Noah Schultz on a mission to control walks, A's in first-half finale

After a frustrating sweep by the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox have a pair of home wins over the Athletics and will look to complete a sweep of their own on Sunday afternoon in the series finale.

White Sox manager Will Venable said his club's performance in the first two games against the slumping A's has provided a lift heading into the final game before the All-Star break.

"I think it's huge for us," Venable said. "Especially after the series against Boston. Obviously, we got swept. But to come out and have a good start to this series means a lot."

Luisangel Acuna had two hits on Saturday in a 1-0 win over the A's -- who have lost eight straight games -- and is batting .545 (6-for-11) over his past seven.

A slight adjustment has helped Acuna make better contact.

"I'm trying to keep my hips a little more open," he said. "That's been key the last few games."

He also has played excellent defense in the infield.

"I know I haven't been very productive with my offense," said Acuna, who is batting .242 for the season, with one homer and 10 RBIs. "But I take a lot of pride in my defense. That's something that I can control and master in my game."

After winning Saturday on Chase Meidroth's RBI double in the sixth inning, Chicago is scheduled to start left-hander Noah Schultz (2-6, 6.00 ERA).

In his most recent outing, an 8-1 loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday, Schultz allowed four runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts over five innings.

The 6-foot-10 rookie missed all of June while on the 15-day injured list with right knee patellar tendinitis. Schultz is 0-5 in his past six starts, allowing at least three runs in each outing.

In his lone career appearance against the A's on April 19, Schultz earned his first major league win after allowing one run on one hit over five innings while walking one and striking out six.

Through two July starts spanning 9 1/3 innings, Schultz has issued seven walks.

"The walks have been pretty high, something that I'm not too happy with," Schultz said. "Something that I need to clean up for sure with mechanics."

The Athletics will counter with J.T. Ginn (7-5, 3.10 ERA), whose most recent outing was a 6-2 road loss to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday. Ginn allowed two runs on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts. The right-hander threw 61 pitches over four innings.

A's manager Mark Kotsay was cautious with Ginn, who has had a breakout campaign since moving into the rotation on April 10.

"He was dealing with an illness from the start of the first inning," Kotsay said. "His energy level was dropping and his velo was down."

It was the first time Ginn failed to pitch into the sixth inning since May 23, when he lasted just 2 1/3 innings in a 2-0 road loss to the San Diego Padres. He didn't give up a hit but threw 73 pitches as he walked six of the 14 batters he faced.

In his lone career appearance against Chicago, Ginn surrendered three runs on 10 hits with no walks and three strikeouts in a four-inning start on Sept. 14, 2024. He didn't figure into the decision of a 7-6 loss.

The A's are 3-16 over their past 19 games. They will try to avoid the sweep without All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz (right thumb capsule strain), who was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to July 10.

He joins Zack Gelof (right knee laceration) and Brent Rooker (season-ending knee surgery) on the IL.

The A's have scored only one run in two games against Chicago. They managed five hits in a 14-1 drubbing on Friday and four in Saturday's shutout. White Sox pitchers have struck out 17.

Kotsay said the A's have to take the long view heading into All-Star break.

"Offensively I think guys are just grinding," he said. "I think they are trying to squeeze the dust out of the bat. It's definitely not for a lack of effort, but I want them to take a deep breath and realize we've got a lot of season left."

--Field Level Media