Just call him Welch the squelch.

For the eighth time this season, Bob Welch followed an Oakland loss with a victory as the Athletics righted themselves after a three-game skid Wednesday night to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-1."I hadn't given that much thought," said Welch (21-4), who held the White Sox to four hits in seven innings. "You know what you have to do, and we needed to win this game. No doubt about it. It was a two-game swing. Each game gets bigger and bigger."

The A's had lost three games off their lead in the American League West in the previous three days but restored their margin to 51/2 games. They ended Chicago's three-game winning streak as well as a string of five straight losses to the White Sox.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.