OAKLAND, Calif. _ Franklin Barreto's home run in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the A's a dramatic 7-6 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday at the Coliseum.
Barreto's homer in off White Sox right hander Tommy Kahnle came on 3-2 fastball as it carried over the left field wall to help the A's end a season-long six game losing streak.
The White Sox had tied the game 6-6 in the top of the ninth as Melky Cabrera's two out hit to left field off Santiago Casilla was enough to score Tim Anderson from second base, as Anderson beat out a throw from Rajai Davis and slid ahead of a tag from catcher Bruce Maxwell.
The A's also got two home runs from Yonder Alonso and one from Matt Joyce for their first win at home since June 18.
Joyce took a change-up from White Sox starter James Shields over the center field wall to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning. Alonso's second home run gave the A's a 6-5 lead in the fifth.
Daniel Coulombe came in relief of A's starter Daniel Gossett to throw a scoreless sixth inning and Ryan Madson, in the seventh, stranded Alen Hanson at second base by striking out Cabrera and getting Jose Abreu to ground out.
Alonso hadn't homered since June 15 when the A's beat the New York Yankees 8-7, and his last extra base hit before Tuesday was a double against the Houston Astros nearly two weeks ago.
Alonso, though, smoked a 89 MPH fastball from White Sox starter James Shields to lead off the fourth and give the A's a 3-2 lead. In the fifth, after Abreu hit a three-run homer off Gossett for a 5-4 Chicago lead, Alonso took Shields deep again on another fastball.
The A's power display helped cover for a so-so outing from Gossett, who continues to be vexed by the long ball. Besides Abreu's homer, Gossett gave up a two-run shot to Cabrera in the third inning. He's given up seven home runs this season in 26 innings of work.
Looking to spark a moribund offense, A's manager Bob Melvin shuffled his lineup a bit for Tuesday's game.
Joyce was in his familiar leadoff position but Khris Davis was the designated hitter and batted third in the order. Alonso batted clean-up for just the eighth game this season.
Some type of shakeup was needed. During their losing streak, they hit just .167 and struck out a combined 81 times.
Curtis Pashelka Curtis Pashelka is the San Jose Sharks reporter for the Bay Area News Group. Prior to covering the Sharks, Curtis served as the high school sports editor for the East Bay. He also worked as a general assignment reporter covering motorsports, golf and college basketball, and as a backup writer on the A's, Giants and Warriors. He started at the organization in 2000 and spent close to eight years covering high school sports.
