Athletics vying for sweep of White Sox (Jun 25, 2017)
CHICAGO -- Both Sonny Gray and Derek Holland are looking to bounce back after rough stretches.
They'll have the opportunity to do so when the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics close out their three-game series on Sunday afternoon. The A's (33-42) will try to complete the sweep after snapping their streak of nine straight road series losses.
Holland, the White Sox left-hander, is 1-4 with a 9.55 ERA while serving up nine home runs in his last five starts. Holland (5-7, 4.48 ERA) exited in the third inning Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins after he gave up seven runs and nine hits, including two home runs.
"It's just frustrating," Holland said. "I felt really good coming out of the 'pen, and I thought my stuff was really good, but when you're going to miss you shouldn't miss over the middle. These guys put some runs up and the worst part is I didn't do my job. It was a really embarrassing performance and to let it slip like that is unacceptable."
Holland is 5-5 with a 3.45 ERA in 21 career outings against Oakland. In 15 starts, he is 5-4 with a 3.54 ERA versus the A's.
He pitched at least six innings in four of his first five starts to begin the season 2-2.
Likewise, Gray has hit a rough stretch after a promising start. Gray (2-3, 4.84 ERA) is 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in his last five starts after he went 2-1 with a 3.34 ERA in his first five starts. At home, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA but 0-2 with a 5.96 ERA on the road. He is 1-0 with a 5.29 ERA in three career starts against the White Sox.
Gray yielded five runs in the first inning against the Houston Astros in his last start. He then threw four scoreless innings.
The A's will get another look at top prospect Franklin Barreto, who was called up from Triple-A Nashville on Saturday when infielder Chad Pinder went on the 10-day disabled list for a strained hamstring.
Barreto got the start at second base for his major league debut when infielder Jed Lowrie was scratched for a twisted knee. Barreto hit his first career home run off White Sox right-hander James Shields in the third inning.
"Just happy to be here," Barreto said before the game through a translator. "I didn't really expect that call, but just really excited to be here."
The 21-year-old was hitting .281 with eight home runs in Triple-A. The A's acquired him when they sent Josh Donaldson to Toronto in 2014.
"He can hit and he's a versatile guy," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "We liked him at second just as well as we did at short. He's a good athlete.
"We think highly enough of him to get him to the big leagues and we feel like at some point in time he's going to have a long stay here."
The A's have won two straight while the White Sox (32-41) have lost five of six.
