‘73 A’s take 3 of 4 from ‘05 Southsiders

9/6-9/7 - Oakland Coliseum
GAME 1 - '73-A's 5, '05-White Sox 3
Catfish Hunter (3-2, 1.84) did what he does best, which is keep hitters off stride and minimize damage.  Once the A's handed him a 5-2 lead in the 5th he clamped down on the Chisox and gave up only 3 runs in a complete game victory.  On the other hand Jose Contreras (0-3, 5.61) could not keep the "crooked numbers" off the board and wound up losing.  With the Chisox up 2-1 the A's scored 2 in the bottom of the 4th to take a 3-2 lead.  With 2 out Campy Campaneris singled home Billy Conigliaro and Dick Green.  In the fifth Contreras gave up a 2 run shot to Sal Bando.  Paul Kanerko singled home Uribe to make it a 2 run game in the 8th, but Hunter again got stingy and had a perfect 9th to win it.

GAME 2 - A's 4, White Sox 3
Oakland jumped all over Freddy Garcia by posting a 3 spot in the bottom of the first. Joe Rudi singled home Campaneris, who stole 2nd after leading off with a single.  After a wild pitch that allowed Rudi to move to second, Reggie Jackson doubled him home with a shot that went off the wall in the right/center gap.  Sal Bando grounded out for the second out of the inning, but Gene Tenace picked him up with a clutch RBI single to make it 3-0.  Both teams exchanged solo runs in the 6th with the Chisox finally getting to Ken Holtzman, who had a 1 hitter going to that point.  Holtzman regained his poise until the 9th when he gave up a solo shot with 1 out to "the Big Hurt" Frank Thomas.  That would be the final batter that Holtzman would face as Rollie Fingers would be called on to save the game.  Fingers immediately served up a solo shot to pinch hitter Carl Everett before fanning Aaron Rowand and getting A.J. Pierzynski to ground out to short.  Fingers notched his 4th save of the season, but saw his ERA balloon to 3.86.

9/8 - US Cellular (Doubleheader)
GAME 3 - White Sox 3, A's 2
With the wind blowing in at 15mph both teams expected a low scoring contest.  For the first 5 innings Vida Blue (2-4, 5.89) and John Garland (2-1, 1.77) were posting goose eggs.  Oakland would break the ice with a solo run in the top of the 6th when Reggie Jackson singled home Bill North with 2 outs.  Oakland worked hard to manufacture that run when North bunted his way on with 1 out and stole second to get into scoring position.  Chicago took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning when Paul Kanerko hit a monster shot that would have been a tape measure job on any normal day.  With the wind blowing in Konerko's shot managed to just clear the fence as the wind fought hard to limit his power, but lost.  The Southsiders would add an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th when Jermaine Dye walked with 2 outs and Aaron Rowand doubled him home.  In the top of the 9th Garland fanned Rudi to lead off the inning, but gave up back to back singles to Jackson and Bando.  Gene Tennace hit a high floater to the warning track in left, which allowed Jackson to score easily.  On the play Bando tried to sneak into second, but Podsednik's throw to the plate was cut off by Uribe, who turned quickly to nail Bando by a hair to end the rally and the game.

GAME 4 - A's 4, White Sox 3
John "Blue Moon" Odom was pitching the game of his life until the bottom of the 7th when the Chisox exploded for 3 runs to break Odom's shutout, which cut the deficit to 1.  Oakland took a 2 run lead in the 4th off of Chisox starter Brian McCarthy when Sal Bando doubled home Joe Rudi and Reggie Jackson.  Oakland scored 2 more in the top of the 7th when Billy North singled home Derron Johnson and Ray Fosse.  A.J. Pierzynski chased Odom in the bottom of the 7th when Chicago's backstop hit a 2 out 3 run shot to make it a 1 run game.  Rollie Fingers came on to get the final out of the inning and the next 6 outs for his 5th save of the season.  Carl Everett went 3 for 4 and boosted his average to .325 in Chicago's losing effort.