An exciting White Sox season came to an end Thursday with a 6-4 loss to the Athletics in Game 3 of their Wild Card Round series. It was a game full of missed opportunities on both sides that ended with Oakland on top.
Rick Renteria went to his bullpen early with Dane Dunning stumbling out of the gate, which turned into a parade of relievers when Garrett Crochet worryingly left after facing two hitters with left forearm tightness.
The Sox battled back after falling behind 4-3 to tie the game in the top of the fifth, but the A’s took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning and never gave it up.
Tim Anderson became the first player in MLB playoff history with nine hits in his first three postseason games, but it wasn’t enough to save the Sox season.
Final score: A’s 6, White Sox 4
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Nomar Mazara takes strike three to end the game. That’s a wrap.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Luis Robert strikes out on three straight fastballs. Sox are down to their final out.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Yoan Moncada strikes out on a slider for the first out of the inning.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: James McCann lines a hard fastball back into center field for a leadoff single to open the frame.
Eighth inning: A’s 6, White Sox 4
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Alex Colome walks one but gets through the bottom of the eighth unscathed. It’s down to three outs for the Sox.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Jose Abreu with the worst-case scenario as he grounds into a double play to end the frame.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Yasmani Grandal battles back to draw a walk off a 3-2 count to put runners on first and second. Jarrod Dyson will pinch run for Grandal with Jose Abreu at the plate.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Tim Anderson records his third hit of the afternoon to give the Sox a runner on first with one out.
Three hits in three games.
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) October 1, 2020
Tim Anderson is first player in MLB history to rack up nine hits in his first three playoff games.
Seventh inning: A’s 6, White Sox 4
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Jimmy Cordero gives the Sox pitchers their first 1-2-3 inning since the second.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Adam Engel grounds out to second to end the threat. A big missed opportunity for the Sox.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Nomar Mazara, after narrowly missing a hit-by-pitch, walks on a full count to load the bases.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: After a Yoan Moncada flyout, Luis Robert pops out in the huge Oakland Coliseum foul territory to advance Jose Abreu to third base. Runners on the corners with two outs.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: James McCann gets hit by a pitch near the hands to give the Sox runners on first and second with no outs.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: The White Sox get a leadoff runner as Matt Olson can’t corral a wild throw on a Jose Abreu grounder.
Sixth inning: A’s 6, White Sox 4
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Evan Marshall gets Ramon Laureano to fly out to end the inning without any damage.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Khris Davis bashes one off the wall in left field but only ends up with a one-out single.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: No action for the Sox as they go down 1-2-3 in the top of the frame.
Fifth inning: A’s 6, White Sox 4
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Chad Pinder strikes with a two-run single to put the A’s back ahead.
White Sox 4, Athletics 4: Marcus Semien walks on six pitches to load the bases with two outs.
White Sox 4, Athletics 4: Yasmani Grandal gets called for catcher interference on a 0-1 foul ball, giving Tommy La Stella an automatic pass to first base.
White Sox 4, Athletics 4: The Sox can’t just a much-needed 1-2-3 inning as Sean Murphy draws a walk on a 3-2 pitch with two outs.
White Sox 4, Athletics 4: Tommy La Stella makes a bobbling catch on a pop-up to avoid a potentially big break for the Sox.
White Sox 4, Athletics 4: Yoan Moncada’s steal turns out to be huge as Nomar Mazara squeezes a liner through the shift to knock in the game-tying run.
Athletics 4, White Sox 3: After a one-out single, Yoan Moncada steals second as Luis Robert strikes out to give the Sox a runner in scoring position with two outs.
Fourth inning: A’s 4, White Sox 3
Athletics 4, White Sox 3: Another bases loaded walk, this time by Matt Olson, gives the A’s their first lead of the afternoon.
White Sox 3, Athletics 3: Mark Canha draws a walk to tie the game.
White Sox 3, Athletics 2: After intentionally walking Chad Pinder so they could pull Carlos Rodon, the Sox will bring in Matt Foster to face Mark Canha with the bases loaded and two outs. Big moment.
White Sox 3, Athletics 2: Carlos Rodon enters the game, walks one, then allows a Tommy La Stella double down the line to give the A’s runners in scoring position with two outs.
