Gavin Sheets came about as close as a baseball player not named Shohei Ohtani can to winning a game by himself. The White Sox right fielder tied the game against the A’s with a two-run homer, and then started a rally in the bottom of the ninth with a double. Pinch runner Adam Engel ended the game a few batters later when a Zach Jackson pitch veered wide of the catcher and allowed him to run home for the 3-2 win.
Sean Murphy started the game by making quick work of the quick-working Johnny Cueto. The A’s catcher took the 36-year-old veteran deep for a first-inning solo home run. When Seth Brown hit his 15th home run of the year and third homer in two nights during the third, that gave A’s starter Paul Blackburn a two-run cushion to work with.
The A’s lone All-Star entered his second start since the break on a skid of sorts. Blackburn had lost his last three starts, and had continued a troubling trend where his ERA had increased over each month. Blackburn’s ERA went from 5.13 in June starts to 9.15 in July starts. Blackburn ended Saturday with a final line of five innings pitched and five hits allowed.
