Ramirez homers, Buehrle and White Sox beat A's

[May 16, 2011]  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Mark Buehrle and the Chicago White Sox made it a worthwhile visit to the Coliseum.

Alexei Ramirez had three hits, including a home run off the previously unbeaten Trevor Cahill, in leading Buehrle and the White Sox over the Oakland Athletics 4-3 Sunday.

Buehrle (3-3) won for only the second time in 15 appearances at Oakland. The White Sox went 6-3 on their road trip, winning all three series.

"It was a great road trip on the West Coast where we usually don't play very well," Buehrle said. "I feel like I've thrown the ball well against these guys. It seems like stuff happens and we get jinxed here."

Cahill (6-1) gave up four runs, just two of them earned, and a season-high 10 hits in seven innings.

"I wouldn't say it was my best start," Cahill said. "I kind of battled through it."

Ramirez drove in two runs and Omar Vizquel had two hits.

"It feels good to get this win and gain some momentum for going home," Ramirez said through a translator.

"I always feel like it's going to be a good day," he said. "It wasn't Cahill specifically, I just try to find the right pitch and make contact."

Daric Barton drove in two runs and Coco Crisp homered for the A's, who have lost three of their last four.

"The big hit when we needed it eluded us," A's manager Bob Geren said. "Trevor pitched deep into the game. He wasn't quite as sharp as normal. His velocity was down."

Buehrle gave up three runs, seven hits and struck out a season-best six.

"We knew it would be close since they have the best pitching in the American League," Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We battled against the best. This game was huge because we end the road trip on a good note. We need to go home and play better for our fans. They deserve it. We owe them one."

Sergio Santos pitched the ninth for his fifth consecutive save, extending his scoreless streak to 19 innings.

It was anything but routine, though. He walked Cliff Pennington to lead off the inning and walked pinch-hitter Hideki Matsui with two outs before Josh Willingham grounded out.

Ramirez hit Cahill's first pitch of the fourth inning over the left-field fence.

Crisp tied the game with a solo shot in the fifth after Carlos Quentin put the White Sox ahead for good with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Chicago added two unearned runs in the seventh, when Cahill threw wildly at first on Vizquel's sacrifice bunt, allowing Alex Rios to score. Ramirez added an RBI single.

Barton hit a two-run single in the seventh.

The A's turned a season-high four double plays, including a 9-3 and a 4-3-6-3.

NOTES: Vizquel moved past George Sisler on the hits list into 46th with 2,813. ... Paul Konerko's fourth-inning single extended his hitting streak to eight games for Chicago. ... The White Sox are the only team to score more than one run against Cahill. They also scored four against him in a game at Chicago. ... The last time the A's turned four or more double plays was Aug. 2, when they had five against Kansas City, also with Cahill on the mound. ... A's closer Andrew Bailey will pitch Tuesday but the venue has yet to be decided. ... A's LHP Dallas Braden's flight was canceled. He will fly to New York on Monday for shoulder surgery, which will be postponed at least one day.

[Associated Press]

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