Athletics Walk Off White Sox 3-2

Ending the home stand with some fireworks!

The Athletics walked off the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon in Sacramento as second baseman Luis Urias launched a game-ending two-run home run to give the team the victory, the team’s second walk off win this home stand. The win puts the Athletics back at the .500 mark as they prepare to embark on a six-game trip across the country. Great vibes before hitting the road!

A’s, White Sox trade early runs. Then go silent.

The starting pitcher for the Green & Gold in the series finale today was Osvaldo Bido. The right-hander was coming off his worst career start when he allowed eight runs last time out. Looking to bounce back he got off to a rough start today as Chicago hit a leadoff home run on the third pitch of this game. Not an encouraging beginning but from there Bido locked in, pitching into the sixth inning without allowing any more runs to cross home plate.

• Osvaldo Bido: 5 ¹⁄₃ IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 90 pitches

That’s what we call a bounce back start right there. Bido did a good job to not let the leadoff blast affect him the rest of the day. Today’s outing lowered his ERA to 4.31, which still doesn’t do Bido justice with how good he’s been for the Athletics so far this season. He’s lined up to start next against the Miami Marlins on the upcoming road trip.

Unfortunately the A’s couldn’t manage to get him much run support today. The best they could do was wiping away Chicago’s lone early run away and get Bido off the hook for the loss. Facing Chicago opener Brandon Eisert leadoff man Lawrence Butler smoked a single to center field to bring Brent Rooker up to the plate. The former All-Star came through with a broken bat double that brought Butler all the way around from first to tie this game up:

That would be the extent of the scoring from both teams for the next eight innings. Chicago turned to right-hander Davis Martin to start the second inning and he held the A’s offense down for six scoreless frames, allowing just three singles and a pair of walks during his outing. Their best chance to score off Martin came in the bottom of the third when the A’s had runners on the corners and one out with Shea Langeliers and Soderstrom up next. They both struck out to end the threat, the last serious one they would mount against Martin this afternoon.

After Bido the A’s went to TJ McFarland to finish the sixth. Right-hander Justin Sterner, Tyler Ferguson and Mason Miller each provided a scoreless inning apiece after that, giving the offense every chance to score a run and break this tie. The bats came up short though, sending this game to extra innings.

Chicago started the top of the tenth with a runner on second, as has been the rule since 2020. With a runner already in scoring position the A’s went with Grant Holman to try to keep Chicago off the board. He couldn’t manage to do it as an RBI knock from Luis Robert Jr. finally broke the tie and gave the White Sox the lead.

Game. Over.

Down to their final three outs, the A’s needed to bring in their own ghost runner or else lose this game. After JJ Bleday struck out to start the bottom of the tenth, second baseman Luis Urias stepped to the plate. The team would have been excstatic if he just got a single to tie this game but instead he launched a game-ending two-run home run, calling game and giving the team the win right then and there:

His second home run in as many days walked it off for the Athletics, sending the fans home happy and ending the home stand on a winning note. That’s how you end a home stand in style.

What a win! After trading zero’s for eight innings the fireworks came late and the A’s came out on top. The pitching looked excellent today as Bido bounced back from his previous start while the bullpen tossed 4 ²⁄₃ innings with just the inherited runner in the 10th scoring. The offense wasn’t there today but they did just enough to squeak by and snatch the victory from the jaws of defeat. They’re now back to an even 14-14 on the year with a trip to Texas on tap.

They head to Texas for the beginning of their six-game road trip tonight, where they’ll take on the Rangers in a rematch from last week’s series. The Rangers have exceeded expectations so far this year and are near the top of the division as April comes to a close. The Athletics could potentially pass them in the standings in the best case scenario but the A’s are right on their heels and within shooting distance of the AL West lead.

While Texas has already announced tomorrow’s starting pitcher in Patrick Corbin, the A’s are still figuring out who will take the ball for them tomorrow after rookie right-hander JT Ginn went on the IL with an elbow injury. It could be left-hander Jacob Lopez, who took Ginn’s spot on the active roster and looks likely, but the team could also elect to give righty Mitch Spence a crack at the starting rotation after having him in the bullpen all season. Stay tuned to see who gets the ball tomorrow.