Athletics 4, White Sox 2

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Rich Harden pitched eight innings of four-hit ball and Eric Chavez homered in his first home game back from an injury, leading the Oakland Athletics to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night.

Rookie Bobby Crosby had an RBI double for the A’s, who snapped Chicago’s four-game winning streak with just their second victory in seven games.

Harden (4-5) retired Chicago’s first 13 hitters before Jose Valentin’s one-out single to right in the fifth. He allowed another single in the sixth, but thanks to two double plays, Harden faced the minimum 18 batters through six innings.

It was the first win in six starts since June 9 for Harden, who walked six batters and allowed seven runs in his previous start at Boston. He finished strong against the White Sox, retiring three straight in the eighth inning with his fastball still reaching 95 mph.

Octavio Dotel pitched the ninth for his third save in five chances since arriving in a trade with Houston last month.

Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run homer in the seventh for the White Sox, who stayed in first place in the AL Central thanks to Minnesota’s loss to Kansas City.

Jon Garland (7-6) allowed six hits and five walks in seven innings, losing for the third time in five starts.

The A’s got three runs with just one hit in the fourth. Garland walked Scott Hatteberg and Erubiel Durazo before Crosby’s double. Two batters later, Timo Perez made a sprinting catch on Mark Kotsay’s fly – but then threw to first, where no one was covering, allowing Crosby to score when the ball rolled into Chicago’s dugout.

Chavez added his 14th homer of the season in the fifth. He missed 33 games with a broken right hand before returning last weekend in Cleveland. He has hit safely in all four games since coming back.

Notes: Garland is 1-5 this season when allowing a homer, and 6-1 when his opponents don’t homer. … The A’s signed four draft choices, including Texas right-hander Huston Street, the 2002 Outstanding Player at the College World Series. … RHP Tim Hudson played catch Thursday, hoping for a speedy return from his sore oblique muscle. The A’s haven’t set a timetable for Hudson, who was selected for the All-Star game but unable to pitch.