CHICAGO - Their chances of winning the AL West have pretty much slipped away. Swell Juomapullo Hinta . 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." Swell Jälleenmyyjät . - Wesley Matthews got a chance to practice his bow-and-arrow 3-point celebration on Sunday night. Swell Suomi . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. http://www.swellbottlesuomi.com/ . 11 Ana Ivanovic and American Sloane Stephens, and former world No.Fort Worth, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Trevone Boykin threw for four touchdowns and caught a pass for a score, powering fourth-ranked TCU to a share of the Big 12 title with a 55-3 rout of Iowa State. The Horned Frogs entered the game third in the College Football Playoff rankings and are hopeful Saturdays effort will impress the selection committee enough to keep them in the exclusive four-team field, which will be announced Sunday. Boykin was 30-of-41 for 460 yards and added 44 yards on eight carries. Aaron Green rushed for 104 yards and a score and also caught a touchdown pass for TCU (11-1, 8-1 Big 12), which will be co-conference champions with Baylor -- the only team to defeat the Horned Frogs this season. Sam B. Richardson completed only 16-of-40 passes for 152 yards and one interception for the Cyclones (2-10, 0-9), who concluded the season with six consecutive losses. The Horned Frogs opened the scoring on a trick play. Boykin threw a backward pass to the left side of the field to wide receiver David Porter, who fired back across to the TCU quarterback. Boykin then followed a convoy of blockers as he raced down the right sideline for a 55-yard touchdown 5 1/2 minutes in. TCU marched 86 yards in 12 plays on its next possession and went up 14-0 on Greens 3-yard touchdown run. The Cyclones were in the red zone at the outset of the second quarter, but wound up settling for a 26-yard Cole Netten field goal after Ben Boesen dropped a pass in the end zone. Boykin later completed a 49-yard pass to Kolby Listenbee to set up Jaden Oberkroms 39-yard field goal. Iowa State then failed to capitalize on a TCU miscue. The Cyclones had the ball at the TCU 39 following a muffed punt, but turned it over on the next playy. Swell Pullo. Unlike the Horned Frogs, they were unsuccessful on a trick play, as Ranthony Texada picked off an underthrown pass from wideout Jarvis West. TCU looked to extend its lead before halftime, but Boykin was intercepted by Sam E. Richardson in the end zone. We knew we had to make a statement, but we started slow, said TCU head coach Gary Patterson. Defensively, we were playing all day. Offensively, we hurt ourselves and we still had almost 500 yards at halftime. We just didnt get in the end zone. We came out in the second half and started to do some things. The Horned Frogs broke the game open in the third quarter by scoring 31 points. Green caught a pass in the flat on 3rd-and-3 and sprinted 54 yards to the end zone on the opening drive of the second half. Oberkrom made a 23-yard field goal, Derrick Kindred scored on a 44-yard return after picking off Sam B. Richardson and Boykin threw touchdown passes of 18 and 45 yards to Josh Doctson and Deante Gray, respectively. Boykin capped his glittering performance with a 14-yard TD pass to JaJuan Story early in the fourth quarter. We were pesky for 30 minutes, said Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads. I was pleased with the effort and the response of our guys in the first 30 minutes. We were worn out for that 30-minute effort and I think that showed quickly in the second half. Game Notes Boykin established a single-season school record with 30 touchdown passes. He broke the previous mark of 27 set by Andy Dalton in 2010 ... TCU has forced at least one turnover in 24 straight games ... Iowa State has lost 12 straight games against ranked opponents since a 37-23 win at then-No. 15 TCU on Oct. 6, 2012 .. Doctson had 151 yards on nine receptions. ' ' '