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CHICAGO - Their chances of winning the AL West have pretty much slipped away. Now, the Oakland Athletics need to score some runs before they lose a playoff spot altogether. The As continued their free-fall Thursday, when Chris Sale bested Scott Kazmir in a brilliant pitchers duel, light-hitting Marcus Semien homered for the only run and the Chicago White Sox won 1-0. The As lost for the 11th time in 14 games. Their lead in the AL wild-card race dwindled to one game over Detroit and 1 1-2 over Seattle, both of which were idle. "Were playing for our lives now," manager Bob Melvin conceded. "I mean, thats just the way it is. We put ourselves in this position." Once leading the division, the As began the day nine games behind the Los Angeles Angels. Oakland starts a three-game showdown in Seattle on Friday night. Facing Sale, Oakland posed its only threat in the eighth, when Jed Lowrie singled and Alberto Callaspo drew a two-out walk. Coco Crisp bounced out to end the inning. Sale (12-3) gave up two hits in eight innings, both of them singles to Lowrie. Between the hits, the All-Star left-hander retired 17 batters in order. He struck out nine and walked two. Jake Petricka pitched the ninth, yielding one hit, and got his 13th save in 16 tries. Sale lowered his ERA to an AL-best 1.99, boosting his bid to become the first White Sox pitcher to lead the league in the category since Joe Horlen in 1967. "Right up there," Lowrie said when asked where Sale ranked among starting pitchers. "Off-hand, I cant give you a number, but hes one of the better ones in the game." Yet the Athletics have had to tip their caps too many times since the All-Star break. Theyve scored more than three runs only 15 times in the 39 games since slugger Yoenis Cespedes was traded to Boston on July 31. Melvin suggested his team might need to get back to its loose ways again. "Weve been two different teams — the one that played through July and the one thats at this point right now," he said. "Were trying as a staff to stay positive. At times, I get upset. At times, you have to be supportive. Today they were trying. They were trying as hard as they could. Sometimes maybe you have to try a little easier," he said. Semien hit a leadoff homer in the sixth into the left-field bleachers. He started the day with a .216 batting average and three home runs. Each pitcher had given up only one single and one walk to that point. "(The pitch) seemed to have good depth, but it stayed higher in the zone than I wanted," Kazmir said. "It turned out to be the deciding factor. Its tough." Kazmir (14-8) went the distance, giving up four hits, striking out seven and walking one. The left-hander entered the game with a 3-5 record and 5.89 ERA in 11 career starts against the White Sox. "Its a tough run that were facing right now," Kazmir said. "The only way to get out of it is to stay positive and keep battling." TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: LHP Sean Doolittle is expected to return from the disabled list on Friday. The closer has been sidelined since Aug. 24 because of a strained intercostal muscle. ... OF Craig Gentry was held out of the series finale one day after he suffered a concussion on a play at first base. Hes likely to sit out the series in Seattle this weekend as well. ... C Stephen Vogt continues to be slowed by what Melvin calls "a pretty significant (left ankle) sprain" and wont be available until next week at the earliest. White Sox: 1B Paul Konerko will test his fractured left hand with some dry swings on Friday then plans to hit short tosses and off a tee the next day. The veteran could return to action on the next road trip. "Im going to be back," said Konerko, who will retire after the season. "Theres no doubt." UP NEXT Athletics: RHP Jason Hammel (2-5, 4.70) opens the series at Seattle on Friday night. The Mariners will start LHP James Paxton (5-2, 1.87). White Sox: LHP Jose Quintana (7-10, 3.38) will oppose Twins RHP Phil Hughes (5-9, 3.55) in the opener of a three-game set in Minnesota on Friday night. 9-11 REMEMBERED The anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy brought back vivid memories for Melvin, who was an Arizona bench coach at the time. "We were in (New York on an off-day) shortly thereafter and went to Ground Zero and spoke to the first responders and saw firsthand what was going on," he said. "Its a day that Ill never forget. ... The thing that stood out to me most was the heroes who were part of cleaning it up and getting past it, the people of New York being so resilient." Willian Jersey . Joining him in this years class were Switzerlands Patrick Huerlimann and Norways Eigil Ramsfjell. The announcement was made at the world mens curling championship at Capital Indoor Stadium in China. NGolo Kante Jersey . A better question yet may be this: How many times has the same player been involved in both? Morneau hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and helped the Colorado Rockies turn the third triple play in team history as they beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 on Sunday. http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Alvaro-Morata-Jersey/. Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal. Danny Drinkwater Jersey .com) - The Eastern Conferences best team takes on one of its worst Tuesday night when the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. Ola Aina Jersey . -- Joe Thornton scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:39 left in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks overcome a two-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Thursday night.DALLAS - Bulls centre Joakim Noah was back in the starting lineup Friday night against Dallas after missing four games with a sprained right ankle.Noah played 6 minutes in the first quarter and had two points.The seventh-year player missed four games in December with the same anklee problem and tweaked the injury after coming back.dddddddddddd.The Bulls went 2-2 during his latest absence, capped by blowing out defending champion San Antonio in Chicago on Thursday night.Noah came in averaging 7.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. ' ' '