Athletics go for sweep against White Sox (Apr 18, 2018)
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Having secured their first series win of the season, the Oakland Athletics go for their first series sweep of the young campaign when they host the Chicago White Sox in the finale of a three-game set Wednesday afternoon.
The A's thrilled 46,028 fans on "Free Baseball" night Tuesday, scoring five runs in the first inning en route to an 10-2 thumping of the White Sox.
Oakland had opened the series with an 8-1 victory Monday.
Chicago will send right-hander Carson Fulmer to the mound in an effort to avoid the sweep. He has never faced the A's in his three-year career.
The A's will counter with Andrew Triggs, who likewise has begun a third major-league season without having seen the White Sox.
Win or lose in the series finale, the A's have created the type of home buzz they thought was possible when they opened the season with a highly anticipated set against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels.
But Oakland didn't take advantage, losing three of four as they saw their attendance dip from 27,764 on Opening Day to 16.644 by the time Ohtani dominated them in his major-league pitching debut in the series finale.
A's manager Bob Melvin admitted he saw the "Free Baseball" experiment as getting a second chance to make a first impression, and he was gushing after the 13-hit onslaught.
"It was loud," he said. "I really wanted to put on a good show for them, and our guys did right away."
Oakland thrilled the packed house with a five-run first, ignited by a two-out homer by Jed Lowrie.
The homer was the A's second in two nights. Matt Olson contributed one to Monday's 8-1 win.
Fulmer (0-1, 4.66 ERA) hasn't allowed a homer in his first two starts of the season. He's coming off a 6-5 defeat at home against Tampa Bay, a game in which he suffered his loss.
He went a combined 3-3 in his first two seasons, making 15 appearances, including five starts.
The 24-year-old figures to need more support than the White Sox gave Reynaldo Lopez and Miguel Gonzalez in the first two games of the series.
After having been rained out three straight games at Minnesota, the White Sox managed five singles Monday and a solo home run by Jose Abreu after the club had fallen behind 8-0.
It was much the same story in front of the big crowd Tuesday, with the team limited to six singles and a double to complement a two-run homer by Yoan Moncada after Oakland went ahead 10-0.
The White Sox have averaged 1.8 runs in their last eight games.
Triggs (1-0, 2.87) will get an opportunity to continue Chicago's slump in the series finale while attempting to extend Oakland's winning streak to four games.
The right-hander got no decision in his last start, a 7-4 loss at Seattle on Friday night. He's 7-7 in his career.
The 29-year-old pitched well in his only home start of the season, limiting the Texas Rangers to one run and four hits in five innings.
He hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his three starts.
