Buehrle, White Sox fizzle out vs. Athletics
In a tribute to Independence Day and the United States armed forces, the White Sox wore camouflage uniforms Friday night against the Oakland Athletics.
Unfortunately for the Sox, they couldn't hide from a poor all-around effort and subsequent 7-1 loss at U.S. Cellular Field.
"It was a pretty ugly game," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "Having Mark Buehrle on the mound, the expectation coming to the ballpark was a little bit different. That was kind of ugly."
Buehrle came in as one of the hottest starting pitchers in baseball, having gone 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA in his last 5 starts.
But it was obvious the veteran left-hander didn't have it Friday. Buehrle was pulled with two outs in the sixth inning after allowing 4 runs on 10 hits and 3 walks.
"Today was just one of those days," Buehrle said. "A bad day at the office."
Buehrle had a feeling it was going to be a rough night because he felt good warming up in the bullpen.
"It always seems like whatever you do in the bullpen, it's the opposite during the game," Buehrle said. "I knew in the first inning just kind of everything was up in the zone and I couldn't find my groove. I tried changing some things to get pitches down in the zone and it didn't happen.
"But it could have been a lot worse. I was able to make some pitches early to minimize the damage."
Buehrle held the A's scoreless through the first three innings, but he gave up a 2-run homer to Jack Cust in the fourth and allowed 2 more runs on 3 hits before exiting in the sixth inning.
Oakland's starting lineup featured first baseman Wes Bankston, center fielder Carlos Gonzalez, shortstop Donnie Murphy, third baseman Jack Hannahan and right fielder Ryan Sweeney, who was sent from the Sox to the Athletics in the Nick Swisher trade.
"They have a bunch of guys that if you saw them on the street, you probably wouldn't know who they are," Buehrle said. "But they're young and scrappy."
After Buehrle exited, Oakland continued battering relievers Nick Masset and Adam Russell as White Sox pitchers wound up yielding a season-high 17 hits.
"For whatever reason, we've had some tough luck against Oakland," right fielder Jermaine Dye said. "They've had our number the last couple years."
Speaking of numbers, the Minnesota Twins are only 1 game behind the first-place Sox after beating the Cleveland Indians.
The White Sox have been streaky all season, and they've lost two straight to the Athletics after winning seven in a row.
"Good teams shut it down right away and start another winning streak," Guillen said. "That's our expectation for tomorrow."