Jeff Samardzija pitches White Sox to 1st series sweep in Oakland in 18 years

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Jeff Samardzija spent the first two days of the series catching up with old friends. He spent the last day making trouble for them.

Avisail Garciahit a two-run homer, Alexei Ramirez had two hits and two RBIs, and Samardzija pitched eight strong innings to help the Chicago White Sox beat theAthletics7-3 Sunday for their first series sweep in Oakland in 18 years.

"We haven't had too many good trips here," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "The first thing is we got good pitching. We counted on that and those guys did it."

Jose Abreu and Gordon Beckham also drove in runs for the White Sox, who won their sixth straight and reached .500 for the first time this season.

"Being .500 is important," Samardzija said. "You want to be around .500 come summer and fall, knowing you're in the hunt."

Max Muncy hit his first major league home run, a two-run shot in the fourth, as the A's lost their fourth straight and fell to 1-12 in day games.

Samardzija (3-2) allowed three runs and eight hits. He walked three and struck out five in his return to Oakland, where he made 16 starts for the A's last year.

"I have a lot of respect for that team," Samardzija said. "I've never seen a team who played so hard, day in and day out. I loved being part of that."

Scott Kazmir (2-2) left with one out in the fifth after giving up five runs -- three earned -- and seven hits. He walked three and struck out six.

Kazmir's fielding error in the first led to Chicago's first run. Ramirez's two-run single in the fifth ticked off Kazmir's glove and deflected into left field.

"I wish I could have been a little more efficient early on and made a couple of plays," Kazmir said. "It would have been a totally different ballgame."

The A's committed four errors, increasing their major-league lead to 42. They have made at least one error in each of their past 14 games, 21 overall, the club's longest streak since a 17-game span in May 1982.

"It's just snowballing on us right now. Guys are thinking about it out there," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "They don't want to make an error and they end up doing it. We're not playing clean games at this point. They are ugly games and it affects how you play them. It affects your confidence."

The errors have led to 29 unearned runs, most in the majors.

Garcia hit his fourth home run of the year off A's closer Tyler Clippard in the ninth.

TRAINERS ROOM

White Sox: INFAdam LaRochewas given a day off. Ventura said LaRoche "has been going after it pretty good" and wanted Emilio Bonifacio in the lineup against the lefty Kazmir.

Athletics: Ike Davis (strained left quad) was placed on the disabled list and Craig Gentry was recalled from Triple-A. Davis was injured in a game on May 11. Ben Zobrist (left knee injury) completed baserunning drills before the game and is scheduled to play five innings in Stockton on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

White Sox: LHP Chris Sale (3-1, 5.09) makes the start at home against the Cleveland Indians on Monday night. He has struck out 77 Indians in 71 career innings, including Michael Brantley 10 times. Brantley hits .136 against Sale.

Athletics: LHP Drew Pomeranz (2-3, 4.66) hopes to build off his last outing, when he threw seven innings in a victory over theBoston Red Sox. He's still looking for his first win against the Houston Astros. He is 0-2 with a 6.05 ERA in five appearances, including four starts, against them.