White Sox 3, Athletics 2: Sean Murphy clobbers a two-out, two-run home run off Codi Heuer to slice the Sox lead down to one.
One big swing and it's a one-run ballgame. 👀#Postseason pic.twitter.com/tl51E3g17a
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2020
White Sox 3, Athletics 0: Frankie Montas comes out looking strong with a quick 1-2-3 inning through the top of the Sox batting order.
Third inning: White Sox 3, A’s 0
White Sox 3, Athletics 0: Codi Heuer comes through with a couple clutch outs to leave the A’s stranding three runners.
White Sox 3, Athletics 0: A diving Tim Anderson stops a grounder from getting into the outfield but the A’s now have the bases loaded with one out. Big moment here for Codi Heuer.
White Sox 3, Athletics 0: A Sean Murphy walk and Marcus Semien single give the A’s runners on first and second with one out.
White Sox 3, Athletics 0: The run ends with the bottom of the order as Adam Engel and Nick Madrigal record outs to end the inning, but the Sox are up 3.
White Sox 3, Athletics 0: Nomar Mazara delivers for the second straight day with an RBI double into the left-center gap.
White Sox 2, Athletics 0: Luis Robert singles up the middle to score James McCann, who came in to pinch run. Robert advanced to second on the throw.
White Sox 1, Athletics 0: Eloy Jimenez rips a liner into the gap for a leadoff double, but immediately leaves the game afterwards. It appears he tweaked something while running to second base.
Second inning: White Sox 1, A’s 0
White Sox 1, Athletics 0: Aaron Bummer gets the job done with a couple groundouts to end the inning.
White Sox 1, Athletics 0: Garrett Crochet leaves the game with a trainer after just two hitters for an unclear reason. Aaron Bummer will take over as the Sox are already on their third pitcher after just four outs.
White Sox 1, Athletics 0: Jose Abreu grounds out to third base to wrap up the frame without any further damage.
White Sox 1, Athletics 0: A Yasmani Grandal walk loads the bases and ends Mike Fiers’ afternoon. Yusmeiro Petit will come in to try to get the big out.
White Sox 1, Athletics 0: Some two-out action for the Sox as Tim Anderson doubles down the line after a Nick Madrigal single to put runners on second and third with two outs.
White Sox 1, Athletics 0: HOME RUN!!! LUIS. ROBERT. An absolutely mammoth dinger from the center fielder goes an estimated 487 feet. Yeesh.
487 FEET. Luis Robert has arrived. #Postseason pic.twitter.com/JfoOAVcqsk
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2020
First inning: White Sox 0, A’s 0
White Sox 0, Athletics 0: Garrett Crochet impresses with a strikeout of Matt Olson to get out of the jam.
White Sox 0, Athletics 0: The A’s are threatening with runners on the corners and two outs – and it’s already the end for Dane Dunning, who’s out of the game after 15 pitches in favor of flame-throwing first-round pick Garrett Crochet.
White Sox 0, Athletics 0: Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada can’t take advantage of the opportunity as the Sox go scoreless in the first frame.
White Sox 0, Athletics 0: Jose Abreu launches a line drive off the wall in left field for a double to give the Sox men on second and third with one out.
White Sox 0, Athletics 0: Tim Anderson speeds his way to an infield single on a 2-2 count to open the game. He’s been on fire in this series.
Before the game
After splitting the first two games in Oakland, the White Sox and Athletics meet Thursday afternoon for a winner-take-all Game 3 in their Wild Card Round series. The winner will advance to the American League Division Series to meet the Astros, who eliminated the AL Central champion Twins in two games.
Dane Dunning, the rookie right-hander who emerged to make seven starts during the regular season, will take the ball to open Game 3 against the Athletics’ Mike Fiers. With a rested bullpen ready to go, manager Rick Renteria will likely have a short leash for Dunning if he has any troubles.
The Sox showed life late in Game 2 against Oakland’s stellar bullpen, putting the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth of a 5-3 loss. Will the team be able to carry over some of that good energy for a must-win game?
If not, the Sox will have to wait until next year for another shot.
How to watch Sox-A’s Game 3
Time: 2:10 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN
Live stream: Watch ESPN
