Chapman homers, Montas shuts down White Sox as A's end skid

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The consistency of Frankie Montas every fifth day has meant so much to the Oakland Athletics down the stretch.

He pitched them back into the win column Wednesday night, and the defending AL West champions desperately needed it.

Matt Chapman homered early, Montas won his third straight start and the A's beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 to snap a four-game losing streak.

“It’s been a tough four days. Getting the win tonight feels like it puts us in the right direction,” Montas said.

Montas (12-9) allowed one run and six hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in seven sparkling innings. He had lost his only previous regular-season appearance against the White Sox last month.

“The deeper in the season he goes it seems like the more economical he is with his pitches, too,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “Limits the walks, gets big strikeouts and has pitched as well as he has in his career here for the last probably two months."

Montas benefited from some snazzy defense behind him, too: Oakland turned inning-ending double plays in three of the first four frames. First baseman Matt Olson made a wild throw home that led to a White Sox run in the fifth, but the A's slugger contributed an RBI single in the bottom half only to be caught in a rundown trying to take another base.

Chad Pinder drove in a run with a sixth-inning triple. Yan Gomes and Elvis Andrus each had an RBI single for the A's, who drew a crowd of 8,147 as they try to stay in the playoff race.

Oakland got to Dallas Keuchel (8-9) early, and the Chicago lefty saw his losing streak reach three games during a four-start winless stretch since he beat Montas on Aug. 16. Keuchel allowed five runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings with three strikeouts and a walk.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Chapman-homers-Montas-shuts-down-White-Sox-as-16445064.php