OAKLAND, Calif. -- David Robertson got some rest and Zach Putnam made his 2016 debut courtesy of a late White Sox rally on Thursday.
After struggling for nearly two games, the White Sox blew open Thursday’s 6-1 victory over the Oakland A’s in the ninth inning as their hitters produced six singles in a span of seven at-bats. The string of offense helped turn a tight ballgame into one in which White Sox relievers could rest a little easier, Robertson in particular. The closer, who converted saves on Monday and Tuesday, was readying himself for a third save opportunity when the White Sox started a singles parade against Oakland A’s reliever Liam Hendriks.
“Adding on there late was even better,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “We’re hopefully going to use (Robertson) quite a bit. If we can stretch it out there in the ninth, get up by a little bit and save him.”
Several innings after his best swing of the season resulted in a deep fly out, Avisail Garcia started the rally with a leadoff single to center in the ninth inning and the White Sox ahead 2-0. Austin Jackson entered as a pinch-runner for Garcia and stole second base. He moved to third on a Brett Lawrie bloop single that fell just in front of Oakland outfielder Josh Reddick and scored on Dioner Navarro’s RBI single off the right-field fence.
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Tyler Saladino, who earlier had the team’s first hit, kept the rally alive with a hard liner past first base for an RBI single and a four-run lead. Adam Eaton -- the first Sox player with four straight multi-hit games to start the season since Nellie Fox in 1955 -- kept the line moving with a single to load the bases. Melky Cabrera singled in a run to make it a 5-0 game and Jose Abreu, who put the White Sox up by two with a sixth-inning homer, had a sac fly.
The late outburst couldn’t have come at a better time. Not only have the White Sox had difficulty stringing hits together, they’d also played in three straight one-run games to start the season. The last time a White Sox team did that to start the season was 1972.
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Robertson, who was warming in the bullpen Thursday and got up to throw late in Wednesday’s loss in case the team rallied, quickly took a seat with a six-run cushion.
“It’s definitely nice at the end of the game to tack a few more on,” Saladino said. “Especially that push at the end, it really throws the momentum our way. We’ve played some close games and that just gave us a little extra breathing room right there.”
The lead came in handy when Putnam gave up a single, threw a wild pitch and Chris Coghlan singled in a run for the A’s. Putnam struck out two to close it out.