A’s rookie Basso blanks White Sox as they drop 115th game of season
Rookie Brady Basso pitched five-hit ball into the sixth inning in his first major league win, and the Oakland Athletics handed the White Sox their 16th consecutive home loss with a 2-0 victory on Friday night.
Chicago was shut out for the 18th time, finishing with six hits. At 33-115, the White Sox are approaching the post-1900 record for losses — 120 by the 1962 New York Mets in their inaugural season.
Basso (1-0) struck out two and walked one in 5 1/3 innings in his second major league start and fifth appearance overall. He pitched six scoreless innings in a no-decision against Detroit in his previous outing last week.
Zack Gelof hit an RBI double, and Brent Rooker added a run-scoring single. The A's won for the third time in four games.
Michel Otañez relieved Basso after Bryan Ramos reached on a leadoff walk and Andrew Benintendi singled with one out in the sixth. Tyler Ferguson followed with a 1-2-3 eighth and Mason Miller worked around a single in the ninth for his 25th save.
Garrett Crochet (6-12) worked four innings of one-run ball for Chicago. The All-Star left-hander threw 56 pitches, 38 for strikes as the White Sox continue to manage his workload.
Crochet, who is 0-7 in his last 16 starts, retired 11 of his first 12 hitters before Oakland broke through for a run with two outs in the fourth.
Daz Cameron reached on an infield single, then slid home on Gelof's double to the wall in right-center.
The Athletics upped it to 2-0 in the fifth on Rooker's bloop RBI single off Gus Varland.
The White Sox placed RHP Matt Foster on the 15-day IL with a lumbar spine disc herniation and recalled LHP Jake Eder from Triple-A Charlotte.