl and John Brebbia each pitched one scoreless inning.
Mathematically, the White Sox are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, but with a 28-88 record, it would take a miracle for them to reach the boat that will take them to the postseason. For now, it's all about trying to keep the momentum they gained from their success against the A's going forward. Chicago will look to go on a winning streak this time around when it faces Oakland in the series finale on Wednesday night.