OAKLAND, Calif. – There was music in the clubhouse, and voices actually heard. It was no champagne cork popping affair, but cause to celebrate — just a little, anyway — nonetheless.
“Any time you win it’s great. Any time you win after losing 21 in a row it’s even better,” a relieved White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said after a 5-1 win over the Athletics, snapping a skid that had tied the 1988 Orioles’ American League record the night before. “I’m proud of these guys. They keep coming to the park playing hard and they play together.”
Jonathan Cannon (2-5) pitched six innings of one-run ball and Andrew Benintendi hit a two-run homer against Ross Stripling (2-11) to get the offense going. Andrew Vaughn and Lenyn Sosa also had RBIs.
When Benintendi gloved Zack Gelof’s short fly in the ninth, completing a perfect save for John Brebbia, the Sox went into handshake formation for the first time in 27 days.
“I’m thinking don’t get absolutely shelled today,” Brebbia said. “Which is the same thing I think every day. Throw stikes, change locations, try not to give up any runs you big old idiot.”
The Sox bullpen, which has blown 27 saves for this 28-88 team, got perfect relief from Dominic Leone, Chad Kuhl and Brebbia (6.12 ERA), the Sox’ primary ninth-inning guy after Michael Kopech was traded at the deadline.
“The bullpen was spectacular,” Grifol said.
Cannon, going six innings or more for the sixth straight start, worked out of a bases loaded jam and finished with five strikeouts and two walks while allowing six hits.
“Cannon has that it factor,” Grifol said. “That will to succeed. It almost looked like this wasn’t going to continue on his watch. Like ‘I got the ball today and this s--- ends right now.’ ’’
The Sox stopped two games shy of the 1961 Phillies major league record 23-game losing streak.
"Maybe now we can take a deep breath and get back out there and playing and having fun,” Benintendi said.
It’s been a brutal season for the Sox, who have a 14-game losing streak to go with the 21 and broke the latest one far from home before 5,867 fans, including at least one Sox fan with a bag over his head. In this the last season of A’s baseball at the Coliseum, A’s fans in the crowd carried on with their ongoing “sell the team” chants and also railed against Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf while they were at it.
The Sox take a 28-88 record into Wednesday afternoon, trying to win a series for the first time since they got the Rockies in late June.
“It’s nice that it’s over but it sucks that we got to that point to start with,” Cannon said of the streak. “Just happy to be in the winner’s circle again.”
“No one likes losing let alone losing 21 straight,” shortstop Nicky Lopez said, “along with losing 14 in a row. Once you win, it’s kind of a relief. It was kind of a monkey off your back.”
