10-Run 4th Powers A's To 17-6 Rout Of White Sox
CHICAGO (AP) - Josh Reddick would have preferred a fast game Tuesday following a 14-inning marathon the previous night. He wasn't too upset, though, that this Athletics' win took 3 1-2 hours.
Reddick homered and drove in four runs during a 10-run fourth inning to power the Oakland Athletics to a 17-6 rout of the Chicago White Sox.
Reddick had a two-run homer and a two-run single in the big inning. The 17 runs were the most by the A's since they scored 18 on Sept. 11, 2013, against the Minnesota Twins.
"In the fourth, when guys were passing the baton, so to speak, it seemed like forever until there were three outs," he said. "It really took a long time for us to come in. Once you get your job done, you're relying on the guy behind you to do it and we seemed to do that very well.
"The only downside about a game like this is it took almost as long as last night's," he said.
Billy Butler had three hits and three runs batted in, and Eric Sogard and Jake Smolinski each had a pair of RBIs as the Athletics snapped a six-game losing streak against Chicago.
"The at-bats were great all around," manager Bob Melvin said. "All around a good game for us. Another long one, but we'll take it."
Aaron Brooks (2-3) allowed six runs on 10 hits in six-plus innings for the win. Brooks had been 0-3 with a 14.14 ERA in his last five games in the majors with an opponents' batting average of .439 before Tuesday.
Melky Cabrera had a homer and three RBIs and Alexei Ramirez had a solo homer for the White Sox.
Jeff Samardzija (9-13) was roughed up for 10 runs and 11 hits in three-plus innings. The right-hander has dropped eight of nine starts since the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31.
"It's going to come down to command, being able to spot it, throw strikes," Chicago manager Robin Ventura said. "That's what it comes down to."
Oakland took a 6-2 edge into the fourth inning. Samardzija faced four batters in the inning and failed to record an out. Marcus Semien led off with a single and Reddick followed with a two-run shot to make it 8-2. Mark Canha started a new rally with a single and scored on a double by Butler for a 9-2 margin.
That was it for Samardzija, but the A's were far from finished. Daniel Webb walked the first two batters he faced to load the bases. After Sogard popped out in foul territory for the first out, Smolinski followed with a high-bouncing grounder to third base. Mike Olt bobbled it for an error, allowing Smolinski to reach and then picked up another error when he threw wide of first base. Butler scored on the grounder and the throwing error allowed Max Muncy to score to make it 11-2.
Sam Fuld followed with a run-scoring. Semien walked and Reddick added a two-run single to make it 14-2. Canha then chased Webb with an RBI single.
The 10th and final run of the inning scored on a fielder's choice by Muncy. Oakland sent 15 batters to the plate in the inning.
Position players Leury Garcia and Ramirez each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Chicago.
Samardzija is 1-8 9.24 ERA since the trading deadline.
"It's been tough, especially it's tough to do when you've got your position players out there pitching on the day you start," Samardzija said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: RHP Jesse Chavez will miss the remainder of the season with a non-displaced rib fracture on his right side. Chavez was scheduled to pitch Wednesday. INF Danny Valencia missed Tuesday's game with a stiff trapezius muscle.
White Sox: OF Trayce Thompson (hyperextended left elbow) likely will be sidelined until Friday, but the team was relieved that the injury, which occurred in the ninth inning Monday when he dove for a ball, wasn't worse. "I'm really lucky," Thompson said. "The replay looked pretty bad."
UP NEXT
Athletics: RHP Cody Martin (2-4, 6.57 ERA) will be activated before Wednesday's game to take the place of Chavez. This will be Martin's second start in the majors this season.
White Sox: RHP Erik Johnson (1-0, 3.27 ERA) gets another chance to showcase his talents with an eye toward 2016. This will be Johnson's third start of the month after spending much of the season in Triple-A.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.