Gossett, Shields get rematch as A's host White Sox

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Oakland Athletics rookie right-hander Daniel Gossett won't soon forget his first career start against the Chicago White Sox.

Gossett allowed two unearned runs over six innings on June 24 at Guaranteed Rate Field, earned his first major league victory and celebrated as fellow rookies Matt Olson, Franklin Barreto and Jaycob Brugman each hit their first big league home runs in a 10-2 win.

Gossett will face the White Sox again on Tuesday afternoon, this time at the Oakland Coliseum, in a rematch against right-hander James Shields.

"I was selfishly happy for me for the run support, but equally as happy for those other guys, maybe more happy for them because that's a huge milestone for them to get," Gossett said Monday before Chicago's 7-2 win in the series opener. "It was awesome to be a part of."

Shields (2-1, 3.98 ERA) reached a milestone during that loss to Oakland with his 2,000th career strikeout on a day in which the White Sox retired former pitcher Mark Buehrle's No. 56. However, he also gave up six runs on seven hits, including three home runs, and lasted only three innings.

"A lot of festivities going on that day," said Shields, who is 6-6 with a 4.53 ERA in 17 career starts against Oakland. "I treated it as just another game. Obviously, I had the 2,000-strikeout milestone, which is pretty special to me personally, but definitely the results at the end of the game weren't where I wanted them to be, and I'll try to get better (Tuesday).

"I'm just going to go out there and try to execute my game plan and execute my pitches. At the end of the day, that's all it really comes down to. If you execute your pitches, you're going to get outs. If you don't, they're going to hit you. They got a pretty good lineup over there. They're young. They got a lot of talent over there. You got to be careful of those guys."

Shields won't have to worry about Olson, who hit two home runs in the June 24, the second one after Shields left the game. Olson was optioned Monday to Triple-A Nashville when the A's activated rookie third baseman Matt Chapman after a stint on the disabled list due to left knee cellulitis.

Gossett (1-3, 5.57 ERA) will make his fifth career start since being called up from Nashville on June 14. He has come a long way since his major league debut at Miami, when he gave up seven runs (six earned) on six hits over 3 1/3 innings in an 11-6 loss.

"There were a lot of nerves going into the first one, obviously," Gossett said. "But just being able to calm down, focus on pitching, rather than everything surrounding it, is definitely necessary."

The White Sox opened the series without their closer, David Robertson, who went on the paternity list and remained in Chicago with his wife for the birth of their second child. Robertson is expected to miss the entire three-game series.

White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia, who was named to the American League All-Star team on Sunday, missed his fifth straight game Monday because of a sore left knee. However, Chicago manager Rick Renteria said he expects Garcia to be available to play at some point during the series.

The A's (35-48), who swept the three-game series against the White Sox in Chicago from June 23-25, lost their sixth straight game overall and fell for the eighth straight time at home Monday, both season highs.

The White Sox (37-45) have won four of their past five games.