For the second time in as many nights, the White Sox and the A’s had to settle their game in extra innings. Neither of the teams’ starters — Edwin Jackson and Trevor Cahill — managed to last five innings on a cold night at the Cell, and the see-saw game wasn’t decided until Alexei Ramirez hit a home run with two outs in the tenth inning.
That was the second shot of the night for Ramirez, who had powered out a three run blast earlier. The first home run capped a four run second inning for the Sox, who managed to get to Trevor Cahill early and often, and chased him from the game in the fifth inning. Unfortunately, starter Edwin Jackson, who struck out 13 in his previous start, also had a rough night. Jackson gave up four runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking three.
The Sox held a 4-3 advantage until the sixth, when Tony Pena gave up a two run homer to Kevin Kouzmanoff. The Sox would score another in the bottom of that frame to tie the game at five, but wouldn’t manage the win until Alexei became the hero of the night.
Though the bullpen performed decently in the Sox win, the team did experience its fifth dropped ball in the outfield in the last eleven games, a troubling statistic that the Sox will have to get under control if they want to keep winning close contests like they did on Tuesday night.
The game against the A’s also marked the return of Adam Dunn to the lineup, who made his home debut at the Cell. Dunn was 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts on the night.
The Sox and A’s will play the final game of the series on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is at 1:10 P.M. CDT.