LDN - Sports

Gray grinds through flu as A's beat White Sox

[July 06, 2017] OAKLAND, Calif. -- Now that Oakland Athletics' ace Sonny Gray is back in a groove, not even a slight case of the stomach flu could knock him off track Wednesday afternoon against the Chicago White Sox.

Gray (4-4) allowed two runs on three hits over six innings, struck out five and walked two in his third straight quality start, a 7-4 victory over the White Sox at the Oakland Coliseum.

"I didn't feel great, but you're not going to feel great all the time," Gray said. "It's just something you're going to have to get through."

Gray started the season on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder and didn't make his first start until May 2. It took him some time to get untracked, but in his past three starts he has allowed four earned runs over 21 innings with 15 strikeouts and four walks.

"I think I just got into a little bit of a groove, a little bit of a rhythm," Gray said. "Throwing a lot of fastballs that kind of move both ways. A lot of ground balls, and that's when I'm at my best. I'm not necessarily going to strike a lot of people out, but I'm going to get a lot of groundballs. I've been getting that a lot lately."

Oakland took two of three games from Chicago in the series and won the season series 5-1.

Gray received plenty of support from Oakland's hitters. Rookie Jaycob Brugman went 2-for-3 with his second career home run and also walked. Jed Lowrie had three hits, drove in two runs and scored once for the A's. Rajai Davis stole four bases, matching his career high, and had two hits and a run.

Matt Davidson and Todd Frazier each hit a two-run homer for the White Sox.

White Sox right-hander Mike Pelfrey (3-7) allowed four runs on five hits and lasted only 3 1/3 innings as his pitch count soared to 99. Pelfrey struck out five and walked three. He fell to 0-6 in six career starts against Oakland, two of those losses coming this season.

"These guys kept fouling balls off and fouling balls off," Pelfrey said. "I had a lot of pretty long at-bats and that's how you throw (99) pitches in 3 1/3. I obviously killed the bullpen and you know these guys played good defense behind me. We obviously didn't give up, we kept fighting and I didn't do my part especially going up against somebody like Sonny Gray on the other side."

The A's grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first. Matt Joyce hit a leadoff double, moved to third on Lowrie's single and scored when Khris Davis grounded into a double play.

Oakland extended its lead to 3-0 in the third. Lowrie grounded a leadoff single to right, Yonder Alonso walked with one out and Bruce Maxwell hit a two-run, opposite-field double to left.

Brugman made it 4-0 with a home run to right-center with one out in the fourth, ending Pelfrey's day. He sent Pelfrey's 3-2 pitch over the right-center field fence. Brugman hit his first home on June 24 on the road off White Sox right-hander James Shields.

"It felt better because it was a better swing," Brugman said of his second homer. "I hit it a little better. That's all you can ask for, hitting the ball hard and squaring it up and good things happen."

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Athletics center fielder Rajai Davis (11) steals third base against the Chicago White Sox in the fourth inning at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Rajai Davis worked a walk against reliever Gregory Infante, then stole second and third without a throw. Joyce walked and stole second without a throw, and Lowrie grounded a two-run single to center past a drawn in infield, increasing Oakland's lead to 6-0.

"That's definitely something I'd like to do ideally every time," Davis said of his exploits on the base paths. "Just don't get that opportunity most of the time. I just tried to take advantage."

Davidson cut the A's lead to 6-2 with a two-run blast off Gray in the fifth inning, his 18th home run of the season, after Frazier's leadoff walk. Davidson launched Gray's 2-1 fastball over the center field fence an estimated 424 feet.

"Sonny's pretty tough," Davidson said. "Everything kind of moves a little differently and has a different speed on all of them. I just tried to keep him in the zone and get a good pitch and he left one out over and I hit it."

The A's added a run in the seventh when Maxwell walked, moved to third on Brugman's single and scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-2.

Frazier sent Sean Doolittle's 0-2 pitch deep into the left field seats with two outs in the ninth and Jose Abreu on base after singling. The home run was Frazier's 16th.

NOTES: Oakland C Josh Phegley was placed on the paternity list and missed Wednesday's game against the White Sox. Phegley is expected to miss the next two games, both on the road against Seattle. C Ryan Lavarnway was selected from Triple-A Nashville and took Phegley's roster spot. ... White Sox RF Avisail Garcia made his second straight start after missing five straight games with a sore left knee. White Sox manager Rick Renteria said Garcia came through his first start with just "normal game soreness" after being out for a few days. ... A's 3B/1B Ryon Healy (upper back spasms) missed his third straight start Wednesday against the White Sox but took ground balls before the game and continued to make progress. ... Chicago RHP David Robertson, missed his third straight game while on the paternity list but he is expected to rejoin the White Sox on Friday when they open a three-game series against the Rockies in Denver.

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