First, let's deal with the highly unusual during the 7-3 White Sox victory over the Athletics on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field.

In the seventh inning, after A.J. Pierzynski opened the frame with a single off reliever Jerry Blevins, he moved from first all the way home on Alexei Ramirez's routine grounder to shortstop Cliff Pennington. Third baseman Adam Rosales and Pennington bumped into each other on the play, leaving third base open, and when catcher Derek Norris tried too late to cover third, he was caught in no-man's land and Pierzynski raced home.

Then, there were the more conventional contributions from Pierzynski as the White Sox (62-51) increased their lead to two games over the Tigers in the American League Central courtesy of Texas' 8-3 victory in Arlington. Pierzynski broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a two-run, opposite-field home run off Oakland starter Bartolo Colon (9-9), sparking a five-run uprising for the South Siders.

And Pierzynski once again did an exceptional job of game-calling with first-year starter Chris Sale (14-3) on the mound.