OAKLAND, Calif. _ Second baseman Jed Lowrie had three hits, including a two-RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning, as the A's ended their six-game homestand on a positive note Wednesday with a 7-4 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Catcher Bruce Maxwell had a two-run double in the third inning and center fielder Jaycob Brugman hit a solo home run in the fourth for the A's, who took two of three from the White Sox. The A's now travel to Seattle to face the Mariners for a four-game series that starts Thursday.
In his final start before the All-Star break next week, A's ace Sonny Gray allowed three hits and had five strikeouts over six innings to improve his record this year to 4-4. His one major blemish was a allowing a two-run homer to Matt Davidson in the top of the fifth.
Otherwise, it was Gray's third straight quality start, a positive sign that he's started to recapture some of the form that allowed him to win a combined 28 games in 2014 and 2005. His fastball was in the 92-95-mph range and his used his slider to register a couple of strikeouts.
Gray started this season on the disabled list with a strained lat muscle and did not make his first start for the A's this year until May 2. He was somewhat inconsistent in his first 10 starts this season, but in the last two before Wednesday, Gray's allowed a combined two earned over 15 innings. In those games, the A's beat the White Sox 5-3 on June 25 and lost to the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on June 30.
The A's on Wednesday also stole six bases, including four by Rajai Davis and one from both Franklin Barreto and Matt Joyce.
Davis' four steals matched his career high, set July 28, 2013 when he was with Toronto. The A's entered Wednesday with just 27 stolen bases this season, fifth-fewest in the majors. The last time the A's had six steals in a game was April 16, 2013 against Houston.
White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier hit a two-run home run off of Sean Doolittle in the top of the ninth to round out the scoring.
