|
Sweeping the Lowly A's
White Sox sweep the A’s, keep the Central cushion intact as August closes
The Chicago White Sox didn’t just take three in Sacramento — they owned the script. A series that briefly flirted with “here we go again” in the eighth inning of the opener ended as a full-on statement: three wins, a division lead still in hand, and a club that keeps finding different ways to break teams.
When it was over, Chicago sat at 72-58, while the California Athletics kept sinking at 57-75.
Series at a glance
Game 1 (Aug. 28): White Sox 6, A’s 3 — three-run 9th after an 8th-inning tie
Game 2 (Aug. 29): White Sox 2, A’s 0 — two homers, total control
Game 3 (Aug. 30): White Sox 8, A’s 4 — Montgomery goes off, late avalanche seals it
Series result: White Sox sweep (3-0).
Game 1: White Sox 6, A’s 3 — the ninth-inning gut punch
For seven innings, it looked like Grant Taylor was building a clean road win: 7 IP, 10 K, attacking the zone and limiting damage. Then the eighth inning got messy — an A’s rally tied it at 3, and the ballpark finally had a pulse.
Chicago responded the way good teams do: by turning panic into punishment.
In the ninth, Luis Robert Jr. sparked it (single, steal), William Bergolla delivered the big pinch-hit double, and Samuel Zavala finished the job with a two-run double that flipped the entire night. The White Sox hung three in the ninth and walked out like they’d planned it.
Notable note: the opener came with a price — Miguel Vargas was hit by a pitch and left injured, part of a night that also saw Brendan McKay and Shea Langeliers leave banged up on the A’s side.
Game 2: White Sox 2, A’s 0 — Shane Smith, silent stadium
Saturday was a low-noise, high-efficiency kind of win — the kind contenders stack when the bats aren’t feeling poetic.
Shane Smith turned in the kind of start that makes a series feel hopeless for the other side: 7 shutout innings, scattering just 3 hits. Chicago’s offense didn’t need a parade — it needed two swings:
Tyler O’Neill launched a solo shot in the fifth.
Luis Robert Jr. added another in the seventh.
That was enough. Edwin Díaz handled the finish, and the A’s never really threatened.
Game 3: White Sox 8, A’s 4 — Colson Montgomery puts on a clinic
Sunday had a different feel early — Mike Vasil got clipped for home runs, the A’s pushed, and the game kept leaning toward “annoyingly close.”
Then Colson Montgomery stepped into the spotlight and basically refused to leave it.
Montgomery posted a monster day at the top of the order — 5 hits and constant pressure. George Springer supplied the thunder with a two-run homer, and when the game tightened again, Chicago’s late innings hit like a wave:
A three-run ninth turned a one-run game into a walk-off-the-field-and-start-packing kind of finish.
Big hinge point: once Sean Burke took over, the door slammed — 3.2 scoreless innings to stabilize everything and let the offense finish the job.
Transactions / health
Chicago’s biggest headline out of the weekend:
3B Miguel Vargas placed on the 10-day IL (blurred vision), expected to miss 1–2 weeks
3B Bryan Ramos recalled from AAA Charlotte
That move mattered immediately, because the Sox were already living the “next man up” reality after Vargas’ injury in the opener.
What it means
This sweep was more than three wins against a struggling club — it was a menu of contender traits:
Late-game toughness (Game 1: lose the lead, take it right back — loudly)
Starting pitching carrying a night (Game 2: Smith dealt)
Depth + pressure offense (Game 3: speed, contact, and the knockout punch)
And it all stacks onto a team that’s still sitting first in the AL Central as the calendar flips.
Up next
Chicago heads straight into the next test — Boston on deck, with the rotation continuing to matter and the lineup now needing to cover time without Vargas.
|