Oquist, A's Blank White Sox

Mike Oquist is still figuring it out, learning how to pitch in the major leagues, where he's been bumping around the last seven years.

Now he's found a home, with the Oakland Athletics.

"You change speeds. You move the ball in and out. It's a learning process," Oquist said Sunday after combining with Doug Jones on a four-hit, 3-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. "I'm not a power pitcher, I'm not going to blast balls by hitters,"

"You got to keep experimenting," he said. "I feel I'm at the point where I know the hitters a little, but you have to keep working at it."

After Paul Konerko's leadoff single in the seventh, Jones got Jeff Liefer to hit into a double-play grounder. Jones finished with hitless relief for his second save.

Oquist spent most of last season in Oakland's rotation and ended up with a career-high seven wins, despite a 6.22 ERA, second highest in the AL.

Now, in the first month of 1999, he has more than half as many wins as all of last year. And his ERA is 3.73, despite a bout with a bruised knee.

"This is what starting pitching can do for you," Oakland manager Art Howe said after his team salvaged one victory in the three-game series. "We went after the hitters and threw strikes. Mike worked both sides of the plate. He's been really pitching."

White Sox starter Mike Sirotka (1-4) gave up all three runs and seven hits in seven innings. Chicago was blanked for the third time this season.

"We didn't do a good job of manufacturing or creating runs," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said.

"When you feel like your team has arrived, those things like scoring runs take place on a daily basis," Manuel said. "With a young team, there will be those days where your offense or defense isn't there."

Oakland, which got its second shutout of the season, went ahead in the second on singles by Matt Stairs and Olmedo Saenz, and Mike Macfarlane's fielder's choice grounder behind second

Tony Phillips walked in the third, and scored on singles by John Jaha and Stairs. Mark Johnson's passed ball moved up the runners, and Saenz beat out a hopper to third for an infield single that scored Jaha.

Notes: Frank Thomas went 0-for-4 and is 11-for-32 in May, his best month. During his career, Thomas has hit .337 with 53 homers and 185 RBIs, all monthly bests. ... Forty-year-old Phillips started in center field for the A's. He dropped Frank Thomas' liner for an error in the fourth but two batters later made a great over-the-shoulder catch of Konerko's drive to the warning track. ... There was a Mother's Day crowd of 12,652 on a sunny but cool 53-degree day. Chicago is averaging just 12,541 for 13 home dates, the lowest average in the AL. Only Montreal (10,364) has a lower average in the major leagues. ... The save was the 293rd of Jones' career.

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